SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES FACED BY INFORMAL WORKERS IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract:
In this age of globalization, rapid changes are taking place in social, political, industrial, and cultural aspects. There occurs massive restructuring of work, employment, and industry. Identity and aspirations shift swiftly. The knowledge revolution is taking place. Technologies change at an unimaginable speed. All these developments caused an increase in women's workforce participation all over the world and also in India. India's workforce comprises nearly 93 percent in the unorganized segment, with the entire farm sector falling under the informal category, while only one-fifth of the non-farm workers are found in the organized segment. It is widely acknowledged that the informal sector in India suffers from a low-productivity syndrome compared to the formal sector. Poor human capital base (in terms of education, skill, and training) as well as lower mobilization status of the workforce further add to the vulnerability and weaken the bargaining strength of workers in the informal sector.
The alarming expansion of the informal sector in recent times and increasing feminization of employment in this sector have adversely affected employment and income security for the larger majority of the workforce in general and women in particular, along with a marked reduction in the scale of social welfare security programs. Therefore, this analysis makes an effect of globalization on developments in women's workforce participation in India.
Keywords: Informal sector, Labour rights in India, Social protection, Political representation