This book focuses on the core problems of occupational health, safety and well-being of workers in the informal sector in developing countries, where it accounts for most of the rural labour force and a substantial percentage of the urban labour force. The sector is characterised by low incomes, unstable employment and lack of protection in the form of legislation/policies or trade unions. Though some health and problem-solving measures have been introduced, a focused academic effort to address the problems confronting workers in the unorganised sector, or informal economy, is lacking.
The book evaluates workers’ physical and mental health in the context of labour migration, social inclusion of minorities and the differently abled, provisions for women workers, demonetisation, occupational safety for hazardous work, and in connection with various areas of informal work, e.g. agriculture, construction, transportation, sanitation, tanning, the tobacco industry, powerloom industry, surrogacy, and self-employment. It provides a well-rounded description of an analytical reflection on the challenges these workers face and focuses on social policy changes to help alleviate them. Accordingly, it offers a valuable asset for researchers and students interested in development studies, the sociology of work, health and labour economics, public health, and social work.
Sigamani Panneer, PhD, is an Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Social Work, and Coordinator of the Department of Applied Psychology at the Central University of Tamil Nadu, India. He has been a Visiting Professor at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, USA; Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, China; Jishou University, China and Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur, India. He has published numerous articles in national and international journals, and 11 academic books.
He is a recipient of the prestigious Raman fellowship (Singh-Obama initiatives) hosted by the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, USA. A distinguished researcher, he has also been the Principal Investigator (PI) of a major research project funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi; co-PI of an Extramural Research Project funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi; co-PI of a Global Spotlight Research Project funded by the University of Minnesota, USA; and co-PI of the Indo-US 21st Century Knowledge initiative project funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) through the United States–India Educational Foundation (USIEF). His research interests include occupational health, healthcare management, public–private partnerships, evidence-based health policy, networking governance and human resource management.
Sanghmitra S. Acharya, PhD, is a Professor at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She served as Director of the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi from 2015 to 2018. She has been a Visiting Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Ball State University, USA; University of the Philippines Population Institute, Manila; the East West Center, Hawai'i; and the University of Botswana. She was awarded an Asian Scholarship Foundation fellowship in 2005. She has three books and thirty research articles to her credit. Her recent work (coedited) includes Marginalization in Globalizing Delhi: Issues of Land, Labour and Health (Springer, 2017). Her research interests include health and sexuality among youth; gender in urban spaces; and social discrimination in health care access.
Nagarajan Sivakami, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Work, Central University of Tamil Nadu, India. She has 14 years of teaching and administrative experience and has written 12 book chapters and journal articles. Her research interests include development management, participatory research, and policies concerning women and child welfare.
