Women Workers

8/2/2019 Women Workers

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Women w orkers in unorganized sector:A study on construction industry in H aryana*Santosh Nandal

Department of EconomicsM.D.University, Rohtak, [email protected]

International Journal of Development IssuesVol. 5, No. 2 (2006) 119-132

AbstractA vast majority of India's labour force is in unorganized sector. In the absence ofeconomic opportunities in their own states, many workers migrate across the other statesof India to seek employment. Construction industry depends almost entirely on migrantworkers, majority of which are women. The main object of this paper is to shed light onthe socio-economic problems being faced by a section of the women workers inconstruction industry. These women workers have a very tough life. In spite of beingactively involved in economic activities for survival, bearing and rearing of childrenremain their prime responsibility, and thus they end up with playing roles in bothproduction and reproduction.

1. IntroductionIn India, the informal sector or unorganized sector1 (as it is usually referredto) plays a vital role in both the employment and production fronts.According to an estimate by the National Commission on Self-employedWomen (Government of India, 1988a), of the total number of women

'The early version of this paper was presented in the 15th Annual InternationalAssociation of Feminist Economics held on July 7-9,2006 in Sydney, Australia.1 The unorganized sector usually consists of small scale industries and other industries inwhich electric power as such is not utilized in production process; factory act is notapplicable in this sector, neither is it covered under labour legislation; ignorance andilliteracy among workers, casual nature of employment, dominance of employers, andlack of workers' sufficient training or education are all prevalent in this sector.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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120 Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132workers in India, about 94 p er cent workforce are in the unorganized sector,whereas just 6 per cent are in the organized or formal sector. According tothe National Sample Survey Organization (1994), of the total number ofwomen workers in India, around 92 per cent workforce are in theunorganized sector, whereas merely 8 per cent are in the organized sector.Census of India (2001) estimates show that 80 per cent of economicallyactive women are engaged in the unorganized sector. Thus, there is noexaggeration in saying that the unorganized sector in India is the women'ssector. This sector, however, while extracting the maximum contributionfrom them, has given them very little in return. The plight of womenworkers in this sector is miserable as they work for extremely low w ages andfor long hours, under unsatisfactory working conditions with a total lack ofjob security and social security benefits. There is hardly any union in thissector to act as watchdog. The implementation of existing labour legislationis inadequate and inefficient in the unorganized sector.Construction industry in India is a significant part of its unorganized sector;it covers a variety of works and operations. Its activities range fromconstruction of dam and bridges, roads and tracks of factories and offices,schools, hospitals and ordinary residential buildings forming a major sectorof employment in India. Construction work being such a widespread andunorganized market, it absorbs a large number of women migrants from therural areas of different states. Nearly half of the workers in this industry arewomen with low education and no education at all. The employment patternin this industry is seasonal and fluctuated largely due to climatic conditions.Building activities in general are at their peak during w inter m onths, but areat a standstill in the rainy season. The socio-economic problems faced by theconstruction workers in this industry are numerous and their workingconditions are tough and exploitative. They usually suffer from low wagerates, job discriminations, under-employment, and the women workers areparticularly over-burdened with their family duties.

2. Literature reviewEarly 1970s marked the beginning of the consciousness about the women'sright in India that challenged our so-called gender neutrality process ofdevelopment. O nly a few economists like Gadgil (1965) and Boserup (1970)noted women's role in economic development. And a plethora of studies


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Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132 121have appeared especially in the 1980s2. But the poor and unorganizedsegments of the wage-earners in India did not receive much attention (seeTowards Equality, 1974 and SEW A, 1988).While studying the economic bondage of construction workers of Sonipatdistrict in Haryana, Nandal (1995) found that the majority of workers werefrom the Scheduled Castes3, of which over 76 per cent were illiterate. Out ofthe sample of 410, only 56 workers reported having rebelled against theirbondage. These workers were then forced by the contractor to remain on thesite to perform household duties in the ow ner's home. The study showed that49 per cent of the workers were women. Working hours were long, none ofthe respondent reporting less than 14 hours a day.Reddy (2003) found that construction workers in Hyderabad district inAndhra P radesh were under-paid, faced job discrimination and with no hopeof better future. Only 66 out of total sample of 212 women workersexpressed any satisfaction about their work and wages. 106 persons statedthat they were forced to continue in the present work as constructionlabourers needed to earn their daily bread. The rest, 40 women said that theywere neither happy nor unhappy but doing their duty as destined by God.Almost all of them agreed that they would stop this work if their malecounterparts could get a permanent job.Government o f India's (1988b) survey in the north Indian states of Haryana,Punjab and Uttar Pradesh found that workers employed in construction weremostly migrant labourers from areas within as well as outside these states.Women constituted 49 per cent of the total workforce in the construction,nearly 92 per cent of them working as brick layers and mixture carriers.Women were not found doing work like masons, earth fillers, because thesetasks were carried out only by men. Construction workers have no fixedworking hours and usually the work is spread over 10 to 12 hours a day. Itwas noticed that 99 per cent of women workers in this industry wereilliterate. Most of the women w ere residing in incomplete construction sites.Not a single male or female reported to be a m ember of a trade union and nowoman worker was aware of the beneficial provision of various labourlegislations.

