Critical Perspectives on Work and Employment in Globalizing India (eBook)

Ernesto Noronha holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. He is currently Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India, where he teaches Macro-organizational Behaviour, Research Methodology, and Sociology of Work and Employment to post-graduate and doctoral students. His  research interests include workplace ethnicity, technology and work, and labour and globalization. Prof. Noronha has been awarded many multi-lateral and bi-lateral grants to study various aspects of employee experiences of work in India’s offshoring and outsourcing sector, focusing on new and unexplored areas such as organizational control, diversity, telework and collectivization. He has been a visiting professor at the Industrial and Labour Relations (ILR) School, Cornell University and at the Institute for Sociology, University of Vienna. Prof. Noronha has presented invited talks as a visiting scholar at numerous European universities such as Strathclyde, Portsmouth, Bergen and Hamburg, in addition to the keynote address at the 2010 Work, Employment and Society (WES) conference.   Premilla D’Cruz holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She is currently Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India, where she teaches Micro-organizational Behaviour and Workplace Creativity to post-graduate and doctoral students and industry practitioners. Prof. D’Cruz’s research interests include workplace bullying, emotions at work, self and identity, organizational control, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) and organizations. Her studies on workplace bullying in the Indian context have been pioneering both in terms of geographical location and substantive issues. Prof. D’Cruz has been a visiting scholar at various European and Australian universities and has received several multi-lateral and bi-lateral research grants. She is currently President of the International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment (IAWBH), having earlier served as Secretary (2010-2016) and Special Interest Groups Coordinator (2008-2010). 

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 7
Editors and Contributors 9
Abbreviations 11
List of Figures 16
List of Tables 17
1 The World of Work in Contemporary India: The Relevance of a Critical Lens 18
Abstract 18
1.1 The Business Context of Globalization 19
1.2 Engaging Critical Perspectives 20
1.3 Current Issues of Work and Employment in India 21
References 27
India’s Place in Global Production Networks 30
2 “White Gold” for Whom? A Study of Institutional Aspects of Work and Wages in Cotton GPNs in India 31
Abstract 31
2.1 Introduction 32
2.2 Analytical Framework: Institutional Theory 34
2.3 Dynamics of Cotton Work and Wages 36
2.3.1 Social/Community Context of Cotton Farm Labour 37
2.3.2 Cotton Farmers and Workers: The Class Dimension 38
2.3.2.1 Structural and Associational Power of Cotton Farm Workers 42
2.3.3 The Cotton GPNs and Workers 45
2.3.4 Role of the State and Labour Agency in Cotton 48
2.4 Conclusion 49
References 50
3 Why Has the Indian Automotive Industry Reproduced “Low Road” Labour Relations? 53
Abstract 53
3.1 Introduction 54
3.2 The Automotive Industry on a Global–Historical Scale 55
3.3 Work and Labour in the Indian Auto Industry: Taking the “Low Road” 60
3.4 Why Has India’s Auto Industry Taken the Low Road? Towards a Theoretical Explanation 65
3.5 Conclusion 69
References 70
4 “The Recession Has Passed but the Effects Are Still with Us”: Employment, Work Organization and Employee Experiences of Work in Post-crisis Indian BPO 73
Abstract 73
4.1 Introduction 74
