Labour and its characteristics:
1:- Definition of Labour:
In everyday speech, labor usually refers to physical
labor, such as the work of a road worker or a labourer in a factory, but in
economics the term labor is used in a much broader sense. Here, every work that
is done for compensation is considered as labor. According to the same
definition, where the work of a coolie or factory worker will be called labor,
the work of a professor, engineer, doctor, judge or secretary of a government
department will also be included in the category of labor. Therefore, any work
whether physical or mental, pleasant or unpleasant, easy or difficult, if there
is a consideration of compensation, it is called labor.
2:- Importance of hard work:
Out of the four birth factors of wealth, hard work is the factor that is of primary importance and is also considered a diligent and active factor. Man has cars, airplanes, radios, telephones, televisions, and countless other things. All these things are due to hard work and training. As if we can say that there is no substitute for hard work for economic development. In today's world, the helper of hard work can certainly exist, but it cannot be that progress can be made even without it.
3:- Characteristics of labour:
(i) Creation of goods and services:
Labor is related to the production of goods and services.
If a man works and goods and services are produced as a result, then we will
call this work labor. A tailor sews clothes with his sewing machine. And he
receives his compensation for these clothes. On the contrary, a man worships all
day this would not be labor because there will no be any production of goods
and services.
ii:- Material compensation:
Work that is done without material compensation is not
called labor. If the housewife cooks for her own family or if the head of the family teaches
the young children of his own, in which neither the housewife nor the head of
the family is paid, so the work of both of them will not be called labor.
Unlike when the housemaid cooks for which she is paid, the school master
teaches the children it will be considered labor in both cases.
iii:- Inseparability of labor from the worker:
One of the characteristics of labor is that it cannot be
separated from the worker. That’s why the labor is called subjective, for
example, take the example of a professor who is assigned to teach economics.
The amount of wealth of knowledge he possesses and the manner in which he uses
this treasure no one else can use it.
iv:- Labor is vary in itself:
The efficiency of different workers varies. Take two
members of the same house even if both are sons of the same father, living in
the same house and brought up in the same environment. But there is no
uniformity in the way of thinking and working ability of both. There is
definitely some difference in their work. Thus we also know that some labourers
are trained labourers and hard workers while some are unskilled, lazy and lack
courage.
v:- Lack of portability:
Labor has to face numerous difficulties in moving from
one place to another or from one profession to another, somewhere it faces
language difficulties, sometimes the difficulty of religion and culture,
somewhere the problem of living and education of children and the problem of
distance from loved ones and relatives because there are countless things in
which one has to think about it, on the contrary, capital is a process of birth
which can be moved anywhere and everywhere you want.
vi:- Weakening of bargaining power:
Since labor is highly malleable and labor cannot be
stored, the worker is unable to dictate terms to the employer. While fixing his
wages, he cannot keep his word with full confidence and usually he has to
accept a wage less than his capacity to produce. The capitalist takes great
advantage of this weakness of the worker and gets a high profit.
vii:- Inelasticity of supply:
Elasticity means that if there is a sudden increase in
the wages of labor, according to the principles of economics, its supply should
also increase, and if there is a decrease in the wages of labor for any reason,
then the supply of labor must also decrease. But in the practical world, it has
been seen that the increase in wages and the supply of labor remains the same
regardless of the increase or decrease in wages.
viii:- Unique impact on wages:
When a worker's wages fall then the other members of the house
also have to work to cover household expenses. On the contrary, when a worker's
wages increase and his income increases, he tries to take away his elderly
parents or sisters from work because he thinks that his income can cover the
household expenses. So the weak elderly
should rest.
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