Bread Labor can restore the dignity of Physical Labor-- A clarion call on International Labor Day 2024

Happy International Labor Day 2024.

This is a commemorative event to appreciate the contributions of Laborers and their role in the Global economy. They are indeed the true ambassadors.

_{Source- InLeo GIF}

ILO- International Labor Organization, founded in 1919, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, a UN agency set the international labor standard.

Labor and Labor class are two different things. And there are different types of labor. The conditions of different types of labor have a profound bearing on social equality which I am going to explain in detail in this article.

Before that, I would like to brief you on the constitutional provisions related to labor in India and the historical background of Labor Day.

History of Labor Day

The genesis of Labor Day is rooted in the Labor Union Movement in the USA back in 1886 and it is also remembered as the Haymarket affair of 1886 in Chicago, USA.

It started in 1886 on 1st May in the USA with demand to make working hours a max of 8 hours a day.

It was a peaceful rally that turned into a violent clash and ended up with severe casualties.

Labor Day in India

In India, it was celebrated for the first time in 1923, in Chennai(Tamil Nadu).

Constitutional provisions related to Labor

Fundamental Rights

• Article 19(1) (c)- Right to form Labor Unions
• Article 21- Protection of Life and Personal Liberty
• Article 23- Prohibition of Forced Labor, Prohibition of Human Trafficking
• Article 24- Prohibition of Child Labor

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Directive Principles of State Policy

• Article 43- The state should secure a living wage and decent conditions of work for workers.
• Article 43A- Participation of workers in the management of industries

Concept of Bread Labour

It's a Gandhian Philosophy that invokes the concept of Bread Labour to harmonize equality in society.

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Here Bread is not limited to the bread we consume, rather it is metaphoric and signifies humans' physical consumption.

Naturally, one would choose a profession based on his/her aptitude, qualification, skillsets, etc. So there is no dispute on the question of choosing a professional of one's choice.

But the class division of society exists at many levels and in very nuanced forms. One such division of society is rooted in superior/inferior labor.

For example, physical labor is considered inferior to mental labor, wherein mental labor is considered sophisticated, intelligible, and better than physical labor.

Class division of society is not rooted in the choice of labor or division of labor in society, but rather in stereotypes or conditions of social arrangement where a perception is created in which physical labor is considered inferior to mental labor.

This perception has been accentuated for generations, for centuries; as a result, it has produced a feudalistic mindset in the society, where even the cleaning job, household jobs, cooking, laundry, gardening, and daily errands are considered menial jobs. An affluent person, an elite class, an educated person, etc is not supposed to do this kind of job, because these are inferior for them. Such a perception and stereotypes breeds inequality.

That is how class division thrives for wrong reasons and when such a perception is deep-seated in the society, even when social upward mobility is available for all on account of meritocracy, and hard work, once the lower starts scale up that rank of upper strata they also tend to pamper such feudalist mindset and tend to do away from menial jobs or look down upon physical labor.

Gandhi's concept of Bread Labour seeks to restore the dignity of labor. Just like basic needs are equitable among all classes that exist in society so should be the obligation of common minimum physical labour.

When a society and the social arrangement thereof obligates everyone irrespective of class to do the common minimum physical labor towards production and at least to the extent to compensate his/her consumption, physical labor will not be looked down and the dignity of labor can be restored in a true sense.

Beyond the Bread Labor, everyone is free to choose any kind of labor/profession in line with their skillsets, aptitude, expertise, etc.

Bread Labor makes it(labor) equitable between rich and poor. Then a poor is not designated on account of the physical labor he does. Sources of discrimination and stereotypes will take a backseat and there will be a new wave of moral regeneration in society and a more congenial ground for equality.

Conclusion

With Bread labor in place, social upward mobility will not create a vicious cycle of feudalism/discrimination/stereotypes and that will harmonize social equality.

This is my participation for the Initiative: May Monthly Prompt

Check out the above post if you are keen to participate in a particular topic of the day.

Thank you.