Work and
Employment
In some rural
villages of the developing world, as many as 90% 1
of the inhabitants are involved in casual daily labour. This
is where they get paid on a daily basis for mainly agricultural or
construction work. This could be anything from working in the fields
ploughing, sowing or harvesting to working in an nearby rice mill. Either
way, the work is usually hard manual labour and the pay is very low, often
less than $1 a day.
If the family
is particularly poor, then all the members will be involved in this kind of
work. This includes the children and the elderly. Often the children will
drop out of school so that they can go and work in the fields alongside
their parents.
Unemployment
is a serious problem in many villages. This can usually be identified by the
large gangs of idle men and boys hanging around waiting for an opportunity
to work.
Due to the
need for the families to generate an income, as soon as the children leave
compulsory education (aged 14 or 15) they will become full time manual
labourers. This means they rarely get an opportunity to take part in further
education, such as college or university. This means that they start their
working life without any discernable qualifications or skills. In some
villages of rural Southern India, only 19% 1
of youth aged between 16 and 21 are involved in further education. The
other 81% 1 are engaged in unskilled daily
labour.
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