Informal Sectors in The Economy: Pertinent Issues

INFORMAL SECTORS IN THE
ECONOMY: PERTINENT ISSUES
Editors
Sr. Sindhu P.J (Sr. Sharin CTC) & Lt. Nithin Thomas
Assistant Professors
Department of Economics
St. Xavier’s College for Women, Aluva - 683 101
Bharata Mata College, Thrikkakara-682021
E-mail: srsharin@stxaviersaluva.ac.in
nithinthomasmaliakkal@gmail.com
Informal Sectors in the Economy: Pertinent Issues
© Sr. Sindhu P. J (Sr. Sharin CTC) & Lt. Nithin Thomas
First Edition: July 2019
ISBN: 978-93-89146-14-1
Price: Rs.200/-
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MESSAGE
It is a matter of pride that Sr. Sindhu P.J, Assistant Professor,
Department of Economics, St. Xaviers College for women together
with Lt. Nithin Thomas Assistant Professor and Head, Department
of Economics, Bharata Mata College, Thrikkakara is publishing a
book titled as “Informal Sectors in the Economy: Pertinent Issues”
I congratulate all the contributors and the editors of the book,
Sr. Sindhu P.J and Lt. Nithin Thomas for bringing out such a theme
oriented book. Commendable job has been done by the Editors of
the book in planning for and producing the book. I am extremely
happy to congratulate them and acknowledge their sincere effort in
preparing the book based on theme. I wish them blessings of God
Almighty and all success in their future endeavours too.
Principal
Dr. Sr. Geege Joanamma Xavier (Sr. Shalini CTC)
St. Xavier’s College for Women, Aluva
MESSAGE
I am happy to know that a book on ‘Informal Sectors in the

Economy: Pertinent Issues’ is getting published. This is indeed an
important area which needs special attention. The contribution of
the Informal sector is vital for the growth of the economy. This area
is not researched much among the academic community.
I appreciate the efforts of Sr. Sindhu P.J and Lt. Nithin Thomas to
take initiative to publish an edited work on this crucial topic.
I wish you all success and readers a thoughtful reading
experience.
Principal
Dr. Shiny Palatty
Bharata Mata College, Thrikkakara
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are very happy to see our work is getting published finally.

It took a lot of hard work and patience to complete the editing of
these articles and shaping into a publishable format. We are grateful
to many persons, certain situations and encouragements and much
more. If we try to name them specifically, the list will be unending.
But certain names to be remembered with grateful heart:
 To almighty God who granted us health and long life
without which we could not have finished this work. We
humbly bow our head before the God Almighty for the
stead fast love, constant inspiration and flowing graces in
each and every step of this work to make it a reality.
 To the Principals of both St Xavier’s College for Women,
Aluva and Bharata Mata College, Thrikkakara for their
encouragement and support.
 The HODs of the Department of Economics, St Xavier’s
College for Women, Aluva and Bharata Mata College,
Thrikkakara for their constant care and support.
 To the contributors of the articles to this edited work.
 To the Publisher of the book, Shanlax International
Publication without whom this work could not have
possible.
Finally, we have received sincere help, encouragement and
unstinted cooperation from various quarters. We place on
record our indebtedness and sincere thanks to you all these dear
ones who were all the time behind us to complete this venture.
Sr. Sindhu P.J and Lt. Nithin Thomas

PREFACE
Informal sector or unorganised sector constitutes a pivotal part

of the economy. More than 90 per cent of workforce and about 50
per cent of the national product are accounted by the informal
economy. A high proportion of socially and economically
underprivileged sections of society are concentrated in the informal
economic activities. The informal sector refers to economic activities,
where individuals and small groups of people and families are
engaged in casual work largely unprotected by the welfare
legislations. The informal economy, in general, constitutes all forms
of 'informal employment' i.e. working without a secure contract. The
informal workers include casual workers in restaurants and hotels,
guards, casual or day labourers in construction and agriculture,
piece rates workers in sweetshops, temporary office helpers,
domestic workers, and sale staff and off side data processors and so
on. The presence of the informal economy has been overwhelmingly
large with nearly 94-98% of the poor and vulnerable workers being
part of this economy. Much of the employment growth has been in
the informal sector with casual and irregular nature of work coupled
with low wages.
The subject of informal economy has a considerable multi-
disciplinary appeal and has caught the attention of scholars and
academicians of social science disciplines like economics, sociology,
anthropology etc. There are growing concerns among academicians
and policy makers on the problems faced by the constituents of the
informal economy irrespective of whether they belong to the
category of workers or the self-employed. The reasons and
justifications for the existence of an informal economy are varied but
there is a growing consensus on the need to support the working
poor who constitute the informal economy. All the above factors
have its due importance in the context of the service sector
dominated economy like Kerala. The widely spread service sector in
the State accommodates a large number of informal sector jobs
compared to any other state in India. In this context the objective of
this book is to bring the pertinent issues related to informal sector in
the economy.
The book is an academic evaluation of size, growth and
productivity trends in the informal sectors in the economy and its
prospects. It examines the problems and prospects of Informal sector
and also its major challenges. Importantly, the book discusses the
service sector and its state of employment generation through
informal sector. As it is well known that, employment and service
sector are rarely discussed in many books. Hence this book is
focused in creating an understanding of the importance of Informal
sector in generating employment opportunities and contribution to
GSDP of economy. Thus the high service sector growth in the
economy can be intervened to create better employment generation
rather than a ‘jobless’ growth scenario. With its emphasis on the
informal sector, it is intended to serve as an ideal platform for
present and future researchers.
The book contains papers regarding issues of Informal economy
and it is a collection of thirteen research papers selected based on
their quality in terms of newness in the methodology and themes
which are relevant to policy issues. The contributors bring new
insights from empirical research in a range of economies with
chapters.
Editors
Sr. Sindhu P.J and Lt. Nithin Thomas
CONTENTS
S. No. Title Page No.

1 Employment Generation in the Informal Sector
1
Sreenath U
2 Women in the Informal Sector – A Study from
Ernakulam District of Kerala, India 15
Dr. Taramol K.G
3 Women Workers in Informal Sector in India:
Understanding the Occupational Vulnerability 21
Muthulakshmi R
4 A Comparative Study of the Socio-Economic
Conditions of Women Domestic Workers in
Urban and Rural Kerala with Special Reference to 41
Ernakulam District
Sumi K.S
5 Effects of Monsoon in Indian Economy: Study
among Street Vendors in Kerala 52
Dr. Shibulal A L & Benit Mary Joseph
6 The Gloomy Phase of G.S.T. on Small Scale
Industry and Informal Sector 60
Dr. Remmiya Rajan P & Dr. Reshmi C.P
7 Role of Migrant Labour in Plywood Industry
69
Dr. Vinitha K.B
8 Employee Satisfaction Factors in Informal Sector:
A Study with Special to Rural Coir Workers in
83
Alappuzha
Manikandan A & Dr. P. Veerakumar
9 Problems and Challenges of Women Domestic
Workers in Informal Sector in India 97
Saipriya Sudarsan
10 Critical Analysis of Street Vendors Act (Protection
of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
106
2014
Dr. Shibulal A L & Reshma Elizabeth Cherian
11 Perceived Role of Self-Help Groups in
Empowering Women in the Informal Sector 113
Sulfiya K.S, Dr. M. Geetha & Dr. Vineeth K.M
12 Informal Sector and Women Workers in Kerala
121
Soumya Viswambharan
13 Micro-Enterprises and Small-Scale Industries in
the Informal Sector 127
Sr. Sindhu P.J
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR
Sreenath U
Assistant Professor in Economics
National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune
Email:sreenathunni@gmail.com
Abstract
This article is a small attempt to trace out the history and evolution of the
term ‘informal sector’ in social sciences. It also tries to bring out the
diversification of the term and the various debates which happened on it. Most
importantly this paper rekindles the debate on the perceived productivity and
contribution of the informal sector to the development process.
Keywords: Informal Sector, Rural employment, Urban employment
Introduction
Recently, there has been lot of research and government policies
on the informal sector. “Informal sector activities are largely ignored,
rarely supported, often regulated and sometimes actively discouraged
by the Government.” (Kenya Report, 1972).1 The informal sector
employment even though is the most visible occupation it is still
considered negative. The characteristics of this sector include low
levels of productivity, low wage employment, low-scale of production,
self-employment, unpaid family labour, workplace within household
premises, pre-capitalist modes of production and non-monetary
transactions. The low rate of industrialization and productivity, and the
presence of surplus labour are listed as major reasons for the
emergence of dualistic system in the developing economies (Breman,
1980). There are various adjectives used to represent unorganized
sector such as informal, black, grey, invisible, moonlight, shadow,
parallel, ghetto etc (Williams, 2006;6). The increased focus on informal
sector both by the academicians as well as the policy makers can be
traced to two types of factors namely, economic and cultural or
political (Tokman, 1989: 1067). The economic factors include rapid
increase in the workforce employed in this sector, inability of the
1
As quoted by Bangasser, Paul E. (2000), “The ILO and the Informal Sector: an institutional
history”, Employment Paper 2000/9, ILO.
1
formal sector to absorb the informal labour and increased

understanding of the linkages between poverty and informal
employment. The cultural and political factors include creation of a
new class or a new vote bank for the government (Doan, 1992; Portes,
1985, 2003; Cameron, 1991; Rina Agarwala, 2008). Prabhu Mohapatra
(2005) gives two fallouts in India due to decline in labour movement.
Firstly, there is a drastic decline in industrial disputes initiated from
the side of workers and the trade union, that is, lockouts overwhelm
strikes. Secondly, great industrial centres in India which were formerly
strongholds of trade unions like Kanpur, Jamshedpur, Mumbai etc are
now strongholds of right-wing parties. Mohapatra attributes this shift
to displacement of organized labour movement due to massive
expansion of informal sector.2
Table 1 Size of the informal sector across the world

South &
Informal Sector Latin America & Sub-Saharan
Southeast
as a Share of: the Caribbean Africa
Asia
Non-agricultural
57% 78% 45-85%
employment
Urban
40% 61% 40-60%
employment
New jobs 83% 93% --
Non-agricultural
-- 40% 38%
GDP
Source: Charmes (2000)
Most of the studies on informal sector define it as remunerated
production of goods and services which are legal in themselves, but
hidden from the state for tax evasion and other regulations (De Soto,
1989; Ghersi, 1997; Marcouiller and Young, 1995; Williams, 2004;
Chen et al, 2004). This definition tries to rectify the issue of expanding
informal sector in both developing as well as developed economy. On
the other hand, there are also a few who thinks that the concept of
informal sector is ‘factually incorrect and politically obfuscating’
(Peattie, 1987: 857, I.M.D. Little, 1987: 205). Peattie views that the
concept of informal sector is becoming more popular due because it
serve the purposes of different groups with conflicting interest.
2
Mohapatra, Prabhu P. (2005), Regulated Informality: Legal Constructions of Labour
Relations in Colonial India 1814-1926, in Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi. And Lucassen, Jan.(eds.),
Workers in the Informal Sector Studies in Labour History 1800-2000, New Delhi; Macmillan
India Ltd.
2
“It appeals to liberals with an interest in problems of poverty; to

economic planners who want their accounting systems to represent the
actual economy more adequately; to radicals who want to bring into
planning analysis a more structuralist view of the economy; and to those
who want to ‘privatize’ activities such a housing production, either out of
a populist commitment to action by ‘the people’ or out of a conservative
commitment to restraint in government welfare expenditures.” – Peattie
(1987: 857).
But, informal sector has always existed in both developing as well
as developed economies and there is also evidence that globalization
has helped in the process of informalisation (Unni and Rani, 2008; Sian
Victoria Liu, 2007, Jha, 2003: 53). Sanyal and Bhattacharyya (2009)
views that globalization has helped informalisation in two ways:
 The lifting of trade barriers and free flow of capital has helped
in the free mobility of commodity and capital. Faced with this
competition, firms in the formal sector of developing
economies try to reduce costs by outsourcing production
process to informal units. The informal units have low tax
rates (or even easy for them to evade tax), compliance costs
associated with environment and others are also low.
 The inflow of cheaper goods has caused a contraction of
import-substituting industries and the expansion of export
oriented industries has failed to generate enough employment
opportunities. The neoliberal focuses on increased labour
productivity, capital-intensive technology leading to large
retrenchment of workers have all lead to informalisation.
 The presupposition among early development economists that
modern capitalist sector would absorb the traditional pre-
capitalist economy, transferring both economic resources and
labour did not happen. The capitalist economy did expand by
transferring resources but not labour. As a result a large
number of surplus labour emerged in developing countries
consisting of those displaced by the modern sector and could
not find a job in the new economy.
Historical Evolution of the Concept of Informal Sector

Keith Hart, a British social anthropologist was the first who coined
the term ‘informal sector’ on the basis of his study in Accra, Ghana
(Hart, 1973). Hart challenged the traditional Western view on
3
development which fueled by various development theories such as

trickle down, duality and disguised unemployment. For him, informal
sector was not composed of ‘marginal activities’ and neither was it a
reminder of the pre-capitalist period which would be absorbed into the
modern sector with development process (Williams and
Windebank,1998: 117). Hart distinguished between formal and
informal income opportunities on the basis of wage-earning and self-
employment. The key variable, according to him, is the ‘degree of
rationalisation’ of work or more clearly whether or not labour is
recruited on a permanent and regular basis for fixed rewards (Hart:
1973: 68).3 Hart classifies the income opportunities into ‘formal’ and
‘informal’ income opportunities (the formal income includes public
sector wages, private sector wages and transfer payments). Informal
incomes are again classified into legitimate and illegitimate.4 Hart uses
this classification to illustrate the wide range of income opportunities
available in an urban area. He also talks about ‘multiple’ informal
employment, i.e. an individual would be doing different jobs in the
informal sector. Hart views this preference for diversity of income
streams has its roots in the traditional risk-aversion of peasants under
conditions of extreme uncertainty, and is justified by the insecurity of
urban workers.5 A case study is used by Hart to point how informal
employment acts as buffer for those who are ‘out of work’ against
destitution or dependence on others. 6 Hart’s analysis changed the way
in which social scientists looked at this sector from ‘residual’, ‘low-
productivity’, ‘reserve army of unemployed and underemployed’ etc; to
3
The article quoted here is titled “Informal Income Opportunities and
Urban Employment in Ghana” which was published in The Journal of
Modern African Studies in 1973 (Vol. 11, No. 1).
4
Legitimate income includes all income obtained legally (begging is also
part of it and can be called private transfer payments). On the other hand,
illegitimate income includes income from drug-peddling, smuggling,
corruption, theft, prostitution, gambling etc.
5
See Hart, Keith (1973). P 78.
6
See Hart, Keith (1973), p 79-81. Hart gives the case of an ex-serviceman
Atinga, who starts a bar with the money he gets from the army. Atinga not
only manage the bar business but also do odd-jobs to supplement the
income of the family like working as watchman. The bar finally has to
close down but till the day Atinga gets job as escort policeman, it was the
bar which supported his family.
4
a dynamic sector with entrepreneurs lacking capital which is

compensated by the ingenuity and innovation. The proliferation of
small informal enterprises provided an explanation for the puzzle left
unanswered by earlier theories on how the migrant poor managed to
adapt and survive within the constraints of peripheral urban
economies.7
Reflecting the concern on widespread unemployment, the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) mounted a series of multi-
disciplinary ‘employment missions’ to various developing countries
(Bangasser, 2000: 4-13; ILO; 2002: 16).8 In the next year, an ILO agency
popularized this term in relation to Third World Economies in a
document prepared by the ILO Employment Strategy Mission in
Kenya.9 The Kenya Report also observed the fact that informal sector is
the sector which has grown faster in spite of governmental
indifference, creating more employment opportunities. This report for
the first time divided the whole economy into two sectors, namely
formal and informal sector, building on the celebrated work of Arthur
Lewis on dualistic economy. The ILO team defined the informal sector
using seven different criteria which are given below;
 Ease of entry;
 Reliance on indigenous resources;
 Family ownership of enterprises;
 Small scale of operation;
 Labour-intensive and adapted technology;
 Skills which are acquired outside the formal schooling system;
and
 Unregulated and uncompetitive markets.10
The ILO’s usage of the term ‘informal sector’ is different from Hart’s
view on the term. According to Hart, the work force in informal sector
does participate in wage work. This category as discussed above also
includes income from illegitimate or criminal activities like theft,
7
See Portes and Schauffler, 1993, p 39.
8
By late 60s, it was recognized as a fact that the ‘trickle down effects’ were not enough for
development. This led the ILO to start a series of large and multi-disciplinary ‘employment
missions’ to various developing countries. The first of this mission was to Kenya in 1972 and
their report is known as the Kenya Report (Chen, et al, 2004; Tokman, 1989).
9
For a detailed discussion on the employment mission to various countries and their reports
see, Moser, Caroline (1978), “Informal Sector of Petty Commodity Production: Dualism or
Dependence in Urban Development”, World Development, Vol. 6, No. 9/10, p 1042-55.
10
For a detailed analysis of the Kenya Report see Bangasser, Paul E. (2000), The ILO and the
Informal Sector: An Institutional History, Employment paper 2000/9, International Labour
Organisation.
5
smuggling, prostitution etc. He uses the term informal sector along

with other terms in political economy like ‘petty capitalism’, ‘reserve
army of unemployed and underemployed’, ‘sub-proletariat’ etc. The
ILO used this term as a way of describing the structure of the economy
as a whole in the terminology of policy makers (Peattie, 1987; 854).
The major difference between both is that when Hart focuses on
informal sector as alternative forms of income sources for individuals,
the ILO’s focus is more on a ‘bundle of characteristics’ of the informal
enterprises.
But, some of the early forms of the informal sector were the
‘bazaar-economy’ and the ‘firm centred economy’ (Geertz, 1963). The
‘petty commodity production’ approach provides a completely
different framework for the analysis.11 It focuses more on the
relationship between the two sectors than defining the two sectors
(Moser, 1978: 1055-1060; Patnaik, 2006; Trager, 1987: 244). This
approach also recognizes the internal differences which exist in the
economy. The inability of the dualistic model to take care of complex
informal-formal linkages like subcontracting, outsourcing, etc also led
to the importance of petty commodity production. The earlier Marxist
economists viewed this urban marginal mass as an “excess reserve
army” that exceeded the labour reserve requirements of the Third
World economies and hence had no function for economic
accumulation.12 Thus, other than petty commodity production
approach there was no proper economic theory to explain the informal
sector more systematically, until Hart coined the term in early 70s.
Alternative Views on Informal Sector

The diversity of activities in the informal sector makes it difficult to
define, and their connections with formal sector make it difficult to
draw clear boundaries. Various issues had also come up with this
concept of informal sector. To lump such a vast workforce into
categories viewed as ‘marginal’, ‘informal’, ‘unorganised’, ‘peripheral’,
‘atypical’ or ‘underground economy’ seemed absurd because now the
11
The term ‘petty commodity production’ was used originally by Marx in his historical
analysis of the transition of European feudalism to capitalism.
12
Quoted in Portes and Schauffler, 1993; p38. The “marginality” theory has two traditions.
The economists in the first tradition have seen marginality as the result of a failure to
incorporate rural migrants into the modern urban industries. Writers in the second tradition
(Marxist) view that marginality is connected to uneven development, especially economic
dependency (Peattie, 1987; 852).
6
mainstream is shrinking and margins are getting wider (Bhatt, 2006; p

10). For some economists, the term ‘informal’ itself is derogatory and
the workers are depicted as marginalized, underprivileged, dying to be
formalized and low level of skills (Marjit and Kar, 2009: 61). Susan
Bullock (1994) also raises many questions like;
 Can something which makes up over half (or maybe more than
that) the economic life of a city be called ‘informal’?
 Is the informal sector not a Western concept, based on the
belief that industrial production and waged labour are or
should be the norm?
 Is the sector viewed as informal because it provides
employment for so many marginalized sections in the society
like women, urban poor etc?
 Do people struggling for survival see their own labour as
informal?13
During the 70s, the debate on informal sector was concentrated on
‘definitional concepts’ and ‘methodology’. By 1992, terms like informal
activity (sector or economy), self-employment, subcontracting,
microenterprise, underground economy and casual work dominated
the scene and other terms like dualism, petty commodity production,
traditional sector etc have fallen out of favour (Rakowski, 1994;
502).But over the years, debates on what gives rise to informal sector,
its defining characteristics and its link to the formal structure etc,
crystallized into four ‘overlapping’ dominant schools of thought. They
are the dualist school (Hart, 1973; Tokman, 1978), the structuralist
school (Moser, 1978; Castells, 1989), the legalist school (De Soto, 1989;
Chen, et al, 2004; Gerxhani, 2004; Portes and Schauffler, 1993 etc) and
parasitic school (closely related to De Soto and Lewis). “The discussion
of alternative perspectives on informality brings into sharp focus the
question of the most appropriate way to define and measure the
informal sector” (Henley et al., 2006).
The dualist school was made popular by ILO with its approach
being used in the World Employment Programmes (WEP) reports. It
was also called the PRELAC approach due to the terms use by this Latin
American think tank (Rakowski, 1994; 503). This school views that the
main objective of an informal enterprise is to ensure the survival of the
13
See Bullock, Susan (1994); “Women and Work” in Women and Development Series, Zed
Books Ltd., p 56-69.
7
individual and his/her family when compared with the view of formal
sector, which is to generate profit. Thus, this approach identifies two
types of informal activities, namely the survival strategies of
‘extremely’ poor and for the workforce who have lost their job or
whose incomes have reduced due to recession, implementation of
structural adjustment policies etc (Rakowski, 1994; 503). According to
this school, the persistence of informal activities is largely due to the
fact that not enough opportunities are available in the formal sector
needed to absorb the surplus labour (Chen, et al, 2004). This can be
either due to rise in population growth rate or due to a slow rate of
formal sector growth. This indirectly means this school views that the
path to development is through increasing the employment in modern
sector. The Kenya Report emphasized the need for increased
governmental support to the urban informal sector and defined the
informal sector using seven different criteria which have been already
discussed above. The disadvantage with such an analysis is that
informal sector is seen something as a ‘simple survival mechanism’
than a dynamic sector as conceived by Hart. Another issue with this
school of thought is that its analysis leaves little room for analysis of
interactions between informal sector and the rest of the economy. 14
The legalist school viewed that informal sector is comprised of
‘plucky’ entrepreneurs who choose to operate informally in order to
avoid costs, time and effort of formal registration. The dynamism in
Hart’s analysis of informal sector was in, as Alejandro Portes said
‘rescued’ by a Peruvian economist named Hernando De Soto in 80s
(but in a very different way).15 According to De Soto, informal sector
would continue to grow as long as government procedures are
cumbersome, costly and unreasonable. 16 He viewed that many Latin
American states survived by granting privileges of legal participation in
the economy to a elite section in the society. Thus, informality is the
popular response that successfully breaks down this legal barrier
14
The dynamism of informal enterprise and its manifold connections with larger firms are
central issues entirely missed by an analysis that defines the sector as consisting of survival
activities engaged in by a surplus labour (Portes and Schauffler, 1993; p 46).
15
Bromley (1990: 336) also mentions about the difference between Hart’s ideas on informal
sector and that of the ILO team which wrote the Kenya Report.
16
This effectively links the emergence of informal sector to transaction costs and
government’s policies. De Soto was of the view that informality can be seen mainly in
construction, commerce and public transportation. For a detailed discussion on that see
Ghershi, Enrique (1997), “The Informal Economy in Latin America”, Cato Journal, Vol.17,
No. 1.
8
(Portes and Schauffler, 1993). This reasoning leads to an interesting

conclusion, that is, informality represents the eruption of ‘real’ market
forces in ‘an economy straitjacketed by regulation’ (Bromley, 1990). De
Soto defines ‘formality’ as the situation where all laws and regulations
are complied with, and he goes on to define ‘criminality’ as acts
performed against official laws, basic morality and public interest.
‘Informality’, according to De Soto is between formality and
criminality; that is, the activities in this sector may be unofficial but it is
not immoral because it doesn’t break any moral codes (Bromley, 1990;
Ghershi, 1997).17 Portes and Schauffler (1993: 40) feels that legalist
perspective makes the informal sector an ‘economic hero’ who
manages to survive and even prosper despite state oppression. The
main criticism which legalist school has to face is that it doesn’t
recognize the heterogeneity of the informal sector. The second
criticism of De Soto’s view is that even he tends to see the market as
segmented, which is, separate market for formal and informal. It is a
fact that many informal sector enterprises are initiated and supported
by formal sector for many reasons like reducing operating costs,
avoidance of legal regulations (which can increase the cost) etc. “The
principal criticism of De Soto and the ILD concerning measurement is
their failure to estimate the magnitude of informality for all of Latin
America. Even the figures offered for Lima and for all of Peru are of
dubious value because of obscure data sources and the ad hoc
character of some estimates” (Portes and Schauffler, 1993: 47).
The structuralist school, popularized by Caroline Moser and
Alexandro Portes in the late 70s, subscribes to the notion that the
informal sector is very closely linked to the formal sector and it works
to reduce the input costs for capitalist firms, thereby increasing its
competitiveness (Chen, et al, 2004; Portes and Schauffler,1993). This
school views that the nature of capitalist development accounts for the
persistence and growth of informal production relations (Chen, et al,
2004). The two main points of difference between the above two
schools is that structuralist views nature of capitalist development
which accounts for the growth of informal sector; on the other hand,
the dualist views the lack of the growth of the formal sector as the
reason. The second difference is that while the dualist views the
informal sector as separate from the formal sector, the structuralist
views both formal as well as informal to be part of the same economic
system (Portes and Schauffler, 1993).
17
As quoted in Rafael La Porta and Andrei Shleifer
9
Finally, the parasitic school “emphasis on the illegality of informal

activities and presents them as a means to gain an unfair advantage in
their competition with formal counterparts” (Jutting and Laiglesia,
2009: 20). In a gist, it is indeed very similar to the legalist view as well
as to the structuralist school. It is considered similar to legalist school
because of its views on excessive governmental regulation and similar
to structuralist school due to the fact that informal sector is viewed as
subordinate to the formal sector, by way of subcontracting and
recruitment of workers informally.18
At one notice, it seems that the arguments advanced by De Soto are
very similar to the arguments of the neo-classical economists. But, both
are completely different and even though there are some parallels in
their arguments like centrality of market and need for less government
intervention. The argument of Ronald Coase in his earlier paper “The
Nature of Firm” (1937) critically examines the role of market
mechanism. The neo-classical view that co-ordination function can be
“settled by” price mechanism.19 But, Coase questioned this by raising
the emergence of organization or firm, i.e. if the market system is
efficient why should there be firms. Coase gives two main reasons for
the emergence of the firm. Firstly, he introduces the concept of
‘transaction costs’ to explain this.20 According to Coase, there are three
main costs associated with using the market; namely information costs,
costs associated with negotiating and concluding a contract for each
exchange in the market. “A factor of production does not have to make
a series of contracts with the other factors when it is operating in a
firm. Secondly, regulatory measures like taxes, rationing doesn’t affect
the transactions if they are organized within the firm. Thus, Coase
defines the firm as a system of relationships which comes into
existence when the ‘direction of resources’ is dependent on an
entrepreneur than on price mechanism. If this is the case then there
should exist only big firms; Coase gives an explanation for this
18
This view on informal sector is associated with the empirical studies by
the McKinsey Global Institute (Rafael La Porta and Andrei Shleifer, 2008:
2).
19
In a way, this means that supply is automatically adjusted to demand, and
production to consumption by an automatic, elastic and responsive process
(Sir Arthur Salter as quoted by Coase in The Nature of the Firm).
20
Coase doesn’t use the term ‘transaction cost’ in his work, instead he uses
the term ‘cost of using price mechanism’.
10
phenomenon also. As a firm gets bigger, the costs of organizing

additional transactions within the firm may rise. Secondly, with an
increased number of transactions, the entrepreneur fails to place the
factors where their value is greatest. “Similarly he notes that the basic
structure of capitalism is governed by the organizational power than
the invisible hand of price mechanism, i.e. the entrepreneur and price
mechanism are perhaps alternate to each other than one governs the
other.
Douglas North also supports Coase’s view on organization by
stating that the organized structure involves a lesser cost than the
unorganized one. But, this runs quite contrary to what De Soto
mentions about informality. Coase and North’s view on organization
(mainstream neo-classical view on organisation prevailing now) can be
questioned on the ground of their theorization on information,
competition and efficiency. According to them, information costs occur
due to less number of buyers and sellers, thereby leading to
inefficiency. That means if there is more buyers and sellers then lesser
would be the information costs (transaction costs) which results in
efficiency. This supports the argument for informality because
informality increases the number of firms (buyers and sellers). Thus,
higher the number of firms less would be the information costs and
more would be the efficiency. Similarly, larger number of firms implies
that there is a higher level of linkages in the informal sector. This leads
us to conclude that the prevalence of informal sector leads to efficiency
by reducing the information costs through increased interactions.
One of the most comprehensive recent definitions of informal
sector was given by NCEUS (2007:3), "The unorganised sector consists
of all unincorporated private enterprises owned by individuals or
households engaged in the sale and production of goods and services
operated on a proprietary or partnership basis and with less than ten
total workers”. “The two common points of analysis of informal sector
among all the above mentioned schools can be summarized as
‘heterogeneity’ and ‘linkages’.
Conclusion
The informal sector is considered heterogeneous because it
exhibits a wide variety of activities and income among formal
entrepreneurs and enterprises. It encompasses such a diversity of
activities and situations that it represents a heterogeneous universe,
11
irreducible to any subset of specific rules of economic calculations

