Labour problem,industrailization, uranization

1. LABOUR PROBLEM
"The Labour Problem" is an economics term widely used toward the turn of the
twentieth century with various applications. It has been defined in many ways, such as
"the problem of improving the conditions of employment of the wage-earning classes."
It encompasses the difficulties faced by wage-earners and employers whom began to
cut wages for various reasons including increased technology, desire for lower costs or
to stay in business. It was a nationwide problem that spanned nearly all industries and
helped contribute to modern business conditions still seen today.
Causes: At the turn of the century machines were beginning to take a stronger footing
in the economy, which drove costs down. Always trying to maximize profits, employers
saw fit to lower wages for two main reasons. Machines were making the production
process cheaper meaning wages took up a bigger percentage of costs, and when times
were particularly tough, it made sense to cut wages to stay in business. This
depersonalization of the production process meant that people essentially became
expendable. People were not eliminated completely but there was a significant job less.
This led to lower wages in the long run because fixed costs decreased (with increased
technology) so employers saw fit to cut wage expenses for this now partially expendable
labour force. Although the problem spanned many industries, they were not all
concerned with the same problems.
SOME MAIN PROBLEMS ARE:
 Illiteracy: A large proportion of industrial workers in India are illiterates &
ignorant. So they cannot understand the problems confronting the economy
in general & industries in particular. They do not even understand their own
problems.
 Lack of Discipline: There is no discipline among the industrial labours in India
Indiscipline, absenteeism without any reasons. Moving from one job to
another etc., are very common.
 Majority Characters: Industrial labour in India is migratory in character. Most
of the labourers in industries are drawn from villages & are cages to return to
their homes during their busy agricultural seasons.
 Lack of Organisations: The industrial labour in India is not united, but is
divided & sub – divided on the basis of language, region, caste, etc. They are

2. unable to organize themselves. Consequent upon that most of the trade
unions are controlled by outsiders.
 Low Efficiency: The efficiency of industrial labour in India is very low. Their
productivity is also very low. Lack of education, training, research medical
facilities, etc., are reasons for low productivity.
 Poverty: The industrial labours in India are very poor. Their salary, standard
of living & productivity are very low. They are unable to generate interest in
their work because of poverty.
 Superstitions: Most of the industrial labour in India are superstitions &
tradition – bound. They believe in fatalistic & Meta physical things. They have
irrational outlook.
 Large Scale Absenteeism: It is another important feature of industrial labour.
They remain absent without any reason.
 Ignorant of Roles & Regulations: A good proportion of our industrial workers
are ignorant of rules & regulation.
 Bad Habits: The industrial labourers in India are addicted to bad habits. They
are involved in unhealthy practices. As a result, their efficiency & mental
discipline are badly affected.
 Age issues: Like women, older people and children often perform important, non-
economic labour roles which need to be properly evaluated before introducing
changes which might affect them.
 The community: Assumptions regarding the community's ability to mobilise
labour in order to undertake "development" activities have to be carefully
investigated by looking at patterns of communal labour. This may include periodic
work carried out by the community to assist individuals in carrying out specific
tasks such as land clearing or house building.
 The household: Labour often represents practically the only asset available to
poor rural households and its allocation will indicate where people's priorities lie
and how household labour patterns are liable to be affected by changes.

3. INDUSTRIALIZATION
Industrialization is the process by which an economy shifts from an agricultural to a
manufacturing base during a period of sustained change and growth, eventually creating
a higher standard of living means A process of socio-economic change that transforms a
human group agrarian economy into an industrial one. It has brought about changes in
property system and in division of labour, and has given rise to new social strata and
classes which stand above the traditional division of region and religion.
Industrialization has brought about many changes non-existent in pre-industrial
societies. It has introduced new social relation, urbanisation, geographical concentration
of people and changes in occupational structure. It has resulted in certain common
features which are different from the features of pre-industrial or traditional agricultural
societies. Various changes that have taken place in political, educational, religious,
familial and stratification spheres due to impact of industrialization.
IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRIALISATION
 Provide Employment
 Trickle Down Effect
 Development of Social Overhead
It includes application of
scientific methods
Division of labour
Accompanied by social and
economic changes
It is a long term process
Industrialization

