Question

Read the extract and answer the following:

Labour refers to any physical and mental endeavour undertaken for the purpose of producing a good or a service. In India, in 2012 there were 487 million workers, the second largest after China. About $94\%$ of Indian Labour is involved in the unorganised sector comprising semi-skilled and unskilled workers ranging from push cart vendors to home-based diamond and gem polishing operators. The organised sector includes workers employed in the public sector and the private sector.

(1) Explain any four special characteristics of labour.

(2) With suitable examples explain three classifications of labour.

(3) Define efficiency of labour. Briefly explain the impact of technology on the efficiency of labour.

Answer 1

(1)

(a) Perishable in Nature: This simply means that labour has no storage capacity or it can not be stored. If a worker does not turn up to work for one shift his labour of that shift is lost completely. It cannot be stored and utilized the next day.

(b) Labour is Inseparable from the Labourer: This means the physical presence of the labourer is compulsory. We cannot separate him and his labour power.

(c) Labour is Heterogeneous: We cannot expect labour to be uniform. Every labourer is unique and so his labour power will also differ from the others.

(d) Not Easily Mobile: Labour as a factor of production is mobile, i.e. the labourers can relocate to the site of work. But there are many barriers to the movement of labour from one place to another.

(2)

(a) Physical and Mental Labour: eg: -The work of Rickshaw Puller is physical while that of a lawyer or teacher is mental work.

(b) Skilled and Unskilled Labour: eg:- The work of an engineer is skilled while that of a porter carrying luggage is called unskilled labour.

(c) Productive and Unproductive Labour: eg:- Works of doctors, engineers are productive where the works of thieves, dacoits are unproductive to the society.

(3) The efficiency of labour is the productive capacity of a worker. It denotes the ability of the worker to do more work or better work during a given period of time. Technology will increase the efficiency of labour as it reduces the time needed to complete labour by making it fast.