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POSITION OF CHILD LABOUR IN WOOD
CARVING INDUSTRY AT SAHARANPUR According to international labour organization one third of the world’s
child labour force is in India. A variety of aspect like respondent’s desire, an
ambition, duration of work and income, savings habit, pocket money, goes
meaningless in today’s world. Out of the total labour force engaged in wood
carving industry of Saharanpur child labour constitute 20% of it. It is a quite
larger proportion as compared to that in many other various industries
running along side in the district. In this chapter, aspects related to their
socio-economic condition & health have been negotiated.
Saharanpur in U.P. accounts for 90 per cent of the total production of wood
carving in State. The craft is about 400 year old, employing about one lakh crafts
persons in district, increasing exports from the city wood carving units. Wooden
and other handicrafts from Saharanpur enjoy a good market abroad, especially the
US, Europe, Australia and Japan. Wood carving is known for its carving in hard
Sheeshum and particularly for its famous vine leaf pattern. The handicrafts
industry uses non-forest timbers like sheesham, babool and toon. The western
Uttar Pradesh belt is rich in these trees. Being specific to this region, importing
wood may prove to be an unviable alternative.
The range of designs include floral, geometric and figurative
decoration, in addition to this traditional anguri and takai carvings, jali
(fretted ornamentation), brass and copper and ivory inlay work. Bone and
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Plastic are now being used as zero cost substitutes for ivory. Articles made
include screens, folding tables, trivets, trays, book-ends, bowls, candle stands,
condiments jewellary and cigar boxes.
Woodcarving is an art and India has been a traditional producer of
woodcarving furniture for ages. Production of woodcarving is developed on a
commercial scale, which is carried out by many Indian artisans from generation to
generation. India has abundant collection of woodcarved furniture, out of which
some has been explored and a lot remains to be discovered.
It has a rich old heritage to crown its head, which is believed to be the
oldest heritage of the world. This has been adored and preserved by the
Indians since time immemorial. The exquisite furniture range comes in
various styles with varying designs, finishes, colors, shapes etc. The designs
and the carvings may be etched on the back or front, which gives a
remarkable and pleasing appearance. The use of high quality wood enhances
the overall functional value and visual appeal of furniture.
In the beginning, shisham was the only wood used by handicraftsmen.
Thereafter some indigenous craftsmen experimented with teakwood from
Nepal and Assam, ebonite from Assam and rosewood from the South.
Struggle for survival forced the wood carving industry to pass through many
critical phases. Changing scenario of industry turned the craftsmen to many
other varieties of wood.
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Besides traditional shisham, wood craftsmen have now been using
many other varieties of wood depending upon the suitability of texture, color,
grains of wood for particular job. For deep under-cutting and sculptural effect
teak, rosewood and walnut are preferred. For low relief, shisham and deodar
is used and for incised design ebony are considered. Rohira, sal, babul, etc.
are coarse grained and hard wood used for bold work. Haldu and dudhi are
used for special polychromatic effects.
The opulent Indian Wooden Furniture Treasure Chest Woodcarving
industry is spreaded in major parts of the country i.e. Rajasthan, Karnataka,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh. Woodcraft of Saharanpur is
famous all over the world for its elegance and beauty. Saharanpur is known
for vine-leaf patterns on Shisham wood. Floral, geometric and figurative
carving is also done here with wood inlay work. Woodworks industry in the
North Eastern region is scattered and the production is confined to a few
items only in a few states.
Gujarat has a rich culture for such carving and in addition to small
chairs and tables, the swing, without which no traditional home is complete,
is made. Wood inlay, which developed and flourished during the Mughal
rule, is done with bits of ivory, plastic, horn, metal pieces or other types of
wood into carved surfaces of wooden items. This kind is found in various
parts of the country such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
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Designs of Uttar Pradesh such as the fretwork, jali or the anguri work are also
very popular.
The wood carvers of Madhya Pradesh, with great sensitivity and skill
transform different varieties of wood such as shisham, teak, dhudi, sal and
kikar into works of art. Madhya Pradesh is famous for painted and lacquered
wood product such as toys, boxes, bedposts, cradles posts, flower vases etc.
Kashmir is the only state in India, where Walnut trees and Fine Deodar wood
are found. The craftsmen here create intricate carvings on wood obtained
from the walnut tree which is used to make furniture items like tables, chairs,
stools, partitions, trays, book stands, wall decorations, fruit bowls etc that
have rich floral and trellis patterns carved furniture. Some furniture pieces in
barmer like tables, low stools etc has miniature paintings on them. Carved
wood items such as cabinets, screens, chairs, tables, almirahs, racks etc are
also highly decorated over here. Also each region of woodcraft in Punjab is
making carved legs of beds and manjis and boxes. Gwalior, Sheopur-Kalan,
Rewa and Budhni are main centers of wood lacquering.
Uttar Pradesh has many craft centers engaged in making different
items out of wood. Mainpuri is famous for woodwork on ebony or block
sheesham inlaid with brass wire. Banaras is known for lacquered toys and
miniature utensils for children to play with. India is the second largest
supplier of bamboo and West Bengal is known for its creativity and artisans
of the State specialized in creating everyday and fancy articles from bamboo
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and cane. Cane and bamboo occupy a distinctive place in the life of Tripura
too. Furniture made of cane; baskets knitted out of cane and bamboo strips
are some of the well-known craft produce from the Tripura, which are always
on demand. Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu too, have their distinct wood
carving traditions.
Karnataka is famous for carvings and decorative pieces made from
sandalwood. Sandalwood items like, boxes, trays, key chains, small figurines
are not only carved tastefully but they also give out subtle smell of sandal.
West Bengal and Kerala are known for items made from the wood obtained
from coconut tree. Great prospects for Indian wooden furniture in the foreign
markets The Indian furniture industry is a non-organized sector with the
production of Handicraft accounting to around 85%.
The furniture industry is estimated to provide employment to around
300,000 workers in India. As a rural and cottage industry, it provides
employment to lakhs of people from the weaker sections of society. The skill
of the wood workers of India is not only restricted to domestic use but has
gain immense popularity in the foreign export markets. The industry has
extended to the fashioning of panels, cabinets, doors, windows, temples and
furniture. The taste of the people are moving more towards the antique kind
of furniture and a variety of experiments are being carried out with designs
by the Indian artisans to cleverly blend the traditional and modern woodcraft
items suiting today's décor.
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Exquisite designs, attractive colors, unmatched workmanship and subtle
elegance are the distinguishing features, which have put Indian hand crafted
furniture on world map. Steadily climbing the popularity chart the market
potential for furniture has reached approximately to US" 240,007.40 million in
2005. This sector has more potential for earning substantial foreign exchange.
Low capital investments, higher value addition and highly labor intensive are
highlights that make the sector significant for the country's economy.
These items found good market in Central European countries, United
States of America, England, Russia and UAE. Japan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar
has also emerged as new consumers for the country. Central and State
Government have been paying extraordinary attention to ensure high growth
rate and development of this industry. They are also proving funds to many
small businesses to help them flourish in the market. Also the Indian
government is continuously taking steps to minimize entry-exit barriers for
foreign companies. Liberal policies for foreign equity participation and foreign
direct investments have given a further boost to the sector.