(Portes, Castells and Benton, 1989; 25). The street seller selling
vegetables and a small entrepreneur have different sets of problems,
even though they are in the same sector. The whole question is how to
differentiate various activities. There is no general approach to classify
the informal sector into sub-sectors and many authors use different
terms as well as different criteria for classifying. Breman (1980) views
that systematic classification of informal sector activities is not
possible. Davis et al. (1992) view that attempts at grouping small firms
into categories have resulted in a variety of approaches, even leading to
a situation where the same terms have been used without an accurate
definition by different people to mean different things.
Tokman (1989) talks about the need for differentiating between
those enterprises using additional labour (whether paid or unpaid) and
those activities performed by only one person. This classification is
based on differentiating the participants rather than enterprises.
Structuralists also try to distinguish between informal sector through
the criteria of technological advancement, export orientation and
relative autonomy (Portes, Castells and Benton, 1989; 303). The
informal sector may not limit themselves to the production of labour
intensive, low-technology goods and maybe able to capture the niche
market. Portes, Castell and Benton give the example of Cuban small-
scale enterprises which had moved towards a wide variety of
consumer goods. This sector may not limit its supplies to local market
and may even concentrate on export markets. Tokman (1989; 1069-
70) again brings another way of looking at heterogeneity by analyzing
the sector’s relationship to the rest of the economy (very similar to one
of the criteria used by Portes, Castell and Benton). Tokman views that
informal sector has less access to capital and skills, and also use
obsolete technology leading to its subordination to the formal sector.
The issues stem exactly from the above points of discussion. The
recent government initiatives such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Start-Up India’
etc might be insufficient to address specific requirements of the sector.
Thus, in many ways the informal sector acts as the cost-cutting arm of
the organized or informal sector. The unorganized sector operating in
manufacturing sector can’t in any way be compared to those in the
non-farm sector in rural areas.
12
References
1. Bangasser, Paul E. (2000), “The ILO and the Informal Sector:
an institutional history”, Employment Paper 2000/9, ILO
2. Evans, M., Syrett, S., & Williams, C. C. (2006). The informal
economy and deprived neighbourhoods: A systematic
review. London: Department of Local Government and Regions.
3. Tokman, V. E. (1989). Policies for a heterogeneous informal
sector in Latin America. World Development, 17(7), 1067-1076.
4. Portes, A., & Haller, W. (2010). 18 The Informal Economy. The
handbook of economic sociology, 403.
5. Mohapatra, P., Bhattacharya, S., & Lucassen, J. (2004). Workers
in the Informal Sector: Studies in Labour History, 1800–2000.
6. Charmes, J. (2000). The contribution of informal sector to GDP
in developing countries: Assessment, estimates, methods,
orientations for the future.
7. De Soto, H. (1989). The other path (p. 17133). New York:
Harper & Row.
8. Ghersi, E. (1997). The informal economy in Latin America. Cato
J., 17, 99.
9. Marcouiller, D., & Young, L. (1995). The black hole of graft: the
predatory state and the informal economy. The American
Economic Review, 85(3), 630-646.
10. Williams, C. (2004). Small Businesses in the Informal economy:
making the transition to the formal economy.
11. Chen, M. A., Vanek, J., & Carr, M. (2004). Mainstreaming
informal employment and gender in poverty reduction: A
handbook for policy-makers and other stakeholders.
Commonwealth Secretariat.
12. Peattie, L. (1987). An idea in good currency and how it grew:
the informal sector. World development, 15(7), 851-860.
13. Little, I. M. (1987). Small manufacturing enterprises in
developing countries. The World Bank Economic Review, 1(2),
203-235.
14. Unni, J., & Rani, U. (2008). Flexibility of labour in globalizing
India: the challenge of skills and technology. Tulika Books.
15. Liu, S. V. (2007). ‘Social Positions’ Neighborhood Transitions
After Danwei. Chapter Three), in Ching Kwan Lee (ed.), Working
in China, New York: Routledge, 38-55.
13
16. Jha, P. (2003). Issues relating to employment in India in the era

of globalisation. Social Scientist, 47-65.
17. Sanyal, K., & Bhattacharyya, R (2009), Beyond the factory:
Globalisation, Informalisation of Production and the New
Locations of Labour, Economic and Political Weekly, 35-44.
18. hirlwall, A. P. (2003). The nature of economic growth: an
alternative framework for understanding the performance of
nations. Edward Elgar Publishing.
19. Ray, D. (1998). Development economics. Princeton University
Press.
20. Haggblade, Steven (2007), “Alternative Perceptions of the
Rural Nonfarm Economy”, in Haggblade et al (ed),
“Transforming the Rural Nonfarm Economy”, New Delhi:
Oxford University Press.
21. Chandra, Rajesh. (1992), “Industrialization and Development
in the Third World”, London: Routledge
22. Wellisz, Stanislaw. "Dual economies, disguised unemployment
and the unlimited supply of labour." Economica 35, no. 137
(1968): 22-51.
23. Ranis, G. (1973). Industrial sector labor absorption. Economic
Development and Cultural Change, 21(3), 387-408.
14
WOMEN IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR – A STUDY

FROM ERNAKULAM DISTRICT OF KERALA, INDIA
Dr. Taramol K.G

Faculty of Economics, Manipal University, Dubai
Email:tarapratheesh@gmail.com
Abstract
The study aims to know the role Kudumbasree in improving the status of
women. The mission of Kudumbashree is “to eradicate absolute poverty in ten
years through concerted community action under the leadership of local
governments, by facilitating organization of poor for combining self help with
demand led convergence of available services and resources to tackle the multiple
dimensions and manifestation of poverty holistically”. Women empowerment
initiatives through micro finance operations, micro enterprise promotion and
convergent community action constitute the core activities of kudumbashree.
These activities are carried out through community based organizations (CBO) of
women below the poverty line. The study used both empirical and descriptive
evidence. The overall progress of the Kudumbashree project assessed with the
help of secondary data which were collected from Economic Review, books,
periodicals, newspapers, internet etc., Primary data was collected through a field
survey. The sample population for the field survey comprised a total of 120
respondents from Ernakulum district who claimed to have successfully engaged
in the self employment programme. The finding revealed that the Kudumbashree
programme has made a dramatic change in the economic life of women. The
Kudumbashree women disclosed the feeling that they are getting good
psychological support from the group, they got freedom over the money they
earned through their self employment and they are free from the hands of money
lenders.
Keywords: Informal sector, CBO, Kudumbashree
Introduction
India’s informal sector is the backbone of the economy. It employs
the vast majority of the workforce, and the formal sector depends on
its goods and services. The nations quality of life hinges on the things
becoming better for masses of informally employed people. Women,
although are found engaged in all the activities contributing to the
family welfare, they are not considered as workers. They work from
dawn to dusk but in 'manpower' planning statistics this is not
considered as employment. Here, undoubtedly the question arises as to
why does woman's works go unaccounted, unrecognized, unaccepted
and underpaid? According to economists, statisticians, planners and
policy makers, activities performed by women in informal sector lack
15
official visibility in statistics. This happens due to negative attitude

towards women prevailing in the society which induces a lower status
for women and which must be overcome by giving them equal
weightage, recognition and extra care with full respect. Because, if this
gender bias goes on, it will become a big hurdle towards human
development.
Though statistics reveal the increase in women's employment in
Kerala's 'informal' sector, this employment is more in the nature of
casual and irregular, contractual labour. Moreover, though women's
earnings contribute substantially to the household, this is often
denigrated. Women, especially in the lower classes and the lower
castes, not only have to cope with physical hardships that impact their
health, they continue to be paid much lower wages than men in the
same category.
Rural women are key agents for achieving the transformational
economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable
development. But limited access to credit, health care and education
are among the many challenges they face. The mission of
kudumbashree is “to eradicate absolute poverty in ten years through
concerted community action under the leadership of local
governments, by facilitating organization of poor for combining self
help with demand led convergence of available services and resources
to tackle the multiple dimensions and manifestation of poverty
holistically”. Women empowerment initiatives through micro finance
operations, micro enterprise promotion and convergent community
action constitute the core activities of kudumbashree. These activities
are carried out through community based organizations (CBO) of
women below the poverty line. The CBOs functions in a three tier
structure. The lowest tier constitutes the Neighborhood Group
(Ayalkoottam in Malayalam) consisting of 20-40 women members
selected from the poor families. Meetings are convened on a weekly
basis in the houses of NHG members. In the meeting, the various
problems faced by the group members are discussed along with
suggestions for improving the situation4
Methodology
The study used both empirical and descriptive. Primary and
secondary data have been made use for the analysis. The overall
progress of the Kudumbashree project is being assessed with the help
of secondary data which are collected from Economic Review, books,
periodicals, newspapers, internet etc.,
16
Primary data was collected through a field survey. The sample

population for the field survey comprises a total of 120 respondents
from Ernakulum district, Kerala State, who claimed to have
successfully engaged in the self employment programme. The sample
selection was on systematic random sampling. The questionnaire was
developed to assess their economic development after their
participation in Kudumbashree programme.
Results and Discussion

The data obtained through the study was analyzed using
appropriate statistical techniques. The finding reveals that the
Kudumbashree programme has made a dramatic change in the
economic life of women. By participating in various income generating
activities, the morale and confidence of women become very high. The
Kudumbashree women disclose the feeling that they are getting good
psychological support from the group, they got freedom over the
money they earned through their self employment and they are free
from the hands of money lenders.
Table 1 Economic status of the respondents

Number of
Particulars Percentage
Respondents
BPL 100 83
APL 20 17
Since kudumbashree NHGs are conceptually targeted to weaker
sessions, it would be interesting to look at the economic status of the
selected members, It is found from the table- 1 that of the total
respondents ,83% of women fall under BPL category, and 17% of
women fall under APL category.
Table 2 Occupational status before joining the

kudumbashree programme
Frequency of
Respondents
No specified jobs 70 58
self employed 25 21
Coolies 15 13
others 10 8
17
From table – 2 it can be observed that 58% that of the respondents

were not having specified jobs before joining the kudumbashree
programme and only8% reported that they were having small projects
like tailoring, goat rearing and handicrafts works before joining the
kudumbashree programme.
Table 3 Borrowing pattern of the members

Pre- Post-
Particulars Percentage Percentage
NHG NHG
Money 35 70 8 16
lenders
Banks and 5 10 4 8
societies
NHGs 0 0 32 64
others 10 20 6 12
Money lenders accounted for the major source of borrowing for all
the respondents during the pre NHG situation. However after the
intervention of the programme, the borrowing pattern has thoroughly
changed and the share of money lenders came down to 8%NHGs stand
as the major source of credit for more than 60% of the sample.
Table 4 Types of assistance availed from NHGs for starting income

generating activities.
Frequency of
Respondents
Loan facility 100 84
Skill training 10 8
programme and loan
Marketing of 10 8
products and loan
Table 3 shows the types of assistance availed from NHGs for

starting income generating activities. 84% of the respondents get
assistance in the form of loan facility.8% respondents gets assistance in
the form of skill training and bank loan facility. Only 8% reported that
they got marketing assistance from their groups.
18
Saving pattern of the respondents after joining the kudumbashree

programme
Types of Frequency of
Percentage
Savings Respondents
Postal 16 14
Co-operative 4 3
banks
Chitty 30 25
NHG 70 58
The Table-4 shows that the possession of basic amenities of

kudumbashree members.58% reported that they have savings in NHG.
25% of the members have savings in Chitty and 14% of them have
savings in postal savings account. But only 3% of them have their
savings in co-operative banks.
Conclusion
Neighborhood Groups have become powerful instrument in
providing access of banking services to poor also in mobilizing their
small savings. Many studies highlight that NHGs have been successful
in inculcating saving habits among the poor, enabling the rural
households to take up larger productive activities, empowering the
poor women and in reducing their dependence on exploitative local
money lenders. Thus NHGs have helped to generate and collect small
savings from rural women. The financial management of the women is
remarkable as they are literate enough to spend their earning firstly for
the educational purpose of their children and for the repayment of old
debts which in the long run can improve their economic condition.
The Mission believes that poverty reduction and women
empowerment are two sides of the same coin. Women’s ability to work
in groups is emerging as an important economic base at the base of the
developmental pyramid. Women managed in groups are showing
remarkable results all over the country. The levels and approaches
used in women groups can be divided into Economic empowerment,
social empowerment, political empowerment, Physical empowerment,
Mental Empowerment, Familial Empowerment and Personal
empowerment etc. Women have become leaders who have control
over time, resources and produce. Increased financial returns and
sustainable employment opportunities have given them a sense of
security and the much needed hope for the future
19
References
1. Beena, S.(2012). Empowerment of Women in the Informal
Sector I Kerala: A Study with Special Reference to
Kudumbashree Project, PhD Thesis, Kottayam.
2. Chandrasekhar, K.S., and Sivaprakash, C.S., 2012. SHGs and
socio-economic empowerment: A descriptive analysis based
on Kudumbashree project in Kerala .International Journal of
Business and Management Tomorrow, 2(2), 1-10.
3. Jacob John., 2009. A Study on KDS project-a poverty
eradication programme in Kerala, Planning Commission, p.18
4. Mridule Eapen,. 2001. Women in Informal Sector in Kerala,
Economic & Pplitical Weekly, 36(26).
5. Neena Tapan., 2010. micro credit, self help groups and women
empowerment, New Delhi: New century publications,p.118
6. Pillai.J.K., 1995. Women Empowerment, New Delhi; Gyan
Publishing House, p.1.
7. Reports of Economics and Statistical Department, (2002)
Government of Kerala.
8. Sharma Pramila, Fulekar.M.H. And Pathak Bhawana., 2012.
E-waste -A Challenge for Tomorrow, Research journal of Recent
Sciences, (1)3,86-93
20
WOMEN WORKERS IN INFORMAL SECTOR IN

INDIA: UNDERSTANDING THE OCCUPATIONAL
VULNERABILITY
Muthulakshmi R
Assistant Professor, Bharata Mata College
Research Scholar, Cusat
Email:muthulakshmiiyer@rediffmail.com
Abstract
Indian economy’s Pivotal part is constituted by Unorganized or informal
sector. The Informal economy accounts for the 90 percent of workforce and about
50 percent of the national product. A high proportion of socially and
economically underprivileged sections of society are concentrated in the informal
economic activities. Employment is generally a larger source of employment for
women than for men in the developing world as far as informal sector is
concerned. The informal economy in India employs about 86 per cent of the
country’s work force and 91 per cent of its women workers. Many of these women
workers are primary earners for their families. Their earnings are necessary for
sheer survival. Low income women workers, especially in the informal sector
form one of the most vulnerable groups in the Indian economy. Given their
vulnerable status at home and at work, income generation alone may not
improve the socio-economic status of women attached to the informal sector.
Their economic empowerment needs to go along with political empowerment,
which could improve their bargaining power both in household and at work. This
means that organizing women workers in the informal economy could have
beneficial impacts on their work and their life if such organization combines
voices representation along with access to resources such as credit and
information- a holistic strategy that provides political empowerment allied with
economic empowerment. The present study aims at understanding the degree of
vulnerability of the women workers in informal sector in India. Towards fulfilling
the objective, a small study has been conducted in the district of Ernakulam, to
find out the realities. Results suggest that a highly visible percentage of
occupational group irrespective of their monthly average income, continue to
face multiple constraints which otherwise compel them to live a life full of
compromises.
Keywords: Informal Sector, Women Workers, Gender Discrimination, Migration,

Degree of Vulnerability
Introduction
A great majority of people in the developing nations are under the
line of poverty. They are deprived of adequate access to the basic needs
of life such health, education, housing, food, security, employment,
21
justice and equality. Issues of sustainable livelihood, social and political

participation of the vulnerable groups exists as the major problem in
the developing nations. Governments have failed to guarantee people’s
right in the implementation level. People who belong to the vulnerable
groups are unable to acquire and use their rights. (Chatterjee &
Sheoran2007) Human right applies universally to all.
The process of identifying vulnerable groups within the health and
human right generated from the pressing reality on the ground that
steamed from the fact that there are certain groups who are vulnerable
and marginalized lacking full enjoyment of a wide range of human
rights, including rights to political participation, health and education.
Vulnerability within the right to health framework means deprivation
of certain individuals and groups whose rights have been violated from
the exercising agency (Yamin, 2005). Certain groups in the society
often encounter discriminatory treatment and need special attention to
avoid potential exploitation. This population constitutes what is
referred to as Vulnerable Groups. Vulnerable groups are disadvantaged
as compared to others mainly on account of their reduced access to
medical services and the underlying determinants of health such as
safe and potable drinking water, nutrition, housing, sanitation etc.
(Chatterjee & Sheoran 2007)
Quality of employment has been one of the main concerns in
labour market studies in developing countries. In India, the reported
status of a worker as “employed_ does not necessarily imply a
reasonable level of earnings; nor does it reflect the status of living of
workers. This is particularly evident from the fact that while the
unemployment rate even by the highest estimate was 8.3%, the
percentage of people below the poverty line was as high as 28% in
2004-05. It essentially implies that the problem in India is not only of
unemployment but also of low productivity of work in which the poor
are engaged. “Inclusive growth_ being one of the central concerns of
the growth process India is presently following, improving the quality
of work and raising levels of living standards of workers occupy the
central place in the overall growth process This will definitely open up
avenues towards reducing the occupational vulnerability of informal
women workers at large.
22
Employment in the Informal Sector

An important aspect of quality of employment in India is the
predominance of the informal sector. The size of the organized sector,
characterized by higher earnings and job security is small, it accounted
for less than 6% of the total employment in 2004-05. Around two-
thirds of the total organized sector employment is in the public sector.
Over the years, organized sector employment has grown more slowly
than the total employment, reflecting the faster growth of employment
in the unorganized sector. As a result, there has been increasing
informalisation of employment over the years. This informalisation has
been more pronounced in the case of female workers. As a whole,
about 96% of female employment is in the unorganized sector as
against about 91% of males. In urban areas, the percentage of
unorganized sector workers is close to 65-70%. Not all of them are
poor but crude estimates suggest that close to half of this number is in
dire need of occupational up-scaling. A large proportion of the workers
engaged in the urban unorganized sector is migrants from rural areas
with poor educational, training and skill background and are employed
in low-paying, semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. The productivity and
earning levels in most of the enterprises are low and do not often
provide full time work to those engaged. For the employees, the
working environment is not conducive; working hours are long and
most of the conditions of decent employment (e.g. paid leave, pension,
bonus, medical support and health insurance, maternity leave benefits,
compensation against accident, etc.) are nearly non-existent. The past
trends and all the available evidence suggest that the bulk of the
growth in employment in future will come from the unorganized
sector. It will be an important challenge to ensure that employment in
this sector consists of jobs with safe conditions of work, decent and
growing earnings and a measure of income and social security.
Moreover, increasing the proportion of organized sector employment
will be an important task to accomplish in the near future.
Categories of Workers in the Informal Sector

Indian economy has preponderance of informal and unorganised
sector both in terms of number of workers and enterprises. This
segment of economy has inbuilt vulnerabilities, and the study of
unorganised sector based on reliable data is important for informed
decision making and addressing the problems faced. The biggest
23
problem with the informal sector in India is that here is no precise

information about the total number of workers what to say of women
engaged in this sector and also their respective ratios in various
diversified occupations. The Report of the National Commission for
Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector highlights the existence and
qualification of unorganised or informal workers, defined as those who
do not have employment security, work security and social security.
This universe of informal workers now constitutes 92 per cent of the
total workforce. Informal wage employment is comprised of employees
of informal enterprises as well as various types of informal wage
workers who work for formal enterprises, households, or who have no
fixed employer.
The women workers in the informal sector work as piece rate
workers, self-employed workers, paid workers in informal enterprises,
unpaid workers in family business, casual workers without fixed
employers, sub-contract workers limited to formal enterprises. Home-
based workers and street vendors are two of the largest sub-groups of
the informal workforce: home-based workers are numerous but street
vendors are more visible of the two. Taken together they represent an
estimated 10-25 per cent of the non-agricultural workforce in
developing countries and over 5 per cent of the total workforce in
developed countries (World Bank, 2000). On the basis of previous
researches and other reports, following categories of women workers
in the informal sector have been identified:
1. Rag Pickers: Rag Picker is a person who salvages reusable or
recyclable materials thrown away by others to sell or for personal
consumption. There are millions of waste pickers worldwide,
predominantly in developing countries. Forms of rag picking have been
practiced since antiquity, but modern traditions of waste picking took
root during industrialisation in the nineteenth century. Over the past
half-century, waste picking has expanded vastly in the developing
world due to urbanisation. Over the past half century, in-country
migration and increased fertility rates have caused the population of
cities in the developing world to mushroom. The global population of
urban dwellers is expected to double between 1987 and 2015, with
90% of this growth occurring in developing countries. Much of the new
population has settled in urban slums and squatter settlements, which
have expanded rapidly with no central planning. The United Nations
Habitat Report found that nearly one billion people worldwide live in
slums, about a third of the world’s urban dwellers.
24
2. Domestic Workers: in 1977-78, there were some 1.68 million

female domestic workers, while the number of male workers was only
0.62 million. With the rise of the middle class in India, domestic work
has emerged as an important new occupation for migrant women and
girls. Some 20 million people (mainly women and girls) migrate for
domestic work to Mumbai, Delhi and other large cities from the eastern
states of Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Assam and Mizoram
(Social Alert quoted in SCF 2005). Roughly 20% of these workers are
under the age of 14. A study of domestic workers in Delhi (Neetha
2004)[8] shows that although domestic work has brought higher
incomes to many women and their families it is still far from decent
work being characterised by long working hours, low wages and hardly
any social security. Domestic workers are more vulnerable than other
kinds of workers because they are not officially classified as workers at
all and are therefore not covered by laws that apply to workers.
3. Coolies: women coolies basically do the job of
loading/unloading of packages being received at railway stations to
warehouses and from warehouses/go downs to further distribution
centers. Coolies do their job by lifting the packages upon their heads
and compensated with ‘par bag’ price which is fixed by govt/private go
down keepers.
4. Vendors: this is the most scattered category, which includes
women engaged in selling different types of commodities, like
broomsticks, cane baskets, utensils, petty cosmetics, bangles,
vegetables and those running roadside tea stalls, etc. Nearly 40% of
total vendors are women and 30% of these women are the sole earning
members in their families.
5. Beauticians: A large number of women are employed as
beauticians. A large portion of the beauty saloons/parlours fall under
the unorganised sector and are characterised by informal employment.
According to a study on Human Resource and Skill Requirements in the
Unorganised Sector : mapping of human resource skill gaps in India till
2022 carried out by National Skill Development Corporation, Mumbai,
the demand for personal care/body care would drive the demand for
beauticians. Those workers are further divided in two categories, those
who are having their own body fitness centre and multi gyms attached
to their dwelling places, those working as helpers to the main
beauticians within tastefully decorated/air conditioned parlours. They
provide services like dressing the hair, waxing the hands and legs,
doing facials, dying the hair, make ups and Mehdi, threading the
eyebrow and face etc.
25
6. Construction Labourers: the construction industry provides

direct employment to at least 30 million workers in India (Chen 2007)
but recent expansions (before the economic crisis) has resulted in a
higher number : trade unions estimate that there were roughly 40
million migrant construction workers in India in 2008 ( Sarde 2008).
Construction attracts both skilled workers (masons, carpenters) and
unskilled workers and although there is some scope for upward
mobility, poorer and lower caste/tribe migrants tend to remain in low-
paid unskilled jobs. This is because of discrimination which deprives
them of opportunities to gain skills. Women work mainly as unskilled
workers.
7. Garment Workers: the garment industry is a sub-sector of the
textile industry and also generates many jobs for migrant workers.
India’s readymade garment exports increased significantly as a share
of total exports (12% or Rs 254,780 million in 2001-2). There were
1,001,000 garment workers in 2004 (Mezzadri 2008). Those women
work with some big drapers, boutiques and stores. Here too the same
bias is evident. The women work as helpers to male/female tailors
(called as masters). These workers include those involved in knitting
clothes/woolens.
The Survey
In order to get a deeper understanding of the phenomenon a field
survey was conducted over a period of six months in the following
Municipalities of Kochi, which is referred to as the financial and
commercial capital of Kerala. Kochi have high proportion of workers
engaged in casual work and very low proportion of regular
employment where most of the self-employed workers are engaged in
subsistence agriculture leading to low levels of living. Lack of regular
employment is also linked with the backwardness of region. Women
workers engaged in various occupations, such as, rag picking,
household work, construction work, garment making, beauticians and
others were interviewed through semi structured questionnaire. These
workers were interviewed on the following aspects of their occupation:
 Personal information, like religion and caste, age, marital
status and age at marriage, education status & level of
education, type of family, family size, education of
father/husband, employment status of father/husband,
education of children, number of married children, working
26
status of children, migratory status, numbers of earning

members in the family, family income, structure of payment,
women’s contribution to the total family income, expenditure,
indebtedness, sources of debts and purpose of debts etc.
 Living and working conditions, like housing conditions, type of
accommodation, type of house, number of living rooms,
ventilation in the house, separate kitchen facility, water supply
conditions. Overall sanitation conditions, drainage of water,
household waste disposal, electricity provisioning, type of
work, working hours, period of occupation, condition at work
place and compulsion to work etc.
 Problems associated with the work, like problems at home
front, conflict between household and paid work, treatment
given by husband, attitude of other family members, sharing of
earnings, participation in household decision making,
domestic violence, attitude of employers, sexual harassment,
heavy workload, low wages, leave arrangements, women’s
common illnesses, women’s specific illnesses etc.
For collection of information semi-structured interview methods

was adopted. These workers were contacted at their work place such
as construction sites. The purpose was to have an exact view of the
conditions of women workers engaged in various occupations. To
survey the conditions of household workers, the group habitats only of
these workers situated in the various parts of the cities were visited. In
these habitats were found some petty retail traders as some of these
poor women preferred to sell vegetables or run petty shops of
miscellaneous goods near their residence instead of working in the
households. The women traders sitting along the road side and selling
variety of goods were also interviewed. It was not easy task to contact
the beauticians as they never allow any non users into their parlours
(work places), they could be reached only on personal requests
wherever necessary. Women coolies were contacted with the
cooperation of middlemen who provide them work.
A total of 500 workers were interviewed, including 132 rag
pickers, 108 domestic workers, 79 coolies, 60 vendors, 56 beauticians,
42 construction labourers, 23 garment workers. Since the sample was
theoretical and could not be used for the purpose of statistical analysis,
information was also collected on the basis of unstructured interviews.
Therefore qualitative analysis has been adopted to reach conclusions.
27
Reasons for a
Sector/ Priority Organising
particular Wages
Group Issues Challenges
Employment
Rag Pickers Economic Health & Per Competition
compulsion, Safety, End Kilogram among
Unskilled, to (Commission) selves, fear of
Drunkard/ exploitation losing work,
Non by Not protected by
coopering middlemen labour
Husbands, law
Only job
available near
residence
Domestic Economic Recognition Negotiable Isolated &
Workers compulsion, as invisible in
Unskilled, worker, homes, Fear of
Drunkard/Non better living employers &
coopering conditions, losing jobs, Not
Husbands protection protected by
against labour laws
dismissal
Coolies Economic Identifying Contractual Often in scattered
compulsion, employer, location,
Unskilled, end to dominated by
Drunkard/ Non exploitation men in
coopering by sector, child care
Husbands middlemen and
home care
Vendors Economic Facilities- Uncertain Not regarded as
compulsion, storage, workers by selves
find the pride in shelter, and others, No
being toilet, water, Forums for
self-employed, protection bargaining
Unskilled against
police,
harassment,
safety &
security
Beauticians Find the pride Excessive Uncertain, Lack of time, child
of being overtime, Net Profit care and home
self-employed, lack of basis care, health
helping institutional issues
hand to support
husband,
savings
for children's
higher
education
28
Construction Economic Labour Daily wages Often in scattered

compulsion, Identifying location,
No other skills, employer, dominated by
Drunkard/non end to men in sector,
cooperating exploitation child care and
husband, No by home care
other options middlemen
Garment Economic Living wage, Work Women workers
Workers compulsion, right to Based are seen as
Can work at organise, (Commission) "seasonal",
home excessive "supplementary”
overtime, wage earners,
security of Harassment of
employment trade unions
In India there are multiple socio-economic disadvantages that

members of particular groups experience, which limits their access to
service sector provisions like health, healthcare and education. The
task of identifying the vulnerable groups is not an easy one. Besides
there are multiple and complex factors of vulnerability with different
layers and more often than once it cannot be analysed in isolation.
Basing upon the earlier derived findings (Chatterjee & Sheoran 2007)
as regards to the fact that ‘vulnerable groups are disadvantaged as
compared to others mainly on account of their reduced access to
medical services and the underlying determinants of health (safe and
portable drinking water, nutrition, housing and sanitation).
The present research findings are based on two significant
determinants of ‘vulnerability’ related to informal women occupation
in India: (a) migration issue (b) structural factors.
Vulnerability due to Migration

