Centre for Labour Research and Action 4 Fruit of labour Rosa Luxemberg Stiftung-South Asia Fruit of labour Migrant workers in the Vineyards of Nashik, Maharashtra A report by Anushka Rose and Vijeta December 2021 Centre for Labour Research and action Supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – South Asia Fruit of labour 5 Acknowledgment First and foremost, we would like to offer our sincerest gratitude to our respondents – men, women and children – the workers who migrate from blocks of Dang and Surgana to work in the vineyards of Nashik. We are grateful to them for agreeing to be part of our endeavour, generously and patiently offering us insights into their lives, experiences, and their work. This study would not have been possible at all without their cooperation and support in every step in the way. We would like to express our gratitude to data collection team in Surat. It was through their network of dedicated and committed team of workers that we could access workers in their source as well as the destination of migration. We would take this opportunity to specially mention Mr. Denis Macwan, Mr. Shantilal Rawat, Mr. Jayesh Gamit, Ms. Vanita Rathod, and Mr. Jitu Bariya. The team has walked with us from the beginning of the study and supported us immensely through out the period of the study. This book would be incomplete without acknowledging the unwavering support of our funding partners Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung e.V. We wish to particularly acknowledge Mr Rajiv Kumar and his team who have always been cooperative and supported us in all our endeavours. They have encouraged us to persevere and pursue our work with the informal workers of the unorganized sector. Last, but not the least, we would like to offer our earnest and humble gratitude towards our colleagues and team members at CLRA – especially our Secretary Mr Sudhir Katiyar. From the inception of the study and till the culmination – our colleagues have supported us profusely and this endeavour would not have borne fruit without their critical insights and contribution. This study is a fruit of a collaborative effort and collective labour; however, the faults, if any, solely belong to the authors. Date: December 2021 Anushka and Vijeta Data collection team: Mr. Denis Macwan, Mr. Shantilal Meena, Mr. Jayesh Gamit, Ms. Vanita Rathod, and Mr. Jitu Baraiya. Photography: Shailesh Choudhari, Jitu Baraiya, Anushka Rose Map: Jitu Baraiya 1: Shailesh Choudhari is a worker from Dang who migrated to the Vineyards of Nashik. He was working with his team when he shared pictures with us of the processes as he and his team were working through the season from September to December 2021. 6 Fruit of labour Design: Bindu Printed at: Amaira Creations Fruit of labour Migrant workers in the Vineyards of Nashik, Maharashtra A report by Anushka Rose and Vijeta December 2021 Centre for Labour Research and action Supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – South Asia Fruit of labour 1 2 Fruit of labour CONTENTS Foreword 2 Report: Chapter 1: Introduction 4 Chapter 2: Review of Literature Tracing Grape Production in India 7 Chapter 3: Methodology and the Methodical Framework of the Study 12 Chapter 4: Locating Labour Processes in the Vineyards 14 Chapter 5: Migrant Workers in Vineyards: Understanding the Migration Stream and Demography of the Workers 20 Chapter 6: Working and Living Conditions of the Migrant 24 Workers in the Vineyards Chapter 7: Concluding Remarks 38 Appendix Appendix 1: Occupational Safety and Hazards and the Vineyard Workers 46 Appendix 2: Village Schedule 48 Appendix 3: Household Schedule List of Maps and Diagrams List of Tables References 50 55 56 57 Fruit of labour 3 ForEwOrd The present study is a description on “Profile and Working – Living conditions of Migrant workers in the Vineyards of Nasik, Maharashtra”. It is based on action research carried out by Centre for Labour Research and Action (CLRA). This study is in continuation of series of action research on cases of an unorganized sector migrant workers. Earlier CLRA has accomplished investigation on migrant workers who are earning livelihood in brick-kilns, construction activity, sugarcane – harvesting and agriculture labour in Saurashtra region. Grapes are cultivated in an area of 152 thousand hectare with a total production of 3229 thousand tons in mainly Nashik and Sangli districts of Maharashtra state of India and the country earned Rs.2177 crores during the year 2020-21 from export. Likewise the other cases of cash-products in agricultural sector, the prosperity that the vineyards produce bring to the capital and to the state, has never trickled down to migrant workers as the present report starkly indicates. Grape cultivation and its revenue has flourished exponentially over the years because of collective efforts of producers and whole-hearted support from governments. It is labour intensive in nature as technology is not of much use. Migrant work force becomes essential to the vine yards as they are pliable to difficult conditions of work. The migrant workers are primarily belonging to Nashik district and the Dangs district of neighbouring Gujarat. Tribals form the huge majority of them. Labour have been hired on contract basis and payment is made on the basis of work being done in area of land (hectare). 4 Fruit of labour Workers are mostly young and compare to other agriculture work receive higher wages. However, they suffer from physical exhaustion and set of diseases. All in all, even though the working conditions are slightly less oppressive and pathetic than sugarcane harvesters of south Gujarat region for instance, the wages they have been receiving are highly incommensurate and inadequate to their work. Centre for Labour Research and Action has added another research endeavor in their series of scientific investigations on unorganized sector rural labour. These huge masses of migrant labour are largely remained invisible from mainstream data sets cherishing progress of cash crop economy in agriculture sector. CLRA is doing commendable and thoughtful work in bringing forth the pathetic conditions of these unorganized sector migrant rural labour through this series of action research by primarily and rightly applying qualitative methods. December 2021 Prof. Kiran Desai, Centre for Social Studies, Surat Fruit of labour 5 INTRODUCTION In the month of February, as one drives down from Saputara in Dang towards Maharashtra – one observes grape farms stretching well into the horizon. As one proceeds to move through Kalvan towards Vani in Dindori – one can see that the bunch of grapes are ready to be harvested and they await the arrival of workers from the neighbouring blocks within the district of Nashik as well as the Dangs from Gujarat. Grape (Vitis vinifera) is a sub- tropical fruit that is cultivated in India for its excellent productivity under tropical conditions. Grapes are cultivated in an area of 152 thousand ha with a total production 3,229 thousand tons and productivity of 21.24 metric tons/ha. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) estimate that grape farming covered an area of 123 thousand hectares occupying 2.01 % of the total area. The country had exported 1,93,690.55 MT of table grapes to the world for the worth of Rs.2,176.88 crores/ 298.05 USD Millions during the year 2020-21 . The arbour system followed for grape cultivation in India has resulted in highest productivity among the grape growing countries of the world. Major grape-growing states in India are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the north-western region covering Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. According to the sources cited by APEDA, Maharashtra ranks first in terms of production accounting for more than 81.22 % of total production and highest productivity of grapes in the country. Within Maharashtra, Nashik and Sangli districts are the largest producers. Apart from these, grapes are also grown in the districts of Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Solapur and Osmanabad districts. Nowadays, grapes are produced in Latur district of Marathwada as well. However, Nashik and Sangli districts are ahead in the production of grapes in a scientific manner. Located in the east of the Western Ghats, the vineyards in Nashik are based in a semi-arid zone which is endowed with black soil and suitable climatic conditions conducive for grape cultivation. Maharashtra ranks first in terms of production accounting for more than 81.22 % of total production and highest productivity of grapes in the country. Within Maharashtra, Nashik and Sangli districts are the largest producers. Apart from these, INTRODUCTION 2. http://agriexchange.apeda.gov.in/prodgallery/prdprofile_moa.aspx?hscode=08061000 3. http://www.apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/SubHead_Products/Grapes.htm 4. Arbour is a garden structure on which plants and vines can grow 6 Fruit of labour CHAPTER 1 Fruits Of Labour Fruit of labour 7 grapes are also grown in the districts of Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Solapur and Osmanabad districts. Nowadays, grapes are produced in Latur district of Marathwada as well. However, Nashik and Sangli districts are ahead in the production of grapes in a scientific manner. Located in the east of the Western Ghats, the vineyards in Nashik are based in a semi-arid zone which is endowed with black soil and suitable climatic conditions conducive for grape cultivation. Area under grapes in Maharashtra is 105.50 thousand ha and production stands at around 2,286.44 thousand tons of grapes annually. Total export of grapes from India was 246.107 thousand metric tons during 2020-21 valuing of Rs. 2298.47 crores, out of which, nearly 80% was exported from Maharashtra. The project team during their visits in the Dang came across workers who migrate to work in the vineyards located across the northern district of Nashik in Maharashtra. It was through a series of interactions with the workers who worked in the grape vineyards that the team got an impression about the conditions of work. The team members wanted to investigate if the condition of agricultural workers in the grape farming were any better than the migrant workers in the other sectors. Did the prosperity that the fruit seems to bring to the nation and the state seldom trickled down to its workers? Thus, the team proposed to map the condition of work and living of the workers who migrate to work in the vineyards. the labour chowk in Vani. The teams of workers had arrived with their belongings to harvest the grape farms – an activity that would continue for the months of February and March. The discussion with the workers revealed that some of them were also part of the workforce that was involved in the cultivation of grapes that migrated for relatively longer duration in the months beginning from September to January – who were colloquially referred to as the tender workers. The preliminary insights that were shared along with the absence of recent studies on the labour performed by migrant workers in the vineyards in Nashik, Maharashtra. Formed the bases of investigation for the present study and presented a need to a.) Understand the extent of migrant agricultural wage labour in grape vineyards, b.) Document the labour processes, mode of recruitment, and working conditions in grape cultivation and harvesting in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. Accordingly, the objectives of the study took the following shape: It was in this context that the RLS project team undertook a recce in February 2021 to Kalvan, Dindori, and Niphad -in the Nashik District – to get an impression of the landscape and form a preliminary understanding of how the labour processes were organised in the cultivation of grapes. · Mapping the migration corridor and the socio- ethnic profile of the migrant agricultural labour to the vineyards · Mapping the contractual arrangement as practiced among the workers · Map the conditions of work, work arrangements, resultant The team met a group of harvesters at 5. https://www.ijcmas.com/special/11/A.V.