Cost of Labor

By: Prem Prasad Sigdel

The cost of labor is too much but we don’t have the habit of valuing. We have taken labor as an extra subject matter which can be easily got or it’s like a leisure activity in our life. Most of the Nepalese don’t prefer labor as they criticize it as useless subject. Though the cost of labor is high, no government or the individual can realize it and do effort to promote. The labors and their condition were often ignored deliberately as the labor was ignored. Thus it hampers the development activities of the nation. We can understand the cost of labor from four different perspectives like: social, economic, physical, and psychological perspective.

The social perspective of labor is too bad or our societal norms haven’t valued the cost of it. The labor is regarded as a mean job or the persons who involve in such activities would be hated as poor. The labors haven’t got any respectable position in the society. They are blue collared and they have been given the last position or often ignored deliberately. Their social recognition is low or often ignored. They have been regarded as labors by their relatives and neighbors as well. On the other hand, the society would respect such persons who haven’t worked at all though they have nothing to feed in their home. Or the persons who involve in cheating would be regarded as prestigious man.

From economic perspective they earn less in comparison to others. The job of labor is disliked as well as the labors and they have been paid less. Unlike other jobs the labors have been paid less due to the unemployment condition of the country. They aren’t able to bargain because of their economic condition so they have been paid less. The country can’t systematize the tax policy so there is less development budget in comparison to ordinary budget. Moreover, the less development budget also can’t be spent on time and the labors can’t get job opportunities. Mostly the development activities are in the reach of well-to-do people; or they have bribed; or do less qualitative work in fewer budgets which also affects labors. Hence it affects their economic condition so they remain poor throughout their life. On the other hand, they have less earning whereas the market price high so they spend what they have earned.

The physical side of labor is also too miserable as they have done manual jobs. They have taken less nutritious food in comparison to others and they seem physically weak. However, they are healthy in the sense that they work throughout the day and got sound sleep and they don’t have digestive problem. Mostly they have taken meat items which also don’t help in their health. They have taken low quality of wine and other things which make their body weak. So their physicality seems too much weak, unhealthy and lanky. They have dirty physique as they don’t get time to take bath. Mostly, in Kathmandu city, labors haven’t got any water to drink, cook and bath, thus their physical appearance is also dirty and miserable.

The psychological perspective comes as the sum up point of the above all conditions. They have been hated or neglected by the society, economically poor and physically miserable. All these conditions determine their psychology as they are weak and seem like beggars. Though they aren’t the beggars they have been treated as mean creatures which affect their psychology. We have seen them always drinking and speaking rough words one another which reflects their poor psychological condition. We should value them as independent men but they sociological condition of them rated them as poor and useless. Though they work throughout their life they don’t have life security. Their family also enters into the vicious circle of poverty and they can’t afford for their old age. So they are psychologically poor as the boss has made them like horse neither they wouldn’t be favored.

The cost of labor is too high from all perspectives as the country is underdeveloped. If we can’t improve their condition, we will always remain same till long. Respecting labor means to initiate the development of the country. If we can value their cost the idle men will also be attracted towards work that can expedite the development work in the country.