Inter-district and inter-state short term migrant workers are yet
another less advantaged group in labour market working for a
subsistence living. Different micro studies indicated that incidence of
short term migration is particularly high from states such as Bihar,
Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, most
of the studies also indicated that over the years incidence of such
migration has increased giving significant rise to urban unorganised
economy. A study by Kundu (2009)[12] notes that “all these are
leading to rapid growth in urban population in several countries, most
of the migrants being absorbed within informal economy”. This
population is at high risk for diseases and faces reduced access to
29
health services. In India, 14.4 million people migrated within the

country for work purposes either to cities or areas with higher
expected economic gains during the 2001 census period. Large
numbers of migrants also work in the urban informal manufacturing
construction, services or transport sectors and are employed as casual
labourers, head loaders, rickshaw pullers and hawkers. The rapid
change of residence due to casual nature of work excludes them from
the preventive care and the working conditions in the informal work
arrangements in the city debar them from access to adequate curative
care ( Chatterjee & Sheoran 2007).Women and child migrants are the
most vulnerable. In the case of internal migration in India, women and
children mostly migrate as associated migrants with the main decision
to migrate being taken by the male of the household. As associated
migrants, they suffer greater vulnerability due to reduced economic
choices and lack of social support in the new area of destination. In the
case of semi-skilled, low-skilled or unskilled women migrants, this can
translate into their entry into the low paying, unorganized sector with
high exposure to exploitation and abuse.
Table represents the migratory status and migratory origin in
respect of the study population. The data shows that 53 per cent out of
the total sampled respondents have migrated to the city in search of
employment and with a hope of enjoying better economic privileges in
the urban informal sector. Further, out of total migrated population
almost 52 per cent migrated from other districts followed by 33 per
cent from the neigh bouring states and 16 per cent from the adjoining
locations of study areas. Amongst individual occupations, coolies and
rag pickers have their highest representation in terms of being
migrated (more than 90 per cent in both the cases) as compared to
other occupations. Thus, in the light of the statements mentioned
hitherto, there is no exaggeration in accepting the reality that
migration has brought enormous plights to the already deteriorated
status of informal women workers thus making their socio economic
conditions more vulnerable, That 53 per cent out of the total sampled
respondents have migrated to the city in search of employment and
with a hope of enjoying better economic privileges in the urban
informal sector. Further, out of total migrated population almost 52 per
cent migrated from other districts followed by 33 per cent from the
neighboring states and 16 per cent from the adjoining locations of
study areas. Amongst individual occupations, coolies and rag pickers
30
have their highest representation in terms of being migrated (more

than 90 per cent in both the cases) as compared to other occupations.
Thus, in the light of the statements mentioned hitherto, there is no
exaggeration in accepting the reality that migration has brought
enormous plights to the already deteriorated status of informal women
workers thus making their socio economic conditions more vulnerable
Migratory status & migratory origin of informal women workers

(In percentages)
Origin of Migration
(in % age)
Respondents
Occupations
%age Not
Migrated
Migrated
Migrated
Number
%age
No of
Around the
Study Area
the State
Districts
Beyond
Other
Rag Pickers 132 93.18 6.82 123 13.82 15.45 70.73
Domestic 108 14.81 85.19 16 75 25 0
Workers
Coolies 79 100 0 79 0 100 0
Vendors 60 3.33 96.67 2 100 0 0
Beauticians 56 1.79 98.21 1 0 100 0
Construction 42 100 0 42 21.43 78.57 0
Labour
Garment 23 8.7 91.3 2 0 50 50
Workers
Total 500 53 47 265 15.09 51.7 33.21
Further, the poor and unskilled migrant population on the other

hand are destined to be excluded from the fabric of the host areas. For
those migrant workers, the intersection of human rights and migration
is a negative one, with bad experiences throughout the migratory ‘life
cycle’, in the areas of origin and destination. The intersection of health
and human rights becomes even more complex when irregular or
illegal migration clashes with the interest of the area of destination.
Cases of exploitation of migrants by employers, smugglers or
traffickers in such cases never meet justice. Those illegal migrants
often live on the margins of society, trying to avoid contact with
authorities and have little or no legal access to prevention and
healthcare services. They face higher risks of exposure to unsafe living
and working conditions. More often they do not approach the health
system of the host areas for fear of their status being discovered.
31
Table below, adequately focuses light upon the deteriorated living

conditions of informal women workers across the study areas. A highly
visible percentage of women workers continue to face multiple
constraints, that otherwise compels them to live a life full of
compromises and most of their own access in terms of right to life is
subsidized.
32
Poor Housing Conditions Water & Sanitation Conditions
Disposal aroung the house

Sampled Respondents
Cooking in Multipurpose
Drainage does not exist

Non proper Ventilation
Water source outside
Toilet facility outside

Less than 2 rooms
Kutcha House
In the drain
Informal
Average
Road side
premises
premises
Average
rooms
Sectors
Rag Pickers 132 100 53.79 100 37.88 72.92 100 100 100 1.52 98.48 0 66.67
Domestic 108 82.41 49.07 82.41 60.09 68.52 99.07 85.19 35.19 10.19 54.63 35.19 53.24
Workers
Coolies 79 89.87 43.04 100 17.72 62.66 100 100 97.47 35.44 49.37 0 63.71
Vendors 60 30 25 65 18.33 34.58 55 73.33 38.33 41.67 23.33 10 40.27
Beauticians 56 0 1.79 0 0 0.44 0 0 14.29 0 23.21 0 6.25
Construction 42 100 26.19 100 40.48 66.67 100 100 71.43 30.95 40.48 28.57 61.91
Labour
Garment 25 13.04 4.35 39.13 34.78 22.83 86.96 82.61 8.7 30.43 21.74 0 38.41
Workers
Total 500 71 37.2 78 33 54.8 82.60 81.6 62 17.2 55.4 11.2 51.67
33
There is no fixed working hours of the informal women workers in

the research area. Most of them reported having their working hours at
their own convenience. Beauticians have their own working hours;
vendors have been reported seen waiting for their clients until 10 pm
at night in important locality, garment workers have their own timing
depending upon their work loads. Domestic workers having their own
workloads; decide how many household they shall visit. Rag pickers
have no working hours. They work till their bags say no to them.
Coolies have also no working hours as they work on contractual basis.
There is no common working hours for all the women sampled
respondents. They leave their dwellings at about 6 am and come back
home almost at 9 pm. Upon perusal ventilates that almost 26 per cent
respondents work for 1-4 hours, 46 per cent work for 5-8 hours, 26 per
cent for 9-12 hours and nearly 2 per cent work for more than 12 hours.
Even sometimes they are to work throughout the night on contractual
basis if the work demands. Though laws prescribing working hours are
there, they are not enforced. Further results from the present research
have confirmed that there are lots of others barriers like attitude of
employers, sexual harassment, and low wages, which continue to add
further worries to their already aggravated vulnerable occupations.
No of sampled 1 to 4 5 to 8 9 to 12 Morethan
Respondents 12
500 25.8 46.2 26.4 1.6
The informal women workers most of them belonging to the low

economic strata, are extremely vulnerable to ailments and diseases.
Poor housing, and sanitation, lack of adequate and portable water
supply; unhygienic surroundings of the living and working area are
some of the factors that affect the health of the respondents. Some of
the frequently reported common illnesses by women respondents.
Most of them reported weakness (66 per cent), cough and cold (64 per
cent), malaria (26 per cent), Skin diseases (37 per cent), gastric ulcer
(5 per cent), worm (42 per cent) Jaundice (21 per cent). These diseases
are the result of poor environmental conditions both at living and
working place and bad dietary habits and malnutrition. Very few of
them reported of occurrence of diseases related to high life styles like
diabetes (1.4 per cent) and hypertension (6.2 per cent).
34
Vulnerability due to Structural Discrimination

Structural discrimination refers to rules, norms, generally accepted
approaches and behaviours in institutions and other social structures
that constitute obstacles for subordinate groups to the equal rights and
opportunities possessed by dominant groups. Such discrimination may
be visible or invisible, and it may be intentional or unintentional.
Women workers in informal sector within the class of workers treated
as inferiors, determined by structural factors to their social status and
economically productive strata to which they belong to. In India,
women workers in informal sector experience structural
discrimination that impact their health and access to healthcare.
Women workers face double discrimination being member of specific
caste, class or ethnic group apart from experiencing gendered
vulnerabilities. In India, early marriage and childbearing affects
women’s health adversely. About 28 per cent of girls in India get
married below the legal age and experience pregnancy. These have
serious repercussions on the health of women.
A perusal of table shows that most of the women workers reported
of suffering from anaemia (15 per cent), PID (Pelvic Inflammatory
Diseases, 5 per cent), UTI (Urinary Tract Infection, 53 per cent), DUB
(Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding, 9 per cent), Septic (8 per cent),
backache (62 per cent), Infant Mortality (0.6 per cent), Prolapse (6 per
cent). Very few reported suffering from breast cancer (0.6 per cent).
Their ignorance regarding these diseases was mainly due to illiteracy
and also because women workers never visit qualified doctors for
regular check-ups. Occupation wise distribution of reported women
specific illnesses is shown in the same table.
35
% of respondents
Infant Mortality
having specific
having specific
Breast Cancer
No of sample
No of sample
respondents
respondents
Backache
Prolapse
Informal
Average
Anemia
Sectors
illness
illness
Septic
DUB
UTI
PID
Rag
132 95 71.97 13.64 4.55 71.97 70.45 6.06 23.48 0 7.58 0 21.97
Pickers
Domestic
108 80 74.07 13.89 4.63 74.07 55.56 6.48 9.26 0.93 5.56 0 18.93
Workers
Coolies 79 60 75.95 11.39 10.13 75.95 63.29 7.59 18.99 2.53 6.33 0 21.8
Vendors 60 40 66.67 0 5 25 66.67 11.67 13.33 0 6.67 0 14.26
Beauticians 56 17 30.36 0 1.79 1 30.36 5.36 3.57 0 5.36 1.76 5.36
Construction
42 35 83.33 4.76 4.76 35.71 83.33 14.29 11.9 0 2.38 0 17.46
Labour
Garment
23 15 65.22 4.35 4.35 0 65.22 13.04 8.7 0 13.04 8.7 13.04
Workers
Total 500 342 68.4 9 5.2 53 62 8 14.6 0.6 6.4 0.6 17.71
36
Pregnancy can mean serious problems to many informal women

workers because of their low socio-economic status, low intake of
balanced diet, illiteracy and ignorance, social and traditional biases,
consulting unqualified persons like Vyattai (midwife) no antenatal
check-ups by qualified doctors etc. Table 8 shows that 60 per cent
women workers reported of not going for antenatal check-ups.
Monthly antenatal check-ups for them mean loss of the day’s work and
wage. Most deliveries and abortions are conducted at home by vyttati
(59 per cent). Due to this India have a high mortality rate and many
women die due to pregnancy related causes. The major causes of
maternal mortality were anaemia, haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed
labour, abortions etc.
Antenatal
No of Delivery& Abortion Conducted by
Informal Care
married
Sectors Relatives/
Respondents Yes No Doctors Vyttati
Neighbours
Rag Pickers 132 45.45 54.55 40.54 59.46 0
Domestic 90 28.89 71.11 28.71 63.37 7.92
Workers
Coolies 60 20 80 21.52 78.48 0
Vendors 55 38.18 61.82 52.38 47.62 0
Beauticians 43 93.02 6.98 100 0 0
Construction 33 0 100 0 100 0
Labour
Garment 18 77.78 22.22 77.78 22.22 0
Workers
Total 431 40.14 59.86 39.63 58.11 2.26
Analysis and Discussion

Women workers in informer sector, on account of their poor and
unhygienic living and working environment bear the inordinate share
of health burden. There is no exaggeration in accepting the fact that
women workers in informal sector are vulnerable. However an attempt
has been made to group the informal women workers under three
different heads according to the degree of vulnerability :(i) Most
Vulnerable (ii) More Vulnerable (iii) Vulnerable. This grouping has
been made by analyzing the level of poor living and working conditions
and the level of health status as reported by the informal women
respondents in the study area. The “most vulnerable group” comprises
of those informal sectors whose constituent respondents satisfy the
following two criterions simultaneously: (i) more than 60 per cent of
37
them reported of having poor living and working conditions; (ii) more
than 20 per cent of them reported of having poor health status. This
group hence comprises of rag pickers, construction workers, coolies
and Domestic Workers. The “more vulnerable” group comprises of
those informal sectors whose constituent respondents satisfy the
following two criterions simultaneously: (i) more than 30 per cent but
less than 60 per cent of them reported of having poor living and
working conditions; (ii) more than 8 but less than 20 per cent of them
reported of having poor health status. This group hence comprises of
Vendors and Garment Workers. The “vulnerable group” comprises of
those informal sectors whose constituent respondents satisfy the
following two criterions simultaneously. (i) more than 3 per cent but
less than 30 per cent of them reported of having poor living and
working conditions; (ii) more than 7 per cent but less than 8 per cent of
them reported having poor health status. This group hence comprises
of women beauticians only. Data for vulnerability analysis are
presented in the following table:
Percentage of
Category Informal Sectors
Women Workers
I- Most Vulnerable Rag Pickers,
Poor Living & >60 Construction
working conditions Labourers, Coolies,
Health Effects >20 Domestic Workers
II-More Vulnerable
Poor Living & >30 but <60 Vendors, Garment
Working Conditions Workers
Health Effects >8 but <20
III-Vulnerable
Poor Living and
Beauticians >3 but <30
Working Conditions
Health Effects >7 but <8
Conclusion
Unorganised sector work is characterised by low wages that are
often insufficient to meet minimum living standards including
nutrition, long working hours, and hazardous working conditions, lack
of basic services such as first aid, drinking water and sanitation at the
work sites. Findings show that poverty is a multidimensional concept
implying not only lack of adequate income, but a host of other facts
38
such as lack of choice, sense of powerlessness, vulnerability, and lack of

assets, insecurity and social exclusion. In the light of the above
considerations, the present study, across the cross cutting occupational
response based on the findings, infers that socio-economic
determinants like education, health and healthcare are descriptive
about basic minimum access to development by the stakeholders
irrespective of the type of occupation adopted by them. Contextually,
we find that a highly visible percentage of women workers continue to
live a life full of subsistence, compromises and most of their own access
in terms of right to life is subsidized. The most important determining
factor to such in access and denial primarily evolves out of poor
literacy and lack of awareness resulting in self-exclusion from the
mainstream opportunities.
References
1. Report of the Committee on Unorganised Sector Statistics,
National Statistical Commission, GOI, and February2012.
2. A Statistical Picture, Employment Sector, International Labour
Organization, Geneva, 2002).
3. NSSO 61st (2004-05) Round Survey on employment-
unemployment, NCEUS reports on Definitional and Statistical
issues relating to the informal economy (NCEUS 2008).
4. Chatterjee Chandrima &Sheoran Gunjan (2007), Vulnerable
Groups in India, Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied
Themes, Mumbai.
5. Yamin. Alicia Ely edited. (2005), Learning to Dance; Advancing
Women’s Reproductive Health and Well- Being from the
Perspectives of Public Health and Human Rights, Francois-
Xavier Bagnoud Centre for Health and Human Rights, Harvard
School of Public Health, Harvard University Press, London.
6. Annual Report to the People on Employment, GOI, Ministry of
Labour and Employment, 1 July 2010.
7. Report of the Committee on Unorganised Sector Statistics,
National Statistical Commission, GOI, February( 2012).
8. Neetha, N. (2004). Making of Female Breadwinners Migration
and Social Networking of Women Domestics in Delhi.
Economic and Political Weekly April 24, 2004 pp1681-1688.
39
9. Chen, M. 2007. Skills, Employability and Social Inclusion:

Women In The Construction Industry. Harvard University,
WIEGO Network.
10. Sarde, S.R. 2008. Migration in India, Trade Union Perspective
in the context of neo-liberal globalisation. International metal
workers federation, New Delhi, Mimeo.
11. Mezzadri, A. (2008) How Globalised Production Exploits
Informal-Sector Workers: Investigating the Indian Garment
Sector. Development Viewpoint No 12. Department of
Development Studies, SOAS.
12. Kundu, Amitabh (2009), Urbanisation and Migration: An
Analysis of Trend, Pattern and Policies in Asia, Human
Development Research Paper 2009/16, United Nations
Development Programme, New York.(Reproductive and Child
Health-District level Household Survey 2002-04, August
2006).
40
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC

CONDITIONS OF WOMEN DOMESTIC WORKERS IN
URBAN AND RURAL KERALA WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO ERNAKULAM DISTRICT
Sumi K S
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
SSV College, Valayanchirangara
Email:sumiks@ssvcollege.ac.in
Abstract
Domestic work is a feminine work in Ernakulam. Like the general trend
they are part of the unorganised sector of the economy and have no
bargaining powers. The demand for domestic workers is very high and there is
scarcity of domestic laborers also. In urban areas even though they are
unorganised, they have certain privileges as far as wage rate is concerned.
But their bargaining powers are limited by the existence of contractors and
middlemen. In rural areas the wage rate is very low compared to urban areas.
The working hours and the works to be done by the rural domestic labourers
are not exactly determined. It may vary. The working condition of the rural
domestic workers is not satisfactory whereas urban workers are more satisfied
with their working condition
Keywords
Informal sector-defined to include persons whose employment
relationship is not subject to labour legislation, social protection and certain
employment benefit
Domestic workers-a domestic worker is a person engaged in domestic
chores with in an employment relationship
Introduction
India witnessed an alarming GDP growth rate of 7% since
2014.The contradictory thing is that still poverty persists without
much difference in its rate. According to the 5th Annual
Employment Unemployment survey 2015-16 the Labour Force
Participation Rate in all India level is 50.3% under Usual Principal
Status Approach. Female LFPR is lower than that of males. The LFPR
for female is 23.7% as compared to 75% for males and 48% for
transgender. Kerala has the highest level of unemployment 12.5% as
against an all India level of 5%.But there is a significant difference in
the nature of unemployment in Kerala. As the literacy rate is very
high, Kerala faces the problem of educated unemployed.
41
According to the ILO update informality that persisted in India

and the quality of employment remains a major challenge. This
happens because of two underlying but divergent trends. Firstly there
is a fall in the percentage of workers employed in the unorganized
sectors from 86.3% in 2004-05 to 82.2 % in 2011-12. Secondly the
higher existence of contract and other forms of casual labourers,
the share of informal workers in the organized sector increased
significantly. The report reveals that 79% of the nonagricultural
wage labourers had no written contract and only 23.8% of them
were eligible for social security benefits in 2011-12. These
countervailing trends remained the relative share of informal workers
to total employment as more or less stable at 92%.These informal
sector include own account workers (32.2%), followed by informal
employees (30%) and family labourers (17.9).There is a
considerable increase in the share of regular wage and salaried
workers in the Indian labour market which account for 17.9 % .A
more positive trend is that the gender gap is narrowing down
considerably for this indicator in urban areas.
Review of Literature
Sangeeta Pratap and Erwan Quintin in their Research Paper No.
2006/130, „The Informal Sector in Developing Countries Output,
Assets and Employment‟ find out that there is high correlation
between the importance of informal sector and economic
development. Further they suggested that informal sector includes
unskilled, labour intensive, small scale, self-financed activities.
According to them if informal sectors should be viewed as the
disadvantaged end of the dualistic labour market, the reduction in
formal sector employment will result in larger welfare losses. As
informal sector absorbs some of the cyclical and transitional
variations in formal employment, it can help mitigating the short-run
impact of reforms.
Bino Paul G D,Susanta Datta and venkitesha Moorthy R in their
work, Working and Living Conditions of Women Domestic Workers:
Evidences from Mumbai‟ find that domestic work is a feminine
occupation in Mumbai. A vicious situation with lack of entitlements to
enjoy freedom offered by a democratic society and nonexistence of a
positive change affects the lively hood of the domestic workers.
42
Dithhi Bhattacharya, Meghna Sukumar and Mohan Mani in their

work “ Living on the Margins: A Study of Domestic Workers in
Chennai, India”, Centre for Workers‟ Management found that the
largest employer of women work force in the city of Chennai is the
domestic work sector. There is an urgent need for organisation in
this sector. Without an organisation the current regulatory
measures like the statutory minimum wage will remain illusory.
Jaime Saavedra &Alberto Chong in their work „Structural
reform, institutions and earnings: Evidence from the formal and
informal sectors in urban Peru‟ find out that there is a slight
reduction in the informal sector as a result of the reform undertaken
in Peru in 1990. The cost of staying as informal and benefits of
becoming formal has increased. There is negligible difference in the
earnings of formal and informal self-employed workers. The
presents of skilled workers are more in formal sectors and on the
other hand unskilled and younger workers constitute the informal
sector
Harriss JC in his work „Linkages between the formal and the
informal sectors in developing countries: a review of literature‟
finds that there is little evidence to prove that the informal sectors
are subject to exploitation by the formal sectors. The survey
shows that there was significant backward linkage between formal
and informal sectors.
Informality a Global Phenomenon

According to the ILO Report globally 2 billion people (ie. 61%
of the total employment) is engaged in the informal sectors. A
global trend regarding employment is that as education increases
informality reduces or the number of workers employed in the
informal sector reduces. Two of the report‟s authors, Florence Bonnet
and Vicky Leung, also pointed out that while not all informal workers
were poor; poverty was both a cause and a consequence of informality.
“The high incidence of informality in all its forms has
multiple adverse consequences for workers, enterprises and
societies and is, in particular, a major challenge for the realisation
of decent work for all and sustainable and inclusive development,”
Rafael Diez de Medina, Director of ILO‟s Department of Statistics.
Among the different sectors, the informal employment
was highest in the agricultural sector(93.6%) followed by
43
industrial sector(57.2) and service sector(47.2).However it was

noticed that informal employment is the main source of employment
in all sectors especially in developing economies of the world.
The National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised
Sector (NCEUS) took the position that the vast majority of the
informal workforce is unskilled.
Definition of Informal Sector

The term came in a broader sense in the academic literature
after 1972.After that this area is subject to several studies
including its size, employment potential, technology, relationship
between formal sectors etc. According to The UN Economic and
Social Council informal workers are defined to include persons
whose employment relationship is not subject to labour legislation,
social protection and certain employment benefit.
The First National Commission on Labour 1966-69 defined
unorganized sector as that part of work force “who have not been
able to organize in pursuit of a common objective because of
constraints such as casual nature of employment ,ignorance and
illiteracy ,small and scattered size of establishment and superior
strength of the employer operating singly or in combination.”
The commission listed illustrative categories of unorganized
labour consisting of 1) construction workers, 2) labour employed in
small scale industries 3) casual labour 4) handloom or power loom
workers 5) beedi and cigar workers 6) employees in shops and
commercial establishments 7) sweepers and scavengers 8) workers in
tanneries 9) tribal labour and other unprotected labour.
Domestic Workers
As per the ILO Convention 189,” a domestic worker is a person
engaged in domestic chores with in an employment relationship”.
India as well as Kerala has witnessing a constant increase in the
number of domestic workers. The unorganized nature and lack
of bargaining power make domestic workers as one of the most
exploited sectors of the society. They are more vulnerable to the ill
treatment at the hands of their employer. In the last few decades
there has been tremendous increase in the demand for domestic
labourers .Absence of legal protection has led to severe exploitation of
women domestic workers.
44
A bill presented in RajyaSabha, entitled „The Housemaids and

Domestic Servants (Conditions of Services and Welfare) Bill, 2004‟,
has defined domestic worker as (a) “domestic servant means any
person who earns his livelihood by working in household of his
employer and doing household chores”, and (b) “housemaid
means a woman servant who performs household chores for
wages” (GOI, 2004).1:The International Labour Organisation
(ILO) broadly defines a domestic worker as “someone who carries
out household work in private households in return for wages”
( Kundu, 2007).Unorganised Non-Agricultural Workers‟ Conditions
of Work and Social Security Bill, 2007, has included the domestic
servants into the category of wage workers. According to the
bill “Wage worker means a person employed for a
remuneration as an unorganised non-agricultural worker,
directly by an employer or through any agency or contractor,
whether exclusively for one employer or more employers,
whether simultaneously or otherwise, whether in cash and/or
in kind, whether as a temporary or casual worker, or as a
migrant worker, or workers employed by households including
domestic workers” (GOI, 2007a) .As an occupation domestic work
has a multi-dimensional nature as it includes childcare, cooking,
cleaning, hospitality at home etc.
Significance of the Study

Informal sectors are generally labour intensive sectors
with lower wage rate than their productivity. These sectors have
unorganized structure and therefore they lack bargaining powers with
contractors and other middle men. Being an unorganized sector
these sectors are not regulated by legislation and they do not
maintain any account or balance sheet. This sector includes
employment like wage employed, self-employed, household
production domestic work etc. A noticeable factor as far as
domestic workers are concerned is that there is continuous
increase in the demand for domestic workers. As per our theories
when there is an increase in the demand for labourers, their wage
rate will remain at a higher rate. But in the case of domestic
workers there is no such bargaining power because of their
unorganized nature. Other important factor responsible for this is the
existence of middlemen and contractors.
45
This study is more significant in the sense that there exists a

dualistic nature in this employment. The working condition including
wages, hours of work, treatment of labour etc. of the urban and rural
domestic workers are entirely different. The social status of these
workers also varies according to their area of work.
Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this paper is to compare the socio
economic status of the rural and urban domestic workers in
Ernakulam district.
Methodology
This study is conducted in the selected areas of Ernakulam
district. For the comparison domestic labourers were selected
randomly from both urban and rural areas. A total of 50 samples
were selected. Simple statistical tools like percentages and averages
were used for the analysis.
Analysis
Table 1 Distribution of work force on the basis of their age
Urban Rural Total
<30 1(4%) 0 1(2%)
30-40 5(20%) 1(4%) 6(12%)
40-50 8(32%) 8(32%) 16(32%)
50-60 6(24%) 11(44%) 17(34%)
>60 5(20%) 5(20%) 10(20%)
Total 25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
Average 48.32 50.52
Source: Sample Survey
Table 1 represents the age of the sample. It is clear from the

table that majority of the sample belongs to the age group above
40.32% of the domestic workers belong to the age group of 40-50
both in the rural and urban area. In urban area 44 % of the
sample belongs to 50-60 age groups. The presence of aged workers is
more in domestic work. The reason for this is that these category of
the workers lack skill because of low education and they could not be
able to find a job even in the other informal sectors of the economy.
The average age of the domestic workers is 48.32 and 50.52
respectively in urban and rural areas.
46
Table 2 Distribution of work force on the basis of their Caste

Urban Rural Total
Upper caste - - -
Lower caste 7(28%) 4(16%) 11(22%)
Backward 18(72%) 21(84%) 39(78%)
caste
Total 25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
The above table shows the distribution of the sample on the basis
of their caste. Caste is one of the important factors which determine
the social status of the people. The data reveals that more than ¾ of
the sample belongs to backward castes and there is no significant
difference in this between the urban and rural areas. Nobody from
the upper class choose domestic work as their occupation.
Table 3 Distribution of workers on the basis of their education

Urban Rural Total
<SSLC 12(48%) 21(84%) 33(66%)
SSLC 13(52%) 4(16%) 17(34%)
Plus two - - 0
>Plus two - - 0
Total 25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
The above table shows the educational level of the sample

respondents. It is clear that lack of education is the major factor
which induces these workers to choose domestic work as their main
source of income.48% in the urban and 84% of the rural domestic
workers have an education level below SSLC. 52% of the urban
domestic workers and only 16% of the rural sample have
matriculation. Nobody have an educational status above SSLC..
47
Table 4 Distribution of workers on the basis of their Income

Income Urban Rural Total
>2000 - 2(8%) 2(4%)
2000-5000 - 21(84%) 21(42%)
5000-10000 6(24%) 1(4%) 7(14%)
10000-15000 7(28%) 1(4%) 8(16%)
<15000 12(48%) - 12(24%)
25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
Average income 9895 6420
The table 4 shows a clear difference in the wage rate earned by

the urban and rural domestic workers .In urban area all of the
domestic workers earned above Rs.5000 per month.24% of them got
an income between 5000-10000 rupees per month.28% belongs to
the income category of 10000-15000 rupees per month.48% of
them receive an income above 15000 per month. Majority of the
urban domestic workers do their work on an hourly basis, so that
they can work for more than one house /flats and can earn more
income compared to rural workers. The wage rate in the rural sector
is very low compared to urban area. Only 8% of the workers earn
an income above Rs.10000 in rural area. The average income of the
domestic workers is only Rs. 6420 in rural area which is much lower
than that of the urban average wage Rs.9895
Table 5 Distribution of workers on the basis of their

Economic Status
Urban Rural Total
BPL 14(56%) 22(88%) 36(72%)
APL 11(44%) 3(12%) 14(28%)
Total 25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
The above table depicts the economic status of the urban and
rural domestic workers.56% of the urban and 88% of the rural
domestic workers belong to BPL status. The majority of domestic
workers in the rural area are from BPL strata. But in urban area 44%
of the workers are from the APL strata. The corresponding data for
the rural area is only 12%. This element itself explains the existence
of pull factors in urban area.
48
Table 5 Distribution of workers on the basis of their Marital Status

Rural Urban Total
Married 12(48%) 17(68%) 29(58%)
Unmarried 4(16%) 1(4%) 5(10%)
Divorced 3(12%) 3(6%)
Widow 6(24%) 7(28%) 13(26%)
Total 25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
Table 5 explains the marital status of the domestic workers.