4.  Increase in Income and Saving
 Increasing Economies of Scale
 Increase in Farm Productivity
 Better Utilisation of Raw Materials
Positive Impact of Industrialization
 Low cost of production: The introduction of industries have led to the decrease
in the cost of production of many essential items. The decrease in cost is the result
of economy of large scale production. It allows to save time and labour. Industrial
goods have become more affordable for common people.
 Self-sufficient: Before independence, we used to spend hundreds of millions of
rupees over import of cloth only, as we had no heavy industries in the real sense
of the term. With the advancement of textile industry in our country, we are able
to manufacture clothes at a much lower cost. In this way, we made ourselves self-
sufficient in providing our basic needs.
 Employment: Large industries need thousands of skilled and semi-skilled
workers. It provides massive employment opportunity for a large chunk of people.
 Improved Agriculture: In the modern age efficient agricultural system is that,
which is done with the help of machine and mechanical devices. For this purpose,
we have to adopt the latest Industrial system.
 Defence and security: But we must keep pace with the march of time. We have
to defend our country against foreign aggression. We must manufacture latest
weapons, for it is most unwise to depend upon foreign aid for defence of one’s
country.
Negative Impact of Industrialization
Mechanized, heavy and large-scale industries have negative impact which adversely
affects the environment, society and economy of this country.

5.  Decline of cottage industry: Throughout, India has been proud of her rural
cottage industries. The silk produced by the village-weavers had been a source of
attraction all over the world. With the advent of heavy mechanical industries
began the chapter of the decline of our village cottage industries.
 Mass migration from rural areas: Another attack is that with the creation of heavy
mechanized industries in the urban areas, the rural population would start mass-
migration into town and cities, thereby making the unemployment problem more
acute and complex.
 Depletion of natural resources: Due to industrialization, there is constant
depletion of natural resources. Many industries are powered by thermal power
plants that consumes coal. Since, large industries are spread over many acres of
land, agricultural lands and forests are often cleared to make available the
required land.
 Pollution: Large industries emits many harmful gases into the environment. The
introduction of harmful chemicals into air leads to air-pollution. The noises that it
produces leads to noise-pollution.
 Increase of war-like situation: Out of the degenerating effects of heavy
industries is born contention. In developed nations, most of these Heavy
industries are engaged in the production of war materials. With a lot of war
weapons in hands, there has been an increase in war-like situation among
countries.
URBANIZATION
Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas, "the gradual increase in the
proportion of people living in urban areas", and the ways in which each society adapts
to the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and
become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas. It includes two
things – an increase in the number of people living in urban settlements, and an increase
in the percentage of the population engaged in non-agricultural activities, living in such
places.

6. Urban” in India is defined as a human settlement with a minimum population of
5000persons, with 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural
activities and a population density of at least 400 persons per sq. km. Further, all
statutory towns having a Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or Nagar Panchayat
as well as a Cantonment Board are classified as “URBAN”.
CAUSES OF URBANIZATION
Various reasons have led to the growth of cities. They are as follows:
 Industrialization: Industrialization is a major cause of urbanization. It has
expanded the employment opportunities. Rural people have migrated to cities on
account of better employment opportunities.
 Social factors: Many social factors such as attraction of cities, better standard of
living, better educational facilities, need for status also induce people to migrate
to cities.
 Employment opportunities: In rural sector people have to depend mainly on
agriculture for their livelihood. But Indian agriculture is depending on monsoon.
In drought situations or natural calamities, rural people have to migrate to cities.
 Modernization: Urban areas are characterized by sophisticated technology better
infrastructure, communication, medical facilities, etc. People feel that they can
lead a comfortable life in cities and migrate to cities.
Urbanization in India
Urbanisation has become a common feature of Indian society. Growth of Industries has
contributed to the growth of cities. As a result of industrialisation people have started
moving towards the industrial areas in search of employment. This has resulted in the
growth of towns and cities. Urbanisation denotes a diffusion of the influence of urban
centres to a rural hinterland. Urbanisation can also be defined as a process of
concentration of population in a particular territory.
According to Mitchell urbanisation is a process of becoming urban, moving to cities,
changing from agriculture to other pursuits common to cities.

