MAIN FINDINGS AND SU(:(;ESTIONS

To keep h e suo~niary of thc t i w.i~hill rc;~wl~lahlc I I I tllain

findings and suggestions h a a d (\a lield ie\.cstigilit,r~ arc* prc*sentr*d in thi\

chapter.

A. Main Findings

A.1 Social and Managerial Aspects:

1 . About 81 percent of the workcrs in shop5 and c.s~ahli~hrnc.~~t\ and snrall

scale industries inGudur town ;KC in thc agc gnbap of 20-40 Ycilrr. No

worker is above 60 years of age.

2. About 56 percent of thc workcn in thc infi,r~nal kccttrr 111 (iudi~r toun

belongs to other categories of caste\ (cxcludinp Backward C'itstc~.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). Workcn klonginp to

Scheduled Tribe\ are totally ah\ent i n \mall \talc indu\tric\.

3. Hindu Religion is the leading religion with a share of 81 percent in total

workers followed by Muslit11 Religion witb 18 perccnl and Christian

Religion with I percent.

4. Out of the total workera. 12 perccnt of the worker\ arc i1litcr;~tt.~. Most of

the workers are having high sch<~)I lc\cl education.

5. Telugu is the mother tongue for ahout 89 percent of the total work force.

The inflow of the uorkcrs Sronl other \talc\ i \ almtr\t ncgliphlc.

6. Nearly 65 percent of the workers are nlarried aid & u n m h d .

bout 60 percent of the worken in ihops and es~uhlirhnlcnts ;ur. mmird

compared to 78 percent in ~ h c ' caw of in~all \~-;rlc indu\trial units.

7. Out of the total I86 ~vorken. only 40 workers :Ire the in~mipnnts. Out Of

40 immigrants 5 are from out \ide the Nellorc district. The major mau)nr

for immigration we paucity of cmployn~oit in native place. scope to earn

more income in Gudur to\\n. not -interested to work in nativc placc.

attraction of urban environmcnt and assured enlploymcnt.

8. The major occupation of f:~thcr> of workers in the informal rector in

Gudur town is agriculture.

9. The average size of the household of' the workcn in the inf'onnul xc tu r in

Gudur town is five members pcr household. The tnale-fcnialc ratio in the

households of workers is 54.16.

1O.Distribution of family members o f rhc worken i s favourable to take up

income earning economic activities.

I I. About 41 percent of the family mrmhcrs of the worken are illiterates.

12. The members of the household* of' workers arc 'having jifferent

occupations or employment. Agriculture is the major occupation followed

by employment in the private e c a l r and hu*ine\\.

13. The most important source of \pending leisure time ir watching Radio and

T.V. programmes. The popular \oarce of mtertainment for the worken ir

cinema.

14. Out of 186 workers. only 18 are suffering (lo~n di\ei~se\. i inpr tml diseases are stomach pain, head-ache i~nd heart con~platnt\.

15.~0rrnal mining after recruiln~snt i \ ~ I I I O ~ I ahaent ill i~llbrnlal seclor in

Gudur town.

16. No workerain the informal secior in Gudur to\vn is ha\.i~lg an oppc~nunity

of working normal hours per day i.s. 8 hours.

17. Nearly 24 percent of the workers do not havc the f i x ~ r l holiday in a week.

18. About 91 percent of the workerr tell that their \rork is rect)gnisd by rhrir

employers. This will motivare the utorkcrs to ~ o r k ttlorc'

19. Eighty Nine (89) percent of the tvorkcrs reported that rhcir cn~ploycrs give

weightage to their suggestions. This improve\ joh hatisfaclion rittiong

workers and gives an opportunity to participarc in ~hc' prtxcss of dccision

making and forward planning at the entcrprisc. Ic.t,c.l

20. Out of 186 workers, 139 rcportcd that their job powas rr better social

status.

2 1. Most of the workers felt that thcir job is not difficull to do. Almost all

workers opinied that their abilities (knowledge and skills) are ~uiliihlc to

do their jobs. Almost all worker3 except h have the upinion that their

employers interested in then1 md their problems and their developments.

7 1 percent of the workers expre\\ed that they havc job security. Most of

the workers have friendly relalion\hip with co-~ 'orkrrs 95 percenl of the

workers have felt that the existing working condition* are conducive for

higher efficiency jn their work. No uorkcr in the itiformal =tor in Ciudur

town is a member of trade union..