%20Mhetre,%20et%20al.pdf 6. http://agriexchange.apeda.gov.in/prodgallery/prdprofile_moa.aspx?hscode=08061000 8 Fruit of labour CHAPTER 2 Tracing Grape Cultivation in India Table grapes have been grown for local consumption for centuries in the Indian subcontinent. There were well established evidences that trace grape cultivation in India to 1300AD, evidence of which were available from Afghanistan and Persia traders (Todkari, 2012). However, commercial grape cultivation was a recentphenomena. The commercial production of grapes started in India only after introduction of seedless varieties, particularly Thompson Seedless, which was introduced in Maharashtra during 1960s (Gawande, 2021). Naik (2006) discussed trajectories of grape cultivation and institutional development, explaining how the period of 1960s period was pivotal for rise in grape farm- Fruit of labour 9 ing. There was an important institutional development by the producers - the Maharashtra State Grape Growers’ Association (MSAMB) that was formed in 1961 by a group of 25 grape producers across the state of Maharashtra. The association succeeded in getting the import duty reduced and supplied the relevant chemicals to its members. Naik further emphasized the importance of state in the development of domestic and foreign markets for grapes. During the early 1980s the government undertook systematic efforts to improve postharvest technologies, which encouraged distant producers, traders, and cooperatives to sell their produce in the agency led by government. The export line was strengthened by forming National Horticulture Board (NHB) in 1984 and establishing cold-storage facilities. In 1986 the central government established the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), whose primary functions was to develop agriculture commodities and processed food to promote export. He argued that the major drawback of these institutions was the singular way of looking at grape production which resulted in rise of supply of grapes in the domestic market. He contended that government became involved only after individual producers demonstrated India’s ex- port strength in grapes. Mahagrapes, established in 1991, an export-supporting organization of producers had an instrumental role to play in establishing India’s strength in exporting table grapes. Naik highlighted the efforts of such institutions that was clearly visible in the steady growth between 1950’s and 1989; wherein India’s share in total world production increased from 0.16 to 0.74 during 1960 to 1990 (Naik, 2006). demonstrating how institutional development and technical advancement facilitated growth of grape production over decades since 1960s. Rath (2003) stated in his paper that 1991 became a pivotal point for grape cultivation, when India reduced import duties on agricultural infrastructure, and a grape growers’ cooperative that came into existence as a working venture, exclusively for the purpose of exporting fresh table grapes to the European markets. In India, during 1960-61 only 582 hectors area was under grape cultivation, which increased up to 139 thousand hectares in the year 2018-19 (ibid.). Currently, grape is being grown in India over an area of 1.40 lakh hectares with a production of 31.25 lakh tonnes (NHB, 2021). With this Maharashtra emerged as the largest producers of grapes in India, marking a rise in the area under cultivation that grew from 14,200 7. https://mahades.maharashtra.gov.in/files/publication/Nashik_DSA_2021.pdf 10 Fruit of labour hectares in 1990 to 33,836 hectares in 2001-2002. In Maharashtra, more than two-thirds of all grapes were found to be grown in Nashik district alone, with the highest producing area in the state itself. Bhosle cites that in 2001- 2002 , grapes were cultivated on 18,833 hectares of land in Nashik district. Niphad, Nashik, Chandwad and Dindori emerged as the highest producing blocks in Nashik district (Bhosale, 2001). Niphad and Dindori talukas of Nashik accounted for 78 percent of the area under grapes and 80 percent of production of grapes in Nashik district (Shankar, 2012). The current data of Maharashtra indicated that 105.50 thousand ha of land was used and production was 2286.44 thousand MT in the year 2017-2018. In the last data collected Maharashtra was producing 78.3 percent of production of the country (Mhetre et al, 2020). Total area under grape cultivation in Nashik district was 61,680 ha in the year 2020-21 (Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Maharashtra). The data above clearly states that over time the cultivation area for the production of grapes has increased significantly. NCPAH report indicate that the marginal land holders also got involved in the grape cultivation after reforms in market and agriculture policies of India. It was estimated that approx. 30,000 farmers engaged in grapes cultivation in Nashik on approx. 20,000 acres of land. Singh (2016) cites that this increase in acreage further strengthened the export market. With increase in the acreage for a crop that is labour intensive meant that there was a need for more workers to cultivate grapes. Thus, making migrant workforce essential to the grape production in the vineyards. Locating Workers in the Process of Grape Farming: The grape has six phenological stages, i.e., bud breaking, flowering, berry set, berry growth, veraison and harvest (Kadbhane & Manekar, 2021). Each stage involves activities like the pruning of vines (twice a year), tilling, fertilizing, trimming non-productive branches, monitoring blemishes and disease and applying pesticides, selecting the best bunches on each branch and culling the rest, trimming the bunches to the desired quality and size. Labours are required to perform the work of April pruning, auxiliary bud removal, subcaning, pinching, removing failed shoots, dipping, thinning, gridling, paper wrapping and so on (Singh, 2016). Selwyn (2012) stated that there is difference in labour processes in terms of activities required in harvesting and packaging depending on whether produce is meant for export or domestic. All of the quality parameters and tasks influence the work regimes on farms and during harvests. He has studied the Brazil grapes production and compares different labour processes involved for the domestic and export produce, where grapes meant for export involved 34 operations per hectare harvest cycle compared with just 9 for the domestic market. The grape cultivation processes are labour intensive process. Singh (2016) in his work mentioned that no technology that could reduce labour intensity in grape harvesting. Six workers are required for work on an acre of grapes for export for 20 days spread over the season. He also mentioned that if workers engaged full time in grape work gets 160 days of employment in a year. Rath (2003) highlighted the need for thinning and dipping as part of the export grape production process increases the employment opportunities for workers on farms. He also emphasized that all farm work are highly skilful operations. The work should not be counted in unskilled. Rath on the significance of labour in general and skilled labour in particular, remarks: ‘They (workers) form the fulcrum on which the entire enterprise is balanced… The enterprise of implementing new vine and bunch treatment techniques would have failed but for the existence of this skilled pool of labour. There would have been no big bunches with big grapes to export’(2003 p.481). Thus, emphasising how labour intensive and highly skilled workforce is required in Fruit of labour 11 Grape cultivation. In order for grape production to thrive and prosper, the farmers employ agricultural workers particularly the migrant workers who can work through the season. Migration stream in the grape farms of Nashik: Grape farms in India rely on two kinds of labour: regular farm labour and harvest labour. These comprises settled and migrant workers forming part of both workforces. Singh (2016) stated that farmers employ direct labour (local labour) for harvesting of crops only for domestic market, export product were done by buying party’s service provider workers. He also emphasized that grape farming got leveraged from the local systems of labour mobilization and management from the existing domestic networks that service other crops such as sugarcane production and management, i.e., harvest workers and groups (ibid). Agriculture worker from Nashik district of Maharashtra and Dang district of Gujarat majorly migrate in the grape farming regions for work. Nearly 7 lakh workers are engaged in grape farming and tribals around 3 lakhs. Report by Disha Foundation states that there were approximately 4 lakh temporary labour migrants in Nashik city. These migrants mainly were from tribal blocks around Nashik and Gujarat especially Dang. The report also stated that almost 80 percent families migrate from Peth and Trimbak Taluka in Nashik district. It was reported that more families migrate to Nashik, Dindori, Niphad and Girnare, primarily as agricultural workers. Larrington-Spencer (2014, p.72) in his thesis reported migration from Peth and Surgana block of Nashik to Dindori and Niphad. The district of Dang was other source area for grape farming and sugarcane harvesting. In the report on Endangered Livelihoods, it was reported that the agriculture labour from Dangs had been migrating to other places for more than 20 years. It also stated that Ahwa block are relatively better off where nearly 27 percent of the households migrate seasonally, and approximately 48 and 60 percent households seasonally migrate in Subir and Waghai regions. The major migration was reported for sugarcane harvesting. The agriculture labours are involved in large number from the Dangs district and Nashik district. Although there are no data available as much to understand the migration stream for grape cultivation. Condition of workers in grape farming in India and across other countries in the 8. https://csrbox.org/India-CSR-projects-proposal_Disha-Foundation_Promotion-of-education,-special-education-andvocational-skills_455 9. http://www.dishafoundation.ngo/nashikappi 12 Fruit of labour world: The duration of work was mainly from the October pruning period to just before the harvest, or had any specific work contracts. Singh (2016) stated that the individual activities on the farm are done by contract labour in a group. He quantified the contract rate for an entire season ranged from Rs. 42,000 per hectare (from October pruning to harvest) to Rs. 72,000 per hectare (April pruning to harvest). He also pointed the payment of advance amount to contractor in advance before the start of the season to avoid non-availability of labour during the peak season. Farmers try to retain the same labour groups over the years as skills and experience are required to perform all work, especially pruning, chemical treatment, thinning etc. Typically, 60 percent of the on-farm workforce is regular, while the rest is made up of floating labour. The study also highlighted the highest youth involvement in farming process on an average 28 years old and they had been in farm work for an average for 10 years. The average experience is lower than in case of other agriculture activities because it is current phenomenon. He stated that grapes farming is different from other agricultural work as it pays higher wage earnings. Since grapes are a longlife crop running into 20-30 years, the employment is more stable and workers can hope to specialize and benefit from it for some time. Singh (2013) mentioned that workers are better off than other agriculture farming; workers were able to negotiate in a matter of regular annual wage increase, pick-up and drop-off by farmers in jeeps and pickup trucks every day and regular rest periods during the workday. He reiterated that issues remain with respect to working conditions for farm work and casualization of work through contractors, in general, grape workers have seen upgrading in terms of more work