Woodcraft has played its part in making the Indian handicraft fortune
wealthier and inspire of many environment prevention issues the prospect of
the hand crafted furniture sector in India seems positive. India presents a
favourable outlook to sell this kind of furniture and one expects this sector to
grow further in the coming years.
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The children are having different professions other than wood carving
in different areas of the district. Some of the general professions of children
are jobs on brick kilns, jobs in dhabas, jobs in wood carving industry and
manual jobs in agricultural field, etc. The job performed by children in
district Saharanpur are as follows :
1- Agriculture – Indian economy is primarily agricultural economy. The
children can easily join this profession, as so many jobs are unskilled
jobs. The training is not required for these jobs. The children are
engaged for grazing and watering the cattle, for plucking the flowers,
fruits and vegetables etc. They are also engaged for gradation of
products and for filling up the bags, hoeing and weeding, etc. There
jobs are available near their houses. They would do the jobs in the
morning and come back in the evening to their houses. They do not
demand high wages as these are not physically hard and difficult jobs.
The children have to work on these jobs from morning till evening
without any break but still they are getting low wages. Notwithstanding
this they prefer these jobs because they remain near their house, meet
their friends, play while performing the jobs. In such jobs they get the
wages in cash as well as in kind. So many times they get meals also.
2- Hotels, Dhabas and Tea shops – Hotels, Dhabas and Tea shops are
the other avenues for the child labour. They go to the dhabas early in
the morning and perform the different job like cleaning the floor,
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Chairs, tables, utensils, preparation of tea, vegetables dals and other
dishes. They also serve tea, meals, snacks, whisky etc. Number of boys
are employed on these jobs. Very low wages are settled with the parent
of the child and they continue to perform these jobs till late in the
evening. For whole of the day he has to face the annoyance of the
employers. He is beaten and abused by the employers so many times
but he is also being buck up and encouraged by him at the other time.
And if there is more number of customers he has to work very hard and
yet exhausted in the evening. But if there is a small number of
customer, he is being cursed that the customer are not coming due to
his bad luck and sometimes he is removed being labeled as a cursed
boy. In case some glass or tea cup is broken the price of that is
deducted from his pay.
3- Provisional stores or shops – The provisional stores are the other
avenues far the child labour in district Saharanpur. Generally the boys
are employed in the provisional stores. They are supposed to deliver
the goods to the customers. They go to their jobs early in the marring.
Before going to the job they go to the residence of the proprietor of the
shop. They work far sometime at his residence. They wash the utensils,
clean up the floor, prepare the tea, wash the clothes, cook the meal etc.
Then they are to attend the provisional store and continue to deliver the
goods to the customers through out the day in the evening again they
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are to attend the household work of the proprietor. They are given the
meals in the mid of the day at the shops in certain cases. Sometimes the
owner of the provisional store provides them meals, to save time.
Generally these meals are inferior. The tea is also given but they are
not given any rest throughout the day and they continue to work for
whole of the day. They are getting petty wages. They can be removed
at any moment even in the mid of the day without paying them
anything. The job performed by the child labour in this case are in no
way less than the jobs performed by the adults. But there is a big
difference between the wages of the adult and the children.
4- Hawkers, Boot polish and selling of fruits and other things in
Railway Trains and Bus stops :
Generally, the boys are engaged by the businessman to sell
newspapers, fruits, juice and other material in the train and at bus stops
etc. The businessman supply the material by counting or weighing and
instruct them to sell the same on profitable rates. In the evening he
again count or weight the material and get the payment of the sale. The
child is paid either on the daily basis or on the commission basis.
Almost in all the cases the material is supplied either on the basis of
the cash security or the security of some gentleman who undertakes to
pay for any type of risk. In cash of boot polish, in most of the cases the
material is supplied by the parents and in few cases by the
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businessmen. Here again if the child is unable to earn adequate amount
against the material supplied to him, yielding no profit, he would be
removed from the contract. On the other hand if the boy is selling less
the commission would be paid so low that it becomes uneconomic
enterprises and the boy would leave the profession.
5- House hold Jobs – In most of the cases the boys and girls are engaged
to work for the household jobs. The servicemen, the businessmen, rich
landlords and industrialist etc., employ the children to work in their
houses. In certain cases more than one child is employed in a single
house because wages of child labourers are very low and it becomes
convenient for the family members to pursue effectively to their own
business. These boys and girls are given small training to light the gas,
wash the utensils, clean the floor, washing of clothes and cook the
food, prepare the tea and serve it to the family members and the guests.
These children join their jobs early in the morning, even before
sunrises and they continue to work till late in the evening, sometimes
even upto mid-night, serving the guests. These children develop the
affection for the family members like the children of the family and
sometimes consider themselves as the family members of the same
family and how shocked they are when they are being beaten up or
suddenly they are removed from their jobs. Sometimes their parents are
humiliated before them due to the problem of poverty.
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But once leaving one house they join the other house. The children
are not aware that what are their wages, how they are paid and at what
time the wages are paid. They simply serve. Their parents come many
times and get the payment without informing their children. The largest
number of boys and girls are engaged in this profession. There is no leave
for them and if they fall ill their pay is deducted for the period they
remained absent due to their illness. They are not allowed to join
marriage or other social ceremony of their relatives because it would be
inconvenient for the household in which they are employed. Even the
parents who had promised since long to get along him to a particular
marriage, started persuading the child to continue on the job and they
started telling benefits to stay in that service.
Though the child mind is not convinced with the arguments of
the parents, but they are compelled to continue to serve. They are
shocked when ultimately they lose the hope to join that particular
marriage or occasion. They continue to serve thinking unnecessarily
and facing the situation under compulsion. Though they are promised
to participate in the next function but they are not sure about that too
and really it turns as the same phenomena next time. It hurts their
feelings and it becomes a factor for their underdeveloped mental
faculties.
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6- Industries – Many children are employed in certain industries like
paper, textile, leather, iron, furniture, carving etc. for certain minor
jobs where no skill is required. They work on daily or monthly basis.
But no official record is being kept for their service or their payment.
They can be turned out any time without any notice. What to say about
the social security for them because it is against the law to employ the
children. But with low wages, and without any other benefits, they
continue to work in the factories. Though they work for some specified
hours, but they have to work very hard as the businessmen had
employed them only with one objective of profitability.
Despite the statutory restriction on the child labour, there are more than
20% children, belonging to the age group of five to fourteen years, who work
as menial, unskilled and semiskilled worker in this industry. A child labour is
paid Rs. 10 to 65 per day depending upon his age and performance. They are
generally forced to work for 10 to 12 or even more hours under adverse
conditions without any extra remuneration.
It is really a matter of great concern that the children of tender age,
who should have been in schools, are made to work in the wood-based
industries under impoverished condition to supplement the income of their
parents. There is need to apply the factory regulations on these industrial
units so that the industrialists exercise a check on the employment of young
children in this units. A fear is expressed that if the factory regulation is
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enforced on these industrial units, here may be a sense of indifference
towards mechanization and the industry may revert to the house hold sector.
