By Dhirendra Prasad Sah,
Rajbiraj, May 1:There is a celebration of the Labor Day in one side of the world, while the other side is working one’s fingers to the bone just to make ends meet.
52-year-old Somnath Yadav of Rupani Rural Municipality of Saptari district, just like any other day, reached the labor fair today located at Rajbiraj in search of work.
Just like him, Kailu Sada of Rajbiraj-9 waited for a job to ease his hand-to-mouth struggle for the day, but both returned empty-handed.
On the verge of crying, Kailu said, “I am worried about feeding my family tonight. How can I buy food for my family today?”
Since dawn each day, a vast majority of daily wage workers line up waiting for work in the Labor fair, which takes place around Gajendra Chowk of Rajbiraj district. However, barely, they get work every day that puts food on the table. This makes a living very difficult for wage workers like Somnath Yadav and Kailu Sada.
Local entrepreneur Than Singh Bhansali said that 75 per cent of wage workers return home empty-handed for lack of work.
People seeking workers for basic construction, cleaning, or agricultural tasks come to the labor fair to hire laborers.
Another daily wage earner, Shyam Sundar Khanga, said they earn around Rs 700–800 a day when they find work, but get jobs for only about 10 days a month, thereby remaining idle the rest of the time.
“Around 150-200 gather in a place, and only when we find work for the day, we can manage to feed the family for the day; otherwise, we are compelled to sleep on an empty stomach,” said Ajay Sada.
Due to the lack of industries, factories, and employment opportunities in the district, the workers are forced to depend on insecure and precarious labor.
According to them, getting regular work is the biggest happiness, even more than the formal programs of workers’ rights and the day.
Workers said, “For us, the real celebration is not Labor Day, but the day we get work.”