The data reveals that 42% of the domestic workers are the head of
the family and they have nobody to support economically.58% are
married. They share their responsibility with their husband. One
of the important factor noticed here is the anti-social habits of their
husbands. This compels them to take a major share of the family
responsibility.
Table 6 Distribution of workers on the basis of their

Ownership of house
Urban Rural Total
Own 18(72%) 18(72%) 36(72%)
Rented 6(24%) 5(20%) 11(22%)
No house 1(4%) 2(8%) 3(6%)
Total 25(100%) 25(100%) 50(100%)
Aable 6 shows that 72% of the urban and rural domestic workers
have their own houses.24% of the urban and 20% of the rural
domestic workers reside in rented houses.4% the urban and 8% of the
rural workers have no houses at all.
Table 7 Distribution of workers on the basis of their nature of
house
Urban Rural Total
Kacha 2(8.33%) 4(17.4%) 6(12.77%)
Semi 6(25%) 14(60.87%) 20(42.56%)
Pacca
Pacca 16(66.67%) 5(21.73%) 24(51.07%)
Total 24(100%) 23(100%) 47(100%)
49
The above table explains the nature of houses of the sample

respondents.51.07% of the total sample occupy pacca houses with
66.67% in urban and 21.73% in rural. Total of 12.77% have Kaccha
houses and 42.56 % have semi pacca houses.
Table 8 The factors influencing the occupational choice

The table reveals that the
occupational choice of the rural
workers is more influenced by push
factors than pull factors in rural
Urban Rural
area. On the other hand in urban
area the pull factors attract the
workers more than the push factors.
Push Factors
Poor economic background 17 25
Head of the family 8 13
Health issues 5 11
Low education 20 25
Lack of skill 22 24
Pull factors
Allowances 19 4
Time element 22 6
Attractive salary 14 2
Support family 16 11
Conclusion
Domestic work is a feminine work in Ernakulum. Like the
general trend they are part of the unorganised sector of the
economy and have no bargaining powers. The demand for domestic
workers is very high and there is scarcity of domestic laborers also.
In urban areas even though they are unorganised, they have certain
privileges as far as wage rate is concerned. But their bargaining
powers are limited by the existence of contractors and middlemen.
All the domestic workers are not entitled to any form of insurance or
social security benefits. Almost all of them did not make even a
written contract with their employers. In rural areas the wage rate
is very low compared to urban areas. The working hours and the
works to be done by the rural domestic labourers are not exactly
50
determined. It may vary. The working condition of the rural domestic

workers is not satisfactory whereas urban workers are more
satisfied with their working condition. There are several factors
which are responsible for domestic workers to retain their present
job. These factors can be generally classified in to two-the pull
factors and the push factors. The pull factors attract the labourers in
to this field and on the other hand push factors compel the workers
to accept the job. The pull factors include high wage rate as
compared to other informal sector, less working time so that they
can earn more income, allowances, good working condition, less
skilled work etc. The push factors include the poor economic
back ground, responsibility of the family, illness of family
members, anti-social habits of their husbands/fathers etc. The
pressure of push factors compel majority of the domestic workers to
do this job both in rural and urban areas. In urban areas the pull
factors attract domestic workers to remain in this job.
References
1. Bino Paul G D, Susanta Datta and venkitesha Moorthy R in
their work Working and Living Conditions of Women
Domestic Workers: Evidences from Mumbai.
2. Dithhi Bhattacharya, Meghna Sukumar and Mohan Mani in
their work Living on the Margins: A Study of Domestic
Workers in Chennai, India, Centre for Workers
Management.
3. Jaime Saavedra & Alberto Chong in their work
“ Structural reform, institutions and earnings: Evidence
from the formal and informal sectors in urban Peru”
4. Javid Ahemmad Dar Socio economic conditions of Domestic
Workers in Panjab: a case study of Sangrur District
5. Sangeeta Pratap and Erwan Quintin in their Research Paper
No. 2006/130, “The Informal Sector in Developing Countries
Output, Assets and Employment”
6. India Labour Market Update ILO Country Office for India | July
2016
7. NSSO Employment Unemployment survey reports 2017
8. Anuual Report of Ministry of Labour and Employment 2017-
18, Government of India
51
EFFECTS OF MONSOON IN INDIAN ECONOMY:

STUDY AMONG STREET VENDORS IN KERALA
Dr. Shibulal A L
Associate Professor
Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam
Benit Mary Joseph

Research Associate
Email:benit.mj@saintgits.org
Abstract
India is primarily an agrarian economy and contributes around 15% of
India’s GDP, and more than 60% of Indian population is engaged in
agriculture. Agriculture is primarily dependent on monsoon. Monsoon also
has great impact on food supply, hydro-power sector & irrigation facilities. It
also has indirect impact on automobile sector, telecom sector, cement industry,
tobacco, bank and other industries. Around 10 million out of 450 million of
the employed Indian population depend on street vending for their
livelihood. Hence, street vendors are an indispensable part of Indian
economy. There are around 20,000 registered vendors in Kerala. This article
focuses on studying the effect of monsoon on Indian economy and also studies
the miseries of street vendors during monsoon. Monsoon is the time when
street vendors find it difficult to vend their products due to difficulty of
displaying it in street since many of them lack facilities to stay protected from
rain. Even if they are able to set up a shield or covering from rain,
sometimes heavy rain causes flood as a result of which drainage may
overflow. Clogged drainage overflow adds to other problems and makes
people reluctant to buy from those areas. This makes it difficult for
them to sell their products. During monsoon, footpaths mostly remain busy
of pedestrians. But, during these times, people are reluctant to buy from
them due to difficulty of standing in rain to select products and due to rush in
footpath. Also, monsoon is the time when many fall ill, thereby reducing their
daily income. Since, many of the products gets spoilt due to less sales and lack of
storage facility, it becomes a big loss for them as they cannot sell it later.
Furthermore, heavy continuous or intermittent rain makes it difficult to even
conduct their business. Hence, many a time street vendors are remaining jobless
during monsoons as a result of which, they are mostly forced for finding some
other jobs to make their ends meet.
Keywords: Indian Economy, Monsoon, Street Vendors, Kerala
52
Introduction
India’s informal sector is the backbone of the economy. Around
81% of India’s workforce is employed in informal sector. The nation’s
quality of life hinges on things becoming better for masses of
informally employed people. The First Indian National Commission
on Labour (1966-69) defined “unorganised sector workforce” as –
“those workers who have not been able to organize themselves in
pursuit of their common interest due to certain constraints like casual
nature of employment, ignorance and illiteracy, small and
scattered size of establishments”. Indian economy is highly
dependent on monsoon because of its water resources. Majority
of the country’s area gets more than 75% of the annual rainfall
during the four months, June to September. About 800 million
people live in villages and depend on agriculture, which accounts for
about 15% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and a failed
monsoon can have a rippling effect on the country’s growth and
economy. A deficit monsoon could also lead to a drought-like
situation, thereby affecting the rural household incomes,
consumption a nd economic growth. A poor monsoon not only
leads to weak demand for fast-moving consumer goods, two-
wheelers, tractors and rural housing sectors but also increases the
imports of essential food staples and forces the government to take
measures like farm loan waivers, thereby putting pressure on
finances. Whereas a normal monsoon results in a good harvest,
which in turn lifts rural incomes and boosts spending on consumer
goods. It also has a positive impact on hydro-power projects.
As per Centre Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), 3.1crore are
unemployed. 94% of India’s working population are employed in
unorganised sector (Planning Commission of India, 2007). But
there have been a decrease in the number of people working in
formal sector (Economic Survey, 2018). Informal sector usually
gets low income, have unstable and irregular employment. Street
vendors are very important sector of economy, which have been in
existence from long back. Nearly 3/4th of India’s people are
employed in unorganised sector. India is country with a population
of nearly 132crore. Street vendors are generally those people who
are not able to get a regular job in formal sector due to low education
level and skills. Since, they are not able to get a regular job, and they
need a regular job income, so they take up any job regardless of long
53
working hours and harsh working conditions. They offer wide range
of goods to people allowing easy access to common people. They sell
many items, like vegetables, fruits, accessories, stationaries, toys,
plants, juices, electronic goods, newspapers, books and so on. They
also offer services like repairing of shoes, bags, umbrella, dress ironing,
sharpening of knives etc. There are around 20000 registered vendors
in Kerala.
Being an unorganised sector, they face lots of problems and which
are usually not been taken care of. One such difficulty is difficulties due
to climatic change like heavy rain, floods, harsh sunlight, dust etc.
This article focuses on the problems faced by street vendors
during monsoon. Recently, Kerala, have witnessed one of the biggest
flood of the century affecting life of people in many areas. This also
had a great impact on street vendors as many of the areas were
flooded making it impossible to do vending.
Objective
1. To study the effects of monsoon in Indian economy.
2. To conduct a study on survival of street vendors during
monsoon in Kerala.
Literature Review
The monsoon rains provide nearly 80% of the year’s rainfall in
India, making it critical for agriculture, for drinking water and for
industry which often relies on hydroelectricity for power. So India’s
economy and society are finely tuned to the remarkable stability of
the monsoon, and vulnerability to small changes in monsoon
rainfall is very high. In 2002 a severe and unforeseen drought hit
India’s agricultural production and economy hard. In August 2005
Mumbai experienced severe flooding, when more than one metre of
rain fell in a single day. These variations in seasonal rainfall are often
related to weather in other parts of the world, such as El Niño events in
the Pacific Ocean.(Turner,2013)
The impact of this bountiful and reasonably well spread out
rainfall on agri- production, agri- GDP and farm incomes, etc., is
naturally an issue worth exploring. With agriculture contributing
to 14percent of India's GDP and providing employment to almost
half of its work force, any impact of monsoons on agricultural growth
would feed into prices, incomes and GDP growth. A vibrant growth in
54
agriculture is also expected to spur the ‘slowing down’ economy with

its wide backward and forward linkages. It is with this backdrop that
we try to estimate the probable impact of a bountiful(above
normal) monsoon on the agricultural sector.(Gulati, 2013)
In 2009-10 as per the index of industrial production (IIP) data
the industrial growth became 10.5 percent which was only 3.2
percent in 2008-09. (Table II) In particular, agricultural sector
growth was better than feared with slightly positive growth rate
despite the worst monsoon shortfall in three decades. According to
the Advance Estimate (AE) of Central Statistical Office (CSO), in
2010-11 there is an increase of 5.4 percent in agriculture and
allied activities, as compared to a growth of 0.4 percent in 2009-
10.(Bhatt,2011)
In India, monsoon is the key to determine agricultural output,
consumer spending, inflation and overall economic growth. If we
are blessed with timely normal monsoons, it can definitely bring
prosperity in our economy. Deficit/Heavy monsoon has
impact on agriculture, temperature, inflation, power sector,
consumer goods and so on. Monsoon rains are critical for the farm
sector, which accounts for about 15% of India's US$ 2.5tn economy,
and employs more than half of the country's 130 crore people.
Poor monsoons delay planting, and produce smaller yields of
crops such as rice, corn, sugar cane and oilseeds (also known as Kharif
crops). That can accelerate food inflation, a key focus for the central
bank seeking to lower interest rates, and a disaster for the millions
mired in poverty. Groundwater level will continue to fall dangerously,
and droughts will persist unless the agriculture sector, which accounts
for 80% of water consumption, starts using water more efficiently.
Reservoirs are necessary for providing drinking water, irrigation
for crops, and power and water for industries is replenished
largely on account of the monsoon. The impact even ripples
overseas, as commodity markets are starved of Indian sugar and
rice. India's agricultural season runs from July to June. The Kharif
cropping season is from July to October during the southwest
monsoon, and the Rabi cropping season is from October to March
(winter). The crops grown between March and June are summer
crops.(The Economic Times,12th April 2018).
In India, the monsoon hits the southern shore in the month of
June and lasts till September. The month of July is said to be the
55
wettest month of the monsoon. If the monsoon is good, the economy

of the India gets a boost which sequentially helps in maintaining
the GDP growth chart. But, a little delay in monsoon may prove
to be disaster for the Indian government as it becomes difficult to
maintain the GDP growth. (Chaubey, 2012)
Heavy rain forces vendors to pack up their goods and run for
shelter and they could only resume long after the rain stopped. Some
of the places where they do business get all muddy after rains -said
Mr Harish Kumar, Manglore City Corporation Commissioner with
an interview with The Hindu.
The Navhind Times reported that monsoon is the best time for
bhajji vendors and sale of some popular items increases with
advancement of rain. But other products do not experience the same.
They hardly have any protective covers to safeguard themselves and
their wares from waning because of heat, rain and dust. They are
vulnerable to loss of goods by both nature and manmade
disturbances. There is no insurance coverage specifically for them in
this regard. Vendors of perishable goods are more vulnerable to
losses than vendors of non-perishable. Vendors of seasonal goods
must cope with fluctuations in supply and demand over time
(Gopal, 2014).
The article, “Rain interrupts life for hawkers” (The Hindu, July 20,
2013) mention difficulties of two street vendors in the outskirts of
Chennai. The rain have kept Sakunthala, a fruit vendor from
Tambaram, on her toes. She carries the fruits to a safer place and
brings them back to the market. “The rain during June and July is
unexpected one. I use tarpaulin sheets to protect my stock. But
if the rain persists, a major portion of the stock rots. This has a
tremendous impact; I borrow money for interest and I have to repay
my lenders, whether I sell my fruits or not” she says. Sathya, a flower
vendor for more than 25 years, says that he and his wife Sakunthala
pay a ‘tharai vaadagai’ (rent for shop) and sell flowers. They have to
clear the stock every day to make a profit. During the rains, it is next
to impossible for them to sell everything.
According to Franchise India (Aug 8,2016), street foods should be
avoided during monsoon as chances of contamination of food with
impure water is high. Clean water will not be available for
preparation. Hence street foods may be unhygienic.
56
Research Methodology
The data was collected through survey method with the street
vendors in and around different areas of Kerala. Sample size taken
was 100. Data was collected through questionnaire and direct
interview. Convenience sampling was used to select samples.
The survey was conducted among 100 people of which 95% were
male and remaining were female. The data was collected from Allepy,
Changanasery, Eratupetta, Ernakulam, Ettumanoor, Kottayam,
Kozhikode, Pala and Thiruvalla regions.
Findings
Demographics: More than 46% of the respondents were above
50 years, 37% between 40 and 50 years, 12% between 30 and40
years and remaining 5% were aged between 20-30 years. 54% of
the respondents were stationary vendor, 29% were mobile
vendors with vehicle, 15% mobile vendors and remaining 2% were
other vendors like repairers. 30% of the respondents sold vegetables,
18% of fruits vendors,10% of them vended snacks and pan, 8% were
repairers, 5% sold dress/ clothes and 13% sold other items like
kitchen utilities, sandals, electronic items, spices, jackets umbrella
,perfumes, medicinal plants, flowers, potteries etc. 39% of the
respondents earned more than Rs2000, 33% earned less than
5000, 15% earn between 1500-2000, 8% earned between Rs500
and Rs1000 and remaining earned 1000-1500. 84% of the
respondents were Keralites, 4% from West Bengal, 3% each from
Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, 2% from Tamil Nadu and remaining from
Andhra Pradesh. 84% of the respondents were vending in the
streets for more than 10 years, 10% for 4-6 years and remaining
6% were working for last 7-10 years. All the respondents
possessed voter’s ID card and ration card.53% possessed driving
license, 97% had Aadhar card, 73% possessed medical insurance
card,5% had passport and nobody possessed Pan card. 69% of the
vendors had less than 4, 16% had 4 dependents, 13% had 5
dependents and 2% had more than 5 dependents.
Monsoon impact: Sales volume of snack vendors increased
during monsoon whereas sales volume of fruits and vegetables
decreased when compared to that of summer time. 73% of the
respondents suffer from fever, 24% suffer from cough, 1% suffer
from cholera, 3% from malaria, 2% from dengue, 7% from
Pneumonia. 25% suffered from diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice etc.
57
Hence more than 78% were unable to vend for 1-3 days, 13% for 4-6
days, 4% for 7-9 days and 5% for more than 9 days. 84% responded
that they were able to have food during vending only once, and
remaining 16% consumed food twice in a day. 89% 0f the
respondents were the sole bread winners of the family. 7% of the
respondents fall ill often. 2% of them had been hospitalized during
vending. 14% of the vendors have undergone some kind of medical
camps or medical awareness programs. None of them had any option
to store the products during rain. 76% had atleast a cover to protect
themselves from the rain. 26% of the respondents some kind of pay
backgrounds and 66% of the respondents had bought items for
instalments. 54% iffaced difficulty for purchase during monsoon.
77% responded that it was difficult to vend during rainy season.
Many faced issues like financial instability (73%), health
issues(72%), reduced customer footfall(67%), flooding due to
overflow of drainage(75%). 43% of respondents had got some
kind of help from hospitals during monsoon. They felt that, they
could overcome these problems if they get financial support from
government(100%), provision of safe vending zone(15%), by
conducting awareness programs(10%), periodic cleaning of
drainage(100%), Loan waiver/written off(100%), medicine
support(100%), educational support for children(100%), marriage
support for children(100%), follow up programs of supporting
schemes like health insurance cards (100%).
Conclusion
Indian economy is highly dependent on monsoon. Deficit and
heavy rain affects Indian economy significantly. It affects agriculture,
trade, FMCG, Telecom, banks and so. It results in less cash flow in the
market. When street vendors are considered, continuous rain makes it
impossible for street vendors to do their business, since many of
them do not have any covering to protect from rain. When drainages
are not properly cleaned, chances are high for its overflow due to
heavy rain. Since they don’t have any means for storage of items, most
of the time, their products get spoilt during rain. When their
items get spoilt, they have to reinvest again suffering the losses.
During monsoon, most street vendors are getting very low income as
they cannot do their business continuously. They may also get ill
during rainy season, due to their work in such cold and changing
weather. Customers will withdraw buying from unclean
environment. In case of spread of epidemies, people will be
reluctant from buying from roadside sellers.
58
References
1. Bhatt, R. K. (2011). Recent global recession and
Indian economy: an analysis. International Journal of
Trade, Economics and Finance, 2(3), 212.
2. Chaubey,M.(2012). Effect of Monsoon on Indian
economy. Retrieved from
http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/153963-
Effect-Monsoon-Indian-economy.aspx
3. Gopal, V. (2014). An Empirical Analysis Of Street Vendors In
Coimbatore City.
4. Gulati, A., Saini, S., & Jain, S. (2013). Monsoon 2013:
estimating the impact on agriculture (No. 269). Working
Paper.
5. Phuntsok,Y.(2013). Street vendors at the mercy of
MCC. Retrieved from
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/street-
vendors-at-mercy-of-mcc/article4777986.ece
6. Turner,A.(2013). The Indian monsoon and climatic change.
Walker Institute.
7. Planning Commission of India (2007). "Labour Laws
and Other Labour Regulations" .The Government of India.
8. o monsoon rains really matter to economy and market. (2018,
April 12). Retrieved from
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news
/do-monsoon-rains-really-matter-to-economy-and-
market/articleshow/63728449.cms
9. http://nitibhan.com/2013/10/27/india-recognizes-the-
economic-contribution-of-street-vendors/
10. http://www.navhindtimes.in/monsoon-brings-good-business-
to-bhaji-vendors/http://www.wiego.org/informal-
economy/occupational-groups
11. https://www.dishapublication.com/blog/uneven-monsoon-
its-effect-on-indian-economy/
12. https://qrius.com/impact-of-monsoons-on-the-indian-
economy/
13. http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/153963-
Effect-Monsoon-Indian-economy.aspx
59
THE GLOOMY PHASE OF G.S.T. ON

SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY AND INFORMAL SECTOR
Dr. Remmiya Rajan P

Assistant Professor
Zamorins Guruvayurappan College, Calicut
Email: remmiyadinesh@gmail.com
Dr. Reshmi C.P

Assistant Professor
Jain University, Kochi
Email: cpreshmi@gmail.com
Abstract
The Goods and Services Tax (GST), that came into effect on 1st July, 2017, has
been lauded as the most comprehensive contemporary reform of Indian indirect
taxation. The repercussion of GST on macroeconomic indicators is likely to be
very positive in the medium-term. Inflation would be reduced as the cascading
(tax on tax) effect of taxes would be eliminated. The revenue from the taxes for
the government is very likely to increase with an extended tax net, and the fiscal
deficit is expected to remain under the checks. Small business in India form the
backbone of the Indian economy and the “informal sector” as consisting of
units engaged in the production of goods or services with the primary
objective of generating employment and incomes to the persons concerned.
The study tries to analyse the effect of G.S.T on Small business and informal
sector in India. The data was collected from Secondary Source and the statistical
technique used was percentage bar diagram etc. There are two objectives for
the study they are 1. To study the impact of G.S.T on small industries in India
2.To study the impact of G.S.T on Informal sector. The study concludes that
there was a direct need to integrate India into one economy and get rid of the
multiple taxes and its cascading effect. Introduction of GST resulted in
simplification of indirect tax system in the country and thereby ensures seamless
business transactions across our nation and world over. India’s paradigm shift to
the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime brought majority of MSME’s into the
indirect tax net for the first time and thereby increased compliance costs for
MSME’s. Complying with GST is bit complex for MSME’s at present. However in
the long run it will benefit small and medium businesses as well as consumers.
The overall impact of GST on MSME sector has to be reviewed by the Centre and
the States periodically, and any adverse impacts observed should be addressed at
appropriate times for the success of new tax regime.
Keywords: Gloomy Phase, Small Scale Industry, Informal Sector.
Introduction
The Goods and Services Tax (GST), that came into effect on 1st July,
2017, has been lauded as the most comprehensive contemporary
60
reform of Indian indirect taxation. Aimed at creating a common, unified

and integrated domestic market, allowing the free flow of goods and
services across state lines, GST is supposed to deliver Indian industry
and thereby the economy the competitive edge apparently lacking till
now. Reality is entirely different from the picture painted by
government. GST by creating platform conducive to economies of scale
and nullifying regional tariffs is both conceptually and practically
advantageous to big business and detrimental to the informal sector
and small businesses. These groupings, informal and small, though
quite different have some degree of overlap. Informal business is
overwhelmingly small but not all small businesses are informal. GST’s
impact on these groups is quite different both with regard to extent of
impact or in terms of results sought.
Small Scale Industry under GST

Small Scale Industry in India is defined, on the basis of investment
in plant and machinery, as either micro, small or medium enterprises.
These, collectively called the MSME sector, form the backbone of the
Indian economy. These are the industrial undertakings having fixed
investment in plant and machinery, whether held on ownership basis
or lease basis or hire purchase basis not exceeding rupees one crore.
Informal Sector
ILO defines “informal sector” as consisting of units engaged in
the production of goods or services with the primary objective of
generating employment and incomes to the persons concerned. The
units operate at low level of organization, with little or no division
between labour and capital as factors of production and on a small
scale. Labour relations– are based mostly on casual employment,
kinship or personal and social relations rather than contractual
arrangements with formal guarantees. In India, the National
Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS)
made an important distinction between organized or formal and
unorganized or informal employment - “Unorganized workers
consist of those working in the unorganized enterprises or
households, excluding regular workers with social security
benefits, and the workers in the formal sector without any
employment/social security benefits provided by the employers.”
61
 Work in the informal sector is less remunerative and the

conditions are inferior to the organized sector.
 They lack economic security and legal protection.
 Women workers in particular, are in vulnerable position
than their male counterparts.
Rationale of the Study

The repercussion of GST on macroeconomic indicators is likely to
be very positive in the medium-term. Inflation would be reduced as the
cascading (tax on tax) effect of taxes would be eliminated. The revenue
from the taxes for the government is very likely to increase with an
extended tax net, and the fiscal deficit is expected to remain under the
checks. Moreover, exports would grow, while FDI (Foreign Direct
Investment) would also increase. The industry leaders believe that the
country would climb several ladders in the ease of doing business with
the implementation of the most important tax reform ever in the
history of the country
GST is meant to bring every indirect form of tax under one roof.
For small and medium sized businesses, owners or manufacturers have
to take care of different taxes and have to run to various departments
to fulfil all the tax-related documentations. Some file different taxes
biannually, annually, half-yearly, etc. The more the departments, the
more is the harassment. Currently, the total tax levied by the central
and the state governments add up to 32%, but with the
implementation of GST, the business owners have to pay a much lower
tax of around 18-22 percent. Moreover, they do not have to pay
different taxes to various departments. It makes the job very much
easier for every business owner.
Direct Impact of GST on Small Scale and Informal Sector

 GST will help and ease the process of starting a business in
India. Earlier, every business in India was required to obtain
VAT registration, which differs in every state, and the rules
and regulations are different. Thus it was a very confusing
procedure. However, under GST, the businesses have to only
register for GST which will have a centralized process, similar
to service tax.
 Currently, for any business, it is mandatory to make a VAT
payment if the annual turnover is more than 5 lakh in few
62
states and 10 lakhs in few other states. This difference in

various states creates confusion. Under GST a business does
not have to register or collect GST if the annual turnover is 10
lakh. This is applicable to every state. This will allow many
small businesses which have a turnover between 5 lakh – 10
lakh to avoid applying for the GST return.
 GST allows small and medium business to do business with
ease in India, due to the less complexity. The distinction
between the services and goods will be gone, and this will
make compliance easier.
Research Problem
The conception of GST is the leading tax reform in decades
throughout the world, but India has been taking diminutive steps to
meet its target of rolling out GST on July 1st, 2017. The role of research
intends to focus on indulgent concept of goods and services tax and its
impact on small scale and informal sector in India
Research Methodology
On 7th October 2016 Government of India passed Process and
Flowchart of GST. Now, GST is going to implement very soon and all the
sectors have to register for it. The first step for each sector is to register
under Central Goods and Service Tax Act (CGST) and State Goods and
Service Tax Act (SGST). If a person is bound to be registered for GST he
shall register himself under SGST Act of his respective state where he
perform his business work, he shall also register under CGST Act. The
Registration of GST is received within 30 days.
Objectives of the Study

1. To study the impact of G.S.T on small industries in India
2. To study the impact of G.S.T on Informal sector
Analysis and Interpretation of Data

