Unpicking Precarity: Informal Work in Eastern India's Coal Mining Tracts

Main author: Noy, Itay
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-38257
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this article explores two widespread types of informal and precarious work in eastern India's coal mining tracts. It seeks to contribute to recent attempts to disaggregate the umbrella notion of precarity and the related concept of ‘classes of labour’ in the context of the global South. It does so by illuminating the more nuanced yet significant relative distinctions between different forms of precarious coal‐related work as perceived and experienced by labourers. The article illustrates how labourers evaluate such forms of work in relation to one another in terms of relative stability, autonomy, tempo and gender dynamics, which affect their livelihood decisions and activities. It thereby turns attention to differentiating dimensions of precarious work that are easily veiled in broad debates about precarity and ‘classes of labour’. Such dimensions are essential to probe — through comparative ethnographic study — to understand how people engage with different modalities of precarious work on the ground and how they configure their livelihood strategies in particular capitalist and social contexts.
format Journal Article
author Noy, Itay
author_facet Noy, Itay
authorStr Noy, Itay
author_letter Noy, Itay
title Unpicking Precarity: Informal Work in Eastern India's Coal Mining Tracts
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2023
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/38257/