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I happen to listen to Kapil Sibal
in the Parliament during the FDI debate. He says the advantage India has is “its cheap labour”. Therefore more people will be employed, so wherein –we are
told- in Switzerland a Company will be able to afford to employ only few
people, the same Company is expected to employ more in India. The reason being
we are having ‘cheap labour’. This will increase employment opportunities. Indeed
we are incessantly fed by all kinds of ‘experts’ and economists that ‘cheap
labour’ is India’s major advantage for attracting investment.
What makes Indian labour cheap?
Concurrently I am also forced to think what makes a labour in Switzerland or
Denmark expensive? The work they perform are same, the duration is also same. Apparently
the competence and qualification are same. There doesn’t seem to be any
difference. So why are we cheap? It’s quite clear that difference is matter of
geography. How this then globalization? We are being fed (quite vociferously
bordering belligerence) that we cannot live in isolation in a globalised world.
We have to integrate with the world. It is getting clear that this integration
is for the benefit of the few. As Corporate finds it increasingly easy to hop
from one nation to another recruiting cheap labour, therefore maximizing
profit, a citizen (from poorer countries) find it increasingly difficult to
migrate. Visa restrictions have increased. It is also wishful thinking that
Corporate would recruit more, they aren’t bound to.
In a more civilized understanding
(which some economist may miss) these kind of classification of people as cheap
labour is exploitation. Indeed it is a grievous matter and violation of right
of equality in the globalised world. It is violation on basic rights of dignity
and equal compensation for equal work. It is startling that countries like
Denmark find themselves on the top of corruption free world, wherein people
earn with minimal of effort while across the world people struggle to earn
miniscule for the same effort. This is
discrimination and surely that is a form of corruption.
The argument here is that since we
are cheap therefore corporate will move here and so the pricy westerners will
have to reduce their value or suffer. But that doesn’t seem to be the case as governments
in US and Europe are actively pursuing to stop this slide. Indeed if people
don’t earn they will not spend therefore the system will collapse. Sounds logical
but it still doesn’t explain why people in poor societies are cheap despite
being qualified and talented. So are we to assume that if you belong to poorer
society then you are to be cheap. While a person in Denmark serving in a hotel
will earn much more than most software engineers in India.
In a globalised world capitalism
need to refine itself, and not become tool of exploitation by few in the name
of investment and employment. People in poorer societies are desperate, the
reason why it is important that their rights need be protected. The monetary
system seems to be carrying the legacy of colonialism. Capitalism seems to be having
some structural issue that is fueling discrimination. The whole concept of
cheap labour reeks of feudalism. Wonder what ILO has to say about ‘cheap
labour’.
