Work In Progress

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns have upended India’s informal job market. But are there positives that can emerge from the crisis?

- JASODHARA BANERJEE

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds in India, and large sections of industries and businesses remain closed, the changing realities for the informal sector workforce are becoming apparent. With uncertainty writ large about what post-COVID-19 workplaces will look like, opportunities for employment appear equally unsure. Adding to this uncertainty is the exodus of lakhs of skilled and unskilled workers from urban centres and manufacturing hubs to their native towns and villages, raising questions about livelihood opportunities for them once they are back home.

“Every sector has been affected,” says Nalini Kaushal, founder of SetuWorks, a Mumbai-based organisation that works towards scalable and sustainable social interventions. “The construction and automobile sectors have been hit hard, as have transport, logistics, and hospitality; travel and tourism, retail, beauty, and wellness... the impact is across the board.”

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), with limited employment creation in India’s formal economy, the informal economy accounts for more than 80 percent of non-agricultural employment. The United Nations agency adds that the growing level of informal employment within the formal sector is mainly because of the growing use of contract labour and outsourcing of production. The ILO says while women are somewhat more likely to be engaged in the informal economy, they are significantly more likely than men to be informal workers in the formal sector.