1. To study the impact of G.S.T on small industries in India
The newly implemented GST regime is influencing on small
industries which is shown in the table below GST’s impact on the
MSME sector is tri-pronged. The first involves a substantial
reduction in the turnover based exemption threshold. Turnover
exemption under Indian indirect taxation, be it excise, service tax or
63
VAT, even GST, is generally two tiered. The bottom tiers are those
enterprises completely exempted from taxation and compliance while
the upper is partially exempted by a reduction in the rate of taxation
and level of compliance. This partial exemption could be generally
applied to all eligible assesses or only to particular categories of
assesses.
Complete
Tax Partial Exemption
Exemption
Exemptions on a variety of
Excise
Up to 1.5 crore factors including goods
(Manufacturers)
manufactured, location, etc.
State VAT
Upto 5 lakh Upto 40 lakh *
(Traders)
Service Tax
(Service Up to 10 lakh Service centric exemptions
Providers)
GST Up to 20 lakh
Upto 75 lakh
(All Firms) (10 lakh in NE)
It is evident from the table that GST severely reduces the

exemption to manufacturing in the MSME sector. 75 lakh (including the
partial exemption) may cover micro enterprises and the bottom part of
small, but medium and the upper section of small manufacturing has
had its exemption stripped away and is being treated on par with big
business. Even manufacturing units with turnover between 20 lakh and
75 lakh in spite of retaining a partial exemption, are burdened with a
non-transferable tax rate of 1%. As all indirect taxes are ideally
transferable to customers via a hiked price and not actually borne by
the enterprise, this 1% directly touches the profitability of micro and
small enterprises to which it applies. Also, those under a composition
scheme (partial exemption under GST) are additionally burdened by
being denied the benefits of input tax credit and hence cannot set off
taxes paid on inputs (passed on by the supplier by a hiked price) from
those payable on outputs, paying only the difference.
Even benefits from an increased GST exemption for traders when
compared to the limits prescribed under the State VATs must be factor
in the loss of exclusivity to local traders. VAT’s composition scheme
(partial exemption) was applicable to a firm only on satisfaction of
64
certain conditions one of which was that all purchases and sales made
by the firm were local, within the state. By negating the locational
clause, small local traders and the employment they generate are left
open to competition from outside the state. Admittedly, service
providers have substantially befitted but service provision especially
when job work (exempted separately as under the previous regime) is
excluded pales in comparison to manufacturing and trade, from an
employment perspective.
GST’s second blow to MSMEs comes from the abolition of regional
tariffs. The absence of entry taxes, interstate levies, octroi, etc. has
stripped small industry of its state sponsored protections leaving them
open to being undercut out of markets by bigger firms operating at far
greater economies of scale. Also, for these bigger firms, GST has had a
tremendous impact on logistics cost with nearly a 30% reduction being
witnessed. Abolition of state levies dispels the need to maintain state-
wise depots to facilitate un-taxed stock transfers. For example,
previously if one were to sell goods, manufactured in Kerala to
customers in Kerala, it was cost effective to incur capital costs needed
to create depots in Kerala, to avoid interstate levies. These costs not
only created a competitive edge for localized industry but also created
employment and investment in the poorly industrialized states. Under
GST, goods manufactured Kerala will be treated on par with those did
not make in Kerala, nor will Kerala businesses be incentivized make
investments in Kerala. Instead, it may be more cost effective to deliver
straight to Kerala based customers sans a depot and resulting in a
shrinking of Kerala job market, investments and industrial base. The
most important small scale industry is cotton textiles; the rate of GST
for all cotton products is 5%.
2. To study the impact of G.S.T on Informal sector

We have witnessed a period of demand moderation across sectors.
This scenario affected the informal sector more than others, due to
various systemic issues. The sector, especially small and mid-scale
export units, was already facing challenges prior to demonetization
and GST. But the gain in market share of listed companies means a
corresponding fall in the share of units operating in the informal
economy. GST is sure to take a toll on the financial health of small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in these sectors.
Economists say that the informal or unorganized sector accounts for
nearly 50% of India’s gross domestic product and is responsible for
more than 80% of total job creation in the country.
65
Impact of G.S.T on Informal Sector

Informal Sector Before GST After GST
Tile 40% 20%
Ceramics 34 30
Ready made 60% 30%
Electrical and other 70% 35%
Package Products 5% 18%
Readymade Garments 4-5% 18%
Jewellery 3% 18%
Mobile & credit cards 15% 18%
Cars 30-44% 18%
Home appliance
12.5% 18%
(Excise &VAT)
Impact of G.S.T on Informal Sector
But the gain in market share of listed companies means a

corresponding fall in the share of units operating in the informal
economy. GST is sure to take a toll on the financial health of small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in these sectors.
Economists say that the informal or unorganized sector accounts for
nearly 50% of India’s gross domestic product and is responsible for
more than 80% of total job creation in the country. Many of the firms
operating in this part of the economy make profits largely due to tax
evasion and non-compliance with regulatory norms, which allows
66
them to offer products at comparatively lower prices. However, in the

GST-era, it will be a struggle for survival for such firms because they
will be faced with taxes, lower margins and a sharp spike in the cost of
compliance. Some firms in the unorganized sector may go under, while
others could find their profits curtailed. To be sure, in some instances
the two sets of companies cater to different customers, but there is
always some overlap. And it is not just the manufacturers in the
informal economy who will suffer but also the smaller dealers and
wholesalers.
Summary and Conclusion

There was a dire need to integrate India into one economy and get
rid of the multiple taxes and its cascading effect. Introduction of GST
resulted in simplification of indirect tax system in the country and
thereby ensures seamless business transactions across our nation and
world over. On the arrival of GST, the Small scale and Informal sectors
has forced to revamp their strategies, systems, supply chains and
costing apart from meeting the quality standards as per international
norms. So far, unorganized Small scale and Informal sectors have
grown faster than organized peers because of lower cost structures
stemming from tax benefits, (if turnover is less than 1.5 crore). India’s
paradigm shift to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime brought
majority of Small scale and Informal sectors into the indirect tax net for
the first time and thereby increased compliance costs for Small scale
and Informal sectors. Complying with GST is bit complex for Small scale
and Informal sectors at present. However in the long run it will benefit
small and medium businesses as well as consumers. The overall impact
of GST on Small scale and Informal sectors has to be reviewed by the
Centre and the States periodically, and any adverse impacts observed
should be addressed at appropriate times for the success of new tax
regime.
67
References
1. Ahmad, E and N. Stern (1991): The theory and practice of Tax
Reforms in Developing Countries., Cambridge University Press.
2. Anushuya Pal, NarwalKaram (2014): Indian Indirect Tax
Systems: Reforms and Goods and Services Tax., Advances in
Management 7.7 (Jul 2014): 9-14.
3. C P Resmi (2018): Digital Revolution- A Re-structured Banking
System, Shanlax Journal of Economics, Volume 6, Pages 93-96,
DOI-10.5281/
4. Pannu SPS (2015): The Biggest Tax Reforms in India: Since from
Independence Business Today, Nov, 28, 2015, New Delhi.
5. Poddar, Satya and Amaresh Bagchi (2007): Revenue-neutral
rate for GST, The Economic Times, November 15, 2007.
6. Rajesh Kumar Singh (2015): India closer to biggest tax reform
in decades., Top News, Business, May 6, 2015, New Delhi.
7. Madhubala., Feb,2018): GST in India and its Impact on Indian
Economy.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324573464_
8. AnandNayyar & Inderpal Singh(2018) A Comprehensive
Analysis of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India., Indian
Journal of Finance 12(2):57 · February 2018
9. Dani S (2016) A Research Paper on an Impact of Goods and
Service Tax (GST) on Indian Economy. Bus Eco J 7: 264. doi:
10.4172/2151-6219.1000264.
10. https://www.deskera.in/gst-benefits-and-impact-on-indian-
economy Times Of India., Nov 1st 2018:
11. Source: Sagar Malwiya, Sharmista Mukherjee(2018): ‘FMCG
products, Automobiles record fastest growth rate in nearly five
years’., ET Bureau, Jan 5th 2018
68
ROLE OF MIGRANT LABOUR IN

PLYWOOD INDUSTRY
Dr. Vinitha K.B

Department of Economics
St. Joseph's College, (Autonomous), Irinjalakuda
Email: vinithakb85@gmail.com
Abstract
Migrant labour considered as an inevitable part and parcel of informal
sector. The contributions of migrant labour in plywood industry has been a
considerable one. This research is an attempt to understand the role of migrant
labour in plywood industry in Kerala. In Kerala, Perumbavoor has been
considered an ideal setting for this study as it has been attracting a large number
of migrant workers to the plywood industry. The study emphases on the socio
economic conditions of migrant labour push and pull factors of migrant labour to
plywood industry, level of attitude of migration, migrant labour view on working
conditions and employer’s view on the impact of migrant labour.
Keywords: Migrant Labour, Plywood Industry, Kerala, Perumbavoor, Informal

Sector
Introduction
Informal sector is a large sector in most of the developing
economies. It is also called as the unorganised sector. The informal
economy is a very important sector of the Indian economy: The
National Council of Applied Economic Research estimates that the
informal sector -“unorganised sector”- generates about 62 % of GDP,
50 % of national savings and 40 % of national exports, (ILO 2002, p.
30). In terms of employment, the informal economy provides for about
55 % of total employment (ILO 2002, p. 14). Urban areas (especially
large cities) attract numerous migrants from both the rural areas and
from smaller urban towns and cities in the hope of a better life. The
Indian labour market can be conceived of as a segmented market: a
formal sector with workers who have salaried work, with good
working conditions, and of course organised business. The informal
economy would consist of small self -employed traders and business
people, migrant labourers and casual workers in the informal or formal
sectors.
69
Rationale of the Study

The NSSO (2012, p ii) document finds that in 2014-2015 in the
non–agriculture sector, nearly 71 % of the workers in rural areas and
67 % in the urban areas worked in the informal sector. It finds that the
informal sector activities are concentrated mainly in the
manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trades, and
transport, storage and communication industries. The migrants
primarily trace work in the informal sector in cities as they do not
possess adequate skills that are required to get jobs in organized
sector. This leads to the development of dual labour market in the
urban areas. On one hand there are the scantily paid workers, not
availing any form of social security in the informal sector, and in
contrast there are the highly skilled and better paid formal sector
workers. Although the migrants earn more in the urban areas than in
the rural areas, since they are underpaid in the informal sector in the
city it thrusts on them a low standard of living and quality of life in the
metropolis. Given the set-up of the urban labour market in India, some
of the important issues that are raised, what are the push and pull
factors or migration and how it will affect the quality of life of migrants
the industrial and manufacturing sectors. In kerala Perumbavoor is the
main centre of plywood industry, literally it is wholly run by the
migrant labour.
Objectives
The present study has been concentrates on the following
objectives.
a. To study the push and pull factors of migrant labourers to the
plywood industry.
b. To assess the relationship between the push and pull factors of
migrant labourers to their quality of work life.
Derek McGee et.al (2017) reformulates the plans and strategies of
Polish migrants in the U.K. They consider migrants’ attitudes towards
specific civic integration measures and UK vote to leave the European
Union. Their study is based on the quantitative analysis and survey
data. They investigate the factors behind Polish migrants’ migration
strategies, awareness of one’s right and one’s right in the future.
70
Sophia Cranston (2017) provides an insight into the social,

economic and geographical complexities of migration processes. They
pointed out that migration industry and social networks are not
substitutes, but operates simultaneously. They explored the idea that
labour market brokers play a channel of migration industries.
Economic Survey (2017) reported that interstate labour mobility is
higher than previous survey reports. Female migration is
tremendously accelerating. Interstate migration is about 60 million and
an inter district migration as high as 80 million. Another finding is that
migration for work and education is at an increasing rate. High growth
and multiplication of economic opportunities are the main reasons for
the acceleration to migrate. The report also highlights that language is
not a constraint for the flow of people from one point to another. Less
per capita income states have high out migration and high per capita
income states are the largest recipients of migrants.
Mythri Prasad Aleyamma (2017) examined the wages of migrant
workers and local unionized labour in Ernakulam district of Kerala. She
details the practices in port building site and spot labour markets for
construction sites. Wages of local workers and migrant workers are
different in terms of quantity, processes and practices surround them.
Theoretical Framework of the Study

Theories of Migration
Theories have been gaining importance in recent years and are
finding wider application in social and natural sciences. A theory is a
symbolic and simplified representation of reality, which helps in the
patterning of the observed behaviour. The process of theorization of
migration began in the nineteenth century. It has been discussed by
sociologists, geographers and economists who have respectively
emphasized the social and cultural, the distance and economic factors
are the movements of migration. The primary concern of sociologists
had been to examine factors influencing the individual and household
decision for migration. They had discussed demographic, social,
physiological, economic and attitudinal factors to explain the migration
flows. Economists had focused their attention on the causes and
outcomes of migration. They have been discussing the role of wages,
income, levels of employment and unemployment influencing
migration flows. Geographers are largely concerned with movement of
people in space and territorial redistribution of population.
71
Lee's Conceptual Framework for Migration Analysis

On the basis of Ravenstein's laws of migration, Lee (1966)
postulated a general formal framework for analyzing the volume of
migration, the development of stream and counter streams and the
characteristics of migrants. He elucidated the factors associated with
the decision to migrate and the process of migration into four
categories:
a) Factors associated with the area of origin
b) Factors associated with the area of destination
c) Intervening obstacles and
d) Personal factors
He split the forces exerting influence on migrants' perception in to
'pluses' and 'minuses' and 'zeros'. On the basis of above elements, he
has conceptualized the following hypothetical statements.
A. Volume of Migration
1. The volume of migration within a given territory varies with
the degree of diversity in the area included in that territory.
2. The volume of migration varies with the diversity of people.
3. The volume of migration is related to the difficulty of
surmounting the intervening obstacles.
4. Unless severe checks are imposed, both the volume and the
rate of migration tend to increase with time.
5. The volume of migration varies with fluctuations in the
economy.
6. The volume and rate of migration vary with the state of
progress in a country or in an area.
B. Stream and Counter- Stream

1. Migration tends to take place largely within well-defined
streams.
2. For every major migration stream, a counter stream also
develops.
3. The efficiency of the stream is high, if the major agents in the
development of a migration stream were minus factors at
origin. In other words, origin push factors are relatively more
important than destination pull factors.
4. The efficiency of stream and counter stream tends to be low if
origin and destination are similar.
72
5. The efficiency of migration stream will be high, if the

intervening obstacles are great.
6. The efficiency of a migration stream varies with the economic
conditions being high in prosperous times and low in times of
depression.
C. Characteristics of Migrants
1. Migration is selective.
2. Migration responding primarily to plus factors at destination
tends to be positively selected.
3. Migrants responding primarily to minus factors at the origin
tend to be negatively selected or where the minus factors are
overwhelming to entire population group, they may not be
taken at all.
4. The degree of positive selection increases with the difficulty of
the intervening obstacles.
5. Taking all migrants together, selection tends to be bi-model.
6. The heightened propensity to migrate at certain stages in the
life cycle is important in the selection of migrants.
7. The characteristics of the migrants tend to be intermediate
between the characteristics of the population at origin and the
population at destination.
8. Income levels are substantial variables in migration.
Lee's theory of migration has been criticized on the ground of its

high degree of generality and the interdependence of many of its
hypotheses. It also does no clarity which plus factors and which minus
factors at both the origin and the destination are quantitative the most
important to different groups and categories of people. In short, by not
specifying the interrelationships between the dependent and the
independent variables within the context of a rigorous theoretical
framework, Lee's theory of migration offers little practical policy
guidance for decision makers in the developing nations.
Methodology
Selection of the Area
To carry out the study the investigator has selected Perumbavoor
in Ernakulam district of Kerala state. For the current study,
Perumbavoor has been selected because 1) Perumbavoor is the
73
plywood centre of Kerala, 2) the people are more enterprising in the

non-farm activities than farm activities, 3) studies are not available on
the impact of the migrant workers of plywood industry in
Perumbavoor, and 4) easy accessibility for the investigator to collect
the data since it happens to be the native place to conduct study.
Sampling Design of the Study

For the purpose of the study, researcher considered Perumbavoor
which is the biggest cluster of plywood industry in Kerala as the area of
the study. The study area consists of a total of 335 plywood units.
Among the 335 units, researcher selected the plywood units which are
having more than 60 migrant labour. Thus the selected sample
plywood unit comes around 71. The total population of the migrant
labour in the selected plywood units are 4814.
For the purpose of selecting the samples from the population, the
researcher adopted the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) 21 table at a
confidence level of 95 % and a 5% margin of standard error. According
to this table, the adequate sample size from a population of up to 5000
is 355. Then the researcher equally selected 5 migrant labour from 71
units and the total sample size of the study comes around 355. Out of
355 responses, 342 responses were complete and the same was
considered in the analysis of data. Hence the response rate of the
survey was about 96.33 percent by eliminating the 13 incomplete
responses. Hence the sampling technique adopted for the study is
proportionate random sampling.
The collected data were coded, using the SPSS package, and
various appropriate statistical tools were used for analysis on the basis
of objectives such as, Descriptive Statistics, Garret ranking, Exploratory
Factor Analysis and Correlation analysis. Hence the researcher applied
different statistical tools for analysis by using the statistical package of
SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 which are more suited to make inferences with
regard to the subject matter of the study.
Data Analysis
Push and Pull Factors of Migrant Labour to the Plywood Industry –
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Exploratory Factor analysis is a data reduction technique which
reduces the large number of variables to a smaller set of underlying
factors that summarizes the essential information contained in the
74
variables. Factor loadings are numerical values that indicate the

strength and direction of a factor influencing on a measured variable.
In this study, exploratory factor analysis is used to explore the push
and pull factors of migrant labour to the plywood industry by applying
principal component method with varimax rotation.
Table 1 Reliability analysis on the push factors of migrant labour

to the plywood industry
KMO and Bartlett's Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling .892
Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 30717.514
Sphericity Df 190
Sig. .000
Source: Computed from primary data
The table 1 revealed the results of two tests namely, Kaiser-Meyer-
Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity to
test whether the relationship among the variable is significant or not.
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy shows the value of
test statistic as 0.892, which means the factor analysis for selected
variables is found to be appropriate. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity shows
the significant value as 0.000, which means the selected variables are
statistically significant and exhibits a high relationship among the push
factors of migrant labour to the plywood industry
Table 2 Clustering of Push factors of migrant labour to the

plywood industry
Rotated
Factor Parameters Factor
Loadings
Factor 1: No sufficient working conditions .890
Lack of Heavy workload .882
employment Lack of liking job .866
20.37 % of Longer working hours .856
Variance No regular employment .851
Factor 2: Sold out the land .847
Unviable No suitable land for cultivation .796
land holding Not having land .754
19.91 % of No proper irrigation .741
75
Variance Drought in land .716

Factor 3: No sufficient wages .712
Low income No proper distribution of wages .701
15.52 % of
Discrimination in payment .699
Variance
Factor 4: Heavy debt on asset .696
Indebtness
9.21 % of No repayment of debt .686
Variance
Factor 5: Conflict with neighbours .869
Social Caste discrimination .861
Conflicts
5.85 % of Conflict with employer .792
Variance
Factor 6: Family feud .568
Family
Conflicts
To enjoy the nuclear family .543
4.88 % of
Variance
Total Variance Explained : 75.74 % Variance
The table 2 reveals that out of the 20 parameters of push factors, 6

factors have been extracted and these six factors explain the total
variance of push factors of migrant labour to the plywood industry to
the extent of 75.74 percent. It is identified that the loading patterns of
the factors suggest a strong association among the parameters and all
these variables are found to be contributing to the push factors of
migrant labour to the plywood industry.
Table 3 Reliability analysis on the Pull factors of migrant labour to

the plywood industry
KMO and Bartlett's Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling
.858
Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Sphericity 20334.898
105
Sig. .000
76
The table 3 revealed the results of two tests, namely, Kaiser-

Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of
Sphericity to test whether the relationship among the variable is
significant or not. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy
shows the value of test statistic as 0.858, which means the factor
analysis for selected variables is found to be appropriate. Bartlett’s
Test of Sphericity shows the significant value as 0.000, which means
the selected variables are statistically significant and exhibits a high
relationship among the pull factors.
Table 4 Clustering of Pull factors of migrant labour to the

plywood industry
Rotated
Factor Parameters Factor
Loadings
Factor 1: Better job opportunity .893
Better Job availability for all the family members .884
employment
opportunity
Easy to get the job .881
28.67 % of
Variance
Factor 2: Proper distribution of wages .866
Higher Wages Higher wages paid .843
20.94 % of
Advance will be paid by the owner .747
Variance
Factor 3: Previous experience .661
Skill of Work Skill development in short period .655
16.13 % of
No experience is needed .627
Variance
Factor 4: Very easy to learn .623
Nature of job
11.49 % of Working hours are limited .600
Variance
Factor 5: Continuous regular job .584
Security of Come with pre-arrangement .564
job More secured for entire life .562
8.62 % of
No risk in doing .541
Variance
Total Variance Explained : 77.23 % Variance
The table 4 reveals that out of the 15 parameters of pull factors of
migrant labour to the plywood industry, 5 factors have been extracted
and these five factors explain the total variance of push factors to the
77
extent of 77.23 percent. It is identified that the loading patterns of the

factors suggest a strong association among the parameters and all
these variables are found to be contributing to the pull factors.
Table 5 Mean Score on the Push factors

Push Factors Mean score Rank
Lack of employment 4.23 1
Unviable land holding 3.54 5
Low income 4.06 2
Indebtedness 3.76 3
Social Conflicts 2.45 6
Family Conflicts 2.22 7
Figure1 Radar Graph on the Push factors of migrant labour to the

plywood industry
Table 5 and figure 1 reveals the mean score on the push factors. It
is found that the lack of employment (4.23) is the highest push factor
that influence the labour to migrate to the plywood industry, the
second push factor that influence the labour to migrate to the plywood
industry is low income (4.06), the third push factor is indebtedness
(3.76) and the fourth push factor is the unviable land holdings (3.54).
Migrant labour highly agree with all these four push factors of
migration. The migrant labour disagree with the other two push factors
of migration such as social conflicts (2.45) and the family conflicts
(2.22). Hence it is concluded that the highest push factor which
influence the labour to migrate to the industry is the lack of
employment and the least push factor is the family conflicts.
78
Table 6 Mean Score on the Pull factors

Pull Factors Mean score Rank
Better employment opportunity 4.21 1
Higher wages 3.29 4
Skill of Work 3.34 3
Nature of job 3.69 2
Security of job 2.94 5
Figure 2 Radar Graph on the Pull factors of migrant labour to the

plywood industry
Table 6 and figure 7.2 reveals the mean score on the pull factors of
migrant labour to the plywood industry. It is found that better
employment opportunities (4.21) is the highest pull factor that
influence the labour to migrate to the industry, the second pull factor is
nature of job (3.69), the third pull factor is skill of work (3.34) and the
fourth pull factor is the higher wages (3.29). Migrant labour highly
agree with all these four pull factors of migration. They disagree with
one of the pull factors of migration such as security of job (2.9). Hence
it is concluded that the highest push factor which influence the labour
to migrate to the plywood industry is the better employment
opportunity and the least push factor that influence the labour to
migrate to the plywood industry is the security of the job.
79
Relationship between the push and pull factors of migrant labour

to their quality of work life – Multiple Correlation analysis
Multiple Correlations is used to measure the relationship between
two or more independent variables and the dependent variables.
A higher coefficient value of multiple correlation indicates a better
predictability of the dependent variable from the predictor variables.
Table 7 Correlation between the push factors of migrant labour

and quality of their work life
H01: Push factors of migrant labour have no relationship with the
quality of their work lif
Push Factors PC Sig. N

Lack of -.823 ** .000 342
employment
Unviable land -.513** .000 342
holding
Low income -.788** .000 342
Indebtedness -.726** .000 342
Social Conflicts -.521** .000 342
Family Conflicts -.603 ** .000 342
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Source: Computed from Primary Data
Table 7 deals with the correlation between the push factors of

migrant labour and quality of their work life. It indicates that all the
independent variables of push factors such as lack of employment,
unviable land holding, low income, indebtedness, social conflicts and
family conflicts have significant relationship with the dependent
variable ‘quality of work life’ at 1 percent level of significance (P value
.000 < 0.01). Hence the hypothesis is rejected. The result also reveals
that among the migrant labour, push factors such as lack of
employment (82.3 percent), unviable land holding (51.3 percent), low
income (78.8 percent), indebtedness (72.6 percent), social conflicts
(52.1 percent) and family conflicts (60.3 percent) have a significant
negative relationship with the quality of their work life. It is concluded
that the lack of employment has the highest significant relationship
with the quality of work life of migrant labour. Hence, the push factors
such as lack of employment, low income, indebtedness and family
conflict will reduce the quality of work life of migrant labour.
80
Table 8 Correlation between the pull factors of migrant labour

and quality of their work life
H01: Pull factors of migrant labour have no relationship with the
quality of their work life
Push Factors PC Sig. N
Better employment opportunity .682** .000 342
Higher wages .726** .000 342
Skill of Work .421 ** .000 342
Nature of job .623** .000 342
Security of job .574 ** .000 342
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Source: Computed from Primary Data
Table 7.8 deals with the correlation between the pull factors of
migrant labour and quality of their work life. It indicates that all the
independent variables of pull factors such as better employment
opportunity, higher wages, skill of work, nature of job and security of
job have significant relationship with the dependent variable quality of
work life at 1 percent level of significance (P value .000 < 0.01). Hence
the hypothesis is rejected. The result also reveals that among the
migrant labour, pull factors such as better employment opportunity
(68.2 percent), higher wages (72.6 percent), skill of work (42.1
percent), nature of job (62.3 percent) and security of job (57.4 percent)
have significant positive relationship with quality of their work life. It
is concluded that higher wages has highest significant relationship with
the quality of work life of migrant labour. Hence, the pull factors such
as higher wages, better employment opportunity and nature of the job
will improve the quality of work life of migrant labour.
Conclusion
The study related to the role of migrant labour in plywood industry
has been focused to exist policy makers who proposed to introduce
policies in this area. In the plywood industry migrant labour has a place
of permanence in all the units which was surveyed these migrant
labour have made an imprint. So the policy makers can very well use
this example while they formulate different measures to improve the
conditions of the labour. Labour migration increases the efficiency of
industries and migrant labour in plywood industry has very important
place in the economic environment of Perumbavoor as well as Kerala.
81
The study concluded that the contributions of migrant labour in

different sectors increasing day by day. Proper quality training, health
facilities, and create suitable social environment are the
responsibilities of government as well as the public.
References
1. Annual Report of Economic Survey 2016-2017, Ministry of
Finance, Government of India.
2. Cranston Sophia ,(2017), New directions in exploring the
migration Industries:
3. Derek Mc Ghee, Chris Moreh, AthinaVlachantoni.,(2017), An
Undeliberate Determinancy? The changing strategies of Polish
migrants in the U.K in times of Brexit., Journal of Ethnic and
Migration studies, Vol. no. 43, issue- 13.
4. Introduction to special issue; Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies.
5. Prasad-Aleyamma, M. (2017). The cultural politics of wages:
Ethnography of construction work in Kochi,
India. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 0069966717697420.
6. Shen, J. (2017). Stuck in the suburbs? Socio-spatial exclusion of
migrants in Shanghai. Cities, 60, 428-435.
7. Stojanov, R., Bureš, O., &Duží, B. (2017). Migration and
development policies: The state of affairs before the 2015
European migration crises in the Czech Republic and its
current implications. Communist and Post-Communist Studies.
82
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION FACTORS IN INFORMAL