That may affect both production and export. But such apprehensions,
howsoever real these may be, can not be the reason to justify social malady of
the child labour. Moreover what is unique to the wood handicraft of
Saharanpur are its handcrafted novelists, not the machine-made stereotyped
objects that are found every where on the globe. The woodcraft of
Saharanpur has traditionally been the labour intensive industry. It has
flourished there mainly due to the fact that there has been no dearth of
traditionally skilled labour in the city and around it. In case stress is laid on
the mechanization, it may not only destroy the very base of this age old
handicraft, but also disturb the socio-economic structure of a community and
create numerous social problems. There is, therefore, need to keep in sharp
focus the ultimate objective, that is the survival of the age-old handicraft for
the betterment of the community as a whole.
TRENDS OF CHILD LABOUR IN SAHARANPUR DISTRICT
1- Migratory Character (Trend)
Labour migration is closely associated with the process of economic
development. Brainely Thomas (1973) express the view that all sort of
development may lie behind the decisions of individuals or families to leave
one country in order to live in other. “History shows the influence of threat of
starvation, political oppression, religious persecution, eviction, a sense of
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adventure, an urge to make a future, a desire to join relatives abroad or to get
away from those at home.” But in India it is a symbol of crucial and serious
problems like poverty, unemployment and under employment, very low
wages, starvations, indebtedness, inability of more employment in farm
sector etc. which pushed labourers out from their permanent native place.
Indian unorganized labourers are always wandering here and there in search
of employment. This will damage the economic, social, educational life of
their families. Migration is an important cause for the problems of
urbanization, urban unemployment and poverty, slums, pollution etc.
The essential character of migration is that it involves a change in
place of abode or place of usual residence a taking up of life in a new or
different place. A migrant is defined as a person who has changed his usual
place of residence from one geographically defined area to another similar
area. Thus the concept of migration involves implicit imposition of boundary
lines which must be crossed before a movement is concerned as migration.
Internal migration refers to the movement which results in a change of usual
place of residence within the country. It may consist of the crossing the
village as known or town boundary as minimum condition far qualifying. The
movement as internal migration.
There are mainly four types of migration namely Rural-Urban
migration, Rural-Rural Migration, Urban-urban migration and urban-rural
migration. These all types of migration are existed in India. But major and
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main form is rural-urban migration. Therefore, Indian labour migration is
basically a rural-urban migration which is a problem. Because economic
problems pushed labour into urban area from rural area. Most of the study
concluded this strong fact of migration.
Poverty accompanying features is a main reason of Rural-urban
migration. Huge unemployment and rare opportunity of employment in rural
area is second prime factor for Rural-urban migration. Over-burden on
cultivated land is another reason of Rural-urban migration. According to Royal
commission on labour, the important characteristics of Indian workers are :
1- Most of Industrial area has grown into multilingual micro-cosmos
diverse in structure of their population. It means that the industrial
centers are composed of labour force which belongs to different part of
the country. Hence, it is heterogeneous in nature as its, language and
social-customers and tread on concerned.
2- The majority of factory workers were at heart villagers because they
were born and brought up in the villages.
3- They had village tradition and they ratified with the village and hoped
to return to them.
4- But they were not all agricultural workers serving a brief spell of
industrial work in the city. The artisan group among the village
population sought employment in textile, factories, tanneries, railways,
and some craft industry etc.
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5- Opportunities for employment of women and children in towns were
relatively short and workers strangers to the new environment so they
could not establish a permanent house.
6- The joint family system took care of the women and children of
migrants.
2- Social Security and welfare Benefits :
Social security and welfare measures were not available to the child
labour engaged in wood carving industry at Saharanpur, what the workers of
other organised sector are getting today. If any, it was from charitable
institutions or on the mercy of the employer.
3- Irregular Attendance:
Wood carving industry of Saharanpur comes in the category of
informal sector. So the child workers are found irregular in their job. Most of
the labour do agricultural practice at the time of harvesting or some other
works of their concern. They join this trade off and on. That is why it has
been observed and reported by the workers, that during the peak agricultural
Seasons like Sowing and harvesting etc. This fluctuating nature of ins and
outs has made it difficult to estimate the actual number of child workers
engaged in the wood carving Industry in Saharanpur town.
Most of the child labour are found irregular on their job because they
have poor sense of social responsibility. It was found that this group of labour
changes their job frequently.
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4- Lack of Educational Standard :
Educational standard is an important factor, which affect labour
efficiency in the long run its importance has not exaggerated, education
imparted in schools has not equipped young man for modern industries.
So far as the education of child labour of Saharanpur engaged in this
industry is concerned, the whole problem was studied under various heads
namely levels of the workers-Primary, secondary and above which is discuss
later in detail.
It was found that near about 65% of the child labour engaged in this
industry are illiterate. About 10% of this group can only read and not write.
5- Low standard of living :
Standard of living indicate the complete socio-economic condition of
child labour force engaged in wood carving industry at Saharanpur, which is
clearly illustrated in this chapter. It was found that the standard of living is
very low of this group. The general living conditions of this group are very
miserable. This problem is mainly associated with their poor economic and
social background that they inherit. Large family size, illiteracy, location of
their work place and living area, adoption of work in early age etc. indicate
their low standard of living.
FAMILY CONDITIONS OF CHILD LABOUR
Child labour is a widespread phenomenon. There are several factors,
which are responsible for the early entry of children in the labour force, but
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all of them can-not be quantified. The consequence of child labour are
innumerable; some of them leave their impact on the child alone, whereas,
other influence the society as a whole. There exists a certain relationship
between the causes and effects of child labour which is responsible for the
continuance of this social evil. This section is aimed at finding the likely
determinants and consequences of child labour and establishing a relationship
between them.
Background characteristics of children
As mentioned earlier, the study surveyed 400 children who are
currently working in wood carving industry, Saharanpur. All these children
were males. Some background characteristics collected included their
religion, age and level of education.
According to the latest available data on the woodcraft industry of
Saharanpur, there are more than 300 production units, scattered in different
areas of the city. Most of the production units are concentrated in Kamela
colony, Sabari Ka Bagh, Khattakheri, Khajurtala. Pilkhan-Tala, Aali-ki-
chungi and every nook and corner of the Purani Mandi area.
All these large production units have their own show rooms. Most of
the large production units in fact do not produce anything, but only market
the material produced by the small scale units in the small unorganized area
of the city. Most of these large units area organized in a registered
organization Saharanpur, Wood Carving Manufactures Association. This
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association has strength of 38 members units. In addition to it, there are
approximately 3500 such marginal household units, which function in their
domestic premises on contract basis. They use traditional hand-tools. These
marginal production units form the back bome of the massive woodcraft
industry of Saharanpur and produce ninety percent of the total bulk. In past,
the owner of these petty contractual units remained constantly under debt of
their masters, the larger production houses. Each of them was obliged to work
only for a particular master on the imposed terms and conditions like a
bounded labour. The condition has now changed. These highly skilled
contractual workers have now formed a union of their own. This union takes
care of their interest. Now the owners of the production and trading houses are
required to advance commitment-money to a skilled workers to retain him.
Whenever the worker gets better after, he returns the commitment money and
joins the other production house. This vicious cycle had create numerous ills in
the industry, resulting into fall in quality and rise in the prices.
According to the latest tentative figures, about one lakh child labour is
engaged in this industry. Where they appointed as daily labour as contract
labour. As about skilled, unskilled or semiskilled workers are there in this
industry, so different types of conditions are applied for their appointment.