availability, better wages, more regular employment, more respect from employment. He also stressed the role of the state is not effective, as minimum wages are not enforced in the agricultural sector. Rath (2003) discusses in the paper about the effect of industrialization of grape cultivation and explores the link between the work, health and economy of vineyards workers in Thakar village of Ambegaon block of Pune district. He emphasized on the skilled labour requirement for production in the process. He has mainly highlighted the occupation health risks while working in the vineyard farms, where he stresses on the issues of women health. Major health issues were highlighted on lower back pain due to heavy lifting, headache due to sun exposure and skin problems due to Dormex paste. The other issues he has highlighted of skin problems related to paste or insecticides effect. He also mentioned that the additional burden of household work on the women. He however emphasized the grape farming as good opportunities for wage labour in the long term due to economic gains it brings. The literature highlighted the growth of grape cultivations over the period due to institutional development and state active role in export market. The work conditions However, understanding of the dynamics and implications is limited in terms of research and documentation especially from a worker perspective. Although it was mentioned in the various text that grape cultivation is a labour intensive, although there are hardly good documentation of workers conditions and wages policies in terms. Literature lacks details of migrationstreams of agriculture labours in grape cultivation. Fruit of labour 13 The study was oriented in action research and relied on mixed methods for data collection. For the purpose of this study the sampling strategy was purposive. The extent of migration was assessed through a baseline survey undertaken through Shramshakti App (an inhouse application used to map the number of family members that accompany the worker to the destination of work) to map the volume of workers undertaking migration to the grape vineyards of Nashik. A second schedule was used to get data on agriculture work and labour processes, specifically focusing on arrangements of wages, conditions of work and incidents at work-site. Qualitative details were documented through focussed groups discussions, guided conversations and interviews of the workers. The two methods were employed to draw a grounded and robust picture about the condition of the workers working in the vineyards across Nashik. The population for the study comprised of workers who undertook migration to work in the vineyards producing table grapes in Nashik, in the state of Maharashtra. The sample population included two kinds of workers –very short-term cyclical workers and the workers who migrate for an entire season. The first group of workers migrate for a duration 30 to 45 days in the months spanning from January to March. They undertake the sole task of harvesting the grape bunches as per the requirement of the farmer. They work on multiple plots on daily and receive a daily wage. The other set of workers – who are colloquially referred to as the ‘tender workers’ – work in teams and take a contract or ‘tender’ for an entire season beginning from September till the end of December (once the grapes CHAPTER 3 Methodological and Methodical Framework of the Study 14 Fruit of labour are maturing to be harvested in February). According to the reconnaissance undertaken in February 2021 and the pilot undertaken in the month of May, it was found that workers were migrating predominantly from Ahwa and Subir (blocks of Dang) and Surgana (northern block of Nashik bordering Gujarat). The blocks or clusters were thus selected from the meetings that took place in the recce undertaken in February and the source visits thereafter. Maps depicts the areas that were chosen as the field of study at both the source and destination areas of the workers. During the reconnaissance visit in February 2021, the team found that different groups of workers were engaged in the vineyards for different durations and tasks with different work arrangements. Therefore, different sections of the survey schedule were developed in the household questionnaires. There was a group of migrant workers that were engaged for a longer period during the cultivation from mid-September to end of December or midJanuary (depending on the variety of the grapes), another for relatively shorter duration for harvesting the fruits. Another set of workers are engaged after the harvesting season. These comprised of the local workers and their work was even shorter in duration (more will be discussed in the section titled Labour Process). For the purpose of our study, mapping was undertaken only for the migrant workers involved in tender work and the harvesting work. The mapping process began in the month of May – when the workers of both the crews had returned to their source villages. From previous experience of mapping migrant workers, the research team deemed that it would be prudent to map or document workers once they are in the source areas – away from the prying eyes of the employer/farmer. Furthermore, during the recce workers had mentioned that due to the way the work was organized – responding or participating in the study would be difficult for them during the day. Thus, the team undertook the mapping exercise from the second half of May and the exercise went on till August. In July, the team also undertook focussed group discussions with the workers. These interviews helped the team to capture nuances of the work and the perception of the respondents towards their work. These discussions informed the team of the prevailing conditions and strengthened their understanding of the grounded reality. The team relied on the method of group discus- sions and guided conversations with the respondents and their family members. The constant gaze of the landowner and owing to the possibility that the landowning class may deny enumerators from interacting with the agricultural workers, the team conducted group discussions across villages in Subir and Ahwa in Dang (Gujarat) and in Surgana in Nashik, Maharashtra. The team also visited the destination blocks of Dindori, Vani, Niphad, and Nashik. The team mapped and documented the condition of workers, the ongoing labour processes and the living conditions. FGD scripts were formulated to attain a robust understanding of multiple perspectives of various stakeholders in the destination. This included discussions with the workers themselves and the farmers to gauge their perception about the migrant workers. During the process of data collection the team encountered resistance from the workers to share their details, especially in the detailed household mapping. The investigators reported that the ongoing pandemic and the experience of the workers of the previous lockdown, workers were apprehensive about the data collectors. The team was often mistaken for state agencies that were documenting workers who had returned from Maharashtra and the workers were afraid that they might therefore be coerced to admit them in the quarantine facilities. This resistance was particularly encountered during May and June (when the Covid cases were peaking). The onset of monsoon also affected the data collection exercise. Arrival of monsoon meant that the workers were busy in their fields in transplanting or other agricultural related activities. The data collection team reported that they often had to find workers in the field while they were busy either preparing the field for monsoon crop or transplanting rice. Through the months of July and August when the team also engaged in group discussions – the workers would be available only late in the evenings. After a day of working in the fields the workers would be too exhausting to engage in long discussions. The local network of the team and the legitimacy they had built with the workers through multiple visits in the field to dispel the apprehensions of the workers and increase familiarity with the members of the team proved instrumental during the discussions. However, this nonetheless affected the extent to which the mapping could take place with the workers. Another significant limitation faced during the mapping exercise was documenting women workers. When the workers were being mapped late in the evenings, the women workers were often caught up with domestic and care work. This notable affected the participation and visibility of women workers in the study – a crucial limitation that the research team is acutely aware cof. Fruit of labour 15 CHAPTER 4 Before the discussion on the work and the findings, it is imperative to understand the labour process involved in grape farming. Conversations with farmers such as Sachin Mahale in Niphad, Vani, Nashik helped the team to understand the process of grape cultivation and the costs involved in the process. Sachin Mahale has been cultivating grapes for the last eight years in Niphad. He has been hiring migrant workers for various process throughout the year for his vineyards. Conversations with the farmers and the workers revealed that the season for the vineyards begins after the harvest. With the shoot pruning undertaken in the April, the vines are left to bloom and grow. Sachin detailed the labour processes, elaborated on the costs involved on 1 acre of grape plot and shared Mapping Labour processes in the vineyards the tasks for each season of grapes: ·Sapling transplanting – in case of a new crop ·Grafting – for the saplings ·Pruning and removing of leaves ·Applying paste to the newly pruned shoots ·Leafing removing branches and leaves ·Multiple dipping of the fruit bunches in solutions to accelerate growth and promote high quality fruit ·Thinning the berries within the bunch Hanging the bunch onto the wire – so that it may have support, the access to sun and air Wrapping of the bunches to avoid too much exposure to sun leading to sunburn and raisining Harvesting or cutting of the fruit Clipping/trimming or cutting the shoots for the next season Sachin explained that on an average, the grape plant bears fruit for 10 to 12 years. In a plot of 1-acre about 1000 saplings were planted at a distance of 5 feet between two saplings and 8 feet between the rows of saplings. In the first year of the cultivation the farmer had to bear an additional cost of installing the arbour system (including installation of the trellis lines) that entails placing angle irons and installing the wires and the drip irrigation system. 