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Stung By COVID-19, Indian Businesses Rethink Worker Benefits
More than 90% of India s 450-million strong workforce are informal, recruited through tiers of labour contractors with low wages and no social security benefits such as health insurance or pensions.
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As Kerala s industrial heartland cranks back to life post-lockdown, orders are returning to its printing presses, workshops and chemical plants. But to bosses dismay, many workers are in no hurry to come back from their villages. There is a strong reluctance among the workers to return, said Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, head of an industry association representing 200 small businesses in the southern state.
Stung by COVID-19, Indian businesses rethink worker benefits
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Last Updated: Feb 19, 2021, 11:38 AM IST
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Synopsis
Almost a quarter of the informal workers are migrants who typically travel from their villages to bigger cities in distant parts of the country to work at brick kilns, garment factories, in hospitality or at construction sites.
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Money, rather than a job contract and employer social security contributions, is still the biggest draw for most Indian workers.
MUMBAI: As Kerala s industrial heartland cranks back to life post-lockdown, orders are returning to its printing presses, workshops and chemical plants. But to bosses dismay, many workers are in no hurry to come back from their villages.