Our Real Life Heroes

“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of being unwanted. Appreciation must come from within. It is not important to wait for acknowledgement in return. This is not sincere appreciation” – Mother Teresa

I believe in the phrase “humans are the best Creation of God”; no human is inferior to another. Everyone is unique and has their potential and can provide significantly for the growth of society, no matter what work they do. Every single individual who is working is important and valuable in every way and has to be respected. Everyone is working for some reason; few are lucky to do their work based on their interest and passion. But most people do not tend to get the job they like but continue to do to feed and nourish their family.

We live in a country with a population of over 2 billion. And a large chunk of the population works as laborers and is often judged based on their work. The domestic workers, the labourer at the service delivery, agricultural farm, construction site or factory are constantly humiliated in their workplace and face constant wrath of the public. They deserve respect and dignity as their contribution is as equal as other professions. This is the bare truth we need to recognize and give due diligence to them.

“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.” — Albert Einstein

We have a mindset that only if you own a high-profile job or earn decent pay will you be considered an important and successful person. Others who are not in that position are considered not important. The companies, schools, and hospitals don’t run just with the help of engineers, teachers, and doctors. But instead, you also need the help of an attendant, peon, clerk, sweepers, nurse, and the one who provides tea to all employees at the time. Only if they are punctual in the work, then the institution will function smoothly. The people in power and the ones belonging to the elite club often take advantage of the vulnerability of laborers for their lifestyle and their own benefit.

“An ordinary labourer without education is better than an idle educated man because he earns his bread with the sweat of his brow”

All professions are connected to each other. We can’t pass a single day without the help and co-operation of other workers in society. What will happen if everyone wants to become an engineer, accountant and take up other high-paid jobs? Who would keep our city clean? From where would we buy our provisions to meet our daily needs? Who will drive the public transport? There arise many questions to which we won’t have an answer. We can’t expect to have vegetables on our tables if we don’t have enough farmers in our country. You expect your food to be delivered on time, but you don’t respect the guy delivering it? How can we complain about someone who is providing you service?

During the first wave of Covid -19, the unorganized workers of our country suffered the most. After an unplanned lockdown was announced with no preparatory guidelines, many workers throughout the country were left to their own fate. The state abandoned them, and the political parties started the blame game, letting them down completely. It was this betrayal of a regime that resulted in the exodus of workers. It showed the utter truth of our broken system made with corruption.

“A nation that doesn’t give importance to the Dignity of labour cannot prosper.”

Our nation can never achieve a five trillion dollar economy with such a bad reality. Development in the agriculture industry and trade can only be achieved by stressing the dignity of manual labour. These workers are hired based on agreements to evade direct nexus between the employers and workmen. They perform the difficult and the most dangerous job in our country, but they do not have any legal protections and safeguards.

The dignity of labour is a joke in the country where the workers don’t receive any minimum pay and are constantly disgraced, shamed and making them embarrassed about themselves. A study was conducted on the condition of laborers by many committees, including the labour bureau, ministry of labour, before and after independence. All these have found their situation to be shocking and exploiting in nature taking a big toll on human rights. The unorganized workers need medical support, unemployment benefits, gratuity, maternity leave, and life insurance. The current national minimum wage that the Central Government recommends is not nearly enough for a person to live on, let alone an entire family. A country with the 5th largest economy in the world can show at least this much institutional support and care for the people whose name always holds the reins of power.

"Never take a person's dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you." -Frank Barron

Yes, some work requires more training and experience than others. And some jobs carry more responsibility and have a great status with more payment. But, that doesn’t mean one job is more important than another. Honouring all laborers and giving due respect to all professionals will make them realize their importance in society and encourage them to give their best to their profession or labour. We have to consider this as an issue and tackle it by giving workers a decent minimum wage, encouraging them to different jobs, understanding that we are all the same, and respecting each other, thereby living in peace and harmony.

By, Fadhl ur Rahman

Editor: Aasia

SOURCES:

heraldgoa.in/Other-Voices/Dignity-of-Labour/135073 – main content

https://www.indiaspend.com/governance/migrant-workers-no-reliable-data-or-policy-737499

https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/respect-all-professions-equally-they-all-contribute-to-society

Images are used from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dignity-labour-what-really-pravin-agarwala/