Socio-economic status of workers of building construction industry

Abstract

Background:Informal/unorganised sector covers 92% of the total work force in India. About 50% of the construction industrial workers belonged to informal/unorganised sector.Material and Methods:The present study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of construction worker and availing of the social security measures by this working group.Results and Conclusion:The study covered 150 subjects with an average age of 32 years and mean duration of work was nine years. They were poorly paid with an average income of Rs. 4956/-per month. Though the literacy rate was high (79%) yet most of them were addicted to different habits like drinking alcohol, smoking bidi, tobacco chewing etc., Abusing the family members were noted in (30%) of the cases. Their regular intake of food, usually inadequate in quantity and was mainly consisted of rice, pulses, vegetables. Though most of the subjects (73%) were living in kacha houses yet the latrine facilities were available to 62% of total covered houses. Majority of them were unaware of the different social security schemes/measures. The details have been discussed here.

Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices

“…Reduced prices of fruits and vegetables lead to increased rates of consumption of these foods (Waterlander et al, 2013). The result that wages influence nutritional intake also corroborates with findings from Tiwary et al (2012), which reported that fruits and vegetable consumption among construction workers was rare, primarily due to the low wages they were paid. The studies by Du Plessis (2011,2012) also corroborate that wages, availability of foods, and cultural background including cultural beliefs and gender-based distinctions have influence on intake of fruits and vegetables among construction workers.…”

Prevalence of low back pain in migrant construction workers in Mar del Plata, Argentina

“…These findings are consistent with the observation that migrant construction workers, in their destination countries, frequently accept precarious employment conditions and perform risky tasks to work . In the case of Argentina, construction is one of the sectors with the most deregulation and labor flexibility, and in which the most migrants are used .…”

“…In addition, sociodemographics differed substantially. As in other studies, migrant workers were younger than local workers and most of them only had some form of primary education, while at least some of the local construction workers had received a secondary education. Many jobs on the construction site only require a low level of education, which is associated with simpler and potentially more hazardous jobs in this industry.…”

“…Employment and working conditions in the construction sector are generally driven by productivity and efficiency; informal or flexible employment and subcontracting are common, insufficient salaries of concern, long working hours standard, access to social rights frequently lacking, and regulation of occupational safety and health standards insufficient . Even worse seems to be the employment and working conditions of the high number of migrants working at construction sites across the globe . Migrants at construction sites were described as “invisible workers”, bonded laborers, and as those who face the greatest risk of injury and death …”

An organization based cross-sectional study of occupational injuries among bridge construction workers in an urban area of Mumbai

“…49.29%, similar study done by Tiwary and Gangopadhyay et al in India in which average age was 32 years out of 150 study subjects. 12 In our study majority 41.43% of subjects were educated up to primary school and 22.14% were illiterate, the study done by Tiwary et al literacy rate was 79% of the subjects and 10% of subjects have passed class X examination. 12 In a study by Shah and Mehta, 20% were illiterate and did primary education were 42.08%.…”