Workers In Visibility: 
Resetting the Aspiration

Spotlighting the needs and hopes of informal workers in India​

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85% of India's non-agrarian workforce comprises of informal workers¹.
They build our homes and cities, manufacture goods and provide daily services.
The hard work of more than 200 million workers ensures that we live comfortably².

​Yet they have remained invisible because of systemic barriers and our collective apathy.

Who are these workers?​

In addition to those employed in informal enterprises and households, there are many who are informally employed even in the formal sector. ​Informality of employment implies that workers by law or in practice, are not subject to labour legislation, income tax or employment benefits. Some real world examples of its manifestations are:

Lack of registration in employers' or government databases

Less than the recommended threshold of INR 375 per day​³

No formal enforceable contracts, unaccounted time/effort

The systemic challenges faced by these workers are multi-layered and affected by their intersectional identities​​

 Persistent
​Inequalities
affect informal workers even as they make up for 85% of the workforce⁴ 

Gendered Vulnerabilities
affect women as they earn ~30-40% less than male counterparts⁵

Distress
​Migration
seen, ~70%  of 78M rural
​-urban migrants are from
disadvantaged groups⁶

COVID-19
Impact
may induce 260M new poor, reversing 10-year progress on poverty⁷

​Click on the boxes to know more!

Experts agree that the entire informal sector contributes to half of India's GDP. However, inequalities faced by India's vulnerable workers are a stark contrast to high GDP growth. ​

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Latent potential of workforce not harnessed​

India is home to 14% of the world’s labor force and yet contributes only ~7% of the world’s GDP share in PPP terms; unemployment is highest in over 4 decades,
​based on analysis of data by the World Bank

Poverty continues to be a challenge

~22% of the population lives below the national poverty line; India faces a gap of ​11% for achieving its targets under Sustainable Development Goal 1 – No Poverty​,
​based on NITI Aayog's SDG Index 2019-20

Lack of safe and decent work​

Health and safety challenges of the Indian workforce are linked to a global problem: ​
~2.8 million lives are lost per year from work-related injuries and illnesses, worldwide​​, basis ILO estimates

Raising women’s participation in the labour force can increase India’s GDP by 27% according to the International Monetary Fund. However, women are entrenched in informality of employment, more likely to be engaged in low-paying unskilled work, that protracts inequity.​

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Women's work is not valued​

In India women spend ​84% of their working hours on unpaid activities, ​
while men spend 80% of their working hours on paid work​​, estimates NSSO data

Precarious positions in the market​

 In India, women’s jobs were 1.8 times more vulnerable to loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic than their male counterparts, calculates McKinsey & Company​

The wage disparity is wide​

Households depending on female workers as primary earners tend to be poorer due to the wage gap, women get paid lesser even while doing the same work as men, ILO states​

Migration is a critical solution to build economic opportunity, but for this demographic of workers, it is currently driven by distress.

Adapted from this source.

The nationwide lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, brought with it a truly unprecedented time for India, exacerbating challenges, particularly for the informal migrant workers, with a ​denial of even the most basic needs, like food.​

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Exodus in large numbers​

The Economic Survey states that ~6.3 million migrant workers travelled by Shramik  Special trains from May-August 2020​; many more travelled on foot, by bus, etc.

Severely impacted livelihoods​

81% of migrant workers reported losing their livelihood during the lockdown
​(according to an Action Aid survey of 11K workers)​

Inadequate social security​

A survey of 3K construction workers by Jan Sahas in the initial months found that 42% of them had no ration left even for the day, let alone for the duration of the lockdown​

It took an unprecedented crisis to spotlight the troubles of this thus far invisible workforce.
But now, we have an opportunity to reset the aspiration by enabling inclusive growth.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
- Lao Tzu​

Join those who are marching ahead!​

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Action Landscape

Social Compact​

​Inclusive by Design

Migrant Women Workers

​Discover the ecosystem players from across non-profits, industry and government

​Know more about a multi-stakeholder platform that enables equity and dignity for informal workers

Dive into key insights on the construction sector - flagship report by Godrej Properties Ltd. and Dasra​

Learn about intersectionalities surrounding poor migrant women workers, supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung

References
​1,4: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_734503.pdf 
​2: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/doc/vol2chapter/echap10_vol2.pdf
3: https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/Commitee_on_Determination_of_Methodology.pdf 
5: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_638305.pdf
6: https://thewire.in/labour/india-migrant-workers-covid-19-crisis-socio-economic-status 
7: https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/coronavirus-indians-poverty-oxford-university_in_5ebd2ccbc5b6078ff41ceb80