7. Positive effect:
 Migration of rural people to urban areas.
 Employment opportunities in urban centres.
 Transport and communication facilities.
 Educational facilities.
 Increase in the standard of living.
Negative effect:
 Problem of over population: Concentration of population is a major problem of
cities. It has resulted in accommodation problem, growth of slums etc.
 Disintegration of Joint family: Joint family can’t be maintained in cities on
account of high cost of living: People prefer to live in the nuclear type of families.
 Cost of living: High cost of living is a major problem of cities. In Metro cities like
Mumbai, Bangalore etc. it is very difficult for lower income groups to maintain a
decent standard of living.
 Increase in Crime rates: Urban centres are known for high rate of crimes. Theft,
Dacoity, Murder, Cheating, Pick pocketing, rape etc. are common in urban
centres.
 Impersonal relations: Urban centres are characterised by highly secondary
relations. The concept of neighbourhood, community life are almost absent in
cities. Urban life is highly monotonous. This may have an adverse psychological
effect on individuals. People are often self-centred and they have no concern for
the fellow human beings.
 Problem of Pollution: In industrialized cities pollution is a major problems. It may
be caused by industries or by excessive movement of vehicles.
 Stress: Urban life is characterised by stress which may even strain family relations.
In cities employment of women is almost inevitable to meet the increasing cost of
living. Changing role of women in the family creates stress in the family which may
result in divorce or strained relations.

8. OTHER EFFECTS
 Socio-cultural impacts: Cities have a strong socio-cultural impacts on their
surrounding rural areas. The mass media depicts city life as superior to rural life,
the “STANDARD” language is deemed that of the national capital, and better
services are received in the city due to its wealth. The fertility rate in cities is often
lower than in rural areas due to the absence of agriculture, the cost of children,
food and living space in cities, and family planning.
 Socio-economic impacts: As a city grows, the cost of housing and infrastructure
also grows, since there are less water, land and building material available, and
greater congestion problems. As a city decays in this way, governments often do
not meet the service needs of residents and urban development is dominated by
private capital. Unemployment grows, as do drug abuse, crime and homelessness.
 Environmental impacts: Waste are a major problem in large cities. Air pollution
results from overdependence on motorised transport and from burning of coal to
supply energy. Water pollution results from poor sewage facilities and disposal of
industrial heavy metals into waterways. Vast quantities of solid waste are
produced in industries. Traffic congestion and noise pollution are major
environmental impacts of large cities.
WORKING AND LIVING CONDITION OF LABOUR
Working conditions are at the core of paid work and employment relationships.
Generally speaking, working conditions cover a broad range of topics and issues, from
working time (hours of work, rest periods, and work schedules) to remuneration, as well
as the physical conditions and mental demands that exist in the workplace.
The ILO monitors trends and developments regarding working time, work organisation,
and work-life balance around the world and analyses key and emerging issues, in order
to provide ILO constituents and policymakers with practical information and research-
based policy advice grounded in state-of-the-art knowledge. In addition the ILO seeks to
collaborate with national research institutes and academic institutions to obtain the
state-of-the-art knowledge needed to support workers and employers in developing and
implementing balanced working time arrangements that can protect workers’ health,
benefit their well-being and work-life balance, and promote sustainable enterprises as
well.