Labour Rights Of Women Construction Workers In India: A Socio-Legal Perspective

Abstract

Neo-liberal policies introduced in 1991 to achieve wealth and profit have led to the decreasing social character of production in India due to privatization and deregulation. The nature of the appropriation of material resources and power by the private players in India’s growing market economy has widened the gap between the rich and poor. The increasing monopoly of business enterprises and the impact of global forces of capital have created underdevelopment and marginalization of workers. The capitalist nature of development in India has generated massive growth discounting the labour rights of workers thereby leading to social inequality and domination of workers. India’s real estate industry faced a boom with a spiralling increase in the information technology and information technology-enabled services sector leading to the emergence of urban metros and urban industrial hubs due to privatization. The real-estate dynamics in India is directly influenced by the growth of the construction sector. The construction sector comprises unskilled, skilled and semi-skilled workers. Women comprise a significant percentage of the informal work-force in the construction sector. The intersections of gender and class interplay leading to subversion and marginalization of women construction workers in particular. This qualitative research study employs narrative analysis of interviews with women construction workers to explore the scope of labour rights of women construction workers in India through a critical examination of India’s labour laws.