Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Casualisation of the workforce makes workers highly vulnerable.
Reason (R): Over the last five decades, people in India have moved from self-employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Assertion (A): Casualisation of the workforce makes workers highly vulnerable. — True. Casual workers are the most vulnerable group of workers.
Reason (R): Over the last five decades, people in India have moved from self-employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work. — True. This shift itself is what is called casualisation of workforce.
Why R does not explain A?
R only tells us that casualisation has taken place. It does not say why a casual worker is worse off.
The real explanation of A lies in the nature of casual work. A casual worker is paid only by a daily or periodic contract. He has no secure job and no social security cover. The Ahmedabad mill workers lost these when they were driven into the informal sector.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.6 Growth and Changing Structure of Employment … The distribution of workforce in different status indicates that over the last five decades (1972-2024), people have moved from self-employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work. Yet self-employment continues to be the major employment provider. … Scholars call the process of moving from self-employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work as casualisation of workforce. This makes the workers highly vulnerable. …” “Box 6.2: Informalisation in Ahmedabad … These workers had, over the course of the century, acquired a certain degree of income security. They had secure jobs with a living wage; they were covered by social security schemes protecting their health and old age. … In Ahmedabad, the process of closure was long drawn out and spread over 10 years. Over this period, approximately over 80,000 permanent workers and over 50,000 non-permanent workers lost their jobs and were driven to the informal sector. …” Glossary: “Casual Wage Labourer – A person who is casually engaged in others’ farm or non-farm enterprises and, in return, receives wages according to the terms of the daily or periodic work contract.” |