22.The main reasons for working h;ml hu worten \ur~ival. to enjoy life.

to provide good future for children and to ICNJL after the drpndnnta.

23. Nearly 6.5 percent of the u-orlicrs arc .li\ing i t ) t I r i r <I\\ II houws. Oa an

average each worker living in the rented housc is pying Rs..HW) lowards

the house rent. Out af 186 ~orkers. 152 arc li\-itlg in r.lrr-uifinl hou-WS.

Most of the houses are p ropr l y vent i l;~ted. The housing acuoa~mtdalion

is totally inadequate compared to their h t i~ i ly \irr\. h4a1ly of the worken

are facing water problem. &lnv of the workers are managing with

common bath rooms and toilet rcmnls.

24. Only 4 percent of the workers do not havc job h;rrisf;~ction. The imp)rtant

reasons for having job satisfi~ction as rcpcu-tCd hy rhc wc~rkcn arc :

(a) Good relationship with the employcr

(b) Timely payment of remuneration

(c) Nearness to living place

(d) Suitability to the job and

(e) Able guidancc by the supervisor.

The reasons for job dissatisfaction anvjng s o n ~ e workers are a ) low

remuneration b) poor working conditions and c ) hari~rsmcnt hy the superion.

2 5 . 0 ~ 1 of 186 workers, 25 workerc worked in the pad in other

er;tabljshmentr. The causer for the change of presiou\ cmplnyment a!

repofled by the workers are: a ) scope to earn more h~had reliltionship with

the past employer c)closure o f \hop\ and d 'wcurity of employment in the

present job.

26. Most workers

remuneration in the new.joh is grcitrr th;ln prcu.nt remunznl~inn ill the

present job.

27.There is greater rnohility among worken ill ihr- ink,rt~~:,l \c~tor it, lhc

Gudur town. Mobility is niolp in the caw of rlltbpr and cstahlishmcnts

compared to small scale industries.

28. Friends. personal contacts. relati\.es and rlirer.~ ;q~pnb;tch arc the hcl1,inp

hands in getting jobs by the workers. Friend, pluycd a rniijor role in

getting jobs in the case of shops and estahlishnwnts. Pem~nal contacts

played a major role i n getting joha in snlall \calr. i n r l u \ ~ r ~ ~ \ .

29.The distance between residence and work placc ol' wt)rkcrs is reasonably

low.

30.Majority of the workers are reaching rhcir work places fnIm thcir

residences by walk. The second importanr mcdr of rrnn\pcjn is hicycle.

A.2 Economic Conditions:

I . Earning members are less in numkr compared 10 non-earning members

(dependants) in the households of workers in inljrrnal sector in (iuJur

town. The share of earriers is 40 percent.

2. Average earnings of the workers per annunr p r worker is RI. I9.IOM.

Small industrial units are paying more to rhcir workcn compared to shops

and es(ablishments. The nwsl implrtanl income group is RI. I W)O-

Rs.200()(). Nearly 68 percent of the *ample worker, fell in this group.

3. On an average. other m e m k n of the fdnlilics of the omplc .u .ohm ur*

able to a monthly income of Rs. 1 . ~ 5 0 per f;knlilv prr mnum. The

most important source of income for ihem is :lgr~calture li,llaucd hy self-

employment. work in small e*tahli\hmmts and cahual lahc3ur.

4. Out of 186 workers. 29 worken like that their children should take up the

same line of activity. Most of the sample worken like that their children

are to be employed in government services.

5. The average income per household pcr annuli1 work\ out lo Rh.37.764.

The share of the income of the other I't~mily metnhc.rs in the total inconlc IS

nearly 42 percent.. '

6. Out of 186 workers. 95(5 1 percent) arc. not paid niit~irnuri~ wages as per

minimum wages act.

7. Nearly 20 percent of the worker\ arc paid h n u \ o n different occa\lr,ns.

The important occasions for the payntent of h n u \ ore Clasara. r)c.c.vnli and

Sankranti.

8. There is a negative correlation hetween family sire and the income per

household.

9. There is a positive correlation hetween literacy level o f the workers and

their incomes.

IO.The major item of expenditure hy the w~orkers i \ L x d . 11 acnjunts for

about 40 percent of the [otal expenditure. Thc rcond i rnp~mnt item of'

expenditure of worken i \ clothing. I t arcounfh fi)r ah0111 ?O percent in the

total expenditure.

