-TheWire.in Although COVID-19 had disrupted economic activity, the workforce participation rate in the last four years has gone up, significantly driven by rural women's employment. The annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), first launched in 2017, is one of the only official sources of employment data in the country. Marred by disruptions, the results of the last two surveys (2019-20 and 2020-21) have been eagerly awaited to understand the impact of the...

-TheWire.in The re-conceptualisation of sex work as a form of sexual labour will increase sex workers’ accessibility to resources, mobilise them for representation and participation, and challenge social exclusion. One of the most unsettling debates in contemporary India has been on sex markets and sex work. Stemming from obscurantist sexual moorings of orthodoxy, the public impulse has been fragmentary. The premise underlying the internal contradiction is the delusive alienation of labour and sex. There...

-The Hindu The government should re-establish its role as the principal employment generator With his announcement that 10 lakh government jobs will be provided over the next 18 months on a “mission mode”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent four messages. One, the creation of employment is indeed a problem and can no longer be hidden from the public discourse. Two, the private sector, especially modern sectors such as the service and manufacturing...

-The Hindu There is an urgent need for widespread surveys of poor rural women and how they spend their time The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) reported that the labour participation rate of rural women was 9.92% in March 2022 compared to 67.24% for men. This is a cause for concern. According to CMIE, millions who left the Labour Market stopped looking for employment “possibly [because they were] too disappointed with...

-The Hindu Indian delegation to bring up exploitation of apprentices The 110 th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) will launch the first round of discussions on setting standards for apprenticeships. India is sending three delegations on behalf of the Government, employers and employees to participate in various group meetings of the ILC, beginning on Sunday at the headquarters of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva. The ILC will have a...