Urban Livelihoods

Q31. In what ways is a permanent and regular job different from a casual job? Discuss.

Ans. Permanent and regular job – In Permanent and regular job employee get a regular salary every month. Apart from salary, also gets other benefits such as savings for old age, holidays, medical facilities for their family etc.

Casual job - There is no job security or protection in casual job. If workers complain about their pay or working conditions they are asked to leave. They are paid less and expected to work for very long hours.

Q32. What work does Sudha do?

Ans. Sudha is a marketing manager in a company which manufactures biscuits. She supervises the work of 50 salespersons who travel to different parts of the city. They get orders from shopkeepers and collect payments from them. She has divided the city into six regions and once a week she meets the salespersons of each region. She checks their progress report and discusses problems they face. She has to plan the sales in the entire city and often has to work late and travel to different places.

Q33. What are the benefits of a permanent job?

Ans. People in permanent jobs have following benefits:

                         i.        They get regular salary every month.

                        ii.        They can expect their job to continue for a long period of time.

                      iii.        They get off on Sundays and national holidays. They also gets some days as annual leave.

                      iv.        A part of their salary is kept in a fund with the government. They will earn interest on these savings. When they retire from their job they will get this money.

Q34. Talk to a shop owner in a market and find out how he plans his work. Have there been any changes in his business in the past twenty years?

Ans. He owns a garment shop in a busy market. He does financial planning and budgeting at the end of each month. He decides about the vendor to be contacted and types of garments to be ordered. He keeps in mind people’s preference and change in fashion while placing an order.

Yes, his business has been changed a lot with time. Previously, there were only 2-3 shops in the area. And therefore there was not much competition. Now, there are many shops in the area and customers are more aware. Now, he has to be more competitive.

Q35. Why did Harpreet and Vandana start a showroom? What do they have to do to run the showroom?

Ans. These days people prefer to buy readymade clothes, rather than have them stitched. The trend these days is for readymade garments. Therefore Harpreet and Vandana started a showroom.

For their showroom, they buy things from different places. They buy most of the materials from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Tripura. Some materials also come from Noida and Gurgaon, towns near Delhi. They get some dress items from foreign countries, too. There are several things they need to do to run this showroom properly. They advertise in various newspapers, cinema theatres, television and radio channels.

Q36. Write a note on the living conditions of workers who come to the labour Chowk.

Ans. Most workers that we find at the labour chowk cannot afford permanent accommodation and so sleep on pavements near the chowk, or they pay Rs 6 a night for a bed at a nearby night shelter run by the Municipal Corporation. To compensate for the lack of security, local tea and cigarette shops function as banks, moneylenders and safety lockers, all rolled into one. Most workers leave their tools at these shops for the night for safekeeping, and pass on any extra money to them. The shopkeepers keep the money safely and also offer loans to labourers in need. Thus, the living conditions of the workers are very poor and depressing.