AGRICULTURAL LABOUR

INTRODUCTION

Everybody knows that Agricultural Labour are neglected from Indian Masses. Growth of agricultural labour including cultivators and crop production are not promising factors for rural economy of India.

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS FACED BY AGRICULTURAL LABOURER?Under employment Under development Feeling of want Poverty Low Income Less Education- so they are unable to find alternative employment opportunities. Mainly they belongs to SC & ST- so basically they are not fight for their rights.

MEANING AND DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOUR

Agricultural Labour Enquiry Committee defined agricultural labour as a person who, for more than half of the total number of days, worked as an agricultural labour. An agricultural labour may be the small or marginal farmer or an artisan, but when a person derives his main earning by doing some agricultural work on others farm is called an agricultural labour. The first Agricultural Labour Enquiry committee 1950-55 defined agricultural labour as those people who are engaged in rising crops on payment of wages. The Second agricultural labour enquiry committee 1956-57 enlarged the distribution to include those who are engaged in other agricultural operations like diary, farming, horticulture, raising of live stock, bees, poultry, etc. According to the national commission on labour an agricultural labourer is one who is basically unskilled and unorganized and has little for its livelihood, other than personal labour. Thus persons whose main source of income is wage, full employment under this category.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOUR No Organization among agricultural worker Agricultural workers are basically unskilled Agricultural labour is migratory A person of low means Lack of legal protection Nature of employment Seasonality in employment

CAUSES FOR THE GROWTH OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS Increase in population Decline in cottage industries and handicrafts Eviction of small farmers and tenants from land. Uneconomic holdings Increase in indebtness Spread if the use of money and exchange system Capitalistic agriculture Displacement of means of subsidiary occupations. Break up of joint family system.

MEASURES TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS

Passing of minimum wages act. Abolition of bonded labourer Providing land to landless labourers Provision of housing cities to houseless Special schemes for providing employment. Crash scheme for rural employment (CSRE) Pilot intensive rural employment project (PIREP) Food for works programme (FWP) National Rural employment programme (NREP) Rural landless employment programme (RLRP) Drought prone area programme (It was known rural works programme) Jawahar Rojgar Yojajana Desert development programme National scheme of training of rural youth for self employment (TRYSM) Development of women and children in rural areas (DWCRS) Integrated rural development programme (IRDP)

SUGGESTIONS FRO THE IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS

Better implementation of legislative measures. Improving the bargaining power Resettlement of agricultural works Creating alternative sources of employment Protection of women and child labourers Public works programme should be for longer period/years Improvements in agricultural sector Improving the working conditions Regulating the long hours of work Credit may be given at cheaper rate of interest on easy terms of payment for undertaking subsidiary occupation. Proper training for improving the skill of farm labourers Farming of cooperative society Public work programmes Raising the standard of living Social security

DIFFERENTLY ABLED LABOUR

Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for handicapped under Directorate General of Employment and Training , Ministry of Labour and Employment. A sizeable number of persons in India are handicapped. Government of India has been providing relief and help in rehabilitating them so that they stand on their own feet economically and also prove useful to the society. Vocational rehabilitation of the handicapped person is a process which enables him to secure suitable employment which he could retain and advance a permanent base with an ultimate aim of integrating and re integrating.

In 1968, an agreement was signed between the Government of India and the Government of USA for setting up of two vocational rehabilitation centers, one at Mumbai and another at Hyderabad for assessing vocational and psychological needs of the handicapped person and to render rehabilitation assistance to them. At present, 20 vocational rehabilitation centers for handicapped have been functioning, one each at Agartala, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Gowhati, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Ludhiyana, Mumbai, Patna, Pondy, Srinagar,, Thiruvanathapuram, Ura and Vadodara.

WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS SERVICES RENDERED TO THE DISABLED PERSON BY REHABILITATION CENTERS?

Interviewing adult handicapped persons for knowing their personal, social, family, education, economic and vocational background causing adjustment problems. Admission of the handicapped persons to examine medically to access their physical efficiencies, measure their psychological strength and weaknesses in respect of their intelligence, aptitude, areas of interested, psychomotor dexterity, personality traits and area of adjustment. Assessing the residual capacities, attributes and functional skills of different categories of handicapped. Examining the handicapped persons by a panel of medical specialists to identify the degree of disability and functional capacities and suggest remedial measures.

Testing of the handicapped persons on the job Capabilities in different trades sanctioned under the VRCs Programmers, such as electronics, electrical, general mechanic, radio & TV repair , commercial practice, air conditioning, automobile, cutting and tailoring , computer applications, wood work and chair canning, art and craft, screen painting, photography, metal trades and painting, secretarial practice. Imparting workshop training to develop vocational adjustment in respect of their work habits on the job sustainability to ensure their job adjustment best suited to their strength and weakness. Evaluating the handicapped clients at the center to assist them in preparing their vocational plan for enhancing their levels of knowledge and skills suited to local job market needs and also assisting, guiding and motivating them for diverting to self employment. Imparting in plant training under the scheme of Ministry of Special Justice and Empowerment during which clients are given stipend to sustain their interest and motivation in the training.

Sponsoring and assisting the handicapped persons to utilize the facilities of reservations against the seats in various educational training institutions. Sponsoring the handicapped persons to the employers against vacancies notified to the VRCs & taking follow up actions. Recommending the handicapped persons for grant of loans by the concerned financial institutions under differential rate of interest or setting up at different ventures under various self employment schemes.