4th & 5th January, 2013 Proceedings of INTERDISCIPLINARY NATIONAL SEMINAR on MIGRATION & DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES Jointly Organized by Hindi Vidya Prachar Samiti’s RAMNIRANJAN JHUNJHUNWALA COLLEGE Ghatkopar (W), Mumbai- 400086, Maharashtra, India and INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION SCIENCES (IIPS), Mumbai 4th & 5th January, 2013 Organizing Committee PATRON • Dr. Rajendra Singh, Hon. Secretary, Hindi Vidya Prachar Samiti Advisory Committee • Dr.Usha Mukundan, Principal, R.J. College • Dr. Faujdar Ram, Director, IIPS • Dr. R. B. Bhagat, Head, Dept. of Migration and Urban Studies, IIPS • Dr. L. G. Burange, Director, Dept. of Economics, University of Mumbai • Dr. Abhay Pethe, Dept. of Economics, University of Mumbai • Dr. P.G. Jogdand, Head, Dept. of Sociology, University of Mumbai • Dr. Ulhas Dixit, Head, Dept. of Statistics, University of Mumbai Convener • Prof. Rajendra Amdekar, Head, Dept. of Statistics Co-Conveners • Prof. Shubhangi M. Vartak, Dept. of Economics • Prof. Jayashree V. Vaze, Dept. of Statistics • Prof. Dr. Shashi Mishra, Head. Dept. of Sociology Members: • Prof. Rashmi K. Wagle, Vice Principal & Head, Dept. of Economics • Prof. Ajit Limaye, Dept. of Statistics • Prof. Chhaya Pinge, Dept. of Statistics • Prof. Dr. M. A. Patel, Dept. of Economics • Prof. Arundhati S Chitre, Dept. of Sociology • Prof. Manasi Vinod, Dept. of Economics • Prof. Rajeshree Raut, Dept. of Statistics QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE MIGRATED CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IN MUMBAI. Amrita Anilkumar Agrawal, MA-I (Geography), Nagindas Khandwala College of Commerce, Arts and Management Studies, Malad (W). E-mail: [email protected] Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in 1946 as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Health is affected by several factors. The surroundings of a person at the place of work as well as residence, plays the most important role in maintaining the health of that person. Migration to Mumbai has always remained a matter of serious concern to researchers, planners and policy makers. Mumbai has a long history of migration and migration has remained the major force behind the city‘s very rapid population growth since its inception. It was the first Indian city to experience the economical, technological, and social changes associated with the growth of capitalism in India. The 2011 census showed an upward trend in the migration to the city. The objective of the study is to critically analyze the quality of life of the migrated construction workers in Mumbai, keeping their health conditions at the core of the study. The paper is based on primary data collection, wherein a sample of 30 construction workers was chosen. The survey was conducted at two sites- Redevelopment of Gopal Co-operative Housing Society Limited at Liberty Garden and MHADA project of B.G. Shirke at Charkop-Marve Link Road, both, in Malad (West) area. The paper will analyse the health status of the workers and will also try to bring out the factors behind the observed health status. The surveyed workers are mostly living in temporary huts. These people lack basic amenities and facilities and their overall quality of life is low. This paper will also focus on their problems and recommend some solutions for the same. Literature Review:- World Health Organization (WHO, 1997) has stated that, ―Happiness; life satisfaction; well-being; self-actualization; freedom from want; objective functioning; ‗a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being not merely the absence of disease‘ are the components of measuring the quality of a person‘s life‖. A Report by Indian National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (INCEUS, N.A.), states that the construction industry involves a large number of women workers, a number of them young mothers with infant children. Surveys in the construction industry have found that crèche facilities are not available on worksites. An all India study and many state level studies have noted the lack of welfare measures such as crèches for children, rest –rooms for workers, separate toilets for women and potable drinking water. If housing was provided it was generally unfit for 1 ISBN 978-81-925489-1-3 Interdisciplinary National Seminar on Migration: Issues and Challenges | 3-4 January 2013 human living. Further it was found that there were no complaints from the workers or the labor administrators. One of the consequences of not having adequate crèche facility was that children were often exposed to the unhygienic environment which primarily affected their health and caused several skin disorders, due to their sensitive skin which, is always covered with the cement or the pebbles containing limestone. The children who were able to walk and run (4 to 6 years of age) were engaged in helping the workers