COVID-19 and Artisan Labourers in Urban Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria: A Study on Resilience

Abstract

This article examines the sociology of work in an unstable environment produced by COVID-19 with emphasis on sustenance of employment among urban artisan labourers in Owerri, Imo State. It interrogates the resilience of this occupational type in the face of such disruptive shock as COVID-19. it aims to understand the ways in which COVID-19 Pandemic has affected the ability of artisan labourers to secure employment and value for their labour. A sample of 180 respondents was randomly selected from six different artisan labour market locations for the study. Survey method was used since there is a need for data from the artisan workers themselves. The nonparametric methods of analysis namely; Spearman’s rank correlation was adopted to analyze collected data. Results show significant erosion of employment potentials with 50 percent reduction in number that had a 7-day work week, reduced work time, unaffected earning potentials, engagement with higher number of short-term contracts per capita, 50% reduction in number that never did short term work, conscription of greater number of household members and eroded buying power of compensation packages and sundry rewards for work. This shows that though Nigeria was not one of the most affected countries, it has, however experienced reverberations from the most affected countries. The results compel the advocacy that persons in the informal sector may have to benefit from government programmes for the formal sector such as pension schemes.