1 I .There is positive correlation kt\t.ren inconr and exp.nditurp of woken-

There is a high degree. of p)\itiue correlation hrtwern savi~lgs and

incomes. Sizc of the k~nlil? inl1ustwe~ the level of wvings positively.

The savings ranges in hetween Rs. 1.857 and H~.h.U52 per household per

annum.

12.0ut of 186 workers. only ' I ( I 1 vrcent) workers ore in debts. The

average debt per household is worked out to Rs. 1.038. The avcrdpt. dcht

per indebted households is Rs.9.190. Therc are four sources of debt.

They are: I )Present employer ?)Friends 3)Relativcs and 4)Lcxal money

lenders. The main purposes for which the workers have k~rrowcd money

are medical expenses, construction of houses. marriages of daughters.

education of the children and petty personal expenses. The share of

medical expenses i n total debt outstanding is 24 pcrccnt. The cos~ of'

credit is at high level because the entire credit is pmvided by nan-

institutional sources. The level of indebtedness is at very low level i.e..

nearly 3 percent of income.

13.The average value of assets per household works out to Rs.55.543. The

share of houses in the total value trf ;issets is nearly 70 percent. n c next

important asset is land. Out of I86 worken, 126 workers have assets

excluding household furniture. utensils and ornaments. Out of 126

workers who are having assets, 57 workers fall in the asset range of Rs.0 -

Rs.75.000.

14. In total. 74 household\ of worken arc helow poverty line. I t i s nearly 40

percent of the sample houwholdi. This percentage is on higher 4idc

compared t o the percentage of hou\chold\ helow poverty line in India.

B. MAIN SUGGESTIONS

I . The owners of Shops and'Establi\hmttnr~ ;lnd S~nall Scale Industries huvc

to give importance to persot), k lo~~ging ro Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes in recruitrnenr.

2. The owners of the enterprises and the government agencies have to lake

necessary steps to educate the illiterate worken through adult lileracy

programme. This programme should include rerldinp and writing skills

and legal environment of informill sector in India.

3. Since many of the workers in the informal sector arc hailing 1'rc)m

agriculture, it is essential to take necessary stcps to make agriculture

econon~ically and financially vi;lble activity. Wage rates in agriculture

sector should be maintained at a reasonably high lcvcl to arrest the

mobility of people from agriculture lo urban inforniul sector.

4. The distribution of family memkrs of workers by the levcl of education in

informal sector df Gudur town suggest that, here is an urgent need to take

adequate measures by the government authorities to reduce and ultimately

remove illiteracy among households of the workcrs in the informal sector

in Gudur town. For this purposc night schools may be promoted by the

government authorities.

5. The owners of the enterprises in the informal sector in Gudur town hhould

develop the habit of giving formal training lo the newly recruited persons

to develop knowledge and ski l l to do the job most efficiently and

effectively. During the period of training. a rca\onahly g o d amount of

remuneration i \ to be paid to the worker under training.

6. The owners or managers of ihc enterprises in the infclrlnal \ector in C h r

town have to take neceswry \teps t o redocc the w(3rl;ing h o u n per day.

They have to adopt the provi\io~ls in the r.onccrnr.d Arts. T k govcrnmmt

officials who are concerned with the supr\,i \ ion of working houn of the

worker should enforce strictly the pmvisions of the ronccrned Acts. They

should direct the owners or mnilagen of the c.ntcrpriscs not to mgage the

workers beyond the normal hour3 per day.

7. Labour Inspector should see that the workers should he given at least one

holiday per week.

8. Since some of the workers felt that their uvorking are very poor.

it is the responsibility of the enterprises to improve the working conditions

of the workers. Betterment of the working conditions of the workcrs is

beneficial to both owners of the enterprises and the workers. Better

worlung conditions improve the productivity of' thc workers. quality of' the

output and reduces the cost of production and belling price. The reduction

in selling price with an improved quality is beneficially t o the consunwrs.

9. Since no worker is a member of a trade union, i t is essential t o f<)rm trade

unions, one for the workers in shops and estahli\hments rlnd the second for

the workers in small scale industrial units in Gudur town. Promotion of

trade unions improves the bargaining capacity of thc workers with their

employers with regard to remuneration. working conditions. fringe

benefits. social security, participative management and settlement of

industrial disputes.