4.2 Work and Employment in Indian BPO 77
4.3 Case Studies and Research Methods 78
4.4 Findings 80
4.4.1 Immediate Impact of the Crisis 80
4.4.2 Post-recession Recovery and Corporate Strategy 82
4.4.3 Operationalizing New Strategies and Priorities 83
4.4.3.1 Process 83
4.4.3.2 People Management 84
4.4.4 Employee Experiences of Work 86
4.4.4.1 Nature of Work 87
4.4.4.2 Work Intensification and Extensification 87
4.4.4.3 Reward, Recognition and Benefits 89
4.4.4.4 Performance Management and Appraisal 90
4.5 Conclusion 91
References 94
Rising Informalization and Casualization of Employment 97
5 Informal Work in the Formal Sector: Conceptualizing the Changing Role of the State in India 98
Abstract 98
5.1 Introduction 99
5.2 Decline of Jobs in the Government/Public Sector 100
5.3 Growth of Temporary Work in the Government Sector 102
5.3.1 Shift from Permanent to Temporary Positions 102
5.3.2 Outsourcing, Flexi-Staffing and the Role of Intermediaries 103
5.3.3 Temporary and “Voluntary” Jobs in Social Development Programmes 104
5.4 Declining Role of the State as the Guardian of Labour Standards 105
5.5 Concluding Remarks 108
References 108
6 Matter in Motion: Work and Livelihoods in India’s Economy of Waste 110
Abstract 110
6.1 Introduction: Matter in Motion—Taps and Sinks 110
6.2 Livelihoods Produced by Waste in Industrial Production 112
6.3 Livelihoods in Waste Produced by Distribution 113
6.4 Livelihoods in Waste Produced by Consumption 114
6.4.1 Public Sector “Aristocrats” of Waste Work 115
6.4.2 Self-employed “Informal” Dump-Yard Worker 117
6.5 Livelihoods in Human Waste: Waste Produced by the Production of Labour 119
6.5.1 Scheduled Tribal Septic Tanker Fleet Owner: Petty Capitalist 120
6.6 Livelihoods in Waste Produced by the Reproduction of Society 121
6.6.1 Informal Wage Worker: A Private Clinic’s Housekeeper’s Livelihood 122
6.7 Conclusion: The Poverty and Politics of Matter in Motion 123
Acknowledgements 125
References 126
7 Reclassifying Economies by the Degree and Intensity of Informalization: The Implications for India 127
Abstract 127
7.1 Introduction 127
7.2 Defining the Degree and Intensity of Informalization 128
7.3 Classifying Economies by the Degree and Intensity of Informalization 129
7.4 Explaining a Country’s Degree and Intensity of Informalization 130
7.5 Methodology: Examining India’s Degree and Intensity of Informalization 132
7.6 Explaining the Degree of Informalization of Economies 133
7.7 India’s Degree and Intensity of Informalization Compared with Other Countries 136
7.8 Conclusion 139
References 141
ICT-Related Offshoring—Rewriting the Trajectory of Indian Society? 144
8 Altering the Social Fabric of the Working Poor? Work and Employment Issues of Support Workers Catering to International ICT-ITES Firms in Mumbai 145
Abstract 145
8.1 Introduction 146
8.2 Service Underclass and Contractual Work 147
8.2.1 The Significance of Contractual Work in Business Strategies 147
8.2.1.1 The Organization of Contractual Labour in India: The Legal and Social Viewpoint 148
8.2.1.2 Contractual Workers in the Support Service Industry 149
8.3 Methodology 151
8.4 The Organization of the Support Service Industry in Mumbai 152
8.5 Work and Employment Conditions for the Cleaners and Cab Drivers Catering to ICT-ITES Firms 154
8.5.1 Existence of Two Contrasting Sets of Workers: The Case of Cab Drivers 157
8.6 Collective Rights of Support Workers 158
8.7 Altering the Social Fabric of the Service Underclass 159
8.8 Conclusion 160
Acknowledgements 161
References 161
9 Jack of All Trades and Master of None? The Development of IT (Compatible) Qualification Between State, Company and Individual Career Planning 165
Abstract 165
9.1 Introduction 166