10. The names of the respondents have been changed 11. Raising : Drying of grape berries due to excessive sun exposure 16 Fruit of labour Table 1: Cost per Acre of Grape Cultivation Expenses First Year (Rs) Subsequent Years (Rs) Drip irrigation 25000 - Installation of arbour system and trellis lines Bamboo 200000 - 35000 - Fertilisers and Solutions 70000 70000 Labour cost (Contractual workers +Harvesters) Labour Cost - April Cutting 60000 60000 10000-12000 10000-12000 Misc. expenses 20000 20000 Total expenses per season 4,20,000- 4,22,000 1,60,000-1,62,000 The reported yield for the first year was 100 quintals, while for subsequent years – the respondents reported a yield of about 150 quintals. This yield was for the R. K Sonaka Variety. The other varieties grown in the vicinity were - Super Sonaka, Thompson Seedless, Jumbo, Jumbo black, MAM Jumbo and Shahadri. In the year 2019–Sachin shared that he sold his produce at Rs. 4500 /quintal. The retailers or buyers often come down to the farm/vineyards and procure the fruit directly from the farmers. Due to the lockdown in 2020, the respondent had to sell his pro- duce at a very low rate and hence could hardly recover his costs. Labour arrangement: The various labour processes get clustered into the following three categories for the purpose of engagement of labour ·Pruning of the shoots (either cordon wise or branch wise) – April ·Cultivation of grapes with canopy management – September to January ·Harvesting – February to mid-April ·According to these processes, different groups of workers are engaged as follows: ·Grape Growers/Contractual Workers – workers arrive in September; who work in Fruit of labour 17 teams and live in the destination of migration for the four to five months. Grape Harvesters – workers undertake short term migration and arrive in various parts of Nashik to harvest the grapes. The workers live in the destination and constantly keep moving across the villages and keep working on various vineyards every four to five days. April Cutters or Grape shoot cutters– after the grapes have been harvested, the workers are employed to cut the shoots of the grapevines to prepare for the next season of cultivation. These workers are often local. During the recce, the team encountered that the workers from Dang and Surgana migrated for two seasons. The first group migrated in teams of 10 to 12 workers who worked under a contract in the vineyards from September to December. These workers would continuously work on vineyard of plots (of the size of 1 Acre) and will be responsible to produce fruit and canopy management of the vines. The crew was hired for a consolidated amount of Rs.22000 to 25000 per season per plot. The variation in the rate was due to the prevailing rates in blocks across Nashik. This group of workers were colloquially referred to as the tender workers. The team of workers often take multiple plots (each plot being 1 acre in size) and perform the above tasks (as detailed by Sachin) on the plots in rotations. Following this discussion , it was found that in addition to the work under the tender arrangement, the teams of workers also engaged in piece rate work arrangements based on single tasks. Ashwin and Subhash of Subir explained that on days that they had to wait between the processes in the vineyards and had no work in any of the plots, the mukaddams undertake taskbased piece rate work in smaller plots. The rates for the same are detailed below: The duo explained that while this method would cost a farmer Rs.35000 per plot, however for the farmers who are able to find a worker and hire them for an entire season spend between Rs. 22000 to Rs.24000 on an average. The second group would migrate only for 30 to 45 days where their sole task would be to harvest the fruit. The teams of workers would arrive in the labour chowks across various blocks. These set of workers are engaged on daily wages. This group of workers were colloquially referred to as the harvesters. Another group of local workers were engaged on daily wages, after the harvesting season known as the April Cutters. This crew is responsible for pruning the vines in such a way that the dormant buds could Table 2: Rates for piece rate tasks for 1 plot Tasks 18 Rate (per acre) 1 Removing of leaves, lateral shoots and paste application 2 Dipping 3 Thinning (takes over three to four days) Rs. 12000 4 Pruning and canopy management (after paste application) Rs. 4500 Fruit of labour Rs.5000 Rs. 4500 each dipping grow and prepare for the next season. Process of cultivating Table Grapes: The season of grape cultivation begins after the workers referred to as ‘April cutters’ prepare the vines for the next season after the months of harvesting in February and March, when the branches with dormant buds are left to grow. Just when the workers arrive in the month of September, the flowers have bloomed and beginning to selfpollinate, after which the fruit set occurs. This leads to small green clusters of grapes appearing on the vines. Since not all vines pollinate, so the fruit set is deemed as an essential indicator of the crop yield. If many vines do not show fruit clusters – it is considered as an early indicator of the low yield of the crop. The vineyard crew of workers that arrive in September will work through the season to manage the canopy through leafing and timely pruning, controlling the amount of sunlight and air that the fruit clusters will receive during the season. The workers will undertake 11 steps involved in the process of grape cultivation in one acre plot of vineyard across the season with canopy management as central to the process. The grapes require sunlight to ripen, too much of the same can result the fruit to sub burn and raisining. Hence, the canopy management becomes an essential task in addition to tending to the fruit to ensure the yield is of high quality. Vineyard workers thus tend to each row of vines continuously throughout the growing season. Thus, from the months of September the workers are engaged in various tasks of leafing, thinning of branches, removing of lateral shoots so that all energy and nutrition are directed to the Fruit of labour 19 viable bunch of fruits. Suresh from Dang explained that the moment the crew of workers arrive in Nashik, women begin the work by removing the excess leaves – which takes about one day in each acre of farm. Following this, the male workers come, inspect the flowers clusters and cut away any clusters that are not developing properly. This is an essential step since removing lateral shoots helps the vines send their energy only to the best clusters and result in high-quality fruit. This time also coincides with paste application to accelerate the growth of the now budding fruit, accompanied with multiple dipping in various solutions that accelerate and promote growth of the berries of the grapes. Dipping again forms an essential step where in budding fruit bunches are dipped in growth boosters and growth regulators such as hydrogen cyanamide assists in the onset of flowering and shoot extension is advanced, while the length of the flowering period is believed to be shortened. Pesticides such as Cymoxanil (8%) and Mancozeb (64%) are sprayed during the time the buds are forming into grape berries. These pesticides are used to mitigate 20 Fruit of labour fungicides and downy mildew. The farmer usually undertakes this process himself through a small tractor or hire a worker to do the same. As the grape berries mature, the crew then constantly works to prune the canopy of grape leaves again to allow for more ripening, or they may thin out/ prune excess fruit if the worker or farmers encounter too many clusters or uneven ripening. As the fruit matures, the workers also thin down bunches so that the berries are not too clustered to obtain a uniform and well matured fruit. The teams of workers working on these plots try to finish all tasks by mid-December. In case the plot owner seeks to export the grapes, the workers undertake an additional task of wrapping the bunches in the newspaper to protect the fruit from bees and excessive sun. From end of January onwards teams of workers begin to arrive in various blocks of Nashik to harvest the fruit. These workers wait at the labour chowks and are hired by the farmers or local contractors on a daily wage basis. Every day these teams work on different plots and harvest grapes as per the requirement of the farmer. This work lasts for about 30 to 45 days. Once the harvesting season is over, the local workers are engaged in pruning of shoots in preparation of the next season. This work lasts for about a month in April across Nashik and the shoots regrow for the next season. The diagram attached below will help the reader to form an understanding about how the work takes place particularly in the growing season. Diagram 1: Depicting the various labour processes (for tender workers) involved from September to December Fruit of labour 21 CHAPTER 5 Migrant Workers in Vineyards: Understanding the Migration Stream and Demography of the Workers 22 Fruit of labour Migration from rural parts is an irrevocable pattern in India. Internal migration has become an important livelihood strategy for many especially from rural India. The robust push factors of rural migration are stated as demographic factors and social infrastructure, economic conditions and ecological factors. Rural workers, especially from tribal dominant areas are forced to migrate seasonally to find alternatives of sustained livelihood due to limited opportunities at the source. Similarly, developed areas attract a reserve army of labour as there is work available. The agriculturally developed regions need labour seasonally and circularly, which leads to a large incidence of inter and intra state migration in India. To meet the objectives stated in the first chapter, the present study has mapped the migration stream of the workers and begins by examining the source villages from where the workers arrive at the destination. This chapter, elaborates on the migration corridor and demographic details of the vineyard workers. Migration Corridor: To understand the migration corridor a sample of 198 people/labour of Nashik vineyards were surveyed during the first phase of the field investigation. This was baseline mapping to document the migration stream. Nashik vineyards witness inter-state, intra-state, intra-district migration every season. As the reader may be aware Nashik is located in the northern part of Maharashtra state and shares its boundary with five districts (Dhule, Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Thane) in the state of Maharashtra and three districts (Valsad, Navsari, The Dangs) in the state of Gujarat. The district of Nashik consists of fifteen blocks and out of these ten blocks cultivate grapes in the region. Niphad and Dindori were the two major grape growing blocks in the district. Eighty percent of the production of the table grapes in the district came from these two areas. The remaining blocks that undertake grape cultivation are Chandvad, Nashik, Satana and Sinnar blocks of the district (Pawar, 2019). From the samples it also came to light that 94 percent of the respondents choose Dindori and Niphad as the destination for migration. Out of these 81 percent chose Dindori and other 13 percent to Niphad. Remaining six percent chose Chandvad vineyards to work. During the group discussions in the source of the workers, Suraj from Padalgadhi village of Subir (Dang, Gujarat) mentioned that Niphad was the first choice for grape cultivation and then Dindori. He shared that he initially he was working in vineyards of Surgana for the first two years, where the seasonal rate per acre was relatively lower than Niphad. This prompted him to shift to work in the vineyards located in Niphad. Source areas of the migrant workers: The study has examined the places from where workers migrate from. In the study one observes that there were two origin districts Dang district of Gujarat and Nashik district of Maharashtra that emerged the predominant source areas of the workers. There was a high percentage of workers migrating from Dang Table 3 : Blocks mapped along the migration stream Destination: Source Dang Nashik Chandvad Dindori Niphad Subir 11 121 26 Ahwa - 25 - Nashik Surgana - 15 - Total 198 11 161 26 district. In the study about 87 percent of the respondents were from Dang while the remaining 7 percent were from the blocks within Nashik. All workers mapped were from tribal communities. Dang is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat and located in the southern part of Gujarat. Dang shares its border with the neighbouring state of Maharashtra. In the north and east it is bounded by Tapi and Navsari districts of Gujarat and in the south and west by Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra respectively. While the district consists of three blocks, the findings of the baseline survey indicated that the two blocks Subir and Ahwa in Dang were the main origin of workers. Subir was observed to have the highest percentage of vineyard labour - 80 percent of total respondents – while Ahwa had 13 percent. Respondents from Subir block belonged to fifteen different villages; Kirli, Chikhali, Subir, Kadmal, Jharan, Jogthawa, Lavchali, Gaygothan, Mokhamal, Sepuamba, Ghana, Madga, Lahan Kadmal, Zaran, Padalkhadi. On the other hand, Nandanpeda, Kalamvihir, Dhuda, Khapri, Kodmal, Kotba, Bhavandagad, Don, Gadad, Gadvi villages of Ahwa block observed vineyard labour Fruit of labour 23 migrants. The respondents during the discussions highlighted that on an average 35-40 workers per village from Dang migrated to work in the vineyards of Nashik. The study also found inter-block migration within Nashik. The survey indicated that workers migrated from the villages of Surgana to Nashik. The respondents mapped hailed from villages such as Udaipur, Kunjalak, Vanjulpani and Malgavhan village. Although, during the discussions in the Surgana blocks, respondents marked Peint, Kalwan and Trimbakeshwar block of Nashik as an important source of workers for grape cultivation process along with Surgana taluka. The blocks of Dindori, Niphad and Chandvad in Nashik emerged as the destination areas of migration for workers surveyed in the study. It was found that the respondents in the destination were distributed over the villages namely Jodakiya, Pipalgav, Dahegaon, Khedale, Bhaduri, Mohadi, Lakhamapur, Khedgam, Jauduke, Ghodegav, Jauduke, Sonjam, Aantarveli, Varkheda, Mavdi in Din- dori block; Ugaon, Kumbhari, Sawargaon, Panwadi, Palkhed villages in Niphad and Vadnet village of Chandvad block as has been highlighted in the map. In the study it was observed that about 77 % respondents of Subir migrated to Dindori block, 16 percent to Niphad and remaining seven percent to Chandvad. On the other hand, all the respondents from the villages in taluka Ahwa (in Dang) and Surgana (in Nashik) reported to have migrated to the vineyards located in Dindori. As discussed in the literature review chapter grape was cultivated in the area of 61,680.70 ha of land in Nashik district of Maharashtra. And it has been discussed in the labour processes chapter that a labour unit is required to cultivate an acreage of land. Hence, approx. 