According to the latest field survey of the production units in the city, the
skilled artisan gets between Rs. 110 to 180 per day depending upon his
experience and expertise. A child worker is paid Rs. 40 to 65 per day
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depending upon his age and performance. While a skilled worker normally
works for eight to ten hour a day. Child-workers are forced to work for many
more hours under adverse conditions without any extra remuneration.
Labour Composition
In Saharanpur about one lakh workers are engaged in various processes
relating to various activities in wood carving industry. Through the direct
sample survey it was analysed the composition of labour structure is as follows :
Table 4.1
Labour Composition
Labour No. of Labour in %
Male Labour 75%
Female Labour 5%
Child Labour 20% Source - Primary Data collection. It is clear from the table that child labour constitute 20% of the total
labour force in the wood carving industry.
1- Gender and age
The largest group of child labour were those 10–13 years of age (46%)
of the total number of children interviewed. ) Table 4.2 shows that there were
very few girls (4% ) who were involved in child labour in the wood carving
as compared to boys (96%). Several factors were associated to this particular
phenomenon. In Saharanpur, this was because working in wood carving
which is considered as an activity for men. Also they could be made to do
more work for prolonged hours.
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Table 4.2
Gender and age distribution of children working in Wood Carving Industry
Age Male % Female % Total
6<= 4 0 4
8' – 10 18 0 18
10' – 12 46 0 46
12' – 14 28 4 32
Total 96 4 100 Source – Primary data collection.
From the above table we have four categories in age and two are in
gender. To test equality of proportion child labour we have applied chie-
square test where calculated chie square value at 3 degree of freedom is 4.167
and its P value (Probability of rejection ) is 0.244 which is greater than o.o5
(level of significance 5%). So it may be concluded that the proportion is
significantly differ in the given category of the given gender, it again reflect
that the intensity of male child labour is more than the intensity of female
child labour in wood carving industry, which is again a critical issue for the
policy makers.
Test of Chie-square between gender and age and educational level of
working children in wood carving industry in Saharanpur is applied by using
the following formula:
x2 = or
x2 = Chi-square test
f0 = observed frequencies
fe = Expected frequencies
f0 - fefe
0 – E E
2 2
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Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 4.167a 3 0.244
Likelihood Ratio 5.712 3 0.127
Linear-by-Linear
Association 0.003 1 0.959
N of Valid Cases 100
a, 5 cells (62.5%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .16.
2- Education level of working children
In the survey that was administered, information on the level of
education was collected for every working child interviewed. The purpose
was to understand the education level of the working children.
Table - 4.3
Percentage distribution of working children in wood carving industry
Education Status Age Group
6 <=8 8' - 10 10' - 12 12' - 14 Total
Not enrolled in Primary education 0 0 6 0 6
Dropped out of Primary Education 4 14 25 24 67
Attending Primary Education 0 4 1 8 13
Completed Primary Education 0 0 0 14 14
Total 4 18 32 46 100
Source – Primary data collection.
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It is clear from the above table that the education profile of the working
children indicates that 67% of the working children had dropped out of
primary education and 6% of the interviewed children had not enrolled in
primary education at all. During interviewing the children, it was observed
that their family had to fight for two meals a day, leaving them no option but
to work.
To test equality of proportion child labour we have applied chie square
test where calculated chie square value at 9 degree of freedom is 37.028 and
its P value (Probability of rejection ) is 0.000 which is less than o.o5 (level of
significance 5%). So it may be concluded that the proportion is not
significantly differ in the given category of the given literacy, it again reflect
that the intensity of child labour is more in case of drop out in the context of
literacy, which is again a critical issue for the policy makers.
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 37.028a 9 .000
Likelihood Ratio 44.566 9 .000
Linear-by-Linear
Association 12.974 1 .000
N of Valid Cases 100
a. 11 cells (68.8%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .24.
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Table – 4.4
Level of Education
Education standard No. of respondent Percentage
Illiterate 64 16%
Class 2 upto 156 39%
3 to 4 class 120 30%
5 to 6 class 40 10%
Class 7 and above 20 5%
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection.
Children were further asked if they had either taken any formal
education or could at least read and write. As seen from the analysis, almost
16% (64) children could not even read and write. 39% (156) children could
recognize the alphabets and do counting upto 100 but could not write their
name and read complete sentence. Near about 45% of the respondent could
read and write the complete sentences.
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Currently 104 of the children are not attending formal and informal
type of school and rest of the responded are attending any formal or informal
type of schooling. Hence reason for both discontinuing and never attending
school is collected from the surveyed children. The most common reason
cited by the children includes financial constrain of the family that prevent
them from attending school. 23% of the children reported that they dislike
studies and hence they did not go to any school. Some of the other reasons
mentioned for never attending discontinuing the studies include teacher is
very rude (16%) due to house hold chores (8%). Thus to a large extent it is
the family back ground which inhibits the child from attending school, but at
the same time the school also play an important role in building environment.
The attitude of the teacher toward these children can be made more cordial,
as a result children could also be drained into studies and continue studying.
Given the fact that all these children are now working, attempt is made to
assess their sensibility to attending school if given opportunity for the same.
3- Religion Composition
Table – 4.5
Religion Composition
Religion No. of Respondent Percentage
Hindus 72 18%
Muslims 328 82%
Total 400 100.00 Source – Primary Data Collection
194
Out of the sample of 400 children 82% of them were Muslims while
the rest 18% were the Hindu workers. This showed that the Muslims
constitute the bulk of wood workers.
4- Distribution on the basis of Sex :
Among the respondent, majority of them are male and very few are female
who are engaged in this profession. The following table represented an account of
the sex distribution of child wood workers.
Table – 4.6
Sex Distribution of the child labour
Sex No. of respondent Percentage
Male 384 96
Female 16 4
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection
5- Reason for Discontinue/Never Attending School
Table – 4.7
Reasons No. of Respondent Percent
Financial Constrain 212 53%
Dislike studies 92 23%
Teacher is very rude 64 16%
House hold chores 32 8%
Total 400 100 Source – Primary Data collection
195
Data and pie diagram indicates that more than half of the respondents
did respond favourably that they would go back to school if they got chance
for the same. At the same time these children were further asked if their
employer would allow them to do so. But only few of them mentioned that
their employer would encourage them to do so, while the remaining were of
the reverse opinion.
6- Background characteristics of the children’s family :
Along with the child’s
characteristics some basic
information about the child’s family
was also collected namely in terms of
the family members staying with the
parents and their working status.
Monthly income of the family was
also collected as all this could have an
implication on the working status of
the child.
Large size of Family
196
Table – 4.8
Family size
No. of family members Percentage
upto 4 2%
5-7 36%
8-10 47%
11-13 13%
14 and above 2%
Source – Primary data collection
As the above table, diagram and pictogram show that the average
number of family members is on the higher side at 7 members as compared to
a general household size, which was 8 to 10 members. Only 2% of the child
family had less than four members in their family.
197
7- Literacy level of parents:
Table – 4.9
Literacy level of parents
Can read and write Percentage
Both father/mother 2%
Only father 22%
Only mother 6%
Cannot read and write 70%
Source – Primary Data collection
Level of literacy of children’s parents was also looked into as this has a
bearing on children’s education and their care. Data shows that both mother
and father of almost seven out of ten children can not read and write. Only in
case of 8 parent of the children both mother and father could read and write.
