Urban Livelihoods - Class 6 Civics - Extra Questions

(i) They own their own shops or business. 

People in urban areas are engaged in a variety of activities in order to earn their living. Some are doing the work of a cobbler while some are barbers busy with their work. A number of people earn their livelihood by pulling a rickshaw. Vendors are also seen here and there selling household articles. In urban areas, showrooms of different items can be seen. These showrooms are run by businesspersons. These people employ a number of workers as supervisors and helpers for their showrooms. Several urban people are engaged in Factories where they work for long hours. They don't have job security still they continue their work because they don't have other options. But there are also people who do office work with full job security. They get a regular salary and enjoy other benefits of jobs like savings for old age, holidays, medical facilities, etc.
Working in Call Centres is a new form of employment in big cities. It has attracted a large number of young men and women. Thus, we see that with a growing population, job opportunities have also increased and people are availing these opportunities according to their talent and aptitude.

A Call Centre is a centralised office that deals with problems and questions that consumers / customers have regarding goods purchased and services like banking, ticket booking, etc.

One morning Mohan noticed that Raghu had shifted the bund by a few feet.

Call Centres in big cities are providing new job opportunities for young and enthusiastic men and women. A Call Centre is a centralized office that deals with problems and questions that consumers/customers have regarding goods purchased and services like banking, ticket booking, etc. Call Centres are generally set up as large rooms with work stations that include a computer, a telephone set and supervisor's stations. India has become a major centre not only for Indian companies but also foreign companies. They set up Call Centres here as they can get people who can speak English and will work for lower wages.

Labour chowk is a place where daily wage labourers wait with their tools for people to come and hire them for work.

In casual jobs, workers are not expected to complain about their pay or working conditions. If they dare to do this, they are instantly asked to leave. 

• Casual jobs do not provide security protection if there is ill-treatment. 
  
• Casual workers are expected to do work for long hours.
  
• Even if they don't complain, they can be asked to leave when workload is less.

They must have a license to do business.

Sudha works as a Marketing Manager in a company which manufactures biscuits. The factory where the biscuits are made is outside the city. Sudha supervises the work of 50 salespersons who travel to different parts of the city. They get orders from shopkeepers and collect payments from them. She has divided the city into six regions and once a week she meets the salespersons of each region. She checks their progress report and discusses problems they face. She has to plan the sales in the entire city and often has to work late and travel to different places.

Hawkers work on their own. They organise their own work. They know how much to purchase, as well as where and how to set up their shops. Their shops are usually temporary structures. Sometimes just some boards or papers spread over discarded boxes or may be canvas sheet hung up on a few poles. They may also use their own carts or simply a plastic sheet spread on the pavement. They can be asked to dismantle their shops at any time by the police.

Aftab is a wholesaler of vegetables. His work usually starts around 2 o'clock in the early morning. This is the time when vegetables reach the market or mandi and with them start the activities. The vegetables come in truck, matadors, etc. and soon the process of auctions begins. Aftab participates in this auction and decides what he will  buy. He buys vegetables in bulk. After that he sells them to hawkers and shopkeepers who usually come to him around six in the morning.

Men having permanent jobs get a regular salary with perks and other benefits every month.
They can expect their job to continue for a long period of time. 

In a garment factory a normal working day begins at 9 a.m. and finishes only by 10 p.m.

The kabadi wallah plays a major role in recycling household plastic and paper.

Collecting garbage is quite a dangerous job.

Street vending was till recently looked upon only as an obstruction to traffic and to people walking.

The crowd of labourers that is often seen in the morning at the chowks and crossroads is due to lack of employment and high poverty. These workers search for manual or labour work whole day and because there are many more, they get ready to work hard in even meager wages. They do not have their permanent accommodation and many of them have just migrated from rural areas in search of work. They being highly unskilled cannot afford to do any other job which requires specialisation. They are higly insecured and hand to mouth people. They rarely arrange work for durable period as face this difficulty every day of their life.

Name of the shop or office	Nature of the services provided
Garment showroom	It provides clothes as per the requirement of the customer.
Shop selling utensils,footwear,electronic goods,etc.	They provide household things.
Banks	They provide security and growth to our money.
Note: Students are suggested	to add more.

Complete the following table and discuss how their work is different:

Name	Place of work	Earnings	Security of work	Benefits received	Work on their own or employed
Bachchu Manjhi	Road	Rs 100 a day	No Security	No benefits	Work on his own
Harpreet Vandana	Showroom	Flexible	Their job is secured	They are planning to by a flat and car	Work on their own
Nirmala	Garment factory	Rs.80 a day	No security	She can earn extra money by working late	Employed
Sudha	Company office	She gets regular salary	Her job is secured	Holidays, medical facilities	Employed

In a permanent and regular job an employee gets a regular salary every month. Besides, a regular salary he gets other benefits such as savings for old age, holidays, medical facilities for his family, etc. Thus, his job is secured. But casual workers avail no job security. If workers complain about their pay or working conditions, they are asked to leave. They are also expected to work very long hours. They don't get other benefits like permanent employees.

Sudha is a permanent worker with a company. She gets several benefits along with her salary:  

Vending, hair-cutting, shoe-repairing, flower-selling etc.

1. Harpreet and Vandana are business persons.
2. Bachchu Manjhi is Rickshaw puller.
3. Sudha work as marketing manager.
4. Nirmala works as a tailor. 
5. Daily wage workers work as helpers for masons.

In a survey of Ahmedabad city it was found that 12 percent of all the workers in the city were people working on the street.

Vendors usually sell things that are often prepared at home by their families who purchase, clean, sort and make them ready to sell. Toys, garments, street food, household gadgets, etc. are the things they sell.