9.2 “Upgrading”: A Conceptual Approach 167
9.3 Empirical Sample 169
9.4 “Upgrading” of Qualification Profiles as Corporate Strategy: The Case of G-Pro 170
9.5 State Influences on Qualification Profiles: Systems of (Higher) Education 172
9.6 Corporate Influences on Qualification Profiles: The Case of I-Serve 174
9.7 Social Regulation of Qualification Profiles: Employees’ Strategies of Planning Life and Career 177
9.8 “Jack of All Trades”: Here to Stay? 180
References 183
10 Partially Empowering but not Decent? The Contradictions of Online Labour Markets 185
Abstract 185
10.1 Introduction 185
10.2 Understanding Online Labour Markets 186
10.3 Pursuing Decent Work 188
10.4 Freelancers’ Lived Experiences 191
10.4.1 Dhruv 191
10.4.2 Prachi 194
10.4.3 Veer 195
10.4.4 Urvashi 197
10.5 Insights from Ideology-Critique 199
10.6 Discussion 201
References 204
Challenges Facing Industrial Relations and Collective Action 208
11 The Paradoxes of Social Partnership and Union Revival in India 209
Abstract 209
11.1 Introduction 209
11.2 The Policy Debate on Indian IR 211
11.3 Methods and Settings 216
11.4 Union Experiences of Workplace Employment Relations 217
11.4.1 Employment Security 217
11.4.2 Unfair Labour Practices 218
11.4.3 Industrial Disputes and Dispute Resolution 220
11.4.4 Collective Worker Participation in Management 221
11.4.5 Direct Worker Involvement in Organizational Decision-Making 222
11.5 Discussion and Conclusion 224
Acknowledgements 227
References 228
12 Locating Worker Power in a Changing Bargaining Scenario 231
Abstract 231
12.1 Introduction 232
12.2 Are the Working Class and Labour Movement Withering Away? 233
12.3 State-Centred Industrial Relations in India and the Informal Workers 236
12.4 Organization of Informal Workers 238
12.4.1 The Self-Employed Women’s Association 238
12.4.2 The Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat 241
12.5 Workers’ Aggregation and Workers’ Power 243
12.5.1 Generating Worker Power 245
12.6 Conclusion 248
Acknowledgements 248
References 248
13 India at the Crossroads? Economic Restructuring, Deregulation and the Instability of Labour Relations 251
Abstract 251
13.1 Introduction 251
13.2 Economic Trends and Restructuring 253
13.2.1 Central Government Caution, Federalism and Domestic and External Pressures 255
13.3 Labour Relations and Change 256
13.3.1 The State, the Legal Framework and Collective Bargaining 257
13.3.2 Trade Unions and Employers’ Organizations 258
13.3.3 Key Issues and Recent Developments 260
13.3.3.1 Labour Law and the Labour Market 260
13.3.3.2 Special Economic Zones and Labour Relations 261
13.3.3.3 Federalist Dynamics and Implications 262
13.3.3.4 Central Government Policies and Dilemmas 263
13.3.3.5 Trade Unions and Conflict—Problems and Potential 265
13.4 Summary and Conclusions 268
References 270
Emerging Issues 274
14 Gestational Surrogacy in India: New Dynamics of Reproductive Labour 275
Abstract 275
14.1 Introduction 276
14.2 Researching Surrogacy in India: Ethnography and Analysis 276
14.3 Commercial Surrogacy as Reproductive Labour 278
14.4 From Analysis to Policy Matters: Ban or Regulate 282
14.5 “Fair Trade Surrogacy” and Dignity of Labour 286
References 289
15 Going Dutch, Remaining Indian: The Work Experiences of IT Expatriates 291
Abstract 291
15.1 Introduction 292
15.2 Theoretical Framework 294
15.3 Context of the Study 295
15.4 Method 297
15.5 Findings 298
15.5.1 Privileging Pragmatism 298
15.5.2 Layers of Hierarchy 299
15.5.3 The Appraisal Conundrum 301
15.5.4 The Plodding Indian 302
15.5.5 Segmented Acculturation 304
15.5.5.1 Altering Work Culture 304
15.5.5.2 Insulating Social Life 306
15.6 Conclusion 307
Acknowledgements. 308
References 308