1,52,416 workers are required to cultivate Nashik land for grape farming. This shows the extent of workers required and indicate a possible high incidence of inter and intra state migration in context of Nashik grape farming. Map 1: Migration corridor in Dang and Nashik Source: Maps of India 24 Fruit of labour Demographic Profile: Following from the section above, of the total 198 respondents mapped, 81% were male and 19 % were female vineyard labour. It was observed that the in large proportion of vineyards labours were male particularly for workers migrating for tender work. However, there was presence of women workers as well. As acknowledged in the mythological chapter the team was unable to map women workers in spite of their significant presence in grape cultivation From the table it can be seen that 66 % of the population belongs to youth category of age group 19-29 years, 85 % of female population are under 30 years. Thus, it can be concluded that primarily young people are involved in grape cultivation processes. Seventy percent of the population had schooling till primary level while 21 % had never been enrolled in a school and identified as illiterate. Table 4: Sex distribution of respondents 81% 160 19% Female 38 100 Total 198 Table 5: Age wise distribution of Workers Age Range (in years) Male Female Number of Labour in percent Less than 18 10 13 21 11% 19-29 65 72 130 66% 30-39 18 13 34 17% 40-49 5 2 10 5% More than 50 Total 2 3 1% 198 100 100 100 Table 6: Level of literacy among the workers Education Level Illiterate No. of workers (percentage) 21 Primary 70 Middle 3 Secondary 5 Graduate 1 Total 100 Male Social classification: the mapping revealed that 95 percent respondents belong to tribal communities while the other 5 percent identified as Dalit. As one may have intuited that the source area coincides with the tribal belt running from the south of Rajasthan, along the borders of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and stretches into the northern parts of Maharashtra. Since Dang is a tribal district predominantly inhabited by the tribes of Konkana, Bhil, Varli, Kotwalia, Kathodi and Gamit which constituted nearly 94.6 % of the total population – the same was reflected in the social composition of the workers as well. Land ownership among the respondents: The findings revealed that about 75% of the workers had land ownership. However very few are able to sustain themselves from the cultivating their own land. Given that in Dang agriculture productivity was very low with only 53,949 ha (31%) of the total geographical area was under cultivation and nearly 7500 ha (13.9%) of the cultivable land under irrigation. Nonetheless the workers reported Table 7: Landholding owned by the respondents Landholdings in Acres Landless Less than 1 Acre No. of respondents (Percentage) 25 2 1 to 2 Acres 19 2 to 3 Acres 31 3 to 4 Acres 8 More than 4 Acres 15 Total 100 that they were able to grow enough grains to support through one season. These were the findings revealed from the baseline survey to map the migration corridor and the profile of the workers. To examine and investigate the nature of work, work arrangements, perception of work, conditions of work and living in the destination, access to services – a detailed household mapping was undertaken. The subsequent section dwells and elaborates on the 114 households that were documented in the second phase of mapping. Fruit of labour 25 CHAPTER 6 Working and living conditions of migrant workers in the vineyards As elaborated through the preceding chapters– a detailed mapping was undertaken for the two groups of migrant workers tender workers and the workers who migrate to harvest grapes. During the mapping period, the investigators found a group of workers that migrated for tender as well as the harvesting work. The team mapped this small group of workers as well. For the study a total of 114 households were mapped in the source areas. Of this, 54% were tender workers, 13% were Har- 26 Fruit of labour vesting workers, and 33% were workers migrating for both tender and harvesting work. Table 8: Break Up of Surveyed Workers by Type of Work Type of work Number of households Tender 61 Harvesting 15 Tender & 38 Harvesting Total 114 Duration 1-5 years 81 91 6-10 years More than 10 years 17 4 2 1 100 53 Total Migration History: Of the total worker households migrating for the tender work, 81% of the workers had started migrating within the last five years. While 17% respondents were migrating for more than 5 but less than 10 years. Only 2% respondents were found who had been migrating to work in the vineyards during the growing season for more a decade. Similarly, trend observed for the workers migrating in the harvesting season – was that 91% of the workers had started migrating for the work of harvesting in less than 5 years ago. Only 4 respondents were found who had been migrating for longer than five years. Modes of Recruitment: Pravesh of Lahankadmal (Subir, Dang) explained that the trend to migrate for agricultural work to rural parts of Nashik was a recent trend. He stated that increasingly the workers from Dang were undertaking short term migration for various commercial crops such as Table 9: Migration history of the workers Tender (Percentages) Harvesting (Percentages) fruits and vegetables across parts of Baglan, Kalwan, Chandwan, Dindori, Nashik, and Vani due to the close proximity of these areas to the villages across Dang. These short spurts of migration, Pravesh shared allowed the workers to earn wages in shorter durations. And since many of the workers considered themselves unskilled due to lack of literacy or technical training, migration for agricultural work emerged as a preference. He shared that he himself has been taking teams of workers to work in the vineyards for the last three to four years as a mukaddam. This discussion therefore organically leads one to enquire how did the workers began finding work in the rural parts of the district of Nashik and what could be the modes of recruitment deployed by the farmers who hire the workers in their farms. For majority of the workers, the respondents reported that contractors were the primary mode of recruitment. Contractors/ mukaddams who first migrated as workers themselves to various vineyards either as part of other teams during the cultivation period or the harvesting time, transitioned into contractors. They recruit workers to form crews that are deployed in various plots of vineyards against a commission. For our respondents, 83% of them were recruited by the contractors, 6% of them were mukaddams themselves who also worked alongside the workers in the vineyards in addition to supervision responsibilities. Only 5 respondents stated that they found work through their fellow villagers or network of relatives. A similar trend was observed for the harvesting workers as well wherein 84% of workers were being recruited by the contractors. Fewer respondents migrated by themselves and only 4 respondents reported that over the years they had established a direct contact with the farmer – who then 12. Mukaddam : local contractors Fruit of labour 27 calls them directly during the harvesting season to work on his plots as well as the other farmers in the in the same village. From here on the subsequent sections will bifurcate into two sections – a section drawing on the responses of the workers migrating under a tender agreement and then a section for workers migrating only Table 10: Modes of Recruitment Mode Tender (percentage) 84 Harvesting (percentage) 83 Contractors- themselves 11 5.5 Fellow a network of village persons or relatives Directly contacted by the farmer Total 5 4 0 7.5 100 100 Contractors during the harvesting season. Households migrating to work on Tender: As discussed above, we observe that it was only in the last decade or so that the workers have increasingly begun migrating to the vineyards of Nashik for the growing season which starts in early September and stretches till mid-January. The contractor or mukaddam plays an integral role in arranging the team of workers to work for the entire season in the plot. They also act as a guarantor for the farmer – who assures and takes the responsibility to complete the agreed upon tasks. The workers migrating in this season are referred to either as contractual workers or tender workers. The respondents explained that in the beginning of the season, when the farmer hires a new crew of workers, he takes the information of the contractor and workers, their address, and at times the copy of their identity documents. Often this document also contains the booking amount if paid by the farmers. The respondent explained that this ‘contract’ – acts to protect the farmer – more than the worker. In case the mukaddam or his workers violate the conditions or flee with the booking amount or leave before the agreed upon work– the farmer could then trace the workers and the mukaddams in their source 28 Fruit of labour areas. The respondent also shared that such cases were few but rumours are afloat of one farmer who traced a certain mukaddam to his village and threatened to have him arrested unless his team returned the advance amount or completed the work. Pravesh (a young mukaddam from Subir, Dang) added that even though such cases have been rare – they do act as deterrent. However, even though a contract was drawn; the workers (colloquially referred to as the tender workers) or the mukaddam seldom received a copy of the said document. As stated by Pravesh – the document was drawn to protect the interest of the farmer than the workers. Thus, for the workers the agreement was predominantly of verbal nature. This was reflected in the data collected when three percent of mukaddams entered in to written agreements, and only one worker had received a copy of the contract agreement. Given this, why do workers choose to work in vineyards. One question that followed from this was when did the shift began and what were these workers engaged in before working in the vineyard. The respondents in various group discussions shared that before migrating to Nashik many workers had a family history of migrating to the farms in south Gujarat to harvest sugarcane. Interactions with the Pravesh’s crew revealed that like them, many other workers and their families had