As I strolled in my neighborhood place, I observed a site where a hardworking valve man braving the heat just to check the pipelines if laid correctly beside there was a meticulous chemist who is diligently checking the water samples under intense heat and a skilled plumber resolutely fixing a leakage despite scorching heat waves. Other than these, there are several essential workers who are also deployed in various similar positions like Team leader, plant-in charge, Supervisor, Scada-in-charge, Scada operator, Pump operator, Lab technician, electrician, Helper/Watchman and laborers under Jal Jeevan Mission, yet their names remain a mystery to me. This situation incepting me with a central question: what happens to the workers’ sense of self when their effort is vital in our day-to-day life but invisible and unidentified to others?
The “Jal Jeevan mission” is a government-led scheme launched on 15th August 2019 designed with a primary goal to deliver adequate and reliable drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024. While the original goal was 2024, this deadline has extended to 2028. The secondary goal of this mission is to empower and develop the manpower that all are involved in this sector such as construction, plumbing, water quality management, water treatment plants, operation & maintenance works. I am hopeful that through this mission the efforts of these workers would now be addressed. Missions like this secures opportunities of livelihood to low wage earners whose pain of hard work is treated small compared to individual working in organized sectors. Let’s dwell more into this topic to know if my predictions about this mission’s wholesome success is actually true or not…
I want to give you a brief estimation about how this mission is cooperative in producing livelihood opportunities as they claimed in their Assessment report of employment generation potentials of Jal Jeevan Mission August 2023. This mission is not just a simple plan but a creation of public infrastructure that has a potential to generate direct and indirect employment counting both skilled and unskilled laborers.
The establishment of infrastructure which includes things like installing household tap connections, water storage tanks, treatment plants that also provide opportunities for livelihood in areas like laying pipes and other construction related fields. Deployment of skilled workers such as engineers, valve men, pump operators, managerial staff are required for proper execution of such planned activities. This is called the construction phase, which produces one-time employment.
The other stage is the O & M (operation and maintenance) phase where the employment is perpetual that also involves several skilled workers such as water man, pump operator and supervisor. Apart from this any further employment generated during the construction and O&M phase is substantially higher than direct as it leads to a multiplier effect in the rural economy. Local mason. Plumbers, electricians, material suppliers, transporters and even small vendors get indirectly involved.
This scheme of government is estimated to generate 2,82,48,478 employment at construction phase I and 13,25,918 employment at O&M phase II. Apparently, workers working in this sector are mainly belonging to the category of low to medium wage earners who are often employed to various labor-intensive industries like manufacturing, construction and agriculture.
According to me it is crucial to recognize and appreciate the grassroots workforce for the mission success as their lack of recognition can lead to them feeling more like cogs in a machine than valued contributors. Unlike in the organized sector, where recognition of work directly is linked with personal growth and development of individuals. People feel more motivated to work when efforts are acknowledged, their voices are heard and their contribution celebrated- creating a sense of ownership, dignity and purpose in their roles. Why is there such a distinction or disparity between small pay jobs and higher paid roles that the former remain underappreciated even within the same society? This question calls for deep and intentional thinking.
“Worker remain treated as worker, not human, if their labor is not recognized”
While the vision of this mission is commendable and transformative to ensure safe and adequate drinking water, the teams frequently endure multiple hardships during the execution of plan such as battling harsh terrain, limited resources and community resistance, yet the dedication and commitment to perform and complete work remain unnoticed. Their tireless efforts to fulfill the envisioned objective that appears small yet significant as no ordinary people would pay attention to such details however; their “small yet basic work” makes our life easier and more functional. Those hands that brought rejuvenated water to every household still remain overshadowed and underappreciated, yet they deserve honor, respect and lasting gratitude. I often wonder- if the objective of this mission is only limited to ensure safe drinking water or is it also to develop the sense of self worth among these workers ? For the work they perform though small-in-pay yet essential in purpose.
Based on my observations, I can conclude that such inequality in work structure often stems out because of deep rooted societal biases and flawed value systems nurtured decades by decades. There might be several factors supplementing in forming such beliefs in society. Few of them like:
Skewed Societal Equation of Wealth as Worth:
The concept of equating the worth with wealth is an inclination that society tends to follow. The status of the individual is determined by the incomes he earns or higher positions he holds in work structure. This leads to manual jobs or low paid work being seen as undignified, regardless of its impact and its necessity.
Visibility Biases: mental labor recognized and manual labor overlooked
It is apparently true that high paid roles involve more mental stimulation to make advanced decisions and have more visibility therefore given more recognition, while small pay jobs despite being crucial and necessary performed in the background…thus, efforts remain invisible to the eyes of normal people.
Prestige Narrative of education over skill sets:
Another significant factor is the narrative of considering formal education and white collar jobs as “prestigious” and physical or labor intensive jobs as fallback options, therefore this societal narrative often overlooks skill, grit is involved in such jobs.
Voices Unheard:
The workers of small pay jobs are generally not given an appropriate platform to share their stories, featured in media, policy making or public forum to negotiate better conditions as a result their voices are unheard.
Normalizing Invisibility:
Out of all, lack of recognition in these sectors have become normalized as no ordinary people like us ask questions about why grassroots level workers like plumber, fielder, sanitation workers receive no public thank-despite performing their life enabling duties.
I want to emphasize that “No work performed in menial, No contribution is invisible”. The society stands and survives not on creativeness and leadership but on quiet hands that build, cleans, grow and sustain. There’s a need to challenge the cultural script that undervalues certain roles, otherwise this imbalance will persist in their mind.
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