It’s half past nine on a dusty Monday morning and an anxious group of people swarms an autorickshaw. The woman inside is hardly visible. As the haggling goes on, the crowd gets bigger. Fifteen minutes later, three leave—one perched on the front seat along with the rickshaw driver, and the other two following on bicycles. The rest retreat, disappointed.
“A lady needed three labourers for a construction job at her home, but she was only paying Rs 350 for what should ideally fetch Rs 500-600,” said Rakesh Kumar. “Today, the only way to get work is to charge less. Contractors know that we are desperate.”
A group of unskilled workers gathers around an autorickshaw enquiring for work in Sector-49, Noida. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloomberQuint)
A group of unskilled workers gathers around an autorickshaw enquiring for work in Sector-49, Noida. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloomberQuint)
At Noida’s Sector-49 labour chowk, that happens often. And similar scenes play out at other crossroads that masons and electricians to plumbers throng in search of odd jobs. The number of migrants from India's hinterland looking for work has gone up, but wages are down. Ban on construction because of severe pollution in the National Capital Region amplified joblessness among unskilled workers when the economy is formalising at a faster clip.
This is BloombergQuint’s third such trip to the labour chowks since the pandemic broke out. Not much has changed in the last year and a half, except for one. Rising prices of staples and vegetables to edible oils is hurting them even more.
A Onetime-Contractor Is Jobless Now
Phulendra Yadav waits at Sector-49 chowk, Noida for work. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloomberQuint)
Phulendra Yadav waits at Sector-49 chowk, Noida for work. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloomberQuint)
Phulendra Yadav, 50, employed 10-15 workers before the pandemic disrupted lives. As business shrank, he now visits the labour chowk to find work.
“Last month, I hardly worked for 12 days,” he said.
Yadav, an expert at laying tiles, earned at least Rs 25,000 a month before the pandemic. That ensured decent education for his two children. He now makes about Rs 15,000 a month.
He is already eight months behind on rent.
The family’s elder son is preparing for admission to a medicine school in Patna. Yadav’s goal is to continue his education.
Yadav, who suffers from a disability, limps towards his bicycle.
“We are somehow making ends meet.”
Sold Cylinders After Second Wave
Migrant workers gather at sector-49 labour chowk in Noida. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloomberQuint )
Migrant workers gather at sector-49 labour chowk in Noida. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloomberQuint )
When the second Covid wave hit and India’s social media was overwhelmed with pleas for help, Ravinder Gupta, 50, had no work.
“My wife wasn’t well, and we hardly had any money left. I sold my cooking gas cylinders in the black market for Rs 1,200,” he said, hoping that things will improve.
They did but not to the extent he expected. He struggles to pay Rs 3,000 rent every month.
Before the first lockdown, Gupta could easily find work to earn Rs 500 at least 20 days a month.
Now, he doesn’t get paid more than Rs 400 and works fewer days a month. Gupta, who lives with his wife and a 22-year-old son in a one-room home, has seen income fall by half to Rs 4,000-5,000 a month.
And everything from onion and tomato to edible oil is costlier now.
“How are we supposed to feed our families?”
No One Asks For A Full Cup
Munna Churasia has been selling tea in the Noida Sector-49 crossroad for 25 years. He has never seen his clients, mostly unskilled workers, in so much distress.
“They are hardly getting any work and the cost of basic things have gone up,” he said. And while more people throng the area for work, his own income is down by half.
He charges Rs 7 for a single serving of tea in a tiny paper cup.
No one, he said, asks for a full cup.
Factory Workers Out There Too
Workers gather at Sector-49 chowk in Noida. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloombergQuint )
Workers gather at Sector-49 chowk in Noida. (Photographer: Nishant Sharma/BloombergQuint )
Ranjeet Shukla, 30, rushed to Bareilly when the pandemic struck in 2020. But cattle farming didn’t earn enough to support his family.
Back in Noida three months ago, he has hardly had any work. He comes looking for a gig at the labour chowk at 7:30 a.m. everyday, but mostly without luck.
Those who earlier worked in factories are out there too, he said, adding that the number of people visiting the chowk in search of a livelihood has doubled.
People are willing to work for far less than what they earned earlier, he said. For every single work, there are 20-30 aspirants.
“If you don’t take it, someone else will.”
Also Read: India’s K-Shaped Political Economy
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