TRIAL AND ERROR IN PRIVATISATION IN HYDERABAD 103
contractors are expected to participate. Although some contractors argue that these
days led to extra cost, none of them considers this problematic.
Most contractors emphasise that their labourers hardly ever create problems. Obvi-
ously, if they did they would be removed from the job quickly. The most common
problems in this respect are late arrival and absenteeism. However, the contractors say
that the labourers themselves usually send somebody else to replace them (either
friends or family members). Many contractors have made arrangements to this effect
with the labourers in order to avoid deductions by the MCH. Another problem
according to some contractors is ‘pressure’ by labourers to get paid. Often payment by
the MCH is overdue and therefore labourers also receive their pay too late.
Contractors generally do not fear organisation of their labour force. Only 12 percent
thinks labour unions might get a grip on their workers However, most contractors refer
to their own association and believe that they can jointly resist the danger of organised
labour. Furthermore, some contractors engage in practices to reduce the likelihood of
labour organisation by frequently changing labourers, offering only short-term
contracts, and dismissing of labourers who are members of labour unions or demon-
strate activism.
5.5. POSITION OF PRIVATE SECTOR LABOURERS
In order to get a comparative picture of the labourers active in solid waste collection,
170 interviews were carried out in all the circles in Hyderabad. Both types of
labourers, i.e. MCH and the private labourers, were interviewed with permission of the
Sanitary Supervisors
Background and economic position
Both categories of labourers share the same socio-cultural characteristics and can be
categorised under the same socio-cultural class. In general they are Hindu and belong
to the lowest casts and have none or only a few years of primary education. Most of
them were born in Hyderabad, however, with a sizeable group of second genera-
tion-migrants. More than 65 percent of the private labourers who were born in
Hyderabad have parents who came as migrants to the city, while this figure is 45
Table 5.5. Number and type of interviewed labourersType of labourer Kamatan (female) Kamatee (male) Lorry worker
MCH
Private
67 (78.8%)
74 (83.1%)18 (21.2%)
11 (12.4%)4 (4.5%)Source: fieldwork 1999