Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile of Labourers in Construction Industry of Varanasi City (India)

Unorganised labour sector covers more than 90 per cent of the total work strength of India. Among these unorganized workers more than half of the construction workers belong to the informal sector. The present study aim to assess the demographic and socio-economic profile of the workers engaged in construction work in Varanasi City, India. A primary survey conducted during the period of June-September, 2016, individual level primary data has been collected from the targeted population using multi-stage convenience sampling method. It was found that more than half of the workers were from the age group of 20−35 and most of them belong to local SC or OBC category. The average household size of labourers was found to be 6.92 per cent, which was more than the national average. More than 86 per cent of the workers in the city do not have a permanent house to live in. It was estimated as monthly income (indirectly based on expenditure and saving) of the labourer group is only Rs. 10278/- (less than 160$). This paper recommends that there is an urgent need to pay attention on government policies to improve the overall socio-economic and working conditions of the construction workers