10. Since 35 percent of the worken we living in rellted houws. it-is desinbk

to give importance to the workers in the informal sector in Gudur town in

the allotment of pakta houses hv tk go\emlncnt. hlost of these workers

are belonging to economically poor sections of the scriety.

I I . High rate of labour turnover is not desirable in the intrrrst of enterprises

in the informal sector. Enterprises should try to kccp the workon for a

long time with financial and non tinancial knclits. Loss of an

experienced and skilled person hampers the efficierlcy and effectiveness of

the enterprises.

12. Since the mode of transport in !he case of mi!jori~y of workcrs is walk. i~ is

desirable to arrange loans to the workers to buy hicyc1t.s and mopeds. The

loans may be given with the reasonably low ratc of intercst and payilhlc on

instaltment basis. The amount of installment may he deducted fmm the

monthly salary of the worker.

1 3. Since many of the workers are not paid n~inimuni wages, the povcrnment

authorities should see that minimum wages will be paid ta the workers in

informal sector in Gudur town.

14. There is an urgent need to insritutionalise the credit structure of workers in

the informal sector in Gudur town. It i s essential lo advice the workers to

borrow at lower rates of interest from the organised institutionalist sources

of credit to reduce the cost of credit.

15. Since 40 percent of the households of workers in informal scclor in Ciudur

town are helow the poverty line. \lep\ \hould be taken to increase the

remuneration at least on par with minimum wage\ a4 per minimum uagcs

Act and to provide econon~ic occupations to the Pamilv members of the

workers. They should be, given an upp>nunitv to henetit S ~ l m p)\.cnY

in Gudur town which are helo\r poverty line should k given an

opportunity lo benefit from public distribution s-ys~en~. The children of the

workers in the informal sector should he hrought under free education

system.

16.There is an urgent need to promote two Multipurpose C'o-oprarive

Societies in Gudur town - One for the workers in the shops and

establishments and the second tbr workers in small scale industrial units.

These societies should he in a position to supply credit required and all

essential commodities.

I7.The Government of India niay fi)rnlulatc an Act incorporating the

measures suggested by the National Commission for Entcrpriscs in thc

Unorganised Sector which are incorporated in the Unorgnnised Sector

Workers' Social Security Bill. 2005.

The social security package for the worker\ should comprise of a

National Minimum Social Security Cover comprising of (a? old apc 'pension

for workers above the age of 60 years. (h) health insurance for self. spouse

and children below the age of 18 years. (c) maternity benefits for women

workers or spouse of men workers and (d) insurance to cover death and

disability arising out of accidents. The Central Government \hould create a

National Social Security Fund for these p u r p ) ~ \ . It \hould alu) create an

elaborate institutional setup for the purpose of i t \ irnplcmcntation. Thc

government should also give altmlion to the hr.~cn)geneous scxial swuflt?.

needs of workers in the unors~nised sector or infc)r~nal sector.

C. Hypotheses that are Rejected: .

1. Immigrants are more in number in the case of ivorkcrs in the informal

sector in ~ u d u r town.

2. Majority of the workers in the informal sector in Gudur town do nor have

job satisfaction.

3. Earning members are more in number compared to non-earning

members(dependants) in the household of workcrs in informal sector in

Gudur town.

4. There is no correlation between family size and household income.

5. There is no correlation between literacy levcl and household income of' the

workers.

6. There is no correlation ktwcen the level of income and the levcl of

expenditure.

7. Majority of the households of workers in informal sectar in Gudur town

are below the poverty line.

D. Hypotheses that are Accepted:

I . The share of non-institutional sourcea(unorganised sector) in thc dehl

outstanding of the workers i \ greater than thc \haw of institutional sources

of debt..

E. Scope for further Research:

It is rather hazardous rin the hiisis of ;l IimireJ in\*csrigcltion such as thc

present one to arrive at a set of policy i~iiphc;itions. . h.101-c ii11~1 n10rc e~npiriciil

investigations with a greater menhurt. of aophistici~tion of concel>t and t c ~ l s

are needed to establish the datahr~at* of' thc infortiiril sector on the tirm ftwtinp.

There are many more to be explored. analysed and rCstcd to provide a solid

base for the urban informal sector po1ic.y fhrniulation in nicetinp the urgent

needs of growth with social justice in India. The future study n u y include

unregistered establishments under shops and establishments Act 1988 and

unregistered small scale industrial unirs with District Industries Ccntrc. A

comparison may be made betwt.cn rcgistcred and unrcgistcred units in t h ~

informal sector.