Industrial Labor Market and Workers’ Economic Life in the National Capital Region of Delhi: Comparative Study on the Automobile and Light Industries

Tomozawa Kazuo

Chen Lin

Furuya Tatsuro

Nury Iftakhar

Journal of Urban and Regional Studies on Contemporary India

This study aims to clarify the labor market structure for workers and their economic life in the automobile industries as well as the light industries using field data collected by the authors from one village in the Industrial Model Township (IMT) of Manesar, one of the largest industrial estates within the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. Non-regular workers in the automobile industries and workers in the light industries were basically involved in the same labor market—the second labor market—because they shared commonalities in several aspects. Most workers originate from the “contract workers’ belt,” which spans from Uttar Pradesh to Bihar. Their actual monthly income was estimated at INR. 8,000–9,500, which was less than half that of regular workers in the automobile in the first labor market. Some differences can be seen in the second labor market. Automobile companies may have a labor policy to keep their workforce young, fresh, and cheap, which generates higher turnover of non-regular employees in the automobile industries compared with the light industries. The workers in the second labor market spend only small amounts of their earnings on their daily needs. They share one small room with other workers to minimize housing costs and also cut down on food expenses. Then, they periodically remit their remaining salaries to their families. On average, 40% of their actual income is used for remittances. This money is spent not only on their families’ daily expenses but also on education, purchasing durable goods, and other purposes, which might mitigate their socio-economic disadvantage. Focusing on the series of workers’ employment and economic behavior, we can recognize that they are striving to take advantage of India’s industrialization under the given conditions.

labor market

automobile industries

light industries

economic life

National Capital Region of Delhi

Economics [ 330 ]

eng

The Center for Contemporary India Studies, Hiroshima University

(c) 2018 The Center for Contemporary India Studies, Hiroshima University

[ISSN] 2188-5222