2 For a list of studies, see Anant et al. (1987).3 Scheduled Castes belong to lower caste such as Chamar and Dhanak.


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3. Micro-level study of 528 construction wo rkers in six districtsThe aim of the present study is to throw light on the socio-economicproblems being faced by a section of the women construction workers4. M yintention in this study is to explore various aspects relating to migration,women's working conditions and socio-economic levels of the workers andtheir families. The study was carried out between 2002 and 2004 to explorevarious aspects of the lives of women working in construction industry5.About 528 women construction workers were chosen from the urbanagglomeration of six districts of Haryana (Rohtak, Sonipat, Bhiwani, Hissar,Panipat and Karnal) where the total number of employed workers wasestimated to be 21,000. The six districts were chosen for this study since theinflux of the construction workers especially women into these districts hadincreased significantly in recent times.

Table 1M ale and female construction wo rkers in each of the sample districts ofHaryana

Districts Total M ale FemaleNumber % Number % Number %RohtakSonipatBhiwaniPanipatKarnalHissarTotal

34252531271137214423321220023

19251592152025092901202212469

56.2162.9056.0767.4365.5962.9562.27

150093911911212152211907554

43.7937.1043.9332.5734.4137.0537.73

The women construction workers face many problems in the family as well as societybut the present survey stresses on only those issues and problems faced by womenconstruction workers by virtue of their being wage workers.51 am thankful to all the respondents both men and women construction workers whoprovided me with data and information about themselves.


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Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132 123Since 1991, the proportions of migrants to residential construction workersincreased progressively. H owever, I rely on the data collected in m y surveys,because the data required for the present study are not available in secondarysources. The highest proportion of women workers was found in Karnaldistrict while low proportion w as recorded in Sonipat district (Table 1).While selecting the sam ple, about 10 per cent of the household workers fromeach of the sample district were ultimately selected for intensive study(Table 2 ). From all the districts 5279 households were taken. Therefore, thetotal size of the present sample came to 528 with one woman worker fromeach household. To collect the information from construction workers, astructured interview schedule was used. Field discussions with otherinformants were also held to verity the information collected from thewomen respondents.

Table 2Nu mb er of women workers , their families and the samplehouseholds (10% ) in each of the sample district

Districts Workers Families SampleRohtak 1500 1189 119Sonipat 939 725 73Bhiwani 1119 928 93Panipat 1212 1002 100Karnal 1522 1192 119Hissar 1190 943 94Total 7554 5279 528

4. Findings of the studyAge, education, caste and marital statusFor the present study, the working ages of women were between 15 and 64years. Large proportion of the women workers (45 per cent) were in the agegroup of 25 to 35; 35 per cent were in the age group of 15 to 25 ; and 20 per


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124 Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132cent were m ore than 45 y ears of age. Lack of skill and illiteracy is the maincause to enter in the construction industry. Most of the women workers(97.66 per cent) were illiterate; a small number (i.e. 2.34 per cent) had someschooling i.e. up to fifth class. Almost all of the respondents (86.21 per cent)were from the Scheduled Castes, 12.11 per cent was from the backwardcastes6 and just 0.68 per cent was from the higher castes7. Most (97.50 percent) were married, 1.22 per cent was unmarried and 1.28 per cent waswidowed.Rates of wages and hours of workA large number of women workers are in the function of brick layer andbrick carriers. Mixture is prepared by mixing the cement with sand andwater by using spades. This work is to be done by male workers. The m asonis the highest paid and the most skilled of all the work done in constructionactivity. In the present sample, not a single woman was found w orking as themason (Table 3). Wom en in most cases were hired for low but engaged in ahigh wage function as most of the functions of women workers areinterchangeable. If the wage rates are equal in both the work, they do notobject. The comm on view is that females are being discriminated in thelabour market leading to discrimination and marginalisation (Varghese,1991). It can be either job discrimination or wage discrimination. Myinformation is useful for analyzing the second aspect, that is, paying lowerwage to women for the same work as men. For instance, every activity,which is mentioned in (Table 3), wom an is paid lower wages than man in thesame operation. Therefore, existing equal pay for equal work legislationdoes not work in construction industry.Leave and leisure are not statutory in the case of construction workers.Wom en workers are not compensated by retention allowance for involuntaryholidays. Work timings are not fixed and they work from morning to tillevening (sunset). Entire family work together and live in the unfinishedbuilding or shed prepared by them by polythene paper and sticks. It isapparent from (Table 4) that only 4.16 per cent wom en work daily up to fourhours, about 5.87 per cent work up to six hours, 24.43 per cent work up to

6 Backward caste is higher than Schedule Castes but lower than higher caster like- barber,dhobi, kumhar, cobbler etc.7 No high caste and Muslim women were found as construction workers.