SECTOR: A STUDY WITH SPECIAL TO RURAL COIR
WORKERS IN ALAPPUZHA
Manikandan A
Research Scholar, Annamalai University
Email:vdymanikandan777@gmail.com
Dr. P. Veerakumar
Associate Professor, Department of Commerce
Research Supervisor and Guide, Annamalai University
Abstract
Employee satisfaction is a measure of how happy workers are with their job
and working environment. The success of any business is directly affected by the
performance of the employees within the organization, whether or not those
employees are dealing directly with customers. Businesses that clearly
understand the impact of their employees' performance are better able to
manage employee output and productivity. Properly managing employee
performance helps any business to increase profits and consistently meet sales
goals. Informal sector means is a part of an economy that is not monitored
properly. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the
economies in developing countries like India. However, the informal sector
provides critical economic opportunities for the poor. The type of work that
makes up the informal economy is diverse, particularly in terms of capital
invested, technology used and income generated. The spectrum ranges from self
employment or unpaid family labor to street vendors, shoe shiners and junk
collectors. On the higher end of the spectrum are upper – tier informal activities
such as small scale service, small scale manufacturing process. The most
prevalent type of work in the informal economy is home based workers and street
vendors. Home based workers are more in Indian context. “The performance of
Indian economy is affected not only Formal sectors but also the Informal sectors.
That means, the performance of Informal sectors are highly influenced to the
overall performance of Indian Economy .Therefore, employee satisfaction of
Informal sectors would be one of the important factor that influenced the
effectiveness of Indian Economy. If any discrepancy in the Informal sectors in the
Economy, it would directly or indirectly affect the Indian economy and it would
leads to financial instability in the country. In other words, there are factors
which are highly influencing employee satisfaction in informal sectors in Indian
economy. If such factors are not proper, and then it will affect economic process
in India. Whether employees in Informal sectors in India are facing any problems
on account of employee satisfaction will be as Research Problem. The researcher
attempted to study Employee Satisfaction Factors in Informal Sector: A Study
with Special to Rural Coir Workers in Alappuzha , For the purpose , the
researcher selected the rural area coir workers in Alappuzha as research area
.The main objectives of the study included to study the level of employee
83
satisfaction of coir workers, to identify the factors determining employee

satisfaction of coir workers, to analyze the rate of employee welfare activities in
employee satisfaction, to suggest measures for the overall employee satisfaction
of coir workers. For the research purpose, both primary data and secondary data
are used. Primary data are collected by using questionnaire, schedules, interview
etc… secondary data are used from journals, magazines, newspapers etc. In this
study the sample unit is consider as rural area in Alappuzha. The sample size
refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a
sample. Here the sample size taken for the study is 100 respondents from the
place of Alappuzha. The sampling procedure used in the study is random
sampling. From the study, it is very clear that the there are some factors that are
highly influencing employee satisfaction in Informal factors especially in rural
coir workers. The study also mentioned some measures for the overall
achievement of employee satisfaction in informal sectors in India especially in
rural coir workers.
Keywords: Employee satisfaction, Formal and Informal sector in India, Coir

workers, Economic stability and instability Employee motivational factor.
Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the term used to describe
formal systems devised for the management of people within an
organization. The responsibilities of a human resource manager fall
into three major areas: staffing, employee compensation and benefits,
and defining/designing work. Essentially, the purpose of HRM is to
maximize the productivity of an organization by optimizing the
effectiveness of its employees. The success of any business is directly
affected by the performance of the employees within the organization,
whether or not those employees are dealing directly with customers.
Businesses that clearly understand the impact of their employees'
performance are better able to manage employee output and
productivity. Properly managing employee performance helps any
business to increase profits and consistently meet sales goals.
Employee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether
employees are happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and
needs at work. Many measures purport that employee satisfaction is a
factor in employee motivation, employee goal achievement, and
positive employee morale in the workplace. Employee satisfaction,
while generally a positive in your organization, can also become a
downer if mediocre employees stay because they are satisfied and
happy with your work environment. Factors contributing to employee
satisfaction include treating employees with respect, providing
84
regular employee recognition, empowering employees, offering above

industry-average benefits and compensation, providing
employee perks and company activities, and positive management
within a success framework of goals, measurements, and expectations.
The critical factor with employee satisfaction is that satisfied
employees must do the job and make the contributions that the
employer needs. If they don't, all that the employer does to provide an
environment that satisfies employees is for naught.
Factors Influencing Employee Satisfaction

An employee's overall satisfaction with his job is the result of a
combination of factors -- and financial compensation is only one of
them. Management's role in enhancing employees' job satisfaction is to
make sure the work environment is positive, morale is high and
employees have the resources they need to accomplish the tasks they
have been assigned.
Working Conditions: Because employees spend so much time in
their work environment each week, it's important for companies to try
to optimize working conditions. Such things as providing spacious
work areas rather than cramped ones, adequate lighting and
comfortable work stations contribute to favorable work conditions.
Opportunity for Advancement: Employees are more satisfied
with their current job if they see a path available to move up the ranks
in the company and be given more responsibility and along with it
higher compensation.
Workload and Stress Level: Dealing with a workload that is far
too heavy and deadlines that are impossible to reach can cause job
satisfaction to erode for even the most dedicated employee. Falling
short of deadlines results in conflict between employees and
supervisors and raises the stress level of the workplace.
Respect from Co-Workers: Employees seek to be treated with
respect by those they work with. A hostile work environment with
rude or unpleasant coworkers -- is one that usually has lower job
satisfaction.
Relationship with Supervisors: Effective managers know their
employees need recognition and praise for their efforts and
accomplishments.
85
Financial Rewards: Job satisfaction is impacted by an employee's

views about the fairness of the company wage scale as well as the
current compensation she may be receiving. Companies need to have a
mechanism in place to evaluate employee performance and provide
salary increases to top performers.
Conceptual Frame Work Review

Measures to be taken by an organization to improve employee
satisfaction
i. Provide a positive working environment
Creating job satisfaction begins by first providing a positive work
environment. Fran Tarkenton says, to find what motivates people,
“you have to find what turns people on.” This is the most important
factor in the process. A motivating working environment requires
going over and beyond the call of duty and providing for the needs of
the worker.
ii. Reward and recognition
Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good
compliment.” Personal recognition is a powerful tool in building
morale and motivation. A pat on the back, a personal note from a peer
or a supervisor does wonders. Small, informal celebrations are many
times more effective than a once a quarter or once a year formal event
iii. Fringe benefits
Fringe benefits are additional compensation provided to
employees above and beyond an agreed-upon wage or salary. Besides
helping employees, offering fringe benefits helps employers
tremendously from a recruiting perspective. Among similarly focused
companies, employers can find it challenging to attract
desired talent based on salary alone. By offering fringe benefits,
especially those not available through a competitor, an
employer stands a greater chance of attracting the level of talent it
needs or wants.
Statement of the Problem

“The performance of Indian economy is affected not only Formal
sectors but also the Informal sectors. That means, the performance of
Informal sectors are highly influenced to the overall performance of
Indian Economy .Therefore, employee satisfaction of Informal sectors
would be one of the important factor that influenced the effectiveness
86
of Indian Economy. If any discrepancy in the Informal sectors in the

Economy, it would directly or indirectly affect the Indian economy and
it would leads to financial instability in the country. In other words,
there are factors which are highly influencing employee satisfaction in
informal sectors in Indian economy. If such factors are not proper, and
then it will affect economic process in India. Whether employees in
Informal sectors in India are facing any problems on account of
employee satisfaction will be as Research Problem. The researcher
attempted to study Employee Satisfaction Factors in Informal
Sector: A Study with Special to Rural Coir Workers in Alappuzha
Objectives of the study:

Following are the main objectives of the study
 To study the level of employee satisfaction of rural coir
workers as informal sector.
 To identify the factors determining employee satisfaction of
rural coir workers.
 To analyze the role of employee welfare activities in employee
satisfaction in informal sector.
 To suggest measures for the overall employee satisfaction of
rural coir workers coir workers in informal sector.
 Need of the study: The study about the progress of financial
inclusion in India has much significance because of the
following reasons:
 The study indicated factors that helps to maintain ability and
willing of work forces.
 The study made on the topic employee satisfaction revealed
the factors that affect employee satisfaction of rural coir
factors.
 The research report helps the Economic policy makers to
know the satisfaction level of employees in informal sectors
especially in rural coir workers and they can take measures to
increase productivity in informal sectors in Economy.
Limitations of the study

 The study concentrated on some of the relevant factors that
are influencing employee satisfaction in informal sectors in
India.
87
 There are numbers of informal sectors in Indian economy but

the study just concentrated on the rural coir workers in
Alappuzha.
 The study mainly concentrated on the area of Alappuzha and
the size of the sample limited to 100.
 Accuracy of result depends upon the accuracy of the Primary
data.
Methodology of the study

For the research purpose, both primary data and secondary data
are used. Primary data are collected by using questionnaire, schedules,
interview etc… secondary data are used from journals, magazines,
newspapers etc. In this study the sample unit is consider as rural area
in Alappuzha. The sample size refers to the number of items to be
selected from the universe to constitute a sample. Here the sample size
taken for the study is 100 respondents from the rural area of
Alappuzha. The sampling procedure used in the study is random
sampling.
Results
1. Level of Work experience of the Coir employees
Work Experience No. of Percentage
(in years) Respondents
0-5 years 51 51%
5-10 years 36 36%
10-15 years 11 11%
More than 15 years 2 2%
Total 100 100%
Source: Primary data
Interpretation: From the analysis and interpretation of the table, it

is inferred that, 51% of coir workers have below 5 years experience, 36
% have 5 to 10 years experience, 11% have 10 to 15 years experience
and 2% have more than 15 years coir work experience.
88
2. Promotional policy in Coir work

No. of
Promotional Policy Percentage
Respondents
Seniority 46 46%
Merit 0 0%
Merit cum seniority 0 0%
Written test with 0 0%
merit
No any promotional 54 54%
policy
Total 100 100%

is inferred that, 46% of coir workers have expressed their view on
account of promotional policy based on Seniority but at the same time ,
54% of coir workers have opined that there was no any promotional
policy.
3. Employee’s preference level of training method:

No. of
Training Method Percentage
Respondents
On the job 31 31%
Off the job 0 0%
No any training 69 69%
programme
Total 100 100%

is inferred that, 31% of coir workers have expressed their view on
account of preferred training method as on the job method , but 69% of
coir workers have opinioned that there was no any training
programme at all.
89
4. Ranking Preference of the working aspects of the organization

Ranking point
Working
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Total
aspects
rank rank rank rank rank rank
Employee
welfare 180 115 44 15 6 3 363
activities
Promotion and
210 60 60 12 12 3 357
transfer
Remuneration 114 110 8 24 36 6 298
Infrastructure
168 110 64 9 8 2 361
facilities
Superior
234 55 36 15 14 4 358
attitude
Teamwork
and 240 80 16 9 16 4 365
coordination
Interpretation: From the analysis of graph and table, we can

interpret that employees give 1stranking preference to the Team work
and coordination and 2ndpreference to the Employee welfare activities
and 3rd preference to the Infrastructure facilities 4th preference to the
Superior attitude and least preferences to the Promotion and transfer
and Remuneration.
5. Satisfaction level of rural coir workers on account of different

operational aspects of Coir work.
Operational Satisfaction Level
aspects of coir CD % VD % VS % CS %
work
Working 58 58% 42 42% 0 0% 0 0%
environment
Training 81 81% 19 19% 0 0% 0 0%
Programme
Working hours 5 5% 29 29% 58 58% 8 8%
Annual 88 88% 12 12% 0 0% 0 0%
increment
90
Medical 79 79% 21 21% 0 0% 0 0%

insurance
Level of work 9 9% 21 21% 64 64% 6 6%
load
Carrier 94 94% 6 6% 0 0% 0 0%
progression
policy
Bonus Policy 8 8% 52 52% 37 37% 3 3%
Consideration of 27 27% 29 29% 38 38% 6 6%
family
responsibilities
Source: Primary data (Total respondents – 100)
CD- Completely dissatisfied, VD- Very dissatisfied, VS- Very satisfied,
CS- Completely satisfied.
Interpretation: From the analysis and interpretation of the table,

while considering working environment in coir work, 58%, 42% of coir
workers have expressed their views as completely dissatisfied, very
dissatisfied respectively. While considering training programme, 81%,
19% of coir workers have opinioned that completely dissatisfied, very
dissatisfied respectively. While considering working hours, 5%, 29%,
58% and 8% of coir workers have expressed their views as completely
dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, very satisfied and completely satisfied
respectively and so on.
Opinion level of Rural coir workers on different operational

aspects of coir work
Operational Opinion Level
aspects of Coir
work More % Average % Less % Never %
Personal
attachment
3 3% 89 89% 9 9% 0 0%
among
employees
Level of Conflict
in the 8 8% 5 5% 87 87% 0 0%
organization
Gender
18 18% 59 59% 23 23% 0 0%
discrimination
91
Sexual
0 0% 0 0% 18 18% 82 82%
harassment
Racial
0 0% 81 81% 5 5% 14 14%
Discrimination
Interpretation: From the analysis and interpretation of table, it is

clear that, maintain personal attachment among coir workers. Level of
conflict is very rare in the area of coir work. The gender discrimination,
rarcial discrimination existed in the area of coir work. No any sexual
harassment in the area of coir work.
Ranking level of welfare measures of the organization

Ranking point
Welfare
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Total
measures
rank rank rank rank rank rank
Drinking water
174 70 48 24 14 5 335
facilities
Phone/internet
144 80 112 6 8 1 351
facilities
Noise control
132 170 48 15 2 1 368
and lighting
Rest room
108 70 84 57 4 3 326
facilities
Transportation
facilities 204 65 48 33 6 2 358
Sanitary
126 125 32 42 6 4 335
facilities
Interpretation: From the analysis of table and graph, we can
interpret that employees give 1st rank preference to Noise control and
lighting and 2nd rank preference to Transportation facilities and 3rd
preference to the Phone/internet facilities and 4 th preferences to the
Sanitary facilities and Drinking water facilities and least preference to
the Rest room facilities.
92
Agreement level of Rural Coir workers on account of different

operational aspects of Coir work.
Operational Agreement Level
aspects of Coir
SD % D % A % SA %
Work
“Policy of hard 0 0% 0 0% 88 88% 12 12%
work and
rewarding system
are very good”
“Attitude of 5 5% 71 71% 24 24% 0 0%
supervisors is to
encouraging
employees”
“Tools and 76 76% 11 11% 13 13% 0 0%
resources for work
are available”
“Adequate Leave 11 11% 12 12% 74 74% 3 3%
policy”
“High stress due to 0 0% 12 12% 81 81% 7 7%
over burden of
work ”
SD- Strongly Disagree, D- Disagree, A- Agree, SA- Strongly Agree
Interpretation: From the analysis and interpretation of table, it is
clear that, policy of hard work and rewarding system are poor. Attitude
of superior not much good. Tools and resources for work are not up to
date and so on.
Opinion level of Rural Coir workers on operational aspects of

Coir work
Opinion Level
Operational aspects of coir work
Yes % No %
Availability of breakfast Interval 100 100% 0 0%
Availability of travelling allowance 64 64% 36 36%
Maintain good behavior by 71 71% 29 29%
superior
Stress level on Job 88 88% 12 12%
93
Interpretation: From the analysis and interpretation of table, most

of the coir workers expressed as availability of breakfast interval is
good, travelling allowance policy not much good and so on.
Discussion
From the overall analysis and interpretation of the data, general
findings and findings on account of financial inclusion factors,
suggestions, and final conclusion are given below.
Findings
From the analysis and interpretation of collected data, following
are the main findings on account of the objectives of the study:
 The factors influencing employee satisfaction among rural coir
workers are working conditions, Opportunity for
advancement, Workload and Stress level, Respect from co-
workers, Relationship with supervisors, financial rewards,
Addressing grievances, Credits, Safety and security, frequent
changes, the feel of being loved, A mixture of formal and
informal approach and being fair.
 Majority of the employees are highly satisfied with the welfare
measures provided by the organization.
 48% of the employees have only average personal attachment
with the officials.
 Most of rural coir employees have no idea about any training
modules.
 Employees are just satisfied on their working hours in the
organization.
 Majority of the employees prefer on-the job training method,
but most of the employees did not receive any training at all
 Some of the employees feel stress on their present job.
 Majority of the employees are stressed with workload.
 The organization followed seniority based promotion system.
 Employee’s give more preference to the Noise control and
lighting in welfare measures of the organization.
 Employee’s give least preference to the Rest room in welfare
measures of the organization.
 Majority of the employee’s are satisfied with the leave policy of
the organization.
 Personal attachment among employees in the organization is
very high
94
Suggestions
Management has to make effective communication channels in the
firm.
 Management should provide training programmes to all the
workers in the organization.
 Management should try to maintain the present working hours
of the organization.
 Management should take remedial measures to reduce the
stress of employees in their job such as entertainment,
refreshment food and cool bars.
 Management should try to reduce the workload of employees
by way of proper job description, work shifting system and
work rotation system.
 Proper guidance and counseling should be provided to the
employees so that their mental satisfaction can be improved
by starting a separate department for guidance and
counseling.
 Management should provide more opportunities to employees
in order to participate in decision making (Participatory
leadership style).
 Skills of employees should be appreciated by way of
promoting additional Skill Acquisition Programme.
 Facilitate “Yoga” and “Meditation” Practices to reduce stress
level.
 The lower level managers must maintain personal relationship
and attachment to the employees for maintaining confidence
among employees.
 Improve the work progress reporting system to identify the
strength and weakness of the employees.
 More importance should be given on the control of influential
factors of employee satisfaction.
Conclusion
India accounts for more than two-thirds of the world production of
coir and coir products. Kerala is the home of Indian coir industry,
particularly white fibre, accounting for 61 percent of coconut
production and over 85 per cent of coir products. Travancore Group of
Companies was started way back in 1917. Employee satisfaction is the
terminology used to describe whether employees are happy and
95
contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Many

measures purport that employee satisfaction is a factor in employee
motivation, employee goal achievement, and positive employee
morale in the workplace. Employee satisfaction, while generally a
positive in your organization, can also become a downer if mediocre
employees stay because they are satisfied and happy with your work
environment. The main factors that influencing employee satisfaction
are working conditions, Opportunity for advancement, Workload and
Stress level, Respect from co-workers, Relationship with supervisors,
financial rewards, Addressing grievances, Credits, Safety and security,
frequent changes, the feel of being loved, A mixture of formal and
informal approach and being fair. For the success of organization, there
must be proper employee satisfaction. The main objectives of the study
are; the primary objective of the research is to find factors determining
employee satisfaction of coir workers, to study the level of employee
satisfaction of coir workers, to identify the factors determining
employee satisfaction of coir workers. Majority of the employees are
highly satisfied with the welfare measures provided by the
organization. And major recommendations are to give more
importance to the control of most influential factors of employee
satisfaction. Management should try to reduce the workload of
employees by way of proper job description, work shifting system and
work rotation system.
References
1. Kothari, C.R, “Research Methodology”, 2nd edition, New Delhi,
New age International (2004).
2. Shashi K Gupta and Rosy Joshi, “Human Resource
Management”, Kalyani Publications, New Delhi, and revised
edition (2009).
3. Aswanthappa, “Human Resource and Personnel management
Text and Cases”,. Tata MC Graw Hill 2002, 1999, New Delhi.
4. P Subha rao, “Essential of Human Resource Management and
Industrial relations”, Himalaya Publication, 2009.
5. Aggarwala, “Management; Principles, Practices and
techniques” Deep Publications, 1984.
6. www.cocotuft.com
7. www.wikipedia.com
8. www.managementstudyguide.com
9. www.smallbusiness.chron.com
96
PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF

WOMEN DOMESTIC WORKERS IN
INFORMAL SECTOR IN INDIA
Saipriya Sudarsan
SNM College, Malinakara
Email:sudarsan.saipriya@gmail.com
Abstract
There is a great increase in the number of domestic workers in India in
recent years. The number of women domestic workers is constantly growing in
the informal sector of urban India. The domestic work has remained
unorganized, unrecognized and unrewarding for the domestic workers. The
domestic workers are denied of minimum wages, healthy work environment and
other benefits in the absence of trade unions and state intervention. The women
domestic workers do not have support networks and civil society support under
the existing circumstances. They experience exploitative situations and multi-
faceted abuses. The national and international legal instruments are largely
ineffective under the existing circumstances. The Domestic Workers (Regulation
of Work And Social Security) Bill, 2017 had given provisions like Registration of
domestic workers, employers and service providers, Compulsory registration of
service provider, Compulsory registration of employer, Effect of nonpayment of
annual contribution, Renewal of registration certificate etc.
Keywords: Women domestic workers, Problems of domestic workers, Domestic

workers Act, 2008, The Domestic workers Bill 2017.
Introduction
Female domestic workers are the part of unorganized workforce of
India. The women domestic workers are the most vulnerable working
segments in our society. The work done by the domestic workers is
undervalued, underpaid and poorly regulated. This trend of keeping
women as a domestic worker could be because of lack of education,
unemployment and lack of other vocational skills. They are
unorganized workers; there are no labour laws to protect them or to
set out their service conditions. Lacking unionization, they are left to
the mercy of the employers. There are no laws to fix their wages; they
have no basic rights, no amenities or social security, not even leave or a
paid holiday as in any other jobs. They are also denied rights to health
care, education, justice, human dignity and respect. Domestic work has
become more 'feminize' over time.
97
Women domestic workers face several problems in their personal

and occupational life. They work for long hours and are poorly paid.
They don’t have job security. If they take leave even for genuine
reasons, they may lose their job. Some of them work in more than 2
houses and they become sick. Women Domestic workers have health
problems like respiratory disease, body ache and skin disease, due to
their occupational life. Their family life is marked by family conflicts
poverty and debts.
The population of domestic workers in India in the last 100 years
has witnessed huge declines and upswings. As per the Census data, in
1931, there were 2.7 million people classified as “servants”. The Census
data in 1971 has recorded around 67,000 people as servants. The low
figures were attributed to the changes that happened at that point of
time like departure of British colonial administrators who were able to
hire these workers, as well as the fact that in the first decade of
independence the public were not so well off to hire domestic workers.
India constitutes of 92% of Unorganized Workforce within that 4.2
million Females are involved in domestic work according to the report
of National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) (2004-2005).
Objectives
1. To Study the Socio- Economic background of the Female
Domestic Workers.
2. To Study the problems of the female domestic workers of
India.
3. To find out the suggestions inorder to improve the working
conditions of Female Domestic Workers.
Socio Economic Conditions of Women Domestic Workers

A study of domestic workers in Delhi (Neetha 2004) shows that
although domestic work has brought higher incomes to many women
and their families it is still far from decent work being characterized by
long working hours, low wages and hardly any social security.
Domestic workers are more vulnerable than other kinds of workers
because they are not officially classified as workers at all and are
therefore not covered by laws that apply to workers. Domestic work is
seen as menial and impure occupation traditionally performed by
people, mostly women and children, whose lives are still dominated by
a caste system that assigned people. Domestic work includes mental,
98
manual and emotional aspects, including care work communities. The

employer-employee relationship is a complex one and is viewed as one
of domination, dependence and inequality. As a home is the site of
work, relations between employer and employee are often not limited
to work but spill over as larger support systems. As an occupation, the
field of domestic work is quite diverse covering profiles such as
childcare, cooking, cleaning and hospitality at home. In India the female
of every age group are engaged in the domestic work, but females
between 19-29 years & 30- 40 years are mostly engaged in the work.
According to several studies, shows that the involvement of married
females in domestic works was more than other categories like widow,
divorced & unmarried. Studies also indicate that female is responsible
for domestic work still today. Employers also give other facilities at the
time of festivals, giving food items and vegetables, if there is any excess
food in the household.
Problems of Women Domestic Workers

A large number of females both in rural areas and towns were
working as housemaids all over India. Most of these women and girls
are illiterate and unskilled. They work in inhuman conditions in cities
as their living standard is extremely poor. It is a recognized fact that
there is still no society in the world in which women workers enjoy the
same opportunities as men. The women working in the domestic sector
/unorganized sector are facing so many problems:
1. Lack of education: Illiteracy is the biggest problem because
they do not get time to educate themselves. In childhood, they
have to start working early which do not allow them to go to
school.
2. Insufficient skill & knowledge: Majority of female do not have
proper training and skills aligned to their task. This result is
excessive stress and inefficient working.
3. Exploitation of the female labour: Female worker are more
vulnerable to exploitation by the employer. They can be easily
threatened of their job for indecent favours. The experiences
involved undertaking demeaning tasks like washing
undergarments and toilets with open hands and handling sick
people without protective gear, denial of rest and food, and
introduction of additional tasks and varying the workload
beyond initial agreements without additional compensation.
99
4. Insecure job: Low wages, unreliable pay, and job insecurity

were cited as the most serious and common challenges facing
female domestic workers. Getting sick leave depends on the
goodwill of the employer. Instances of workers losing their
jobs due to long leave taken at the time of childbirth or ill
health .Absence of strong legislation controlling the
unorganized sector makes the job highly insecure in this
sector.
5. Non sympathic attitude of employer: Temporary nature of
employment in this sector does not allow the bond between
the employee and employer to establish and become strong
6. Extreme work pressure: These females are overworked, as
they want to earn more income.
7. Irregular wages payment: There is lack of controlled processes
in unorganized sector which results in to untimely payment of
wages to the workers. When it comes to payment to female, it
is even worst.
8. Physical problems: The working conditions are not healthy.
Work place is not ergonomically designed. This results into
workers facing fatigue resulting physical problems. This
results on to saviour problems such as backache and knee-ach.
Domestic workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act,

2008
The Act was introduced to regulate payment and working
conditions and check exploitation and trafficking of women and other
young household workers. Domestic workers are in the unorganized
sector and unorganized, hence there are practical difficulties to cover
them. Though applicable to both men and women, it assumes
significance for women due to their presence in large numbers in the
occupation.
Registration as Beneficiary: The Act provides that every
domestic worker who has completed 18 years of age, but has not
completed 60 years of age, and is engaged in any domestic work for not
less than 90 days in the preceding 12 months, can be registered as a
domestic worker. (Section 16)
Hours of Work and Annual Leave with Wages: Any domestic
worker (male or female) registered under the Act who lives in the
premises where workplace is situated is entitled to daily rest period of
100
at least 10 consecutive hours between ending and recommencing

work. Also the domestic workers living in the house are entitled to
annual leave with wages for at least 15 days.
Minimum Wages: All registered domestic workers should be paid
minimum wages as per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
Safety & Penalty Provisions: The Act specifically makes
provisions for penalty in cases where any person knowingly sends,
directs or takes any girl or woman domestic worker to any place for
immoral purposes or to a place where she is likely to be morally
corrupted or in any manner sexually exploited. Such a person shall be
subjected to imprisonment for a minimum period of 6 months which
may extend upto 7 years and fine up to Rs. 50000 or both.
The Domestic Workers (Regulation of Work and Social Security)

Bill, 2017
The following are the main provisions enacted by Parliament in the
68th year of the Republic of India.
Registration of domestic workers, employers and service
providers: An application for registration shall be made to the District
Board in such form as may be prescribed. Every application under shall
be accompanied by such documents together with fee. If District Board
under is satisfied that the applicant has complied with the provisions of
this Act and the rules made there under, it shall register the name of
the applicant as a domestic worker under this Act: Provided that an
application for registration shall not be rejected without giving the
applicant an opportunity of being heard and without assigning reasons
in writing. Any person aggrieved by the decision may, within thirty
days from the date of such decision, prefer an appeal to the State Board
and the decision of the State Board on such appeal shall be final
Compulsory registration of service provider: Every service
provider shall, prior to the process of recruitment or engagement of
domestic worker, register itself with the District Board by submitting
an application along with such fee and details as may be prescribed:
Provided that the District Board or any such person so authorized may
entertain any such application for registration after expiry of the
period fixed in this behalf, if satisfied, that the applicant had sufficient
reason for delay in submitting the application.
Compulsory registration of employer: Every employer shall,
within one month from the date of engaging a domestic worker,
101
register himself with District Board by submitting an application along

with such fee and details as may be prescribed: Provided that the
District Board or any person authorized by the District Board may
entertain an application for registration after expiry of the period fixed
in this behalf, if satisfied that the applicant had sufficient reason for the
delay in submitting the application in time
Effect of nonpayment of annual contribution: If a domestic
worker fails to pay annual contribution to the District Board, he shall
cease to be a beneficiary for the purposes of this Act.
Renewal of registration certificate: Every registration certificate
issued under this Act shall be renewed annually on the payment of fee
as may be prescribed.
Effect of nonrenewal: No employer to which this Act applies shall
employ domestic worker unless the renewal of registration certificate
is carried out by him in respect of such employment as issued under
this Act. If the District Board or any person authorized by it is satisfied,
either on a reference made to it in this behalf or otherwise that the
service provider or employer fails to carry out the renewal of
registration certificate, then such person shall be punished in
accordance with provisions
Beneficiaries of the fund: Subject to the provisions of this Act,
every domestic worker above the age of eighteen years, registered
under this Act shall be entitled to the benefits provided by the District
Board from its Fund under this Act: Provided that every domestic
worker above the age of sixty years shall continue to be beneficiary
under this Act without paying annual contribution to the Fund.
Identity cards: The District Board shall issue an identity card to
every beneficiary registered under this Act containing such details as
may be prescribed.
Maintenance and digitisation of records: The District Board
shall maintain records or register of all its records duly catalogued and
indexed in a manner and in prescribed form and shall ensure that all
records are computerized within a reasonable time. (2) The
digitisation of the records shall be introduced through software
established by the Central Government and databases available with
the District Boards shall be connected through a network all over the
country on different systems so that access to such records is
facilitated: Provided that it shall be the duty of the District Board to
submit the computerized records to the Committee within reasonable
time
102
Constitution of central advisory committee: The Central

Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, shall constitute
a Committee to be known as the Central Advisory Committee to advise
the Central Government to carry out the functions assigned to it under
this Act. (2) The term of the Committee shall be three years. (3) The
Committee shall consist of— (a) a Chairperson; (b) such number of
members not less than eight representing non-Governmental
organisations, trade association, union or persons representing and
espousing the cause of domestic workers, individuals having expertise
in issues relating to labour matters, women and child issues, law and
related interests, to be appointed by the Central Government in such
manner as may be prescribed. (4) The salary and allowances payable to
and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson and
members, procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions
and the manner of filling up of vacancies of the Committee shall be such
as may be prescribed. (5) The Committee shall meet at least once every
six months to review the working of this Act.
Suggestions to Improve the Conditions of Domestic Workers

Domestic workers are the lowest paid workers in India and are
paid an amount which is even below the minimum wage of semi-skilled
and unskilled wage rates. It also vary by region and type of work.
Cooking is the best paid occupation, but in all categories female wages
are lower. Yearly increment in their wages should be done. If these
workers become ill, the employer must cooperate by taking/proving
leave. Most of the workers may assign another family member to
owners home. Workers do not have any fixed number of leaves and on
an average of one leave in a month should be given. These workers
should be given necessary breakfast, lunch or tea and a friendly
atmosphere. In addition to wages, provide them old clothes as well as
new, allowances, advances and also give other facilities at the time of
festivals, giving food items and vegetables, if there is any excess food in
the household. Although these benefits to the domestic workers are not
uniform and depend on the goodwill of the employer.
Conclusion
In India the female of every age group are engaged in the domestic
work, but females between 19-29 years & 30- 40 years are mostly
engaged in the work. According to several studies, shows that the
103
involvement of married females in domestic works was more than

other categories like widow, divorced & unmarried. Studies also
indicate that female is responsible for domestic work still today.
Female Domestic Workers are mainly coming from illiterate
backgrounds so it indicates that unorganized workforce comprises of
people of illiterate background, although the females of other
educational status are into this work. Involvement of the Hindu females
of weaker and vulnerable section of the society are more in numbers in
domestic work although the studies also evident that after a lot of
efforts made by the Govt. the condition of weaker and vulnerable
section is same till today. For improving present living conditions in
urban areas, females of nuclear families and weaker sections of the
society are more involved in domestic work than joint families. There
is a positive indicator of women empowerment in weaker sections of
the society, because mostly the workers were the bread earners and
were even heading the family. Studies also indicate that females of
below poverty line (BPL) families are more engaged in domestic works.
So it is a clear indicator of poor living conditions of the unorganized
sector of the Indian society. Female Domestic Workers were inspired of
other domestic workers to get involved in this work. The studies
indicate that there are no fixed working hours in a day so their
wages/payment is also not fixed like other unorganized sectors. The
Minimum payment of wages Act is not effectively implemented by the
Govt. in Unorganized sectors of India, so the practice of deciding wages
on mutual consent is still being practiced. No existence of national level
of Rules & Regulations for female domestic worker. Their work limit is
also not decided. Due to lack of social security measures, if something
wrong occur during work, employers and Govt. is not ready to take any
responsibility of families of domestic workers. There is no provision of
protection for the families of Unorganized Sector (FDW). Breaks during
work, leaves in month & deduction of money from their salary also
depends on the employer, it is a common practice in unorganized
sector.
References
1. DivyanshHanu, “Situation of Domestic Workers in India”
2. “Problems of Challenges of Women domestic workers in
Informal sector” shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
104
3. Rufina Augustine and Dr. Rupesh Kumar Singh, “Condition and

problems of female domestic workers
4. The Domestic Workers (Regulation of Work and Social
Security) Bill, 2017
5. Domestic workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare)
Act, 2008
105
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF STREET VENDORS ACT

(PROTECTION OF LIVELIHOOD AND
REGULATION OF STREET VENDING) 2014
Dr. Shibulal A L
Associate Professor
Reshma Elizabeth Cherian

Research Associate
Email:reckz94@gmail.com
Abstract
Informal sector represents an important part of economy. The informal
sector tends to absorb most of the work force in the society. In this situation the
un employment rate decreases and the people got engaged in street vending. As
the number of vendor’s increases, they encroach the pedestrians therefore the
public shows negative attitude towards them. Thereby they are neglected and
abused. In order to safe guard them from all kind of abuses/ negligence they must
be protected by a law. The law must include all the factors which could support
them and should be analyzed by beneficiaries, public and officials. Currently a
law was enacted to regulate the street vendors in public and to protect their
rights. In reality the street vendors are often unable to get regular jobs in the
formal sector on account of their low level of education and skill. This study is a
critical analysis of Street Vendors Law, which protect the informal sector. They
are the marginalized group in the community which should be protected from all
kind of abuses, but in reality the law pertains to be law only. The beneficiaries are
not aware about the services rendered to them; thereby they are neglected and
abused from the officials as well as from the public. Most of them don’t know
about the law which protects the street vendors. Due to this lack of awareness
they are being abused and neglected from the society. Therefore the law should
be analyzed to replicate among the public and the vendors to safe guard
themselves. By the critical analyze of the law it is found that, some of the informal
sectors are excluded from the umbrella of Street Vendors Law.
Keywords: Informal Sector, Economy, Street Vendors Law, India.
Introduction
Street vendors are the integral part of the economy; they provide
affordable, accessible goods and services. Street Vending also provides
a livelihood foe those who have few employment options, including
migrants and internally displaced people. They may work in fixed
location or they move from one place to another and some combine
106
fixed and mobile vending. But this kind of vending has different
regulatory challenges such as no vending zones. These regulations are
forced the vendors to pay bribe or excessive fines/fees in order to
work.
As the cities develop, the needs of the street vendors and the
customers often dismissed as irrelevant to modern cities. Therefore the
Street Vendors are forced to move out from the vending zones. It will
affect their livelihood, because they may face difficulty to earn their
daily bread. In order to tackle these problems Indian Constitution put
forward a law relating to Street Vendors during the time of Common
Wealth Games 2010, when a large number of vendors were evicted
from their area due to their security concern. This creates an outburst
among vendors and NGO’s relating to them. Union government in 2004
had taken up the national policy for supportive environment for Street
Vendor. Around 2012, the government moved to draft a bill which
would give the rights to street vendors. The enactment of Street
Vendors Act( Prevention of Livelihood & Regulation of Street Vending
2014) aimed at the changing status of the vendors and also enable
them to sale without any harassment. The Act was laid down in
consonance with the principles enrichment in constitution namely the
Right to Equality in Article 14 and Freedom to Patrice any profession,
trade and business in Article 19 (1) (g). The purpose was to design a
mechanism to regulate street vending, avoid congestion on sidewalks
and maintain a free flow of traffic. Furthermore, the act also envisaged
providing basic social security to street vendors by assigning them
identity card to facilitate access to basic services safeguarded and
provided by the state.
The law constitutes a town vending committee in each locality to
safeguard the street vendors. This committee can make decisions on
various aspects including determination of natural market,
identification of vending zones, preparation of street vending plan, and
survey of street vendors and so on. It has represented from officials
and non-officials and also it includes representations from scheduled
caste / scheduled tribe, women and person with special needs.
Objective
To critically analyze the Street Vendor Law Act (Protection of
livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) 2014.
107
According to National Commission on Labour, street vendors are
identified as self employed workers in the informal sector who offer
their labour for selling goods and services on the street without having
any permanent built-up structure (Sharit Bhowmik, 2001).
Shalini Sinha and Sally Roever in Women in the Informal Sector:
Globalizing and Sorting out (2011) expand on India's National Policy
on Urban Street Vendors and give a definite history of the legitimate
perspective. The working paper on Developing National Road Vendors
Legislation in India: A Comparative Study of Street Vending Regulation
(2011) by Yale Law School dissected different arrangements of the Act
and clarified the similar ways to deal with road distributing control.
Road Vending in Ten Cities of India (2012) was composed by Tata
Institute of Social Sciences for NASVI which discharged the statistic
information for road sellers in 10 urban areas. This report
demonstrated the correct social and monetary status of road sellers.
Battles for Spaces: Everyday Life of a Lady Street Vendor in Delhi
(2014) draws out the predicament of ladies road sellers furthermore,
their significance in our every day lives. Contextualizing Urban
Livelihoods: Street Distributing in India contextualizes the possibility
of open space and the privileges of natives over that space. Road
Vendors Bill: Opportunities and Challenges (Mathur, 2014) gives a
thorough investigation of the Street Vendors Act 2014 featuring it's
accomplishments what's more, disadvantages. The Street Vendors
(Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Distributing) Bill,
2013: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? By Rohan J Alva is an
itemized scrutinize of the Act both concerning legitimateness and
execution.
The Public Health Act of 1992 forbade anyone from selling things
on footpaths, public roads, and public pathways. Vendors are allowed
to sell on the streets only when they receive permission from
authorised officials. The officials in charge are under the governor.
Local officials are authorized to determine prohibited zones, days and
times when vending activities are banned, and other vending rules and
regulations. They are also authorised to monitor the cleanliness of
vendors.
108
The Traffic and Land Transportation Act of 1992 and the Highway
Act 1993 prohibit any activity that obstructs traffic and pedestrian
paths. This law empowers police officers and traffic officials to control
the use of public roads. Thus, street vendors can be subject to
punishment by both local officials and well as police officers
Analysis of Street Vendors Act 2014

In 1989, the Supreme Court held that street vendors have a
fundamental right to carry on their trade or business subject to
regulation and reasonable restrictions.
In 2004, the central government formulated the National Policy on
Urban Street Vendors to recognize the constitutional right of street
vendors to practice any profession (street vending) without causing
overcrowded public spaces.
In 2009, the Policy was revised and accompanied by a model law
on street vending which could be adopted by state governments, with
modifications suited to their geographical and local conditions.
In 2010, the Supreme Court directed the government
(central/state) to enact a law by June 2011 to recognize the livelihood
rights of street vendors and regulate vending activities.
In 2011, the National Advisory Council (NAC) recommended
enacting a central law.
Several states including Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have enacted laws and policies on street
vending.
Finally the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation
of Street Vending) Act, 2014 has been passed which aims at protecting
the livelihood rights of street vendors as well as regulate street
vending through demarcation of vending zones, conditions for and
restrictions on street vending.
The Street Vendors Act 2014 is the Act that mandates all state
governments, municipal corporations to provide an identity to Street
Vendors. Since this Act was preceded by the National Policy on Urban
Street Vendors 2009, it created the right environment for the
pursuance of street vendors’ livelihood.
The Street Vendors Act 2014 mainly aims to provide the street
vendors empowerment through rights and responsibilities. The major
features of this Act include:
1. Right to Vend: In Chapter III sec 12- 16 of Street Vendor Law
Act (Protection of livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
109
2014 highlights that, the street vendors has right to carry out
the business in street as a profession. This law legalizes the
street vending as a profession. And also the law provides them
a certificate as recognition.
2. Town Vending Committee: Chapter VII Sec 22-26 introduces
Town Vending Committee (TVC) which is a comprehensive
committee of government officials, municipal officer’s, street
vendor’s, banker’s, traffic police, NGO’s, RWA. This committee
should conduct regular meetings to carry out the business of
street vendor’s.
3. Plan for Street Vending: According to the second schedule of
the Act, this plan is meant to be prepared by local authorities
in consultation with the TVC. It involves laying down vending
zones, non-vending zones and restricted zones for various
markets. Civic amenities have to be created and regulated.
4. Redressal Mechanism: The Act, in Chapter V, prescribes a
government redressal committee which will consider the
application of the street vendor and take steps for redressal on
the basis of the rules set. It also allows vendors to appeal to a
local authority if preferred.
5. Prevention of Harassment: Chapter VII of the Act clearly
pronounces that vendors following the terms and conditions of
the certificate of vending cannot be prevented from carrying
out their right to vend by any police or local authority in any
manner. This is possibly the most relevant provision of the Act
since harassment is the biggest problem that street vendors
face.
Gap Identification of Street Vendors Act (Protection of Livelihood

and Regulation of Street Vending) 2014
1. There is no provision of consulting TVC while formulating the
street vending plan. With the TVC not being consulted while
framing the street vending plan, it is not clear whether there
are adequate safeguards in ensuring that the plan is effective
and that vending zones are decided in a fair and transparent
manner.
2. No other livelihood is controversial because this law includes
the part time vendors
110
3. The laws impose fees for getting certificates and other license;
it is a burden for the street vendors, who are getting Rs 70
daily as per the survey report.
4. The law creates a town vending committee for the welfare of
the street vendors, but the committee lack representation
from the vendors.
5. Time limit is not kept for the vendors to seek their certificate
even after they registered in Municipality or Municipal
Corporation.
6. Large number of people is supporting their livelihood as
vendors in railway station; but the law fails to inculcate them.
Therefore the law must be elaborated according to the
population of the Street Vendors.
7. Even though the law forms a Town Vending Committee, they
are not providing any training and awareness classes to the
vendors. But those groups need special training and classes
because most of them are illiterate.
8. Government should safe guard the interest of the street
vendors, who are working for the pleasure of contractors/
owners.
9. The bill covers the urban sector; therefore the street vendors
from the rural sector are not getting any legal status.
10. The bill will over ride all the laws, and also it will create a
conflict with the state law.
11. The act specifies that no vendor can be evicted without a 7 day
notice by the local authority. Also the vendor will be entitled to
a separate vending location. This provision has however been
observed only in its breach with vendors being evicted at will
based on the whims and fancies of police and local authorities.
12. Street vendors act was enacted in 2014 but till now only
preliminary effort has been done in actual implementation of
this act like framing rules or conducting survey etc. The
condition is so worse that TVC has been constituted in many
areas but street vendors don’t have any knowledge about
powers and functioning of TVC.
Conclusion
Street vending and urban space for micro enterprises constitute an
important policy theme that needs to be advanced further in
development literature and policy. In many countries, urban space
111
tends to be a highly political issue, involving many interests. Partiality

towards modern infrastructure results in a rejection of traditional
livelihoods conducted on sidewalks and shop houses. Some large retail
stores, fearing competition from informal traders, may lobby for the
latter’s suppression. Where street vendors are allowed to ply their
trade whether legitimately or not they do so under inhospitable
conditions, with no basic facilities, and under constant fear of
harassment and damage to their goods. Therefore the Street Vendors
law enacted to help the vendors to safeguard them from all kind of
abuses, and the law should be analyzed and educated among the
vendors to seek their benefits which can be secured through the
protection act.
References
1. McGee, T. G. (1973). Peasants in the cities: a paradox, a
paradox, a most ingenious paradox. Human Organization, 135-
142.
2. Bhowmik, S. K. (2001). Hawkers and the urban informal
sector: a study of street vending in seven cities. Prepared for
National Alliance of Street Vendors in India (NASVI). Available
at: http://wiego. org/sites/wiego.
org/files/publications/files/Bhowmik-Hawkers-URBAN-
INFORMAL-SECTOR. pdf
3. Kumar, S. (2014). Street vendors (protection of livelihood and
Regulation of street vending) Act 2014: A Right Based
approach to livelihood.
4. Te Lintelo, D. J. (2009). Advocacy Coalitions Influencing
Informal Sector Policy: The Case of India’s National Urban
Street Vendors Policy. Street Vendors and the Global Urban
Economy.
5. Bhowmik, S. (2012). Street vendors in the global urban
economy. Taylor & Francis.
6. http://www.omabc.com/national/indian-
laws/urban/vendors-act/critical-analysis-street-vendors-bill-
2012/
7. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/%40ed_protect/
%40protrav/%40safework/documents/publication/wcms_12
5137.pdf
8. https://thewire.in/economy/street-vendors-act-
implementation-gaps
9. Sinha, S., & Roever, S. (2011). India’s national policy on urban
street vendors. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies), 2.
112
PERCEIVED ROLE OF SELF-HELP GROUPS IN

EMPOWERING WOMEN IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR
Sulfiya K.S
Research Scholar, The Cochin College
Email:sulfiyasalu@gmail.com
Dr. M. Geetha
Associate Professor, The Cochin College
Dr. Vineeth K.M

Assistant Professor Maharajas College, Ernakulum
Abstract
In our country like India, the unorganized sector or the informal sector
constitute a major portion of the economy. Informal sector includes the units
engaged in the manufacturing of goods and services with the primary objective of
generating employment and incomes to the concerned. In India National
Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) defines informal
sector as workers consist of those working in the unorganized enterprises or
households, excluding regular workers with social security benefits and the
workers in the formal sector without any social security benefits provided by the
employee. In India more than 90% the women workers are concentrated in the
informal sector. Women are found to be over represented in the informal sector
because of the flexibility, especially in home based work. Even though, women
workers forced to address a lot of problems in the unorganized sector like gender
discrimination, unequal wage payments etc… In order to eliminate such problems
faced by women Government of Kerala with the active support of NABAARD has
launched a women empowerment and poverty eradication program, framed and
enforced by the State Poverty Eradication Mission – Kudumbasree, a community
organisation of Self Help Groups of women in Kerala, which has been recognized
as an effective strategy of women in rural as well as urban areas. In this scenario
this study focuses on the perceived role of Self Help Groups in women
empowerment in the informal sector.
Keywords: Unorganized sector, Self Help Groups, women Empowerment.
Introduction
Informal sector is the backbone of Indian economy. Majority of the
workforce in India are mainly concentrated in the informal sector.
Government of India in its economic survey 2015-16 pointed out a
major issue that “the challenge of creating ‘ good job’ in India could be
viewed as the challenge of creating more formal sector jobs, which
provide a guaranteed employee protection”. In India major proportion
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of the population are employed in the informal sector like agriculture,

manufacturing construction etc... Without any proper written
agreement or contracts, any social security benefits available in the
formal sector. National Commission for Entrepreneurship in
Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) India defines informal sector as
unorganized employees or workers includes those who are working in
the informal or unorganized enterprise or households without any
social security benefits provided by the employer”. They accounts for
major proportion of labor workforce in the economy. While takin in to
consideration about the women workers in India more than 90% of the
women labor force are concentrated on the informal sector. Nowadays
women are experiencing a lot of opportunities to explore and prove
their capabilities and talents to the entire world, because of flexibility
and home based work women are found to be over represented in the
unorganized sector. Even though women workers are forced to face a
lot of social as well as economic problems in the unorganized sector
like gender discrimination , unequal wage payments, less remuneration
and lack of social security benefits. In order to resolve such problems
faced by women and to explore varied opportunities available in the
economy women has to empower. Women empowerment, is to
empower women by providing them with all opportunities to
participate in every sector of the economy to improve their quality of
life, ti eliminate gender un-equalization. By women empowerment it
means, increasing the strength of women economically, socially and
emotionally. Women empowerment is a multidimensional
phenomenon which cover a broad range of dimensions like economic,
socio-cultural, interpersonal, familial, financial, political, legal and
emotional psychological factors. It can range from individual
empowerment to a group empowerment. Empowerment of women
aims at providing and promoting higher literacy level , educational
opportunities , opportunities to participate in the economic , social and
commercial sectors in order to improve the standard of living , to
inculcate awareness about their rights , ultimately to achieve self-
confidence within them. It is widely believed that, by empowering
women i.e., providing women with equal rights, opportunities and
responsibilities will definitely help in minimizing gender inequalities
existing in our nation. It aims to give women power and help them to
face all hurdles and challenges they came across being a women in the
society. The 9th and 10th five year plans are most spoken about the
empowerment of women and these plans focused upon to empower
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women in developmental and social change through a threefold

strategy consist of economic empowerment, social empowerment and
finally gender justice. Economic empowerment aims at providing and
ensuring training, employment opportunities and income generating
activities, while social empowerment focuses on creating an
environment where women’s are treated as equal partner with men,
where women can exercise her rights within the home as well as
outside the home. Finally gender justice aims to eliminate all types of
gender discrimination existing in the society against women.
A revolutionary shift happened in the area of women
empowerment id the emergence of self-help groups. Self Help Group
(SHG) and microfinance system are the new revolutionary trend that
we found all over India which plays a vital role in minimizing poverty ,
improves the living condition of poor women’s and also to eliminate
gender inequalities in the society. Self Help Group is a group of 10-20
women who came together voluntarily with a common objective to
participate in developmental and income generating activities within
the group in order to ensure economic independence of women
member in the rural as well as in urban areas. The principle behind the
formation of Self Help Groups is to provide financial assistance to those
who lack it, and in achieving a holistic empowerment. It emphasizes on
creating mutual trust and help, shared ownership, and focuses on
group solidarity and togetherness.
The key instrument for promoting and supporting women
empowerment are the formation of self-help groups, which mainly
concentrated in the rural or village areas whereby 10-20 rural women
came together from the same village , mostly poor women to
contribute and pool their small savings and to provide group loan to
their members. Dr. Manmohan Singh, former prime minister of India
states that “No nation can be civilized if its women are not in par with
its men. The basic issue which restricts women from nation building is
the lack of economic independence, it’s believed that the economic
empowerment of women is possible through Self Help Groups (SHG)”.
The guiding principle of Self Help Groups stresses on organizing rural
women through a process of social mobilization, providing them
training and financial assistance, bank credit and government
subsidies. Self Help Group can be a registered or unregistered group of
small entrepreneurs having same or equal economic and social
backgrounds who voluntarily came together to save a small portion
regularly, to contribute to a common fund to meet their emergency
115
situations on mutual help basis. The Self Help Group movement has
been directly or indirectly contributing positively towards the
empowerment of women in this era.
Importance of the study

Kerala, known as the Gods Own country, which was shaped after
the State Recognition Act in 1956, is the 13th largest state in India with
a population of 33 million having a highest literacy rate of 93.19%(As
Per census 2011). Even if Kerala have a high percentage of well-
educated and qualified women, the women participation in leadership
and empowered role are relatively very low due to several reasons.
There we have a great opportunity to form such small Self Help Groups
among the women and work for their own empowerment. Therefore
this study attempts to describe some facts related to self Help Groups
and women empowerment through it.
Objectives of the study

 To study the role of Self Help Group in empowering women in
the informal sector of the economy.
 To describe the main facts related to Self Help Groups and
women empowerment and to make suggestion on the above.
Methodology
The present study is purely descriptive in nature. The study has
not used any tables or graphical representation as is descriptive and
theoretical in nature.
Literature Review
Women entrepreneurship is one of the best and practical
alternative foe integrating and empowering women in developing and
prepare them to meet the survival needs of their family. Self Help
Groups helps in reducing the inequality of the status of women. SHG
brings out supremacy of women molding the community in right
perspective and explore the various initiatives of women in taking up
entrepreneurial ventures in all spheres of the life. Self Help Groups
empower and train the women to take active participation in the socio
economic development of the nation thereby making them sensitized,
self-made and self-disciplined. SHG helps in inculcating great
confidence in the minds of rural women to strive them to achieve
success in in their day to day life. (Kavitha G, 2011)
116
Dr.M Ismail (2011) in his study on the role of self-help groups and
gender justice in India found that self-help groups are playing a
remarkable role in empowering women in the rural area, through
active participation in decision making process, bringing positive
changes in the attitude of members , improving the standard of living ,
strengthening the economical sustainability , stimulating them to take
active participation in various community services and make them
realize the importance of empowerment in their life.
M Malarvazhi (2011) in her study reveals that the upper segment
of the economy are not much interested in joining the self-help groups
compared to the lower or middle class women’s. And the main motive
behind joining in self-help groups is to obtain the financial facilities
provided through it.
A study conducted by Phazhendhi & Satyasai (2001) revealed
some important elements for the successful formation and functioning
of self help groups which includes voluntary nature of the group , small
size and homogeneity of membership, participatory decision making
process , quick use of fund for micro-enterprise creation etc…
Women Empowerment
Women are the most integral part of every economy. “You can tell
the condition of a nation by looking at the status if its women” quoted
by Jawaharlal Nehru. All round growth and development of a nation is
possible only if due consideration is given to women, only when they
also considered as equal partners in the progress with men. India is a
developing country with a population of more than 1.27 billion. In that
Kerala, is 13th biggest state with the population around 33 million
having a highest literacy rate of 93.9%. It is found that in Kerala, the
literacy rate is increasing, from 89.91% as per 1991 census to 93.91%
as per 2011 census. The female literacy rate is also showing
improvement in Kerala, from 86.17% as per 1991 census to 91.98% as
per 2011 census which shows a good sign for the upliftment of Kerala
women. However women’s are not receiving an equal attention that of
men, in most developing countries, women have a low socio and
economic status compared to male and they also faces many problems
and challenges from several sectors of the economy as well. The
solution to all such hurdles is the empowerment of women.
The term empowerment means, increasing and improving the
spiritual, political, social, educational, gender or economic strength of
individual and communities. It also means to invest with power,
117
especially legal power or official authority. Women empowerment is

the process in which women expand and recreate what they can do and
accomplish in circumstances that they previously were denied.
Emergence and formation of self-help groups is one of the most
important aspect which helps in empowering women in the economy
as well.
Evolution of SHG in India

Self Help Groups or SHGs are basically small economically
homogeneous groups comprising of 10-20members, having a common
goal of socio economic development, formed voluntarily to help each
other on various jobs of similar characteristic feature. In India, the
concept of self-help group can be tracked back to the Gandian Grama
Swaraj movement and the success of Bangladesh Grameen Bank,
started by Prof.Muhammed Yunus in 1976 triggered the momentum of
the concept. Initially SHGs were organised for savings mobilization and
thrift operation among the poor and later, they started taking up
income generating activities like farming, agro- processing and other
micro-enterprises. Self-help groups also took active part in
empowering women and train them to take active part in the socio-
economic progress of the nation. Self-help groups are generally
facilitated by NGOs, and increasingly advise and train members in a
variety of on- and off-farm income-generating activities. Another
important feature of self-help groups has been the establishment of
links between self-help groups and the formal microfinance
institutions and commercial banks.
Women Empowerment through SHG

Self Help Groups (SHG) are considered as an important and power
full tool for empowering women in the economy. It facilitates the group
members to undertake various organisational, economic and social
activities to bring them in to the front row of the economy or society.
In Kerala, there are a number of SHGs working, include registered
ones as well as unregistered ones. Here self-help groups work as
channels for ensuring micro finance assistance to the poorer groups of
the state for the rural development and at the same time it act as
stimulants ensuring women empowerment in the state. The SHGs in
Kerala are concentrated mainly on rural women; the basic aim is to
make use of the talents and capabilities of women, completely, and to
benefit their homes and indirectly the whole society. SHGs plays a
118
prominent role in bringing together those women category that have

limited access to financial resources but with abundant capabilities and
make optimum use of them. Some of the activities/businesses of SHGs
in Kerala include, tailoring, pickle making, garbage removal, vermin
compost manufacturing, broom stick making, jewelry making,
preparation of snacks, bamboo products’ design and manufacturing,
etc. Many SHGs now even do IT businesses as well.
In Kerala, “Kudumbasree” is the main SHG or Neighborhood group
Project, which means prosperity of the family, is the name of the
women oriented, community based, State Poverty Eradication Mission
of Government of Kerala. The mission aims at the empowerment of
women, through forming self-help groups and encouraging their
entrepreneurial or other wide range of activities. The purpose of the
mission is to ensure that the women should no longer remain as
passive recipients of public assistance, but active leaders in women
involved development initiatives. This SHG was started in 1998, 3
years before the “Swayamsiddha” project was launched by Government
of India.
SHGs in Kerala, like the Kudumbasree units work with the
following objectives:
 Formation of women collectives
 Provide more information and training to these women groups
 Identify their skills and give skill development trainings
 Thrift-credit operations and 24 hour banking system
 Ensure better standard of living conditions especially for
women and enhance development of infrastructural facilities.
 Ensure micro finance assistance to these groups
 Ensure sustainable economic development of the state
through the development of houses of the members involved
 Develop the capabilities of women members in planning,
implementation and monitoring of programs.
 Emerging leaders from the collected women groups
 Encouraging the women members to take decisions
 Development of family through women, community through
families
Many studies have been conducted concentrating on the SHGs in
Kerala. The major findings in most of them is that women in Kerala are
more skill oriented and if proper assistance is given at the right time,
they can become self-reliant and can definitely face any challenges
119
together because they believe in the saying, “United we stand, divided

we might fall”. Various poverty alleviation programmes are linked by
the Government with the Self Help Groups; workout to overcome the
basic challenges that common women face here. Kerala women who
are excess in number over men here, must prove that quality wise also
they are above or at least equal to men. Women have come out of the
four walls of their kitchen to the forefront of almost all fields of
importance, working in groups, using the resources to the fullest
extend and even contributing their share to the development of their
state, and their nation.
Conclusion
It is evident that Self-help groups are an effective instrument for
the women empowerment in our country. They have created a lasting
impact on the lives of women particularly in rural areas thus providing
them an opportunity to improve themselves and their standard of
living in the society. It helped them to face all challenges and to become
self-confident. Women need no power over men, as many people
doubt. They need to be self-empowered. They must have power over
themselves. India, who respected the women race always, must
triumph hard to empower the women here. Present problems that
women faces here must have an end. Women here must be trained to
go straight forward, even though the midst of a number of No’s. They
must be made aware of the beautiful feeling of being flowers by taking
risks to come out from the buds where they were safe but suffering all
pains within. When women unite, money, men, machines, follow them
and miracles happen. Where women work in groups, all prosperity
emerges
References
1. Rajani K J, Vijaya Lakshmi(2014), Involvement of SHGs for
Women Empowerment in Kerala- A theoretical approach ,
International review of research in emerging markets and
global economy, Vol.1, issue2
2. Dr.Ismail M, (2011) The Role of self-help groups and gender
justice in India, Embodiment of empowerment self-help group,
ISBN 978-81-8209-277-8
120
INFORMAL SECTOR AND

