India

Daily Wage Of Farmer Rose Only 48%, Legislators’ By 98% In Two Decades

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: For decades successive governments have put agriculture at the heart of the growth agenda, but farm income continued to remain abysmally low. A report by a premier labour body has revealed that daily earning of agriculture labourers increased by only 48 per cent in nearly two decades.

In contrast, the daily earnings of our legislators increased by a staggering 98 per cent during the same period, matching that of highly paid professionals and senior managers.

While the real average daily wages for a skilled agricultural labourer was Rs 120 in 1993-94, it became Rs 177 in 2011-12. For legislators, senior officials and managers, it increased to Rs 1,052 in 2011-12 from Rs 530 in 1993-94, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said in a recent report.

For professionals, it increased by 90 per cent.

The plight of the machine operators and assemblers were no better either as their daily earnings remained as much as that of a agricultural labourers and fishery workers.

So what has led to the impressive jump in the daily wages in other sectors?

According to ILO, the pay commission was a major contributing factor. Though its recommendations are limited to government employees, the cascading effect was felt in private sectors too. “The ratio between the best-paid occupation and the lowest ranked was 7.2 in 1993-94, increased to 10.7 in 2004-05 and declined to 7.6 in 2011-12,” the report states”, it said.

A comparison of the daily wages of various occupations showed that a shop keeper earned more (Rs 446) than an agricultural labourer who toiled hard in the fileds under the scorching sun to sustain his family income.

Significantly, the report said casual workers in the agriculture sector experienced higher wage growth as compared to no-agriculture casual workers such as those engaged in construction.

The ILO report, quoting experts, stated that the high growth in the construction sector GDP has resulted in demand for construction workers, which has in turn led to a scarcity of workers in rural areas and a resultant rise in agricultural wages.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

2 Die, One Critical As Car Crashes Into Tree In Odisha’s Konark

Bhubaneswar: Two persons died while another sustained critical injuries as the car in which they…

November 6, 2024

US Election Results: Trump Ahead Of Harris In Three Swing States

New Delhi: Tens of millions of Americans are choosing between two candidates with vastly different…

November 6, 2024

Thieves Decamp With Jewellery & Cash From Tara Tarini Temple In Odisha’s Ganjam

Berhampur: Unidentified miscreants decamped with gold and silver jewellery worth lakhs of rupees and all…

November 6, 2024

Idco Junior Manager Under Odisha Vigilance Lens, Raids On In Bhubaneswar & Puri

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday carried out raids on properties linked to Junior…

November 6, 2024

Fire Engulfs Pvt TV Channel Studio In Odisha’s Khurda

Bhubaneswar: A massive fire broke out at the studio of a private TV channel at…

November 6, 2024

Odisha CM Directs To Supply 3 Months’ PDS Rice To Beneficiaries In Advance

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister on Tuesday issued direction to provide rice of three months' quota…

November 5, 2024

[Watch] Salman Khan Shoots For ‘Sikander’ In Falaknuma Palace Amid Tight Security

Mumbai: In the wake of a fresh death threat by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, actor…

November 5, 2024

Bachchan Family Upset With Nimrat Kaur, To Take Action Against Source Of Rumour

Mumbai: Rumours about Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai’s divorce have been doing the rounds for…

November 5, 2024