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Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132 125nine hours, 39.21 per cent work up to 12 hours and 26.33 per cent work upto 14 hours. It was noticed that wom en in the old age i.e. into 60 to 64 y ears

Table 3Distribution of women respondents by type of work and wage rates

Type of Work Daily Wages in RupeesNumber Woman ManBrick layersBrick carriersMixture preparationWatering WomenMasonsEarth fillersSand cleanersBrick cleanersTotal

185172--30----18123528

50 to 5550 to 55--45 to 50----50 to 5242 to 4942 to 55

55 to 6555 to 6560 to 70130 to 20075 to 8555 to 6452 to 6052 to 200

Table 4Distribution of respondents and working hours

Work burden Respondents As percentage(Hours) of total sample1-44-66-99-1212-14Total

2231129207139528

4.165.8724.4339.2126.33100.00


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of age, work up to four hours. Besides this work burden, women w orker lookafter children, prepare food, washing clothes and do other domestic chores athome. The women in the construction industry bear double burden ofworking at home as well as at the work site. The women workers work forall 30 days in a month. Illness or any festival is the reason of absence.Work is not casual but regularTo check this, I collected information about years to work in this sector. Itemerged that half of the women workers had been working in this sector forone to three years, nearly one-fifth had been there for between five to sixyears and the remaining nearly one-third had been there for more than sixyears.Reasons for migration and entering the construction industryThe large size o f family, poverty, indebtedness, irregular availability of workand low wages for both men and women in the women's places of originwere the main causes of migration (Table 5 ). Majority of the women

Table 5Distribution of respondent and reasons for migrationReasons RespondentsLarge familyPovertyLower wage inplace of originIndebtednessIrregular availabilityof work at place oforiginForced by husbandTotal

29171131826352

528

Percentage of Sample5.49

32.3824.8215.5311.939.85100.00


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Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) {2006) 119-132 127workers (32.38 per cent) had migrated because of poverty, 24.82 per centhad migrated that the wages for the same work at their native place werevery much less, 15.53 per cent had done because of indebtedness. Forentering the construction industry, 9.85 per cent women said, it was thehusband's decision to work in the construction industry and 11.93 per centhad done because of irregular supply of work at their place of origin. Manywomen worker said that since they did not possess skills for other type ofjobs, their best option was unskilled work in the construction sector, wheretheir husband needed them as partners. Most of the women workers (97.25per cent) were from the neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and only 2.75 per cent were from Punjab andHaryana8.Relationship with employersFemale workers in the construction industry are at the bottom of hierarchy.The guthadars9(intermediaries) take the contract of construction sites andemploy the construction workers. The guthadars supervise the work andmaintain the record about the working days of women worker. Womenworkers rarely deal with employer/owner and even the payment of wages ismade by the guthadars.Other issuesMost of the women workers that deal with cement and cement-mixture arenot always provided w ith the necessary gloves and consequently, their handsand feet blooded after being exposed to the wet mixture continuously tillevening. A number of skin rashes and disorders are reported leading to theimpression that the skin disorders are more in the case of women workers.Lack of medical facilities in their reach is a major problem faced by anumber of women workers; especially the pregnant women and injuredperson. A common problem expressed by almost all the women workers isthe lack of any privacy especially while they are on the work spot; some ofthem described their residence in unfinished buildings are not much betterthan a pavement.

8 Most of the migrants from neighbouring states were initially baffled by the problem oflanguage for thefirstfew years because of language difference.9 Guthadars are local labour contractors.


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128 Nandal, S. /International Journal of Development Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132Family income, expenditure, debt and decision-makingFamily varied from two to five m embers (52.57 per cent), six to eight (42.15per cent) and nine to ten (5.28 per cent). The respondents are grosslyunderpaid is quit evident. A woman earns between Rupees 42 to 55 dailyand for a month it will be between Rupees 1260 to 1650. As is evident,income of the respondents from construction work is quite low. To place inperspective, I asked the respondents about their family income. Table 6gives this information.Most of the respondents had family Income in the range of Rupees 1000 toRupees 2500, 9.85 per cent earned between Rupees 2500 and Rupees 3000,9.09 per cent earned between Rupees 3000 and Rupees 3500 while 7.39 percent earned between Rupees 3500 and Rupees 4000. The proportion offamilies w ho earned more than Rupees 4000 was 7.20 per cent.