In case of 2% children only father could read and write and in case of 6%
children only mother could read and write.
8- Working Status of Parents
Working status of the parents was also collected from the children.
Parents were working as daily laboures in 62% of the cases. In 29 percent of
the cases father was working but mother was a housewife. In 4 percent of the
cases each either the mother or father was dead and mother was working
respectively. This indicate that these children belonged to families, which
survived on daily hand to work situation.
198
9- Fathers Occupation
Table – 4.10
Father’s occupations No. of children Percentage
Wood Carvers 264 66%
Agricultural Labours 48 12%
Business 28 7%
Govt. Servant 2 5%
Rickshaw Pullers 58 14.5
Total 400 100
Source – Primary data collection
The above table and pie diagram show the occupational distribution of
the fathers of child wood-workers. It was found that 66% were wood
workers. While the father of 12% were agricultural labourers. Apart from 7%
respondent informed that their father were business-man and father of 2 child
workers Govt. servants. Where as the father of 14.5% child worker were
rickshaw pullers. This showed that the fathers of the child workers had been
engorged in very low earning professions.
199
The above given tables present information about age, religion, caste
marital status and mother tongue wood carvers belonged to both Hindu and
Muslim communities, Among Hindus only male child workers have been
found who belonged to the backward castes communities. It meant that
higher caste people did not want this profession and secondly they got
different jobs. On the other hand the other major community engaged in this
profession was of the Muslims. Muslims belonged to both the higher and the
lower castes are engaged in wood carving.
Only a few had got some education. Among them only two were
matriculate. Thus, the child wood carvers were backward from the education
point of view also. It may be said that the child labour engaged in
woodcarving were backward on the economic and education front also.
Therefore they did not have any social base or prestige in the society.
The detail about their residential background also suggest that their
living condition was very poor. Some of the workers, who could not bear the
rent of rooms, took shelter on the outer extension of their workshops. They
spent minimum amount over their residential requirement. Their residence
are found in slum areas which are very unhygienic. They use the water of
common water tap provided by the municipality department. They don’t have
proper sanitation system and generally use open areas.
It had also been found that people who worked in the wood carving
industry developed different sorts of diseases due to dust and prolonged
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sittings at one place. The child labour engaged in this sector to use of heavy
tool, prolonged sitting and deep concentration on their work suffer from the
problem of muscles, disorder, weak vision and continuous back problem in
an early age.
Thus who ever occupied this profession certainly develops some sort
of disease within a few years owing to their pathetic reasons. The study of
this community of the wage-earners, deserved attention from the concerned
ones. So that some positive steps could be taken for their amelioration.
Table – 4.11
Birth Place of the workers (Area wise)
Place of Birth No. of Respondents Percentage
Urban 288 72
Rural 112 28
Total 400 100
Source – Primary data collection
Table – 4.12
Types of House
Types of House No. of Workers Percentage
Kuchcha 196 49
Pucca 48 12
Mixed 76 19
Jhuggie 80 20
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection
201
The workers were also required to furnish information about the type
of houses they possessed and occupied. It is found that 49 percent
children were living in the Kuccha houses. Whereas 12 percent of the child
workers had Pucca houses to live in, 19 percent resided in mixed type of
houses, partly Kuccha and partly Pucca. Apart from them there were others
forming 20 percent of the sample who had Jhuggies or huts to live in. It had
been found that majority of the child workers lived in slum type of areas
putting up their huts or Jhuggies and paid little amount of rent.
Such poor people occupied vacant piece of land in the town and put up
their huts there. There were the unauthorized occupations. Therefore in the cases
of mass clearing up operation there huts were wiped out by the district
administration. Again they set up their hutments at some alternative places.
Most of the young workers born in Saharanpur only but their parents
mostly belong to rural area. Poor people who did not get work in the rural
areas, migrated to the towns for their earning and livelihood.
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Table – 4.13
Birth Place of the workers (House wise)
Where you live No. of workers Percentage
Own House 144 36.0
Rented 256 64.0
Total 400 100
Source – Primary data collection
The workers were asked about the type of houses, where they lived.
It is obvious from the above table that 36.0 percent were living in their
own houses. It meant that these workers were living for several generations.
Hence their ancestral houses have become available to them. The next group
of 64 per cent workers had occupied rented houses. They were able to pay the
rent and they wanted to live separately from their parents, workshops or who
come from village.
The worker who were living in the rented houses disclosed the rent of
their houses.
Table – 4.14
Number of Families Residing in the House
No. of Family No. of Workers Percentage One Family 164 41 Two Families 148 37 Three and more Families living together
88 22
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection
203
The table and diagram shows that in 41 percent houses of workers only
one family was residing, while in the houses of 37 percent workers, two
families were living in one house. In the next group it was found that in the
houses of 22 percent workers, three and more families were living together. It
meant that majority of the workers did not have the separate or independent
houses to live in. This was due to the reason that because of the high rent
rates of the houses, the family of the workers could not bear the high rent.
Therefore, it was shared by two or more families of the workers. This was the
way the rent of the house was minimized and then they could afford the
reduced rent to occupy the houses.
Table – 4.15
No. of Rooms Occupied by the Families
Types of Room Families Percentage
One Room 300 75
Two rooms 84 21
Three rooms 16 4
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection
204
From the respondent of wood workers, it was clear that 75 percent
workers had only one room to live in, while the percentage of the families
occupying two rooms was 21 percent. It was also evident that 4 percent
workers families were occupying three rooms. It means that majority of the
families were occupying only one room to reside. Very few of them had got
two or three rooms.
This showed that the wood workers lived in very congested
environment due to their low earning. Thus misery and poverty all went
together in the lives of such low paid workers. This was a feet that somehow
they passed their life with their family members.
Table – 4.16
Location of the House
Location No. of Workers Percentage
Slum areas 212 53
Posh areas 00 00
Mixed areas 188 47
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection
This is evident from the above table that the child wood workers lived
in different type of areas. 53 percent of the workers lived in slum areas.
Because their houses were located in the slum areas. The children informed
that the houses in these areas were within their means, hence they had
occupied residences in such areas. The other group of child workers forming
47 percent of the total sample lived in mixed areas. These were slum, posh
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and other types. Thus who resided in the mixed areas occupied Jhuggies /
Huts or Kuchcha houses. Their houses did not have water taps and in most of
the cases no electricity and no latrines. Such jhuggies or huts were allowed to
develop in such area so that their family members could serve in the houses
of high class families.
As regards the amenities in the houses, it had been found that latrines,
water taps and electricity were available in few houses. Most of the workers
who did not have latrines in their houses, went for defecation to the canal side
or some where else. In the absence of electricity, the workers used lanterns,
dhibries for a few house only at night.
Despite the statutory restriction on the child labour, there are more than
20% children, belonging to the age group of five to fourteen years, who work
as menial, unskilled and semiskilled worker in this industry. A child-labour is
paid Rs. 10 to 65 per day depending upon his age and performance. They are
generally forced to work for 10 to 12 or more hours under adverse conditions
without any extra wages. The necessary information have been gathered from
the child Labour Welfare Officer, union leaders, workers and personal
investigation.
