"We will run out of food in a few days," says Ramesh Kumar, "and I can't see my children hungry." He, like his fellow daily-wage earners, is faced by the dreadful concatenation of circumstances. With no respite in sight, their horizon remains bleak. To risk catching Coronavirus, or to risk starving without it.
Labourers across India face a daunting spectre. It looms over them in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment: the spectre of unemployment! Yet the privileged few of us who have the torches of regulation and knowledge can foresee and prevent it. However, those of us who do not see the spectre will be whisked away by its scythe. Those labourers we must protect - the daily-wage labourers, the migrant workers, et al.
When the Indian PM, Narendra Modi, announced a 21-day lockdown, contractual labourers were already apprehensive. The move destabilised the contractual sector and sent thousands into unemployed poverty. Although the lockdown in India is by good faith and meaning, we must remember the costs of the undertaking. Nevertheless, relentless persistence is not a strategy India can afford to take without taking good care of its consequentially affected citizens. The migrant labourers today are cut off from the meagre savings they have remitted to their families. The daily-wage earners have been removed from their now nonexistent jobs and must rely on their depleting reserves. This state of affairs is not one which will disappear with the disappearance of the pandemic. The problem must be solved, and swiftly solved, to prevent an economic meltdown from permanently handicapping the nation.
These labourers, even months after the lockdown, will not be offered employment by corporations. The apprehensive firms will not hire more workers than they currently have unless the job salaries come at low costs. This apprehensive and cautious nature (which is unbecoming of capitalists) is due to the prediction of a reawakening of the coronavirus soon after summer. Additionally, these firms will face a credit crunch as banks behave apprehensively while loaning out large sums as capital. This would imply a greater chance of being 'laid off' unless the workers work at abysmal salaries.
Many of us, dear reader, are privileged to be safely tucked away during this crisis. We may be stranded in a strange city, or confined to the boundaries of our houses, yet we are safe. Our families go to sleep without hunger; our families awake under a roof. People like Ramesh do not have that luxury. Remember that, when you curse your situation. Remember Ramesh, remember his plight.
Labourers across India face a daunting spectre. It looms over them in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment: the spectre of unemployment! Yet the privileged few of us who have the torches of regulation and knowledge can foresee and prevent it. However, those of us who do not see the spectre will be whisked away by its scythe. Those labourers we must protect - the daily-wage labourers, the migrant workers, et al.
When the Indian PM, Narendra Modi, announced a 21-day lockdown, contractual labourers were already apprehensive. The move destabilised the contractual sector and sent thousands into unemployed poverty. Although the lockdown in India is by good faith and meaning, we must remember the costs of the undertaking. Nevertheless, relentless persistence is not a strategy India can afford to take without taking good care of its consequentially affected citizens. The migrant labourers today are cut off from the meagre savings they have remitted to their families. The daily-wage earners have been removed from their now nonexistent jobs and must rely on their depleting reserves. This state of affairs is not one which will disappear with the disappearance of the pandemic. The problem must be solved, and swiftly solved, to prevent an economic meltdown from permanently handicapping the nation.
These labourers, even months after the lockdown, will not be offered employment by corporations. The apprehensive firms will not hire more workers than they currently have unless the job salaries come at low costs. This apprehensive and cautious nature (which is unbecoming of capitalists) is due to the prediction of a reawakening of the coronavirus soon after summer. Additionally, these firms will face a credit crunch as banks behave apprehensively while loaning out large sums as capital. This would imply a greater chance of being 'laid off' unless the workers work at abysmal salaries.
Many of us, dear reader, are privileged to be safely tucked away during this crisis. We may be stranded in a strange city, or confined to the boundaries of our houses, yet we are safe. Our families go to sleep without hunger; our families awake under a roof. People like Ramesh do not have that luxury. Remember that, when you curse your situation. Remember Ramesh, remember his plight.
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