WOMEN WORKERS IN KERALA
Soumya Viswambharan
Assistant Professor/HOD, Department of Economics
Sree Narayana College, Punalur
Email: soumyaviswam1@gmail.com
Abstract
Concept of Informal sector may be defined as one of the many economic and
productive activities which are contractual, unorganized and diverse as well as
informal in nature. In other words, the informal sector of the economy is
primarily labour intensive but less rewarding to the workers in comparison to
their efforts put in production. Such larger difference between all women
workers, including subsidiary workers and those engaged. This study is an
attempt to analyse the percentage and position of informal sector woman
workers in Kerala and their health status
Keywords: Informal Sector, Women Workers
Introduction
Concept of Informal sector may be defined as one of the many
economic and productive activities which are contractual, unorganized
and diverse as well as informal in nature. In other words, the informal
sector of the economy is primarily labour intensive but less rewarding
to the workers in comparison to their efforts put in production.
Therefore the informal sector includes in its fold, the wage
employment, self employed, household production relations, domestic
work etc. This sector, due to its unorganized nature, cannot bargain
with the contractor, petty contractor and middlemen because that is
perhaps the only source of their livelihood. " The informal sector
includes all those unincorporated enterprises and the household
industries which are not regulated by any legislation and which do not
maintain annual accounts or balance sheet Informal sector is also
defined as very small-scale units producing and distributing goods and
services and consisting of largely independent, self employed
producers in urban areas of developing countries, some of whom also
employ family labour or a few hired workers; which operate with little
capital, or none at all; which utilize a low level of technology and skills;
which operate at a low level of productivity; and which provide very
low and irregular productivity and which provide very low and
121
irregular incomes and highly unstable employment to those who work

in it. They are informal in the sense that they are unregistered,
unrecorded in official statistics; they tend to have little or no access to
organized markets, to formal educational and training institutions.
They are not recognized and supported by the government.
The common features of the informal labour are many. They are
non-unionized, unprotected by state legislation, involved in traditional
and indigenous technology etc. Statistics regarding the unorganized
sector is limited. The estimated labour force in India is 402 million, out
of which only 36 million, i.e., less than 9% belong to the organized
sector.
There is rapid expansion in the informal sector, i.e., 91% of the
labour is absorbed by this exploited sector. The laborers in the
informal sector suffer from a number of problems such as low wages,
poor working conditions, low status etc. Basically, informal labour
whether in rural or in urban areas is cotermihous with poverty because
they are involved in a set of survival activities on the margin of poverty.
The worst victims of poverty are women as they are mainly centered in
the informal sector.
Employment in the Informal Sector

An important aspect of quality of employment in India is the
predominance of the informal sector. The size of the organized sector,
characterized by higher earnings and job security is small, it accounted
for less than 10% of the total employment in 2014-15. Around two-
thirds of the total organized sector employment is in the public sector.
Over the years, organized sector employment has grown more slowly
than the total employment, reflecting the faster growth of employment
in the unorganized sector. As a result, there has been increasing
informalisation of employment over the years. This informalisation has
been more pronounced in the case of female workers. As a whole,
about 96% of female employment is in the unorganized sector as
against about 91% of males. In urban areas, the percentage of
unorganized sector workers is close to 65-70%. Not all of them are
poor but crude estimates suggest that close to half of this number is in
dire need of occupational up-scaling.
122
Women in the Informal Sector

Informal Sector Women, although are found engaged in all the
activities contributing to the family welfare, they are not considered as
workers. They work from dawn to dusk but in 'manpower' planning
statistics this is not considered as employment According to
economists, statisticians, planners and policy makers, activities
performed by women in informal sector lack official visibility in
statistics. This happens due to negative attitude towards women
prevailing in the society which induces a lower status for women and
which has to be overcome by giving them equal weight age, recognition
and extra care with full respect. Because, if this gender bias goes on, it
will become a big hurdle towards human development.
The Nature of Informal Sector Activity which Engages Women

Workers in Kerala
The deplorable working conditions, the intensive, invisible,
unaccounted and undervalued work done by women, are a fact of life.
It would be agreed that the substantial part of informal sector
employment is casual in nature. With respect to women the larger
proportions remain at the bottom of the ladder with very little scope
for improvement in pay and work status. Let us look at the nature of
women's employment in the informal sector. Most of these women
work as casual laborers in agriculture, construction, brick making, coir
making or own account workers in handloom weaving, basket making,
vending fish or vegetables. Some of the newer activities are flori
culture, poultry and livestock., garment making, food processing, fish
processing.etc.
Occupational profile of informal sector women in Kerala

Category of Caste Category of Work
Pulaya Agricultural labour
Paraya Basket or winnow making
Ezhava Coir making , brick making
Sambava Construction workers
vedan fishing
It is observed that division of workers in these occupations by

social groups has not undergone much change - Pulayas engage in
agricultural labour, Parayas in basket and winnow making, Ezhavas in
123
coir making, handloom weaving and brick making. Some of the newer
activities are attracting the poor among the relatively higher castes.
Informal sector employment is irregular and more so for women who
are willing to take up any job. This is reflected in the min fulltime work,
that is, principal status work. What is disturbing is that even in the
prime working age groups 20-34 years, a large proportion of the
female workers are irregular subsidiary workers. Hence young women
constitute an important segment of the informal sector workforce. This
irregularity of work intensifies the constant search for more secure
employment. Women engage in different types of activities ranging
between wage work and self employment and also self provisioning in
an attempt to protect themselves against the insecurity of no work and
decline in real incomes. Their desperate pressure to work is reflected
in the migration of poor women to informal sectors with poor working
conditions. Vast majority of people work in the informal sector where
work is energy intensive and manual.
The high education level of Keralites has led not only to a high level
of educated unemployment, but also a disdain for manual work in
preference for white collar jobs. Four basic factors which have been
responsible for women employment are:
1. Permanent and growing inadequacy of the income of the
primary bread winner.
2. Temporary fall in the income of the family due to exceptional
or accidental circumstances such as sickness and premature
incapacity of the primary earning member.
3. The death of the primary bread winner
4. A women's desire for economic independence or securing a
higher standard of living for the family.
Health problems of women in the informal sector

Category Female no.(%) Total No. (%)
Health problems
due to job
Yes 63 77
No 56 94
Back pain
Yes 53 96
No 45 78
Joint pain
124
Yes 55 83
No 25 26
Pain in legs
Yes 43 67
No 29 53
Shoulder pain
Yes 70 77
No 28 39
Breathing difficulty
at workplace
Yes 63 45
No 47 61
Working Conditions
The working conditions are another important aspect of the
unorganised sector, and are of particular importance to the women
workers. The assessment of working conditions of women labour is
also important to have a deep understanding of their life. The working
conditions imply the duration of working hours, nature of work, terms
and conditions of payment and overtime payment etc.
According to Das, the presence of a vast multitude of women as
workers and producers in the unorganised sector, where earnings are
low, employment seasonal and insecure, supportive services woefully
inadequate or even non-existent, growth opportunities few and
collective organisation weak, has brought into sharp focus with the
failure of the mainstream to alleviate their predicament. Workers,
irrespective of sex, are exploited in the unorganised sector but women
suffer more by the fact of their gender. In case of construction work,
Das observed that women are mostly exploited. They are employed on
casual basis. Unstable employment/ earnings and shifting of
workplaces are 76 the bare characteristics of work for construction
workers. In most cases safety norms are violated. They are often not
given maternity benefits, though obligatory.
References
1. Garg N. Liberalization and Gender Discrimination in Informal
Sector. Int J Multidisc Res. 2012; 2: 206–17.
125
2. Kishore KG. Gender Equality and Woman's empowerment in

India. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), India 2005-
06. Mumbai: MOHFW; 2009. Aug, [Last accessed on 2012 Nov
07].
3. Paci P. Gender in Transition. Washington DC: Eastern Europe
and Central Asia Region, Human Development Unit World
Bank; 2002. May 21, p. 117.
4. Duflo E. Gender Equality in Development. Boston: Policy
Paper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2005.
5. ILO. Global Employment Trends for Women 2012;
International Labour Office - Geneva.
6. Rao, R.V. and Hussain, S., (1997), ‘Women Workers and
Struggles in the Garment Export Industry – A Case Study of
Delhi’, in
7. Sujatha Gothaskar (ed.), ‘Struggles of Women at Work’, Vikas
Publishing House, Delhi 8.
8. Eapen, Mridul, (2001), ‘Women in Informal Sector in Kerala:
Need for ReExamination’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
36, No. 26, June 30 - July 6, p 2390-2392 9
9. Das, Dr. Bharat B., ‘Problems of Women Workers in the
Unorganised Sector – A
126
MICRO-ENTERPRISES AND SMALL-SCALE

INDUSTRIES IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR
Sr. Sindhu P.J

St. Xavier’s College for Women, Aluva
Email : srsharin@stxaviersaluva.ac.in
Abstract
The term informal sector which groups informal micro-enterprises and
small-scale industries (SSI) raises macro and micro issues by definitions which
have not yet been fully addressed by numerous publications on the sector.
Although the sector has become the engine of growth and for sustainable
development in many economies, policy makers are not sure of what makes
up the sector and its demands. Therefore countries, institutions and
organisations have been left to adopt and adapt their own definitions to suit
the objectives of their programmes and circumstances. This paper reviews the
definitions put forward by different institutions and bodies with the aim of
reviving the debate on the precise definition of the informal sector for universal
usage if at all possible. The paper concludes that the heterogeneity of the SSI
sector means it is often necessary for definitions to be modified according to
the context in which the sector is being examined. The paper concludes
that using employment level of firms would be the ideal and easiest way of
reaching consensus on possible universal definition of the informal sector.
Keywords: Informal Sector, Small-Scale Enterprises, Micro-enterprise
Introduction
The paper discusses the different concepts and definitions of
informal sector, micro-enterprise and small-scale industries in depth
with the aim of rekindling debate on the concepts of the informal
sector in order to push for a common definition for use among
researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The informal sector
covers a wide range of labour market activities that combine two
groups of different nature. On the one hand, the informal sector is
formed by the coping behaviour of individuals and families in
economic environment where earning opportunities are scarce. On
the other hand, the informal sector is a product of rational
behaviour of entrepreneurs that desire to escape state regulations
(Edusah and Tribe 1992). The informal activities include rural
industries, household industries, crafts industries, village industries
etc. By its nature, informal sector is difficult to observe, study, define
127
and more importantly measure. As a result it is difficult to find a

single source authoritative definition as a unit of study. To compound
the dilemma both asset and labour strength have been widely used by
different organisations and countries.
The terms industry, firm and enterprise are vague and are
sometimes applied to a wide range of activities in both rural and
urban areas. In this paper the terms have been used interchangeably
to include small-scale industrial activities in rural areas. Rural
industries do not merely connote or represent geographical
location but also present an idea of rural ownership. Thus the
industries are enterprises for the people, carried out mainly in rural
conditions and rely heavily on local resources, both natural and
human. In the West African sub-Region and Ghana in particular,
rural industries fall into two broad classifications, (1) industrial
enterprises carried out by individuals mainly with household workers
and occasionally employing outside labour and (2) industries carried
out by more than one person employing not only family labour but also
outside skills.
It has been observed that increasingly, donor agencies,
governments of developing countries and non-governmental
organisations are converging in the informal sector development as
potential area in development policy and employment creation. This
has become necessary because experience with economic reforms
have shown that more often than not, macro-economic reforms
do not always achieve the desired responses, especially as regards
private investment, job creation and income generation and
distribution. Experience in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leon and elsewhere
in Africa during the 1980s has shown that non-agricultural activities
in the rural areas and small towns play a much more substantial
role than hitherto surmised. In Sub-Saharan Africa the relatively
restricted labour absorption in high input agriculture makes the
informal sector activities acquire more significance. Edusah (2011)
argues that in Ghana RSSIs play a very important role in the socio-
economic life of majority of the people who live in rural areas
where agriculture is the dominant economic activity (see also Junejo
et al, 2007). The inability of the capital intensive large-scale
industries located mostly in the urban areas to provide adequate
employment to keep pace with rapid growth of population has put
pressure on the labour market particularly in the urban areas. The
128
informal sector has as result acquired a new dimension. The key

question, however, is the extent to which the development of the
informal sector will assist in resolving major development issues.
Interestingly, over the past two decades, the informal sector
promotion has come out of its confines and has begun to raise and
answer some of the major development questions, in part aided by a
cumulative wealth of experience and evaluation of a great variety of
promotional efforts and projects (Boomgard, 1989). Studies of past
projects and programmes have shown that the effectiveness of
micro-level efforts can be improved by addressing sectoral factors.
Thus, also from this angle there is a greater disposition to consider
the wider policy framework for the informal sector development.
However, Unni and Rani (2003) argue that the informal economy
is a temporary marginal economic activity which provides income for
the poor and safety nets in times of crises. A critical look would now
be taken at different concepts and definitions of informal sector,
micro-enterprise and small-scale industries.
Concepts and Definitions of Informal Sector

The concept of the informal sector is not new although the term
came into wide use in the early 1970s. Reynolds (1969) had
developed a model, which contained two urban sectors, one of
which he referred to as a “trade service” sector describing “the
multitude of people whom one sees thronging the city streets,
sidewalks and back alleys in developing countries. These include
petty traders, street vendors and porters, small artisans, barbers,
shoe-shine boys and personal servants” (Reynolds, 1969). McKay
and Round (1996) argue that Reynolds’s classification is probably
still a good characterisation of what many authors understand as
constituting the urban informal sector. The International Labour
Organisation’s (ILO, 1972) report is another important study that
highlighted the crucial role of the informal sector activity
particularly in the developing countries. A notable feature of the
World Employment Programme (WEP) mission to Kenya (ILO, 1972)
was the shift in emphasis away from “unemployment” to
“underemployment.” This was done to draw attention to the fact that
few people could afford to be unemployed in countries where there
were no unemployment benefits and state income support. The ILO
study also set out a typology of informal sector characteristics.
129
Hart (1973) first introduced the concept of informal sector in

his work on informal opportunities and urban employment in Accra
and its suburb of Nima in Ghana. Hart drew on the 1960 Population
Census of Ghana and calculated that over half of the economically
active working age population was non-wage earning. That is they
earned their living outside the main stream modern economic
activities. From this observation he distinguished between formal and
informal occupations stating that the “key variable is the degree of
rationalisation of work – that is to say, whether or not labour is
recruited on a permanent and regular basis for fixed rewards” (Hart,
1973).
Classification of Informal Sector Activities

Hart (1973) and the ILO (1972) have suggested two main
classifications of the informal sector activities (see McKay and
Round, 1996). Hart’s classification is very exhaustive and covers a
wide range of activities carried out outside the formal economy
particularly in the urban areas. The ILO classification on the other
hand, is based on the characteristics of the informal sector. It can
be seen that the two classification presented below are different in
approach. While Hart’s classification is presented on the basis of
categories of activities, the ILO classification is presented as the
characteristics of the informal sector.
Hart’s Classification of Informal Income Opportunities

In an attempt to get round the definition difficulties, Hart (1973)
resorted to listing of a wide range of activities carried out in the urban
areas for a living by people outside the formal sector based on his
work in Ghana. These are:
 primary and secondary activities – farming, market
gardening, building contractors and associated activities,
self-employed artisans, shoemakers, tailors, manufactures of
beers and spirits;
 tertiary enterprises with relatively large capital inputs –
housing, transport, utilities, commodity speculation
activities;
 small-scale distribution – market operatives, petty traders,
street hawkers, caterers in food and drinks, bar attendants,
carriers (kayakaya or kayayo), commission agents and dealers;
130
 other services – musicians, launderers, shoe-shiners, barbers,

photographers, vehicle repairs and other maintenance
workers, brokerage and middleman-ship, ritual services,
magic and medicine.
The Micro-Enterprise Concept

The term micro-enterprise came into use as the informal sector
debate gathered momentum and was used by some authors to
simply describe all (non-agricultural) household-based activity.
However, a distinction is sometimes drawn between “modern” and
“marginalist” informal sector activity with the former referring to the
more productive and dynamic elements, (McKay and Round,
1996). Lubell (1991) has associated micro-enterprises with the
modern informal sector. On the other hand, Charmes (1992)
associates micro-enterprises with the category of household
enterprises of informal employers, in effect excluding household
enterprises, but restricted to non-agricultural enterprises.
According to Nowak (1989), rural micro-enterprises encompass a
wide range of activities filling the gaps left by agriculture, including:
i. year -round or seasonal enterprise tuned to the agriculture
cycle;
ii. full or part-time enterprises;
iii. individual or family enterprise or enterprises employing full-
time or casual outside labour;
iv. fixed (enterprises operating from permanent locations) or
itinerant (enterprises that do not have any fixed location);
v. enterprises with one activity or with more than one activity
substituting for one another according to market needs or
clustered in order to share risks.
Definition of Small-Scale Industry

It must be noted that there is no agreement on the definition of
SSI sector and its categorisation. Increasingly, researchers and
practitioners of SSI promotion take into account the heterogeneity of
SSIs and as a result the issues of definition has been dominated by
the scale dimension to the detriment of other quantitative and
qualitative aspects of a relatively small economic unit of operation
including its relative place and function within the economy.
According to Cortes et al (1987) neither the technical literature nor
131
broader studies of the political economy of small enterprises provide

clear and consistent definitions of the boundaries of the sector. As a
result some countries have developed different definitions for the
sector, and often different definitions for different purposes within
different organisations even within the same country (see for example
Ho 1980).
Characteristics of the Rural Small Scale Industries (RSSI) Sector

Researchers such as Staley and Morse (1965) describe the RSSI
sector as being characterised by; (i) relatively little specialisation in
management; (ii) close personal contacts; (iii) often handicapped in
obtaining capital and credit and (iv)very large numbers of units. The
RSSIs tend to be largely based on local raw materials. Initial capital
outlay is very low with little or no capital equipment. The
production techniques utilised tend to be characteristically labour-
intensive, involving hand-tools and traditional implements rather
than modern powered tools (Steel, 1977). The RSSI sector is widely
dispersed in the rural areas, and encompasses many activities. It is
highly labour intensive and needs little capital to employ workers.
Training in the sector is mostly informal and takes a relatively short
period thus offering a sizeable number of people, especially the youth,
to be trained at a very low cost, largely through apprenticeship.
Practitioners agreed that certain basic characteristics or features
are common to the SSI sector. For instance, UNIDO (1988) points out
that the operations of SSI may be very flexible and may be targeted at
the utilisation of available local raw materials. Kirkpatrick (1984)
states that, a small firm is generally characterised by: ease of entry,
dependent on indigenous resources; family ownership; small scale
operation; labour-intensity and use of simple and traditional
technologies; skills acquisition outside the formal sector system;
and unregulated and competitive markets. Chen et. al. (2001),
argue that the scale of operation in the informal economy offers
leverage over their formal counterparts, because it allows for
production to be organized into small-scale, decentralized and
more flexible economic units. It therefore allows for flexible
specialization of production which is a core feature of capitalist
development, which co-exists with and reinforce other sectors of the
total economy. King and Byerlee (1977) have noted that RSSI sector
operations tend to be based on individual skills and abilities and
132
on the informal transfer of accumulated skills from generation to

generation. Another important issue for RSSIs is that of gender
(Steel, 1981). In Ghana, for example, RSSI sector activities have
developed along specialised female and male lines so that some
industries tend to be dominated by women and others by men. Men
are mostly found in ventures such as wood-working, leather-
working, smithing and cane-working, while women tend to be found
in pottery, food processing, soap making, dress making, oil extraction
and fish processing. Nevertheless there are some industries where
there is no particular gender specialisation (Edusah and Tribe, 1992).
Another characteristic of SSI, according to Livingstone (1990), is
that employment in the sector expands very largely through an
increase in the number of micro-enterprises, still employing no
more than 2 or 3 persons, rather than through an increase in the size
of existing establishments. In the context of West Africa and Ghana in
particular, Edusah and Tribe (1992) introduced a new dimension to
the definition and classification of the RSSI sector as any industrial
establishment engaged in manufacturing activities with not more
than nine workers and further disaggregated and categorised the
sector into (1) Craft Industry (CI), (2) Artisan Industry (AI) and (3)
Processing Industry (PI).
The Craft Industry (CI)

The CIs are sometimes referred to either as handicraft industries,
household businesses or household industries (see for instance Allal
and Chuta, 1982); Barrow and Greene, 1979; and Staley and Morse,
1965). Such craft activities are conducted in the courtyard or
backyard of the residences of skilful craftsmen who draw on the
assistance of the family members. Technologies are mostly manual in
nature and there is a minimal element of product standardisation.
The products of these household businesses are by their very nature
dependent not on machinery but almost exclusively on acquired skill
and craftsmanship. Typical craft activities include: woodwork and
carving, pottery, weaving, leather work, straw-work, basketry, gold-
and black-smithing (see for example Mannan, 1993).
The Artisan Industry (AI)

The AI sub-sector is closely associated with the CI sector as their
products of require skill and craftsmanship to manufacture. Norcliffe,
133
Freeman and Miles (1984) have noted that the AI sub-sector

appears to be more sophisticated with larger technical and capital
inputs. The sub-sector depends mainly on the utility value of their
products rather than on the aesthetic or sentimental considerations.
They need not depend entirely on family labour, and they may also
employ outside hired labour. Furthermore, they need not necessarily
be located in the dwelling places of the artisan concerned, and are
likely to be located away from the residence. The skills involved in
this industry sub-sector can often be acquired through formal training
institutions without detracting from the essential small-scale nature
of the operations. The technology that they use is likely to depend on
an external energy source. Production is likely to be organised on a
workshop or small factory basis. The AI sub-sector embraces tailors,
dressmakers, carpenters and many more.
The Processing Industry (PI)

The PI is sometimes referred to as cottage industries and it is
closely associated with agriculture involving operations mostly by
hand and carried on in the home either as a full-time or as a part-time
occupation primarily with the help of members of the family (see for
example Rao, 1967). The sub-sector processes raw materials
particularly agricultural and other natural raw materials into finished
and semi-finished products. The sub-sector needs not depend entirely
on family labour, and outside hired labour may be employed. The
activities are carried on mainly by hand, however, the use of simple
tools and equipment is not uncommon and production is likely to be
organised on a small factory basis. Typical examples of the processing
industry sub-sector are oil extraction, soap making, grain milling,
cassava processing and bakeries. The three sub-sector categorisation,
CI, AI and the PI sub-sectors, was first used by Edusah and Tribe
(1992) to pioneer a new concept of RSSI sector categorisation away
from the usual simple categorisation by size of firm. The size of firm
categorisation groups together every RSSI activity according to the
number of workers which has a practical difficulty when gender
stereotype becomes a research issue.
Conclusion
The paper has examined the conceptual and theoretical issues
that underpin the discussion of SSI sector in general and informal
134
sector in particular. A closer look was taken at concepts such as the

informal sector, the micro-enterprise, the small-scale industry and
rural small-scale industry that are most often used interchangeably. It
became clear that there is no single, uniformly acceptable, definition
or classification of SSI sector. Whilst broadly acceptable and
consistent definitions are needed for comparisons, SSI researchers
are not restricted by these parameters. The heterogeneity of SSI
sector means it is often necessary for definitions to be modified
according to the context in which the sector is being examined.
Notwithstanding the obvious difficulties, the paper is of the view that
the momentum of the debate on universal definition of the informal
sector should be carried to a logical conclusion for the promotion and
management of the sector.
References
1. Allal, M. and Chuta, E. (1982), Cottage Industry and
Handicrafts: Some Guidelines for Employment Promotion,
Geneva, International Labour Office (ILO).
2. Anheier, K. H. and Seibel, H. D. (1987), Small-Scale Industry
and Economic Development in Ghana: Business Behaviour and
Strategies in Informal Sector Economics, Saarbrucken, Verlag
Breitenbach Publishers.
3. Barrow, C and Greene, J. E. (1979), Small Business in Barbados:
A Case of Survival, Barbados, Institute of Social and Economic
Research (Eastern Caribbean), University of the West Indies.
4. Bolton, J. E. (1971), Small Firms, London, Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office.
5. Bromley, R. (1978), Introduction - the Urban Informal Sector:
Why is it Worth Discussing?, World Development, 6 p1033-
1039.
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Informal Sectors in The Economy: Pertinent Issues

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INFORMAL SECTORS IN THE

ECONOMY: PERTINENT ISSUES

© Sr. Sindhu P. J (Sr. Sharin CTC) & Lt. Nithin Thomas

First Edition: July 2019

I am happy to know that a book on ‘Informal Sectors in the

We are very happy to see our work is getting published finally.

Sr. Sindhu P.J and Lt. Nithin Thomas

Informal sector or unorganised sector constitutes a pivotal part

S. No. Title Page No.

Keywords: Informal Sector, Rural employment, Urban employment

formal sector to absorb the informal labour and increased

Table 1 Size of the informal sector across the world

“It appeals to liberals with an interest in problems of poverty; to

Historical Evolution of the Concept of Informal Sector

development which fueled by various development theories such as

a dynamic sector with entrepreneurs lacking capital which is

smuggling, prostitution etc. He uses the term informal sector along

Alternative Views on Informal Sector

mainstream is shrinking and margins are getting wider (Bhatt, 2006; p

(Portes and Schauffler, 1993). This reasoning leads to an interesting

Finally, the parasitic school “emphasis on the illegality of informal

phenomenon also. As a firm gets bigger, the costs of organizing

irreducible to any subset of specific rules of economic calculations

16. Jha, P. (2003). Issues relating to employment in India in the era

WOMEN IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR – A STUDY

Dr. Taramol K.G

Keywords: Informal sector, CBO, Kudumbashree

official visibility in statistics. This happens due to negative attitude

Primary data was collected through a field survey. The sample

Results and Discussion

Table 1 Economic status of the respondents

Table 2 Occupational status before joining the

From table – 2 it can be observed that 58% that of the respondents

Table 3 Borrowing pattern of the members

Table 4 Types of assistance availed from NHGs for starting income

Table 3 shows the types of assistance availed from NHGs for

Saving pattern of the respondents after joining the kudumbashree

The Table-4 shows that the possession of basic amenities of

WOMEN WORKERS IN INFORMAL SECTOR IN

Keywords: Informal Sector, Women Workers, Gender Discrimination, Migration,

justice and equality. Issues of sustainable livelihood, social and political

Employment in the Informal Sector

Categories of Workers in the Informal Sector

problem with the informal sector in India is that here is no precise

2. Domestic Workers: in 1977-78, there were some 1.68 million

6. Construction Labourers: the construction industry provides

status of children, migratory status, numbers of earning

For collection of information semi-structured interview methods

Construction Economic Labour Daily wages Often in scattered

In India there are multiple socio-economic disadvantages that

Vulnerability due to Migration

health services. In India, 14.4 million people migrated within the

have their highest representation in terms of being migrated (more

Migratory status & migratory origin of informal women workers

Further, the poor and unskilled migrant population on the other

Table below, adequately focuses light upon the deteriorated living

Poor Housing Conditions Water & Sanitation Conditions

Disposal aroung the house

Drainage does not exist

Water source outside

Toilet facility outside

There is no fixed working hours of the informal women workers in

The informal women workers most of them belonging to the low