. W orking c onditions We all want power, a solid house, clothes and other goods, but we should remember that these come to us because someone is working to produce them, often in very bad working conditions. The government has passed a number of laws to regulate working conditions. Let us look at mining, where a number of people are employed.
Coal mines alone employ . lakh workers. The Mines Act , which has now been included in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Condition Code, , specifies the maximum number of hours a person can be made to work in a week, the need to pay overtime for any extra hours worked and safety rules. These rules may be followed in big companies, but not in smaller mines and quarries.
Moreover, sub-contracting is widespread. Many contractors do not maintain proper registers of workers, thus avoiding any responsibility for accidents and benefits. After mining has been finished in an area, the company is supposed to cover up the open holes and restore the area to its earlier condition. But they don’t do this.
Workers in underground mines face very dangerous conditions, due to flooding, fire, the collapse of roofs and sides, the emission of gases and ventilation failures. Many workers develop breathing problems and diseases like tuberculosis and silicosis. Those working in overground mines have to work in both hot sun and rain, and face injuries due to mine blasting, falling objects, etc. The rate of mining accidents in India is very high compared to other countries.
In many industries, the workers are migrants. The fish processing plants along the coastline employ mostly single young women from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Ten- twelve of them are housed in small rooms, and sometimes one shift has to make way for another. Young women are seen as submissive workers.
Many men also migrate singly, either unmarried or leaving their families in the village. These migrants have little time to socialise and whatever little time and money they can spend is with other migrant workers. From a nation of interfering joint families, the nature of work in a globalised economy is taking people in the direction of loneliness and vulnerability. Yet for many young women, it also represents some independence and economic autonomy.