Low Efficiency of Indian Labourers: 13 Main Causes

The following points highlight the thirteen main causes of low efficiency of Indian labourers with measures to improve it.

Causes of Low Efficiency of Indian Labourers:

1. Unfavorable Climate:

Our country falls in the north temperate type of climate, where the climate is hot. The workers feel fatigue and tired and they cannot work for longer period.

At present, scientific methods and being adopted to provide workers better working condition like air condition room, freeze cold water to drink, but they are not as per requirements.

2. More Hours of Work and Less Leisure:

Indian labourers are exploited. More than the required and fixed hours work is taken with less leisure hours. In foreign countries like Japan and America a worker has to work for five days in a week. They are allowed two days holiday to look after their own health and the welfare of the family members.

3. Place of Work:

Surroundings of the place of work where our workers do work are not healthy. Factories are not well-ventilated. Insufficient space is provided for movement between machines and provision for fresh water, refreshment and rest between work is not found.

4. Lack of Education and Training:

There is dearth of educated and trained labourers in India. Untrained and uneducated labourers do not understand the intricacies of his job in a better way.

5. Low Wages:

A worker who receives wages is low not even to meet the necessaries of life. Sufficiently low wage ensures inadequate standard of living with less efficiency. Therefore, it is essential that workers must be paid fair wage so that they may increase their standard of living.

6. Lack of Labour Welfare Activities and Social Security:

In India there is a less provision for welfare activities and social security for workers. But at present government has taken solid steps to improve the condition of social activities and social security activities. For example—Under Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 provision of social securities for workers.

7. Low Standard of Living:

Indian workers standard of living is very low because they get low wages. Provision for so much wages be made so that workers may have proper living accommodation and their children may have appropriate education.

8. Religious Factors:

Indian workers are more superstitious and they believe and depend more on luck. They fear more in name of religion. Therefore, they cannot take any such steps which may be considered against religion.

9. Use of Old and Obsolete Machines:

Majority of the industries in India are using old and obsolete machines. The effect of which is that in-spite of hard work, workers are not in a position to produce what is required. Lack of modern machines decreases efficiency of workers.

10. Lack of Efficient Management and Organisation:

In India there is lack of efficient and well organised management which works as obstruction in the efficiency of the workers.

11. Exploitation of Labourers:

In India, rich people mostly try to take more work from workers. They pay less wages and exploitation of workers is very common and is prevalent here.

12. Evils of Trade Unions:

To help workers, trade unions have not developed as is expected. Further, in trade unions itself, there is conflict and they quarrel for supremacy among themselves.

13. Indebtedness:

Indian workers are born in debt, live in debt and when they die they are in debt. They pay major part of their income as interest to the moneylenders. Unless these evils and short comings are not removed or some reform is not made Indian workers cannot have bright days.

Measures to Improve the Efficiency of Indian Labourers:

Economists are of this firm opinion that Indian labour is not regarded as very efficient. His productive capacity is low as compared with the European, the American and the Japanese Labour. For less efficiency Indian labourers are not very much responsible alone because they are without education and the climatic conditions in which they normally do work is un-favourable.

Further, the factory conditions are trying, wages are low and working hours are long. The entrepreneurs are themselves of lower efficiency. The workers mostly live in debt because they waste their money in drinking and gambling. It is really very surprising how under these circumstances the workers are able to do what they are doing.

Therefore, it has been suggested that in order to improve the efficiency of our labour, it will be better if we should impart them general and technical education. We should improve the working conditions in and around the factories as well as the living conditions of the workers. We should provide them with modern and up-to-date machinery, tools and proper materials.

Labour should be looked after in a better way. Their remuneration should be proper and incentive and the working hours should be reduced. Factory must be equipped with heating arrangements in winter season and cooling arrangements in summer season.

Further, the workers should be treated as human beings and not as the property or the slaves of the capitalists. If we will take all these measures then the efficiency of Indian labour is bound to go up and the production will increase.