Wood carving industry in Saharanpur employed about one lakh
workers engaged in various manufacturing activities. The universe was
analysed and divided into the following stratified units.
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Table 4.17
Distribution of worker in various manufacturing units
Stratified Units No. of workers % of Labour
Supervisory 60 15%
Skilled 80 20%
Semi-skilled 120 30%
Unskilled 140 35%
Total 400 100%
Source – Direct personal investigation with the manufacturer and with the workers.
WORKING CONDITION OF CHILD LABOUR
The study of working conditions, wages etc. of child workers would be
meaningful if it is related to the structure of the local economy as a whole. In
the case of child workers, the labour market is more unorganized than that of
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adults, in that the former are entirely outside the ‘conventional’ labour force,
they are also not as committed as adults. Keeping there limitations in view
three broadly mutually exclusive categories or activities have been
distinguished for the purpose of analysis. These are (i) employment in
establishment, (ii) unpaid family labour in household enterprises, and (iii)
others such as those who self employed domestic workers. In the present
study the term ‘establishment’ is used for that woodcarving units where the
wood carving work is carried on large scale and are exported, in which a
child is employed and generally no residence is indicated. The second
category comprises the small/child carver in which mostly the family
members alone participate and in such place children work part – time or full
time for economic gain but without remuneration as such. The third category
voice who have no fixed place of business.
“Excessive fatigue and sweated conditions of work are bound to create a
defiance mechanism in the workers and if it is desired that they should continue
in jobs permanently. The best policy would be to improve conditions of work
and living of workers and make them feel contented and happy.”
Working conditions refer to the environment under which the workers
are required to work. It includes sanitation, dust and dirt-temperature and
humidification, ventilation, space inside the factory, safety measures and
various welfare measures like canteen, bathrooms, drinking water
arrangement, refreshment rooms etc. It has been said that environment creates
208
a man, and if the environment improves, the man’s ability to work also
improve. Good working conditions are always desirable for good health.
Good working conditions means lesser number of hours of work, sufficient
lighting and ventilation, good sanitary conditions, various welfare facilities,
large number of safety provisions, sufficient holidays and leave with pay etc.
The importance of working condition is very great for industrial
workers. It has got a great influence upon them from many points of view.
Firstly, the health of industrial workers depends mainly upon working
conditions. It is not possible to carry on the hard work under unhealthy
surroundings. If there are good working conditions, the health of the workers
is also improved. Bad working conditions adversely affect their health. The
workers feel that their job is a very tough one, they become sluggish and it
becomes difficult for them to work well.
Children doing work as wood-carver
209
Children doing work as wood-carver
210
A child is doing work as wood-carver
Though wood-carving Industry is the back-bone of the economy of
Saharanpur yet the working conditions for the workers are not upto the mark.
There is no age bar for recruitment and retirement. Poor little children start as
labour force at the tender age of 8-10 years and end up doing the same till late
60s or till they’re alive. No promotions, bonus or pension kind of thing exists
in this business. The hand to mouth survival of these people depends solely
on this labour. The poor working conditions have become stable and there is
no hope for their improvement. Let’s consider these working conditions
under the following headings:
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Ventilations :
The child wood carvers work in old dingy rooms with usually a small
door to enter and exit. No ventilators or windows are present in the work-
place. The room remains locked when the workers go home and till they
return. The harmful gases accumulate as they find no passage to escape.
When the children arrive and open the rooms, one of them takes a broom and
sweeps the floor in a careless manner. Then they all start their work continue
till the working hours in the night. Many of the workers smoke and the child
labour of them become passive smokers as they have to inhale the smoke
present inside in the absence of proper ventilation. Fresh air is as necessary
for our life as food. But the stale air inside the work-place makes these people
sick in the long sun. The sick owners or proprietors in this business should do
something in this regard. Only they can remove these architectural defects
and get some ventilators and windows constructed inside these dingy places.
But these people are selfish, money-minded and not at all concerned about
the health of their labour force.
Sanitation :
A proper drainage system is necessary for the health of the citizens of a
town. But clogged drains, sewers and ditches have become a part of our town.
The places where these workers live or work are situated in the dirty and
filthy areas. They along with their families have becomes habitual to live in
there. But it is a great danger to their life and health to live in such areas
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without proper sanitation Harmful gases, pungent smell and heaps of garbage
are the hallmarks of the colonies of these poor people. Here, our government
and Municipal Committee has a role to play. Only they can improve the lot of
these people and bring out necessary changes. But our administrative system
has itself grown into a sleeping giant that pays no heed to the cries of the
humanity. Good education and awareness among people can only help to
change the administrative system and improve the conditions of the town.
Working Hours :
The Child labour in woodcarving formed a specific type of labour
force in the country. They were unskilled wage earners. Poverty,
unemployment and family life have compelled even the teen-aged children to
adopt this profession which is definitely injurious to their health and well
being. This is the main reason that most of the wood workers from the very
early age suffer from different diseases. Their working hours is also very long
in comparison to their age. The working duration of the wood carvers are as
follows :
Table – 4.18 Duration of work
Duration of work No. of child workers Percentage Upto 4 hrs 00 0 5 – 8 hrs 180 45 9 -12 hrs 212 53 More then 12 hrs 08 2
Total 400 100 Source – Primary data collection
213
It is clear from the above table that the duration of the spread over was
more them 8 hours a day. 53% child carven work for more than 8 hours a day
and it was also found that near 2% of the respondent workers for more than
12 hours.
Rest Interval
Near about 60% workers stated that they did not have any fixed time
for interval or rest during their working hours. Only 11% children say that
they availed of rest intervals which were fixed. The duration of rest intervals
for these children was generally 30 minutes. These child workers did not
have the benefit of weekly off. Only 23% respondent availed Friday off.
Living with family–
Of the 400 workers in non-family enterprises, only 82% were living
with their parents or close relatives. The remaining 18% were living in the
premises of the establishments. In most cases, the child worker spends his
night, all by himself as the owner/employer live elsewhere. Most of the
children who lived in the premises of the establishment maintained
communications with their parents.
Housing :
Housing covered an important aspect of human life. It is considered as
one of the most important basic need of mankind. This provides them some
sort of shelter for their survival and well-being. But for the labours, the
worker sections of the society, is a big problem. As the standard of living of
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the child wood carvers are very poor, most of them are living in kuccha house
and Jhuggies. During the study it was found that 48.8% of the wood carvers
were living in the kuccha house, where as only 12.4% of the children had
pucca house. Apart form them there were 20% of the sample child workers
live in Jhuggies and huts. Such poor people occupied vacant piece of land and
put their huts there. Maximum of them had only one room to live in, while
the percentage of families occupying two rooms was very near about 21 to
22%.
The houses of the wood workers were located in very congested
environment due to their low earning. They generally lived in slum areas as
because the houses were without their means.
