In Almora, currently the laborers get around Rs.130 to Rs.150.

I think if they start getting Rs.300 per day that would be just sufficient to live a good life.

To make it possible:

1. Either the employer raises the wage
2. Or the work is taken in contract that suit the employer’s budget and the worker improve their efficiency using better tools and technique to do the same in less time and earn more

First one is practically not possible. Even if possible, it’s beyond our hand.
However the second one is possible !!!

In my last company I worked in its two branches – Bangalore, India and Bellevue, USA
In Bangalore, there are 10/15 office boys working 5 days a week to keep the entire office clean. In Bellevue, one person comes once a week for few hours to clean up the office.

The funny part is Bellevue office is cleaner than Bangalore

Well there could be various reasons why it is so. Nevertheless, this indicates why in India labour class gets paid less.

Each day in work I realize that with better tools and technique things can be done much efficient way. For example to build a concrete roof (known as ‘lenter’), it involves shuttering work – to make a temporary “roofing” on top of which the concrete is poured. The traditional way of doing it, I have been seeing here and before also in my native, involves using bricks, wood timber, wood sheet, iron pipe, cement, sand, soil etc.. The cement and sand is used only to make the temporary “roofing”, which is destroyed after the concrete slab is built.

Well I think this entire process can be done in much efficient way. The above picture shows the in-progress shuttering work, where I worked, took around 15 days to complete with on average 7-8 people working. The cement, sand, which is not reusable after the structure is broken, and wage to build the temporary roofing would be approx to Rs.25,000 – this excludes the rent for the re-usable material like wood timber, sheet, brick, iron pipe etc.

I believe with right tools, technique, and reusable gears this can be completed within 4/5 days in much less cost. This way net profit for this kind of work will be more, which would allow higher wage for the labourers.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 at 11:54 am and is filed under Construction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.