1st Edition
Employment and Labour Market in North-East India Interrogating Structural Changes
This book examines the structural changes in the labour market in North-East India. Going beyond the conventional study of tea and agricultural sectors, it focuses on the nature, pattern and structure of work and employment in the region as well as documents emerging shifts in the labour force towards farm to non-farm dynamics. The chapters explore historical developments in employment patterns, labour market policies, issues of gender and social-religious dimensions, as well as point to growing forms of casual, informal and contractual labour across sectors.
Through large-scale data and detailed case studies on unfree labour in plantations and those employed in crafts, handloom and the manufacturing industry, the book provides insights into labour and employment in the region. It also delves into the temporal and spatial dimensions of non-farm employment and its relationship with rural income distribution and labour mobility. By bringing interdisciplinary perspectives from scholars working on North-East India, this work fills a major gap in the political economy of the labour market in the region.
The volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of development studies, North-East India studies, labour studies, economics, sociology and political science as well to those involved with governance and policymaking.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Contributors
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Debdulal Saha, Virginius Xaxa and Rajdeep Singha
I. Structure and Patterns of Employment in North-East India
- Labour and Labour Market in North-East India: A Historical Exploration
- Changing Trajectories of Economic Growth and Employment in North-East India: An Empirical Assessment
- Structure and Quality of Employment in North-East India: A Socio-Religious Analysis
- Women’s Employment in North-East India: Trends and Patterns
- Beyond Standard Outcomes: State of Employment and Labour in Tea Industry of Assam
- Work, Control and Mobility in the Manufacturing Industry: A Study of Cement Industry in Assam
- Fostering Employment in the Handloom Sector in the North-East through Cluster Development: A Case Study of Mizoram
- From Craft to Industry: Understanding the Dynamics of Handloom Weaving in Manipur
- Employment Potentials of Migrant Workers in Meghalaya: An Empirical Exploration
- Out-migration and Labour Mobility: Case Studies from Assam
- Rural Non-Farm Employment in North-East India: A Temporal and Spatial Analysis
- Trend, Composition and Determinants of Rural Non-farm Employment in Assam and Its Implication for Rural Income Distribution
- Employment Diversification in Tripura
Virginius Xaxa
Anjan Chakrabarti
Ajaya Kumar Naik and Nitin Tagade
Bornali Borah
II. Work, Employment and Labour in Industries
Debdulal Saha, Rajdeep Singha and Padmini Sharma
Piyali Bhowmick
Rama Ramswamy
Otojit Kshetrimayum
III. Migration and Labour Mobility
Jajati Keshari Parida
Snehashish Mitra
IV. Employment Diversification
Bhagirathi Panda
Anamika Das
Rajdeep Singha
Index
Biography
Virginius Xaxa is Professor of Eminence and Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Chair at Tezpur University, Assam, India.
Debdulal Saha is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Labour Studies and Social Protection, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Off Campus, Assam, India.
Rajdeep Singha is Assistant Professor and Chairperson at the Centre for Labour Studies and Social Protection, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Off Campus, Assam, India.