Table 6Responden ts' total family incomeIncome distribution Num ber ofper month (Rupees) workers Percentage0-10001000-15001500-20002000-25002500-30003000-35003500-4000above 4000Total

82611099952483938528

15.5311.5520.6418.759.859.097.397.20100.00

Weekly expenditureIn the construction work, guthadars give some money to the workers fortheir day-to-day expenses on the 7th day of the month or Saturday. It is verysurprisingly that this money is paid to the male workers, women do notreceive money for expenses directly. I found that although women are very


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Nandal, S. /International Journal of Development Issues 5(2) (2006) 11 9-132 129

keen to take the m oney directly from the guthadars and they do not refuse toaccept the payment. It is generally the m ale partner who takes the payment athome. These expenses are settled down at the time of final payment aftercompletion of construction work. Before winding up this discussion, let ussee how earned money was used by women workers. Most of the womenworkers (99.25 per cent) said their families were unable to save. If any, thesavings were low and not sufficient for improving their quality of life. Mostof it used for day-to-day expenses during the off season.The data (Table 7) revealed that among 528 families 81.68 per cent hadreported indebtedness. In contrast only 19.32 per cent families did not reportindebtedness. Loans had been normally taken from guthadars withoutcharging interest and get back the loan in installments or at the time of finalpayment. A major reason for employer preference for this type of facilitywas the flexibility in working hours. Yet it could also mean exploitationthrough a long work day.

Table 7Distribution of respondents by amount of debt

Amount in Rupees.Not in debt0-500500-10001000-15001500-2000Total

No. of families102301634121528

Percentage19.3257.0111.937.763.98100.00

Decision MakingParticipation in decision making is an important indicator that reflects theposition/status of woman in the family. In the tradition-oriented socialstructure the typical pattern of husband-wife relationship is: "mandominance and female dependence." The husband enjoys the superiorposition over the wife and the major decision making role are mostly the


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130 Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132Table 8

Respondents and Decision Making power in the FamilyDecision making Reportingpower in the respondents PercentagefamilyHusbandWifeHusband & wifeFather-in-lawMother-in-lawRelative/friendsTotal

20485181271219528

38.6416.1034.285.122.273.59100.00

domain of the husband. B ut this situation may vary in families where w omenwork and contribute toward family (Table 8). The data on decision makingrevealed that majority of the decisions (38.64 per cent) were taken byhusbands. In 34.28 per cent cases both husband and wife jointly took thedecisions. Approximately 11 per cent decisions w ere taken by father-in-law,mother-in-law and relatives/friends. Merely 16.10 per cent women took thedecision themselves, and these were either widowed, divorced or whosehusbands were addicted of bad habits like alcohol, gambling and theft. Thedata from table confirm the view that even if the wife is working, decisionmaking pow er is mainly exercised by husbands.

5. ConclusionIn the foregoing analysis I have seen that the lives of women working inconstruction industry are hard and tough and they bear the double burden ofworking at home as well as at the work sites. Frequent shifting of residence,especially when the work spot is moved far away, is a problem faced by theconstruction workers. Their problems on their work spots are low wagerates, job discrimination, lack of payment for holidays, lack of sufficient restand underemployment. The economic condition of the migrant constructionworkers is not better than the other poor women in the unorganized sector,


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Nandal, S. /International Journal of Development Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132 131with ignorance and illiteracy compounding their social and economicsuffering. All women workers contribute to the family income, but they donot receive independent income and have to depend upon male members ofthe family.


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132 Nandal, S. /International Journal ofDevelopment Issues 5(2) (2006) 119-132ReferencesAnant, Suchitra et al. (1987), Bibliography on Women at Work in India: AnUpdate, 1985-86, New Delhi: Institute of Social Studies Trust.Boserup, Ester (1975), Women's Role in Economic Development, London:George Allen and Unwin Ltd.Census (2001), New D elhi: Government of India.Gadgil , D. R. (1965), Women in Working Force in India, Bombay: AsiaPublishing Hou se.Government of India (1988a). Shramshkati: Report of the NationalCom mission on Self -E mployed W omen and Wom en in the Informal

Sector, New Delhi._______(1988b), Survey of Socio-Economic Conditions of Women inUnorganized Industries, Labour Bureau Ministry of Labour, NewDelhi.Nandal, Santosh (1995), Cultural Pattern an d Econom ic P articipation ofWomen, Radha Publications, Delhi.Reddy, Atchi (1995), "Some aspects of Quality of Life of ConstructionWorkers in Hyderabad City," Indian Journal of Labour Economics,Vol. 36, No. 4.Reddy, Atchi, (2003), A Socio-Economic Profile of the Construction

Workers of Hyderabad City in Anita Banerji, Raj Kumar Sen (ed.),Women and Development.SEWA (1988), Self Employed Women's Association, Annual Report,Ahmedabad.Towards Equality (1974), Report of the Committee on the Status of Womenin India, New Delhi.

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