Dignity of labour without recognition of work?

 

For over a hundred years, workers from around the world have raised their voices for issues that affect the workforce. On May 1, 1886, the International Workers’ Day emerged from the United States of America (so, no, it is not communist propaganda)—from then it came to be that 8 hours would be a legal day’s labour. Over the years, from humane working hours to right wages [or even abolition of the wage system to get everyone to work, own and share (means of) production], labour movements around the world demanding better conditions of work have faced tremendous challenges, and have consistently found themselves on the path to overcome these through organized campaigns based on union solidarity.

Nagaland, of course, finds itself in a state of exception even in this. While there are no large scale industrial units here, the international workers’ day, it must be remembered, is meant for flagging and pursuing rights that go beyond the industrial workforce.

Labour working on farms all over Nagaland, for instance, are frequently underpaid and overworked—they are not organized, and many being immigrants, lack any guarantee of rights within existing Naga frameworks. They survive on the kindness of their employers.   

Women, who form a major workforce in Nagaland’s farms, fields and homes, are not organized as workers either. Their roles continue to remain defined by tradition; their contribution to the economy (and to grassroots sovereignty of the Naga people) not only goes unrecognized, it is also derided, thus keeping them sidelined from being voices in decision making in Nagaland.

Children from marginalized communities continue to work here without being acknowledged as domestic workers. They are provided minimal education, overworked to an abysmal degree, are sexually abused and would be classified as slaves in any other part of the world. Not here. Here, child traffickers have a field day delivering poor children as labour on the altar of the rich and middle classes, which are themselves ignorant (or turn a blind eye to) child welfare or labour laws/ethics. Even older domestic workers remain devoid of rights.

The media workforce, supposed to be the one addressing these issues, itself has no consciousness of labour rights. While a wage system still puts media workers at the mercy of the decision of the owner of a media house, most media house proprietors here do not apply recognized wage board standards, leading to lopsided salary structures for work journalists put in to run these profit-based institutions. While not all newspapers here make profit, proprietors are reluctant to invest more to hire professionals who are equipped with skills to engage with the public on issues, noted an editor of a local newspaper in Nagaland. Result? Media is yet to become a vehicle of empowerment for the people, admitted the editor. Journalists in Nagaland till date lack a union to voice their concerns in an organized manner, stunting their own growth—both individual and collective.

Consistent rants about the “dignity of labour” without making any effort to recognize various forms of work and attached rights should stop, with steps taken to address these instead.