This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G
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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Running on Time Domestic Work and Commuting in West Bengal, India Lauren Wilks PhD in Sociology The University of Edinburgh 2018 ii Declaration I hereby confirm that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and has not been submitted, in whole or in part, for any other degree or professional qualification. Except where stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. Lauren Wilks Edinburgh, 5 December 2018 iii iv Table of Contents Abstract vii Lay Summary viii Acknowledgements xi List of Illustrations xiv List of Abbreviations xvi Glossary xvii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: Locating Domestic Work 13 Chapter Three: Researching Domestic Work 29 Chapter Four: Starting Work 67 Chapter Five: Getting to & from Work 104 Chapter Six: Managing Work & Employers 139 Chapter Seven: Getting Home from Work 175 Chapter Eight: Children, Childcare & the Future of Work 203 Chapter Nine: Conclusion 223 Bibliography 231 v vi Abstract While there is a significant and burgeoning body of literature on (paid) domestic work in India, much of which explores the broader context of migration within which this labour often takes place, very little looks at domestic workers’ commutes – daily or regular travel between home and work which is similarly linked to processes of neoliberalism and urban development. At the same time, much of the wider literature on commuting – which has been conducted mainly in Northern contexts – fails to properly consider the experience of commuting; furthermore, this literature often paints a rather rosy picture of commuting – as a complex mobility strategy or a space for thinking, relaxing, and socialising – which does not generally fit with the situation in India. This thesis, then, aims to fill this gap and offer a corrective to the wider literature on commuting by providing a rich and detailed account of the everyday lives and experiences of commuting domestic workers in Kolkata. In doing so, it contributes to wider sociological debates about work, precarity, and time/labour intensification. Drawing on sixteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Kolkata and rural West Bengal and utilising novel methodological approaches and tools (multi-sited and ‘moving’ ethnography), I explore the experience of commuting for domestic workers in Kolkata – in other words, what it is like to undertake these journeys, which are often long and arduous, and what it is like to combine them with a heavy burden of paid and unpaid domestic work. I also draw attention to the embedded and cumulative nature of commuting, illustrating how commuting affects other areas of workers’ lives and making a case for commuting as a category of analysis. The commute, as we shall see, requires careful and constant negotiation: it involves time and money, and it takes a serious toll on workers’ health and relationships, contributing to extreme time pressure and often causing problems for workers, with employers and with husbands and families. Overall, the thesis highlights the intense insecurity commuters face, as well as the pragmatism with which they manage this insecurity in their day-to-day lives. At work and at home, commuters make everyday bargains and trade-offs, often swapping one form of precarity for another; the language of ‘adjustment’ and the question, ki korbo? (what will I do? What else can I do?), is, as we shall see, a constant refrain in their accounts. The thesis also shows, however, that while the experience of commuting is predominantly articulated by workers as one of pain and suffering (koshto), and all those who can give it up after a certain point do so, workers are, at the same time, forging networks and solidarities through commuting, which not only help them to endure the structural burdens of commuting and paid/unpaid domestic work but may, in future, also help them to bargain for better conditions of work. vii Lay Summary Commuting domestic workers are among the growing ranks of women ‘live-out’ or ‘visiting’ domestic workers in Kolkata, most of whom work part-time in one or more (usually several) households a day. Unlike city-dwelling domestic workers, however, who have been the focus of recent research, commuters – who live in villages and peri-urban areas outside the city and who travel often considerable distances to get to work – are yet to receive proper academic attention. This thesis, then, offers a rich and detailed account of a significant yet under-studied group: commuting domestic workers in Kolkata. Commuting domestic workers are mostly women and live in rural villages and peri- urban areas outside Kolkata, travelling into the city daily by train and other forms of public transport. Their journeys are often long and arduous and they face various problems along the way: overcrowding, a lack of access to toilets, harassment. In the city, they often juggle several different jobs, specialising in various types of work (cooking, cleaning, care work) and in many cases rushing between these jobs – as well as to and from the city. There is stiff competition in the neighbourhoods where they work, and much mistrust among employers; in short, there is a high degree of turnover and commuters are easily dismissed and replaced. The thesis also explores commuters’ wider, personal lives. It shows how women must balance their work in the city with a heavy burden of unpaid domestic work in their own homes; because of dominant ideas about women’s ‘honour’ and the stigma around women’s work and mobility, moreover they must continually perform respectability, regulating their speech and behaviour in case husbands and others begin to ‘doubt’. If commuters are late in reaching home – something which is often unavoidable due to transport delays and, again, the problem of overcrowding – they in many cases suffer violence and abuse from husbands, as well as from sons and neighbours. In addition, the thesis discusses commuters’ children, offering a more optimistic story about commuters’ hopes for the future and the promise of a better life for their children. Commuters often invest tremendous amounts of time, money, and energy in children’s education, hopeful that this investment will pay off and their children will secure ‘good jobs’; however, even those who cannot easily afford to pay for children’s schooling and tuition value some amount of education for their children, even if they end up deciding to marry their children early. Overall, then, the thesis highlights both the intense insecurity of commuters’ lives and the ways in which commuters manage this insecurity day-to-day. At home and at viii work, commuters make everyday bargains and trade-offs, staying in jobs they are unhappy with but which offer a form of stability and flexibility or else settling for some rather than more education for their children. The thesis also shows that, while the experience of commuting is predominantly explained by workers in terms of pain and suffering (koshto), commuters experience new freedoms through commuting; and, importantly, they are forming networks and solidarities with other workers and with NGOs, which not only help them to bear the hardships of their lives, but may, in future, also help them to bargain for better conditions of work. ix x Acknowledgements I would not have been able to complete – or even begin – this thesis without the support and encouragement of many people and institutions. First and foremost, I would like to thank my research participants, the women and men whose words and experiences fill these pages. These individuals not only gave up precious time to talk to me and tell me their stories, but also in many cases welcomed me into their homes and lives. I am especially grateful to Madhabi (pseudonym) whose generosity shaped this project in ways I could not have hoped to predict and whose cheer and spirit brought much joy to fieldwork. I received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (Award Number 1221758), the Tweedie Exploration Committee at the University of Edinburgh, and the Edinburgh Association of University Women; I would like to thank these bodies and institutions for seeing potential in me and for giving me the means and opportunity to carry out this research. I am also grateful to colleagues and mentors at the University of Edinburgh. I am especially indebted to my brilliant supervisors, Julie Brownlie and Hugo Gorringe; I thank them wholeheartedly for their time, care, insights, and advice. Crispin Bates has encouraged me since my undergraduate years, and Chris Harding taught me that academia need not be such a scary place. Patricia Jeffrey, Radhika Govinda, Lynn Jamieson, and Kanchana Ruwanpura have all also, at various points, offered important suggestions, comments, and advice. In addition, I would like to thank my examiners, Nandini Gooptu and Lynn Jamieson, for their detailed, insightful feedback and advice on publishing. Before travelling to Kolkata, Suranjan Das and Ishita Mukhopadhyay helped me to arrange an affiliation at the University of Calcutta; and, once in the city, Ishita-di made time for me, taking me in and guiding me as one of her own students.