India adds 12 million people to the labour force every year, according to a McKinsey report — adding to the growing numbers of unemployed. In fact, we have young people old enough to work and not finding jobs and we have older people young enough to continue working and being thrown out of jobs. It’s catch-22 alright. But, in the context of the much-debated ‘labour reforms’ being initiated by the Government, it needs to be considered urgently, given that these so-called reforms seem oriented more towards plumping the nests of business and industry, not workers.

In an essay called ‘In Praise of Idleness’ written in the 1950s, philosopher Bertrand Russell argues for a reassessment of how we view ‘time’ and how we could use it in order to create a more equitable world. One way of doing this, he says, is to take a fresh look at how work is distributed. ‘Be employed’ for four hours a day, he suggests, and spend the rest of the day doing other things. In other words, my eight-hour job will be done by two people, four hours each. Each four-hour cycle will engage a different individual.

Of course, the money will be less but, appropriately re-constituted, it should be enough. If everyone at every level works like this, more people will have jobs and basic security. Better than this, though, they will now have the time to improve the quality of their lives. They will be free to study further, do voluntary work, spend time with the family, be healthier, be idle if they wish… but at the end of the day, be happier. And when civilisation ends, perhaps the gap between the haves and have-nots may have been bridged. Because really, there’s enough only for everyone’s needs, not everyone’s greed. Which is what the Government’s labour reforms will likely do: attempt to satisfy greed.

Sandhya Rao is Deputy Editor

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