previously been working as sugarcane harvesters with their parents. A Bitter Harvest (CLRA, 2017) cites that for decades thousands of workers from Dang have been migrating to the plains of south Gujarat to harvest sugarcane. Due to the nature of the migration that entails that the families with children camp in the outskirts of villages for seven to eight months – often meant that the children remain out of school or without access to any education facility. Subhash (part of Pravesh’s) crew explained that many of the workers’ children often follow in the footsteps of their parents – and find work as sugarcane harvesters once they are ready to be part of the workforce. Subhash added that he too had worked as the sugarcane harvester since he was 16 or 17 years old. He and other young men from his village would migrate with their household to the plains of the south Gujarat after the month of August and would return only after March. These long months were marked by long harsh days of hard work – often entailing that the harvesters work every day for at least 12 hours for a daily wage of Rs. 120 per tonne. Arjun a 36 year old mukaddam from Lavchali, Subir stated that in the past few years more and more workers have been opting working in the vineyards and other short term agricultural work over sugarcane harvesting. The workers found that the work in the vineyards was less backbreaking than the sugarcane harvesting – with fixed timings of work. Unlike in sugarcane harvesting where the workers are required to work at night to load the trucks or work till each worker has harvested one tonne, work was less demanding in the vineyards. This rationale was also supported by the responses of the workers on their reasons for choosing working in vineyards as tender workers – over other forms of the work. Often multiple preferences worked together to influence a worker’s decision of choosing to work as a tender worker in vineyards. The most popular response that emerged was that the work was less physically demanding and the work load was relatively lesser – since the workers worked under the shade of the vines. 55% of the workers cited this as a dominant factor in choosing to work in the vineyards. Along with this, the second most popular reason (for 40% of the respondents) was that the 12. Mukaddam : local contractors Fruit of labour 29 workers were not required to work late or in night. Approx. 25% of respondents shared that the presence of their known or fellow villagers working in the vineyards also made it easier for them to transition and choose work in Nashik. The table below depicts the reasons that the respondents shared in the mapping exercises for their reasons to choose work in the vineyards. Reasons thus cited by the workers in terms of the most popular are listed below: Presence of family migration and children in the destination : Tender work as explained by Arjun of Lavchali – entails a short period of migration. From a certain household, it was found that predominantly 3 members were migrating from one household. Only 13 respondents took their children to the destination of work, while the rest of the 87% of workers left their children in the source villages – where they were either enrolled in hostel or with grandparents or guardians. Work Arrangements: The workers were enquired about how many months they spent in a season working on the vineyards as tender workers in the last recall period that is September to December 2020. As one can see from the table below, 79% of the workers spent 4-5 months on the vineyards working in Nashik. About 18% workers spent three to four months, while a small minority i.e. 3% of respondents worked for more than 150 days continuously in the vineyards. As shared above the majority of workers began migrating from first week of September to December. Depending on the variety and the maturity of the fruit, the workers reported that the work intensifies particularly in November and December as the berries begin attaining colour and flavour. The reader may recall that the bulk of the work in the vineyards were focused on managing the canopy and ensuring that the grape berries received enough sunlight and nutrition to grow into high quality 30 Fruit of labour fruit. This involved the final stages of dipping in growth boosters, thinning within the bunches, leafing on the vines to channel energy only to the fruit. Advance amount: To sustain them- Table 11: Duration of the Work Season Duration 3-4 months Number of workers (Percentage) 18 4-5 months 79 5-6 months 3 Total 100 selves for a sustained period of 4 to 4.5 months of stay in the vineyards, the workers rely on part of the advance they receive as the booking amount from the mukaddams. A part of the advance also helps sustain the remaining family members back in the source areas. Of the total respondents documented 81% of the workers took advance, while the rest did not. Predominantly 69% of these respondents took advance between Rs.5000 to Rs.15000. Mukaddams like Pravesh and Arjun shared that unlike in sugarcane harvesting where the advance amount was accepted by all the workers; for vineyard workers there was no such trend. They stated that advances were taken depending on the need of the respondent and the expenditures they expected to incur that drove their decision about whether they need to take the advance or the amount of advance they needed. The respondents were enquired what were the reasons or expenditures that drove their decision to take advances. The responses revealed that multiple factors worked together to drive this decisions. Data revealed that the daily household expenditures was one of the primary drivers for the workers which received 73% responses. In the similar fashion, 23% of the respondents used the amount to sponsor agricultural activities in their own land holdings. The advance taken was used for mitigating medical exigency by 9% of the workers. Rest of the workers used the advance amount to incur expenses related to building or repairing their houses, education of their children, cover costs due to social rituals such as marriage, death, birth or other religious ceremonies, to pay of old debts. 5% respondents reported that pending the size of the team and rate of the plot prevalent in an area, the mukaddams accordingly enter into agreements. Ganesh continued to elaborate that on an average about 10 workers can complete any task for one plot per day. If the crew contained 15 workers or more, the crew was able to finish a given task in less than a day. This entails that the same crew could work on more than one plot in one day. Thus, the research team enquired of the workers how many acres of plots do they work in the last season. On an average, one worker was working on 30- 32 acres of Table 12: Reasons for taking Advance Reasons Number of workers (Percentage) 73 For daily household expenses For performing social rituals (religious, marriage, death, birth etc.) 7 For bearing cost of medical expenses 9 For education related expenses 8 For covering cost of cultivation on the respondent land 22 For repair and construction work of house 10 To pay off old debt 4 Purchasing Assets (Mobile, Animals, Motorcycle etc.) 5 they have used the advance amount to acquire assets like smartphones, animals and motorcycles. Plots worked upon in one season : As the reader may recall from the discussion on labour processes involved in vineyards – one would have noted that crew of workers often work on multiple plots. Depending on the size of the crew or team, the mukaddam would agree to undertake multiple plots – usually in one vicinity. For someone like Pravesh who was taking a team of 120, his crew worked on 60 acres of plots. While Arjun who took 35 workers (12 women and 23 men) in the last season – his team worked on 22 acres of vineyards. Ganesh – a worker from Ahwa who has been migrating for last 12 years explained that the de- plot of vineyards in a given season. An average of 10- 12 workers were able to finish a given task in one acre of plot in one day. If the number of workers were increased on any given plot, the crew was able to finish more plots on any given day. As per the data mapped it emerged that in a given team on an average about 40 workers were employed in one team. Mukaddams like Pravesh who heads large teams of workers reported that by employing more workers in one team, the crew was able to work on a greater number of plots in a given season. This also allowed workers to undertake short term piece rate assignments of a single task of leafing, thinning or dipping in multiple plots. Fruit of labour 31 Table 13: Number of plots worked by a worker in a season Acreage Number of workers Percentage 01 to 10 8 11 to 20 25 21 to 30 22 31 to 40 20 More than 40 25 Total 100 Table 14: Distribution of workers as per the team size Team Distribution Percentage 01 to 10 6 11 to 20 26 21 to 30 26 more than 30 42 Total 100 Table 15: Distribution of workers on one acre of plot No. of Respondents Percentage No. of labours per acre 6 to 10 71 11 to 15 20 16 to 20 5 more than 20 labours 4 100 Total Table 16: Average Daily wages received by the respondents. Number of RespondDaily wages received (in Rs) ents (Percentage) Below 220 48 220-240 11 240-256 More than Statutory Minimum wage rate 15 26 Total =99 100 Average daily wage rate for tender work = Rs 232 Table 17: Seasonal rate for the plots (Per acre) Amount (Rs) 32 Number of workers (Percentage) 20500 5 23000 19 23500 3 24000 20 25000 6 26000 5 28000 16 28500 26 Total 100 Fruit of labour It was reported that a team of workers has been able to work on 80 acres of vineyard in one season. In the data collected the highest number of workers working under one mukaddam as a team was reported as 123. It was found that for 71% workers, they worked with about 10 workers in their teams on one acre of plot. Following from the above discussion, the rate for the plots in which the respondents had worked ranged from Rs.20000 to Rs.28000 per season, average being between Rs.23500. The table 16 depicts the distribution of average daily wages for the household workers migrating for tender. From the data, given that the workers work for about 105 days in a given season, they work for about ten hours each day. Minimum wages existing in Maharashtra at present for eight hours stands at approx. Rs.256. When this wage was adjusted for ten hours of work, the statutory minimum wages stands at Rs. 320. Since statutorily the wages have to be adjusted for overtime, the new adjusted daily wage rate for Maharashtra therefore becomes Rs. 384. The average daily wages i.e. Rs. 232 for the respondents (working in the tender season) from the above table indicates that no household received wages that would come close to the over time adjusted minimum wages. Weekly Allowances: In order, to sustain themselves at the destination of migration, the 28% of workers relied on seeking allowances from their mukaddams. The workers used this allowance to buy weekly groceries, pay for medical bills or undertake visit to source if required under urgent circumstances. The data indicated that a majority of respondents- 72% did not take any weekly allowances. So how does this set of respondents sustain their stay while in the destination? Mukesh who has been taking a team of 120 workers for the last four years to Niphad, Nashik - explained that the workers undertook additional daily wage labouring activities on the nearby farms during the period when they were waiting for the next tasks on the farms. Workers, Muksh elabo- rated the workers engaged in harvesting flowers, fruits, vegetables or task based work in the vineyards. Since the district was rich in horticultural and commercial crops – the workers were able to find work in one farm or the other. This avenue offered them to earn additional wages. This allowed the workers to have certain liquidity that helped them finance their stay and daily grocery expenses in the destination, cover medical costs, mobile phones recharges or any other small expenditures. This liquidity, Mukesh stated – also was one reason