Indian labourers use hand carts to transport bricks at a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh on March 21.
“We were demanding that the factory be temporarily closed but work carried on,” said Thengde, a union leader who has worked for more than 30 years for Bajaj Auto Ltd – India’s biggest motorbike exporter. According to most estimates, the Indian economy will register a record contraction of over 4.5% in the current fiscal year that started on April 1 due to the pandemic.
Labour advocates, however, say the measures put in place do not go far enough, calling for more routine inspections, guaranteed living wages, as well as housing and transportation for workers during the pandemic. “Then I heard of workers falling sick and was worried,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.
“We’re taking care of every employee who is testing positive and have also extended outreach to the community,” he said.“I don’t want to fall sick,” Singh said, expressing a fear shared by many workers who are also desperate to start earning again.