AHMEDABAD: In developed Gujarat, the suicide rate of daily wagers increased by 50. 44 per cent in five years. About 9 daily wagers die by suicide every day. According to the data of the last 5 years presented by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in Rajya Sabha, this number is increasing continuously. The number of daily wage workers who died by suicide in 2017 amounted to 2,131, meaning that 6 workers were dying by suicide every day. In 2018, it increased to 2,522 with a massive jump of 18.34 per cent in a single year.
2019 reported 2,649 cases, 2020 saw 2,754 of them and 2021 reported 3,206 deaths of daily wage earners. Keeping in mind the increasing suicides ratio of labourers in Gujarat, Economists believe the daily wage rate is a major factor, as it is very low in Gujarat. Therefore, survival at a time of inflation becomes difficult for them.
Economist Indira Hirway said, “The average daily wage rate of workers in Gujarat is the lowest in India. The rate is Rs 295.9 for daily workers when it is Rs 837.7 in Kerala, Rs 478.6 in Tamil Nadu, Rs 519 in Jammu and Kashmir, Rs 462 in Himachal Pradesh, Rs 328.3 in Bihar and in it is Rs 313.8. The share of informal unorganized workers is much higher in Gujarat compared to the states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, among others.”
“The government has recently put Rs 8 lakh annual income as the poverty line for EWS, economically weaker section. At this rate, all unskilled and semi-skilled workers in Gujarat shall live much below the poverty line fixed by the government’s own standard,” she added. Construction workers union General secretary Vipul Pandya said, “The people who get employment in Gujarat do not get quality employment. Here, 85 per cent are in the unorganized sector, but not all of them get permanent work.”