Decent Job Decent Wage Decent Living.

CAMPAIGN FOR Workers Rights, Living Wage & Corruption Free

Job Selection
In Meghalaya the absence of a strong broad based workers movement has
meant that working conditions and workers rights have taken a back seat.
More than 50% of our population consists of young people who are in
search of gainful secure employment but the employment situation in our
state is dire. Even though we were promised lakhs of jobs, a very few
these jobs have made any appearance and those which may have come
through are exploitative casual project based jobs without any job
security. Moreover, most of these jobs have been distributed through
political patronage and personal connections.
The Government may have waved flags of hope through his flagship
programmes by creating dime a dozen skill development missions
question still remains what would a young person do with his or her new
found skills, if the employment scenario is blighted by corruption or
insecure positions with below subsistence wages.
So time has come to put the question of work and employment in the
centre of peoples concerns in Meghalaya. We need to challenge the
status quo of corruption and exploitation. We have to demand decent jobs,
decent wages in both government and private sector so that we can enjoy
decent living.
In the past 20 years neo-liberal globalisation has forced de-regulation of
labour markets, increased the power and movement of capital and
resulted in lower real wages, higher profits, increased inequality and
diminished labour power. It has also significantly redefined work. While
peoples participation in labour has grown, the conditions and wages that
the majority of workers receive are below subsistence. Minimum wages
are insufficient, especially with privatization/cutbacks of social services
and withering social protection. The failure to increase minimum wage has
allowed the gap between minimum wage and the average wage to grow.
We have to remember that in a democracy Decent work and a living wage
are human rights, not some dole dished out by political class. Every adult
has:
Right to full employment: all people have the right to work. State
labour policies should aim to provide dignified, local employment and
sustainable livelihoods.
Rights at work, including a Living Wage: Workers rights include the
right to just and favourable conditions, days off, 8 hour days, non-

discrimination and living wages for them and their families.

Social Protection: workers should have safe working conditions,
adequate free time and rest, access to benefits like healthcare, pension,
and parental leave, among many others.
Social Dialogue: workers should be able to exercise workplace
democracy through their unions and negotiate their workplace conditions
as well as national and international labour and development policies.
Even The Constitution of India promised its citizens that the state shall
endeavour to secure by suitable legislation or economic
organisation or in any other way to all workers, agricultural,
industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work
ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure
and social and cultural opportunities.
In light of these inalienable rights as citizens, we need to ensure that all of
us who expend their labour to survive come together to demand :
1. We demand Minimum Wage of Rs. 320/day for every worker.
2. Minimum wages in both rural and urban areas to be revised
annually and indexed to the state inflation rates. Govt. to commit
towards making minimum wages to be in line of living wage which
allows a family to live in dignity.
The Supreme Court also has on various occasions amplified the
need for payment of minimum wages by stating that the minimum
wage sets the lowest limit below which the wages cannot be
allowed to sink in all humanity; that it has to be paid irrespective of
the kind of enterprise, the extent of profits and financial condition of
the enterprise; or the availability of workmen at lower wages; that
non-payment of minimum wages amounts to forced labour under
Article 23, and that employers have no right to conduct their
enterprise if they cannot pay their employees a minimum
subsistence wage.
2. Living Wage is a wage that can support a family to live in dignity. A
living wage should be calculated on the costs of a basket of goods
that would include sufficient calories for a family (using the local
dietary habits) and a similar amount for non-food costs including
housing, and clothing, energy and material goods. Living wages
should accommodate for the multiple forms of family, the reality of
care work that women often provide for children, extended family
and other dependents.

2. 8 hour workday for all

2. No forced overtime work
2. All jobs should have a written contract, which at the very minimum
outline nature of work, work load, wages, casual and medical leave,
arbitration procedure etc. These contracts cannot violate existing
laws about workers rights, which include right to form unions.
2. Equal Pay for Equal Work Article 23 (2) of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, 1948 debars all types of distinctions and
classifications and clearly asserts that everyone without any
discrimination has the right to equal pay for equal work.
2. Extra Pay for Extra Work. Any work beyond the eight hour work day
or work which is outside the work load outlined in the contract
should be paid accordingly. Equal benefits to contract workers
comparable to those paid to regular workers and cannot in any case
be lower than statutory levels of payment of PF, ESI and Gratuity.
2. Social security measures like Medical Insurance, Provident fund to
be strictly implemented by the employers.
2. Regularise all honorarium workers like Anganwadi employed by
state and local government immediately
2. State Reservation Policy to apply all private sector units, public
private partnerships, consultancies etc.
2. All workers in Meghalaya whether indigenous or those coming from
outside the state have their human rights as workers respected.
Especially migrant workers who contribute to the economic well
being of the state constantly live in fear of stolen wages, physical
violence and unsafe working conditions. Every worker needs safe
working environment and anyone or any organisation violating their
rights needs to be penalized.
2. After completion of 240 days of continuous or aggregate
employment contract workers in perennial employment be made
tenured workers.
2. An independent institution/tribunal to penalize those violating labour
laws in timebound and accessible manner.

