Question

Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?

Answer 1

• To work on the agricultural fields, farm labourers are hired by large and medium farmers.
• Labour is the most abundant factor of production, among all three factors of production.
• As the opportunities of work are very limited in villages, there are more people who want to work as farm labourers.
• Many of these families do not have any land of their own.
• In Palampur, consider the example of a landless farm labourer who works on daily wages.
• The Government had set minimum wages at Rs 115/- (April, 2011), but the daily wage worker in Palampur gets just Rs 80/-
• Among farm labourers in Palampur, there is very heavy competition for work as a farm labourer, which results in a situation where people are willing to work for lower wages.