How Do Workers Resist Exploitative Labour Conditions?
In India, access to stable, safe, and fulfilling jobs is restricted to a minority.
The unemployment rate continues to be high. Among the employed, most are paid far below minimum wage and are not provided health insurance or a pension after retirement or in the case of injury. In January 2020, an estimated 25 crore workers from multiple sectors held a strike, demanding the government enforce labour laws, make provisions for a humane minimum wage and universal social security. India’s front-line health workers (commonly known as ASHA workers) were among those who protested. Despite playing a vital role in the public healthcare system, their wages do not reflect the skills of their work, they are burdened with work they are not paid for, and are denied access to social-security provisions granted to others employed by the government.
To bring you closer to the reality of why unions strike, we ask you to step into the shoes of a worker.
This infographic is based on the article “Challenging Economic Inequality: Tactics and Strategies,” written by Brian Martin and Susan Engel that was published in Economic and Political Weekly on 5 December 2015.
Curated by Abhishek Shah [abhishekshah@epw.in]
Designed by Gulal Salil [gulal@epw.in]
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