Agricultural Labor
Agricultural labor is a person who works on another land, does not participate in farm management and its maintenance, and receives money or a portion of the harvest in consideration for his service. He neither has any rights regarding the land nor does he have to bear any risk regarding the farm. Briefly, by agricultural labor, we mean such laborers who “earn their livelihood by working on agricultural farms.”
Definition
According to the Second Agricultural Labor Investigation society
Agricultural labor refers to that person who receives more than half of the income from agriculture. The agricultural labor family refers to that family, whose more than half of the income from agriculture.
Problems of Agricultural Labor in India
Describing the conditions of Indian agricultural labor P.T.Mayya writes,
The Indian laborer spends his days in dirt and mud. He produces food grains for us but remains hungry himself. He feeds our cows but never gets anything but water. He fills our stores with food grains but begs his own ration for the whole year. He continuously chops woods and fills water for those who have become rich on behalf of his labor. His condition is heart wrenching and Piteous.
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Excess Working Hours
The working hours of these laborers are not only irregular but also excessive. They have to work from morning to late at night. His working hours change with harvest, season, and work.
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Seasonal Employment
Agricultural labor does not get work for the whole year. According to the Second Agricultural Labor Investigation Society, Seasonal labor gets an average of 197 days of work in a year. Similarly, child labor gets 204 days and women get 141 days of employment. Thus, their average annual income is very lower.
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Low Wages
The wage level of agricultural laborers is extremely low compared to that of industrial labor. It has two