2. Contractors convicted for basic labour law violations, including nonpayment of minimum wages, should be debarred from all
government contracts and their licenses revoked.
2. Equal pay for equal work for women workers
2. Extend provisions under the Maternity Benefit Act to all women
workers employed in establishments falling under the Factories Act
and the Shop and Establishment Act and honorary and contract
workers employed in the delivery of government programmes.
2. Strict implementation of sexual harassment laws in all workplaces
(private and government) and setting up of independent
committees for sexual harassment complaints.
2. Strict implementation of the reservation policy for persons with
disabilities.
Peddlers of the new economy constantly berate people for looking at the
govt. for all their job needs. People are not stupid. We want govt. jobs
because of the precarious nature of employment in private sector, jobs
usually without benefits and security. But it is a common knowledge that
in Meghalaya mostly it is your access to power, personal relationships or
merely a vial of white ink that can ensure this secure job in the
government. So we need to ensure that:
1. All jobs in govt. sector including those in govt. projects, missions,
public private partnership to be filled through a public
advertisement, free and fair procedure
2. All exams held by Govt. of Meghalaya should ensure fairness
through:
a. Timebound advertisement, examination, results and appointments
b. All the answer scripts, model answers to be put in Public domain
c. all interviews to be videographed and uploaded in public domain
3. An independent statutory commission to be set up to formulate law
to ensure and enforce that govt. jobs are filled with fair, just and
accessible procedures and guaranteeing every jobseeker a right to a
transparent exam system including public disclosure of all the
answer scripts, video recording of all the personal interviews.

3. A public audit of the workings of MPSC

3. All public funded institutions to strictly adhere to existing labour
laws including minimum wages act etc
3. No adhoc/backdoor appointments, and those officers/person
concern who involve in such act should be penalized, and must
bear/refund all expenses of such appointments
3. No re-employment of retired govt. servants in any public funded
projects, missions, public-private partnerships so as to harness fresh
talent and ensure that there is no conflict of interests

Basic Family Expenditure in Urban Area

Family of 5 (Mother+Father+2 school going children+1 College
going child) an urban family in a rented house without a
cooking gas connection
FOOD
1. Rice 20 kg / week or 80 kg/ month. Let us assume that the family gets its proper ration
every month from the ration shop. Then too the costs are as follows
From the ration shop
35kg at the rate of Rs. 7
Rs.245/month
From the open market
45 kg at the rate of Rs. 25
Rs. 1125/month
2.
dal,
sugar,
Milk,
condiments, vegetables, teaRs. 650/week
Rs. 2600/month
etc.
3. Meat once a week
Rs.240/week
Rs. 960/month
FUEL
Kerosene
25 litres@Rs. 24/litre
Rs. 600/month
Total
Rs.5530/month
Rs.66360/annum
EDUCATION
School
Fees
Rs.350/monthx2=Rs.700/month Rs. 8400/annum
Uniform
Rs.1200/child x 2
Rs. 2400/annum
Books and stationary
Rs1200/childx2
Rs. 2400/annum
College
Fees
Rs. 18000/annum
Books and stationary
Rs, 1200/annum
Total
Rs.31,400/annum
CLOTHING
School going children
Rs. 14002
Rs. 2800/annum
College going child
Rs.2000
Mother + Father
Rs. 3000
Total
Rs. 7800/annum
HEALTH
Doctors fees+medicines
Rs. 500/month
Rs.6000/annum
COMMUNICATION
Transport+communication Rs. 3000/month
Rs. 36000/annum
HOUSING
House Rent (given the migration to urban and semi urban
Rs 36000/annum
areas for work and education)

TOTAL ANNUAL EXPENDITURE

Rs.183560/annum

So basic Family Income / Month = Rs. 15,297.00

So Daily wage if two people in the family work 6 days a week=
Rs. 15,297/48 = Rs.318/day