Health :
The development of a nation depend upon increasing gross national
product and average per capita income with raising the living standard of
poor and economically depressed section of the society. When the production
increases, the profit of the earning went to the industrialists. It must reach to
the labour force also, who were the real force of production. But if it did not
reach them, this section of the society would suffer and they would not
contribute their required labour. With the result, production would fall down
and the industrialists would suffer. For national development and economic
growth in the country it is required that there should be improvement in the
economic conditions and rise in the living standard of the poorer section of
the society. This is specially for those working as labourers, either in
215
agricultural sector or in industry. Such is the case of wood carvers. They also
belong to the poorer section of the society. They remain depressed for various
reasons. Firstly they are low paid labourers and secondly, they don’t have any
social status. Poverty, unemployment and family life have compelled even
the teen-aged children to adopt this profession which is definitely injurious to
their health and well being. This is the main reason that most of the wood
workers from the very early age suffer from different diseases. They are fully
aware of the risk, yet they cant’ prevent their children to do this work. The
factors that affects the health of their children adversely are :
Long working hours without proper rest, Use of heavy instrument in
work place, Improper ventilation in working area, Lack of proper lightning
system, Poor sanitation system both in their working place and in their
houses, Impure drinking water, Lack of proper nutrition due to poverty, Lack
of knowledge to maintain hygiene, Large family size, Use of tobacco in early
age, Work in dust without proper precaution, Seasonal effect on their health
due to working in open areas, Improper family budget, And the root cause of
all the above is poverty, Due to all the above reason the health of this
working group is not good. Most of them are suffering from Tuber Culosis in
early age. Their resistance power is very weak due to which they get
infectious diseases very quickly. Due to poor economic conditions they can
not avail medical treatments for the disease. It is also found that their
traditional believes and unawareness is responsible for their poor health.
216
Temperatures
The people living in the areas with moderate type of climate are the
luckiest ones. Because they do not have to face the harsh extreme type of
climate. Here in region, the temperature are above 400C in the summer and
the mercury dips near 00C during January. During summer the wood carvers
sweat profusely as their work place has barely a single fan and power-cut
have become a routine for our town. They work and work without any rest in
the absence of electricity. Their clothes get stuck to their sweaty bodies.
Some of them remove their shirts and work in vests but still it is too hot.
While in winters, their hands shiver and they get hurt sometimes but still they
have to finish their work in time. They continue without fail but isn’t it the
duty of their employers to make arrangements for generators, fans and
exhaust fans. Government should make some laws for these employers and
prescribe rule to provide good working conditions.
Safety provisions:
Safety must be the first priority of the employers and the workers but
none of them is concerned about it. The poor workers are not aware of safety
provision due to lack of education and employers think only of minting
money. The old and dilapidated buildings are used as Karkhanas which may
collapse any time. They are the weakest structures to face any casualty. No
fire extinguishers are available in these buildings. The passages are too
narrow that half of the people will be killed in a stampede in the case of a
217
casualty like earthquake, fire etc. No one is worried for the safety of the
workers neither the administration nor the employers. The workers should be
educated a little and made aware of their rights. They should ask their
employers to provide some measures for their safety. They live in a
democratic country and everybody has a right to live and work freely and
says his voice a giants atrocities or misbehavior of their employers. Some
times the workers get hurt but there is no availability of even first-aid. So,
this makes clear that there is absolute absence of safety provisions in the
work-place of the wood-carvers.
Space
There should enough space available for the workers to work to keep
their belonging and their tools. There should be some space for them where
they can rest for some time. But the wood and the wooden articles they are
manufacturing occupy the whole of the space. The workers are unable to sit
comfortably in these dingy small space. Gradually spondelytis or cervical
spondelytis affects their backbone and neck. The fine saw dust remains
suspended in the air and is inhaled by the workers. Such conditions and lack
of space may cause diseases like Asthma and Tuberculosis. Lungs of these
people are badly affected. The employers should construct these factories as
Karkhanas in open space. The building should be well ventilated and
spacious enough to accommodate these workers and the wooden-articles in
the comfortable way.
218
Toilets and Urinals
Most of the factories do not have toilets. The people run towards the
open space outside or to the corners in case of an emergency. If some of the
Karkhanas have toilets, they are of old fashion which should be cleaned twice
a day by the sweepers. But the sweepers arrive there once a week. The germs
and flies grew in large number in such places and cause diarrhea, Cholera etc.
Flush and cisterns should be made available in the toilets. They are the only
option to get rid of foul smell, flies, germs and diseases.
Lighting:
The space where the wood-carvers perform their task daily should be
properly lit. So that these people may devote their whole of the attention on
their work. Poor lighting arrangements can make their eye-sight weak in the
long run. The showrooms and offices of the proprietors in this industry are
too luxurious and well-lit. But the poor men who devote their whole lives for
the sake of their work suffer in cosy, dingy and semi-dark work shops. They
have to look deeply to carve the intricate designs in wood. Sometimes they
hurt their fingers while cutting wood in the absence of proper lighting in the
work place. The old carvers gradually become victims of poor-eyesight and
spondeylytis as they have to bend on the articles to carve them beautifully
while is not enough. They intricate beautiful designs in the articles of wood
are appreciated by all but who knows what these wood carvers have to go
through while making them.
219
Drinking Water :
Water is the basic necessity for life. We all need fresh and clean water
to live a disease free life. Water-borne diseases may prove to the lethal in the
several cases. The workshops where the wood carves work have usually an
old hand pump that stops working quite often. If a tap is available there, it
remains dry because municipal supply of water is inadequate. The poor
wood-carvers drink the water whether it is pure or impure because they are
unaware of the germs carried by impure water. Diarrhea, dysentery and
cholera are a few of the diseases caused by impure water. Sometimes no
source of water is available inside the work place. Then the young helpers
working there fetch it from the neighbourhood hand-pumps installed by the
municipality. The water is usually not clear, has a foul smell and carries a
million of germs. So, arrangements should be made to provide these wood-
carvers pure and safe drinking water.
Rest and Shelter :
No rest and shelter is available in most of the workshops. The workers
have to make arrangements for their boarding and lodging themselves. The
whole day they work in the Karkhanas and return to their homes at night but
some of them have come from other states or districts to find a job here who
have to sleep in the dirty corners of the Karkhanas or hire a small room and
share it with five or six more people like them. In other industries, usually
employers provide a place to rest and shelter to their employees. But wood-
220
carving industry does not provide any such facilities. The plight of the
workers is worse than any where else. They are just suffering under the harsh
working conditions and they do not get proper rest and shelter, It makes their
work more tedious and affects their health severely in the long run.
Mess and Canteen :
Food is another basic necessity of life. These wood carvers work till
working hours at night, such hard work requires lots of energy and only good
food can fulfill this requirement. The poor people barely get two square
meals a day because their wages are too low. Sometimes they work the whole
day without a single meal. No provision for a mess or canteen is made by the
employers. Those workers who come to work from the nearby villages bring
some chapattis with them but no curry, salad or vegetables they get here. A
healthy meal is only an imaginary thing for them. Many of them suffer from
malnutrition.
PROBLEMS FACED BY THE TARGET GROUPS
Labour at all times has been recognized as a saviour factor of production,
without which no production is possible. Labour problems do not arise where the
various factors of production are supplied by one and the same person. But when
labour is supplied by agents other than those who supply other factors of
production, a host of problems begin to appear and gradually develop in
dimensions. Thus, all problems of labour arise from individual and group conflicts,
friction and competition, in the process of adaptation to the working and living
221
environments. The problems of labour have led to the occurrence of immense.