and over time were inducted into the workforce. In fact the workers begin their working life very young and continue till old age without any provision for old age benefits. Herrle and Schmitz, (2009) have talked about the ugly face of large cities especially in India. According to them, the workers who give the city a face it has today are completely neglected. They do not have proper access even to the basic facilities of life. Singh, Hinze and Coble,(1999) have stated that construction workers are at great risk to injury, disability and early death as a result of exposure to health and safety hazards at work (Centre to Protect Rights, 1993). Methodology:- This paper is mainly based on Primary Data collection. With sample size 30 the survey was conducted at two sites- Redevelopment of Gopal Co-operative Housing Society Limited and MHADA project of B.G. Shirke. Some information is also collected from books and internet as well. Location of Study Areas:- The study area chosen is Malad (West) area which is suburb of Mumbai city. In Malad, two construction sites were selected at different locations. One at Liberty Garden and the other at Charkop-Marve Link road. The former was a redevelopment site and the latter was a new construction. Both were residential areas and residential buildings. MHADA PROJECT at Malad GOPAL CO-OP HSG. SOC LTD at Malad. Location of Malad (West) area in Mumbai. Discussion:- According to the Census of India, (1991), a work is defined as participation in any economically productive activity with or without compensation, wages or profit. Such participation may be physical and/or mental in nature. Work involves not only actual 2 work but also includes effective supervision and direction of work. It even includes part time help or unpaid work on farm, family enterprise or in any other economic activity. All persons engaged in ‗work‘ as defined above are ‗workers‘. Thus a construction worker is every person who works on the construction site, helps in the construction of structures and does take in laborious as well supervision tasks and is paid for the same. When the term ‗HEALTH‘ is considered, foe a layman it only includes various diseases,. As mentioned by Herrle and Schmitz,(2009), about the condition of the people who have actually given the city the face it has; it was important to consider whether there were any improvements in the health from the past or not. To fulfill this, a survey of about twenty questions was conducted. The questions covered aspects like age, education, and native place, nature of meal, sources of drinking water, monthly income and overall happiness. Analytical Results:- 1. The age structure of the workers was taken into account. It was found that maximum number i.e. 10 fell in the age group of 25-35 years and the minimum number i.e.; 2 fell in both 55-65 years and above 60 years age groups. This implies that the workforce engaged in construction is of the most Figure 1 productive age. This implies that the areas from where these workers have migrated suffer a loss of productive age group.(Figure 1) 2. The educational qualifications were also considered. It was found that most of the workers (11) had taken primary education whereas only 3 of them had taken higher secondary education. This implies that the level of education of the construction workers is very low. This further implies that since the educational level of the workers is low, they are forced to do such type of unskilled jobs. The main implication of this is that the Figure 2 awareness and knowledge among the workers about the health aspect and that about its importance is very less rather absent. As we know that Mumbai suffers from scarcity of jobs of both types- skilled as well as unskilled, the migrated workers have to engage themselves in construction sector. This is because this sector in developing on a very fast pace and one finds at least one site in every lane, which makes it easier to find jobs at these sites.(Figure 2) 3 ISBN 978-81-925489-1-3 Interdisciplinary National Seminar on Migration: Issues and Challenges | 3-4 January 2013 3. The native places of the workers were also considered to know the region from where they usually migrate. It was found that most of them i.e. 20 workers came from Uttar Pradesh from places like Jaunpur, Kanpur and other villages. It implies that most of the migrated construction workers are from North India. Figure 3 This may also imply that North India lacks sufficient employment for the unskilled workers and thus such people are forced to move out to other areas to earn their livelihood. This also gives us an idea about the direction of the flow of remittances within India. If, the workers carried some of the air borne diseases to Mumbai, it would be made clear that the region(the place of their origin) is also suffering from that disease, but, in these cases, it was not found so.(Figure 3) 4.