why the workers did not take advance – since they know during a season they would be able to earn enough to sustain themselves and their families with the additional money earned as daily agricultural workers in other farms. Each worker contributed to pay for the tempo that would transport the workers from source to the destination. The cost of the tempo – and the tolls that need to be paid along the way were equally distributed between all the workers in one team. On an average the workers had to pay about Rs.1000 per season for their transportation to and from the destination of migration. Effect of working with solutions: One of the concerns that the respondents reported consistently was the adverse effect of corrosive pastes and dipping solutions of growth boosters and regulators. It was found that there was an extensive use of various growth regulators and boosters, fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides used in cultivation of grapes. The respondents shared that during the paste application – the workers receive no protective gear to save them from the burns, blisters and rashes that the paste can cause when it came in direct contact with the skin. Thus – Ganesh explained that the workers have to be extremely careful in this process. New workers often end up getting callouses or burns if they were not extremely careful during this task. Another respondent -Yohan from Padalkhadi, Subir – shared that over the years the workers learn how to protect themselves from these corrosive pastes and the dipping solutions. Some workers use cotton socks during the process. However, the material of the socks being porous only does little to protect the skin, since if the worker was not careful – it might still give them a bad burn. In case a worker developed a severe case of blisters or the callouses get too bad, the farmer takes the workers for treatment and pays for it too. However, with experience the workers have learnt how to mitigate this and thus rely on home remedies. But, Yohan shared at the end of the day after paste application and dipping work– the workers have a constant burning sensation – particularly when exposed to the sun along with itchiness on hands and allergies. During the dipping process 45% workers reported that they were concerned about the effects of the solutions and inhaling of the same can have on their bodies – yet they have learnt to work with them and use simple protective gear by tying masks or layers of clothes on their hands to reduce the contact. Due to the dyes present in the paste and dipping solutions, it leaves residue that lasts for days on the limbs of the Fruit of labour 33 workers. The team observed that the dipping solution dyes often lodge in the nail beds of the workers and refuses to wash off with water for days. There was a possibility – Yohan explained that the dyes or solution particles were infiltrating the food of the workers. However, no symptoms have been detected so far and may be visible only in the long run. While the tender workers were required to work for sustained period and engage in various tasks, the harvesting workers only undertook cutting of the grape bunches. Thus, their interaction with the harmful solutions or fumigation of the insecticides/ fungicides was relatively less. The subsequent section elaborates the findings for condition of work and work arrangements for the workers who harvest the grapes. Households migrating to Harvest Grapes: In February 2021, the research team met a group of workers in the chowk at the main bazar intersection. As the day proceeded the team observed that the group of people swelled in number. The group arrived with their luggage which also included bamboo mats, utensils, and firewood. The workers came and waited at the chowk. By 9 am few locals – arrived on their bikes and engaged in a conversation with the representative of the workers, while the rest of the group waited. When the team asked the workers – we were told that they had arrived to harvest grapes, and were waiting for farmers or their agents to arrive and hire them. It was there that the team met with Mahesh- who had been coming to Vani since 2014 from Karanjali village in Surgana. He shared that he along with 15 others from his 34 Fruit of labour village had arrived to work as daily agricultural workers and were waiting for the farmer with whom he has been working since last three years. He shared that he, his wife, and other fellow villagers had arrived with arrangements to stay for the next month or so – where they would be harvesting grapes across various villages in Vani for daily wage of Rs.250. Unlike the tender workers, the mukaddams were not as prevalent as in the tender work. Here the workers reported that the farmers often contact the workers directly and ask them to get a certain number of workers. However, the respondents shared that from their experience it always helped to work in teams of 16-20 workers on an average. Peak season begins in February when Table 18: Distribution as per the team size Team Distribution Percentage 01 to 5 2 6 to 10 17 11 to 15 15 16 to 20 40 More than 20 26 Total 100 most of the workers arrive. During the study it was found that 66% workers migrated in February and March and 96% stated that their work peaked during March. By April most of the workers begin returning home. Table 19: Months of migration for Harvesting Months Percentage Table 20: Travel expenses incurred by the workers households Travel Expense (in Rs) No. of Respondents (Percentage) Less than 500 70 66 501-1000 28 March-April 30 1001-1500 2 Total 100 Total January-February 4 February-March 100 On an average the spent more than a Table 21: Contract for Harvesting workers month in the field.ie. wherein 64% workers No. of reported working for more 40 days. Details Consolidated No. of Daily Hours worked in Respondcan be found in the table attached below. ents amount (Rs.) days Wage a day Duration of the day: 81% stated that the 3000 15 200 9 1 working hours were fixed for 8 hours. 15% 11000 60 184 8 2 stated that they had to work for longer hours either because their team was smaller 20000 60 334 12 1 or the plots were too many. Travel expenses: The workers reported workers were hired for, the length of the that they incurred an expense of about day and the daily wage for the negotiated Rs.500. In case they came from villages far for the contracted period. Access to public away, then they had to incur more expenses nutrition and health services: due to the distance away from the destinaFor the workers migrating with their tion of migration. infants and toddlers particularly for the tenWage calculation: Wages reported by der workers, questions were asked whether the workers revealed that the prevalent the children had access to ICDS facilities wages across the destination of migration while in the destination. Following graph ranged from Rs.200 to Rs. 250. The reshows that the workers and their children spondents reported that the daily wage rate within age-group of 3 to 5 years are bereft was determined by the prevailing wages in of the Anganwadi services at the destinathe vicinity. In the last season, 86% had tion. Although, there are only 6% of workreceived Rs.250 as daily wages. ers are able to access ANM services and About four workers also reported that they also worked on a conAnganwadi (3-5 years AW Food Packets to bentract system similar to child) eficiaries the tender work during No: 100% No: 100% the grape cultivation. They reported over the years they have been working with the same farmer who fixes the daily wages for 15 days or 60 days depending on the size of the vineyards. School (6-14 years) ANM Services The table below depicts Yes: 7% Yes: 6% the variation in such No: 93% No: 94% contracts, the number of days of work for which the a particular team of SERVICES Fruit of labour 35 only 7% children are able to access school tures, the workers would then live in open at the destination. Most of the workers settlements. leave their children at home with relatives, Pravesh shared few farmers who have because taking along with them would been hiring the same set of workers and had large landholdings were more prone to harm their studies at destination areas. provide a designated place of staying to The workers relied on the accessing pritheir workers, unlike the small farmers. All vate medical practitioners and the hosthe workers reported that drinking water pitals for their medical needs. About was available to all of them. Water for other 53% of all respondents stated that purposes was sourced either from the boredue to the work during the Home wells in fields or public hand pumps. Elecday they had to rely on private practitioners who would be Remedies tricity was provided only to charge phones and for one light bulb. Only 17% of tender available later in the evening. 18% workers and 15% of harvesting workers Government dispensaries or reported that they had access to toilets. hospitals entertain patients Everybody else had to go out in the only during the day, and open. giving up work to stand Government For questions pertaining to incidence in queues at the govof violence and harassment the ernment hospitals Hospital respondents reported that the was not possible. 29 % workers occasionally faced verbal Ramesh (Karanjali, [ harassment or abuse only when Surgana) exthe workers were not perplained that Private Hospital forming as per the farmers workers from demands. Ashwin of Subir the Gujarat 53% explained that often ceralso faced tain workers who are troubles either new to the work in comor were careless about how they went municating with the hospital staff who conabout performing various tasks – received versed in Marathi. The attitude of the govreprimand from the farmers. If the farmer ernment hospitals also turn many of the found that a certain worker was consistently workers away. Thus, a preference for a prinot performing – he would complain to the vate facility was there among the migrant mukaddam and demand him to be replaced workers. However, in case of serious illnessby some other work from his other teams. es 29% of respondents shared that they During the group discussions in Subir would then visit the government facilities. Ashwin shared that one such was the case 18% of the workers reported that they relied of Subhash from his village who had been on home remedies to treat themselves, vismigrating for the last three years. But, he iting hospitals was a last resort – undertakadded that Subhash was slow as compared en only if the illness turns grave and they to other workers and often careless with the need medical attention . work. Since the grape cultivation involved a In destination the workers reported that lot of meticulous and tedious tasks – such the housing camps for the tender workers callousness set back the team as well. When varied across vineyards and farms. Farmers enquired of Subhash about his experience who have been hirings for years had inof violence or harassment – he stated that stalled sheds – which were bare metal struche had an altercation with a farmer in 2019. tures that the workers then use during their He discussed that he found the farmer and stay. Few farmers allowed the workers to his family members constantly monitored stay in the shed that was used to keep agrithe workers and were too intrusive, which cultural equipment. In absence of any struc36 Fruit of labour interrupted his work flow. When the farmer kept on insisting that Subhash work according to the farmers method – he had an argument and his mukaddam – Pravesh had to intervene. To avoid furthering the altercation Subhash was shifted to work in another team, and a worker was brought in to replace him. In the mapping exercise – it emerged that all the respondents had reported of no incidence of physical or verbal violence. This question was also pursued in the group discussions wherein the workers shared even though they had not witnessed violence or heard of any violence taken place against the workers – the farmer and his family members often visited farms