Social and economic problems, problems of conditions of employment, of hours of
work, of health and sanitation inside a factory or a workshop as well as outside it,
of housing and welfare and social security. The magnitude of labour problem
increases with the tempo of industrial activities in a country.
Labour has got certain characteristics which given rise to various
labour problems. Firstly, it is inseparable from the person of the labourer.
This peculiarity results in the fact that the supply of labour, along with other
things, depends upon the forethought and selfishness of those who bring up
the labourer. Secondly, the workers sells his work only. Therefore the
environment in which the labourer has to work are of utmost importance in
the supply of labour. Thirdly, it is a perishable commodity. Fourthly, it is not
so mobile as capital. Fifthly, labour has a very weak bargaining power.
Sixthly, rapid adjustment of the supply of labour to its demand is not
possible. Finally labour is not only a factor of production but is also the
ultimate end of production.
Labour problem is a special kind of social problem, which arises because
of a conflict between the interest of the employer and the interest of the worker.
The worker is both an agent of production contributing to the National Output
and as a consumer, claiming and equitable share of the National ..... The conflict
arises because the employer wants to maximize his income and is anxious to pay
the worker the least. The worker claims a lot, because he thinks that he produces
222
the whole wealth for his master pockets. Thus the conflict arises between the
two. Labour problem, thus have many aspects – economic, political,
psychological, sociological, legal and historical.
Considering the conditions of labour in Wood-Carving Industry
Saharanpur, it appears that it has caught all the worst features due to
irresponsibility and self-interest. Unrest among labourers is mainly
responsible for the present fall in production. Labour, being largely
unorganized, unregulated and plentiful has not been able to get decent wages.
Collective bargaining is difficult owing to considerable increase in the supply
of labour which results in apparently low standard of living and worst
housing conditions. The problems faced by the woodcarvers is studied under
the following two heads:-
(i) Economic Problems Economic conditions of children represented by their wages,
incentives, family budget, indebt ness and job security. etc.
Service conditions Child wood-carvers work on daily labour basis or they may appointed
on piece-wage system. They are purely temporary worker so they can earn till
they work or till they get work. If due to any circumstances they do not work
for a day, a week or for a month, they don’t get any remuneration and are
suffered from economic problem. As their job is not permanent, it is not sure
that they get job in the same place regularly. This create a sense of insecurity
in their mind which generally reduce their work efficiency.
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Time of work
Another major problem faced by maximum children is their time
duration of work. According to labour law the working hour for any group of
labour whether, skilled, should not be exceed eight hour. But, they are forced
to work quite longer. Sometime they even have to work 10 hours, or more.
During the working time they get only half an hour break to take their lunch
and rest which is very difficult for the labour below age fourteen.
Wages
An important problem faced by the child workers is wage
differentiation. The percentage of labour below the age of 16 is more in
woodcarving industry and they are the group who get less wages. Due to very
flexible control on finger these labour group perform very fine carving like
zali work which is very difficult job. But this labour group get minimum
return against their work.
Another problem of the children is unawareness about the wage rate
system prescribed by the Government. The wage rate is influenced by force
in labour market. The wage payment made by different exporter and firm is
different from each other. The worker below age 16 were some time cheated
by the employer while getting their payments due to illiteracy. As all the
carver’s work on temporary basis, so there is no such provision for any
payment against their live. So to fulfill their daily requirement they work
even when they are ill, for the minimum wages.
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Incentives No incentive is given to child workers. In some occasion like Eid
Diwal the skilled workers called ustadji, get some incentives by the employer
(those who work in big firms). But the other unskilled child worker don’t get
anything as incentive except their normal wages.
Indebtness Due to illiteracy and unawareness about the formal credit facility, this
group depend either upon their employer or local money lender to borrow
money. The earning from their work is even enough to satisfy their daily basic
need, therefore to fulfill many social responsibility and cultural activity they
need money from some external source. Most of the time they get this from their
employer and have to work in low rate to clear the debt. They maintain this
facility in future they follows every word of their employer. A majority of wood
worker experienced many problem in getting loan from banks and other formal
financial institution being illiterate or not having any assets affected their
chances of getting loan from banks.
Repayment The earning of the carver’s group is so low that, it is not even enough
to satisfy their daily needs. So this group don’t even think for saving and are
not able to clear their debt. As for the repayment behaviour, they felt that they
were able to manage the repayment by selling the produce, with either
previous savings, borrowing from others, selling any of their assets or
reducing expenditure on their daily consumption. In other words, those who
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wanted to repay always found some source through which they could
mobilize the finance for repayment.
High Rate of Interest
A reason behind indebt ness of this group is the high rate of interest
charged by the employer or local money lender. Some times to take loan from
the local money lender, they give some of their assets as guarantee and due to
non-payment of the loan amount and high interest of it, they lose their assets.
Improper family budget
Most of the wood-carvers work on daily labour basis and get their
wages daily. After getting payment they make their expenditure on daily
consumable goods without any plan. They earn only by targeting next day.
Most of the labour below the age of 14 spent their daily income on
entertainment, fast food and tobacco after giving very few amount to their
parents, which adversely affect their health.
They can not demand for equal pay for equal work. The payment given
by the employer to different labour is not same without any sound reason.
They are not getting minimum wages in lieu of the service rendered by them
to respective employers/masters.
(ii) Social Problems
The labourers engaged in Wood-Carving Industry of Saharanpur not
only suffer from economic problem, but they have to face many social
problems, which are listed below :
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Large family :
Most of the labour engaged in wood carving industry are Muslims,
poor and lowers section of the society. This group believe on more children
who in future helps in earning for the family. But due to large size family
they neglect the basic necessity of their children like proper vaccination and
nutritional food which create many health problems.
Child Labour :
Child labour is the result of large size family. Due to large family, the
head of the family is unable to satisfy the basic wants of his family with his
limited earning which enforce him to send their male child for work in an
early age. And this process accelerate the problem of child labour not only in
wood carving but in India as a whole?
Living Condition :
A view of living condition of children and their family
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A view of living condition of children and their family
They are living in an atmosphere
which is not conductive to their health.
Most of the wood carvers live in small
rented house with improper ventilation
and lighting. They live in slum area.
Many of them live in Kuchha house &
Juggi Jhopries. During rainy season there
is leakage from the roof which affect
adversely to their health.
Sanitation :
Improper sanitation system adversely affect their health and the labourer
generally suffer from diarrhea, malaria and other infectionary diseases.
Lighting :
The lighting system at work place as well as in their living place create
visual problem for the worker. The worker generally work in natural light in
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small room and the craft work need concentration of eyes on their work. This
create eye sight problem in early age.
Deprived medical Facilities :
Although the Medicare centers are opened in slums area but they are
not properly maintained. So the workers have to depend on private
practitioner who charge high fee which create many social problems.
They are not allowed to exercise their right to work. They are
not allowed to avail social security, dignity and respect.
They are suffering as a result of non-implementation of social
security legislations.
They are deprived of their right to participate in any managerial
work. The labour engaged in this job only perform the job
assigned to him.
They are not allowed to avail three times food in a day in a society
where atmosphere is not conducive to their well-being.
They are denied basic facilities such as rest, education,
recreation and amusement, sports, social protection and periodic
holidays with pay.
They are generally illiterate in their native languages. Most of them
would not be able to read a contract or sign their own names.
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