during the work – evaluating the progress of the team. If they felt that the work was going slow or it was not up to the mark – then the same would be communicated to the mukaddam. There were minor instances of verbally reprimanding the workers, however the onus of ensuring that the work progressed as per the timeline was placed on the mukaddam. Thus, mukaddams who brough large teams such Pravesh – often spent their days visiting different vineyard plots to ensure that the work was completed within a certain timeframe. Sunila of Padalkhadi shared that during the time when women would be working on the farms especially during leafing in the beginning of the season and during the removal of extra branches after the first dipping – the farmers strictly did not interact with the female workers. If he had certain issue or concerns regarding work – he would communicate the same to the mukaddams wife – who would be present in the vineyard to supervise the ongoing work. Other than this, 7% of the total respondents reported that they had faced nonpayment of wages. When enquired if they had pursued the same – the workers reported that farmers cited delays in payment received to them from the buyers side or non-sale of the fruit had resulted in the delay. The workers also shared that the grapes grown for export often faced delays in their payments – since the farmers pays them only after he has sold his product. The workers explained the farmers’ position – that since the farmers themselves received their payment only after two to three months after the sale, the workers hence received delayed payments. Thus the respondents in the study preferred to work for farmers who cultivated table grapes for sale within the country and avoided farmers who cultivated grapes for export only. Fruit of labour 37 workers revealed that the difficulties they The impact of Covid 19: Ever since March faced due to Covid were of the nature of 2020 the impact of Covid 19 on workers access and mobility – given that Maharashmigrating to Maharashtra has been an imtra was in the red zone for a long period. portant aspect of CLRA’s studies. The workSuch as restrictions on travelling to and ers were asked if there had been any impact from Maharashtra was one such difficulty. on the work they found in the vineyards As the number of Covid infect cases were due to Coronavirus disease. As far as the spiralling the workers who were still in work was concerned, 80% percent of the Nashik for harvesting in March 2021, 46% of workers reported that they had experienced the workers faced difficulty in moving no direct impact on their work due to the across borders due to closure of borders pandemic. About 15% shared that they were and constant checking on the borders bereceiving less work in daily wages while 5% tween Gujarat and Maharashtra. However, shared that their work load had rather in35% of workers reported that since they creased. Corroborating with this finding, 94 had already returned before the state gov% workers reported that their wages had ernments had begun enforcing lockdowns – borne no impact due to the impact of Covid, while 4% respondents reported that their wages Table 22: Effect of Covid on Work had actually been reduced , No. of Respondents (Percentage) Effect while a minority of 2% re80 No Effect on Work ported that their wages had 15 Less work available increased in spite of the 5 Work load increased pandemic 100 Total On further probing the 38 Fruit of labour of contracting the disease due to which they suffered mental anguish and anxiety over whether they would have the means to protect their family from the deadly disease. While 4 % of respondents reported that they experienced delay in receiving their wages due to the pandemic. On the incidence of testing, only 41% of workers had got themselves tested and none of them had been tested positive for Covid-19. they faced no such issue while returning home. 15% reported that the scare of increasing cases had led them to find less work or if they would work, the wages were lower. Among other impacts, 28% respondents reported difficulty in reaching home wherein many of them had to walk through fields or bribe the police on the borders. A total of 14% reported that they had difficulty in ensuring food security for their family due to reduction in work days. 83% workers shared that they were under constant fear Table 23: Difficulties faced due to Covid 19 Difficulties Restrictions in travelling to Maharashtra No. of Respondents (Percentage) 46 Lack of work/ less work available 15 No difficulty faced 34 Did not respond 2 Returned before lockdown, so not faced any difficulties Decrease in daily wage rate 1 Total 2 100 Fruit of labour 39 CHAPTER 7 Concluding remarks The findings in study elucidate the labour process entailed in cultivation of the table grapes and the condition of workers engaged in cultivation of grapes. The labour of the migrant workers is an essential cog in the wheel of production of table grapes in Nashik. The status of the district as the foremost producer of grapes would be impossible and unimaginable without the contribution of the workers. Benefiting from rural to rural agricultural migration, Nashik and its blocks have been able to capitalise on the workers labour power – who in search of better livelihood alternatives have been migrating to the commercial fruit and vegetable crops across the district. As the farmers also explained that the migrant workers were far 40 Fruit of labour more hardworking and compliant than the local workers – hence an increasing preference for the same. A preference that has widely been observed in many agricultural centres that attract labour migration particularly from the peripheral rural tribal belts – that have inadequate conditions and resources to provide its demography with sustainable livelihoods. Further the workers themselves were searching for better alternatives of livelihood to the existing ones This is supported by an emerging trend among the migrants workers particularly from Dang. It was observed that workers were moving away from sugarcane harvesting towards working for agricultural work in villages across Nashik that produced flowers, vegetables and fruits. The climactic and geographic conditions offered Nashik rich and conducive conditions to undertake horticultural and commercial crops. With the rise in acreage, the need for agricultural labour has also increased. The migrant workers offered the farmers a docile and compliant workforce who would be willing to work for long hours and with minimal living arrangements or demands for relatively less wages. The importance of the migrant workers for the farmers becomes apparent when the respondents reported that before the season begins for cultivation, the farmers themselves come to the source village of the mukaddams to book the crews. The farmer and the mukaddam would negotiate and finalise the rate per acre, number of plots the team would be hired for, the duration of work, the address of the mukaddam and they also hand over a token of booking amount of Rs. 40000 to 50000. In July 2021, when the team Arjun 95% workers that constituted the migrant workforce were from Adivasi communities while the rest were from scheduled caste communities– who migrated to Nashik as agricultural workers in the absence of sustainable livelihood in the source. Even though in the survey 81% of workers were male – it must be noted that women migrated as well. However the nature of work and migration pattern showed that it was usually the men who migrated while the women stayed behind and looked Fruit of labour 41 after the homestead and the family back in the source. One notes that majority of workers that is 66% of workers who migrated to the vineyards for harvesting and the tender work were in the age group of 19 to 29 years followed by 30 to 39 years of age. One can infer that younger generation were migrating to work in the vineyards more than the relatively older generation. The group discussions revealed that the older generation continues to work in the sugarcane harvesting. Some of the workers who have attained some kind literacy believed that the returns reaped in the vineyards was much better than in sugarcane harvesting. Younger generation of workers with basic education (recall from the chapter on demographic detail about 7% of workers had received some kind of literacy). The group discussions with vineyard workers in Lahadkadmal revealed that the aspiration of the young generation required a certain kind of liquidity -and the work in vineyards offered the same in a shorted amount of time. Pravesh - a 30 year old mukaddam from Lahankadmal was taking a team of about 120 workers each year to work under the tender season. He shared migration to Nashik offered the young people to move up to the level of mukaddam far more quickly than in sugarcane harvesting. Further the workers were able to save more in one season of four to five months than they could save in one season of sugarcane harvesting. Thus bringing forth a trend where the younger generation was slowing moving into vineyards. The reader may recall from the findings in the household mapping that a large majority of workers (81% for the tender workers and 91% for the harvesting season workers) had started migrating to work in the vineyards in the last five years. Reading this finding in conjunction with the age of the workers and the shifting away from the sugarcane harvesting towards vineyards particularly in the last five years presents an intriguing trend. Discussions with young mukaddams like Arjun, Pravesh, Kalpesh, Mahesh – revealed that the younger generation preferred to going in the commercial fruit and vegetable crops in Maharashtra than to sugarcane harvesting. Dang continues to be one of the major source areas of sugarcane harvesters. The group explained that some of them had started working as the sugarcane harvesters – but once they started migrating to Nashik – they stopped migrating to the plains of south Gujarat. However, some of their family members continue to migrate in sugarcane harvesting. The group explained that the preference for the vineyards was numerous – firstly even a daily wage earned for eight to ten hours of work earned them Rs.200 to 250 while in harvesting sugarcane they could only earn Rs.278 per tonne per koyta– which would earn each harvester a daily wage of Rs. 139 per. The workers explained their preference to work in the vineyards over sugarcane harvesting by citing that the nature of work and the harsh working conditions was the first reason to move into vineyards. Secondly the hours of work were fixed, unlike in sugarcane harvesting where the workers usually were required to work for 12 to 14 13. Koyta – a team of two workers deployed in sugarcane harvesting that together cut 1 tonne of sugarcane every day 42 Fruit of labour hours and load the trucks late into the night without any additional compensation. The workers explained that working under the shadow of vineyards was far less taxing than working in the harsh climactic conditions to harvest sugarcanes. Further the workers were able to earn wages and advances without having to pay 1.5 times the interest as levied on the booking amount and the weekly allowances in the case of Sugarcane harvesting. Ganesh who has been working in the vineyards since 2008 shared that the workers were also able to earn additional amounts by working on short term piece work based contracts or daily wages – which allowed them to save their earnings for acquiring assets or financing investments back home or invest in the cultivation of their land (whosoever had enough to cultivate). The respondents such as Ashwin and Subhash shared that the workers utilized the days that they had no work in the vineyards to earn wages through task based contractual work. The duo explained that the small farmers who were unable to hire a crew in time often had to undertake this kind of arrangements where in crew of workers were hired for each task separately. As per the process detailed in the chapter on labour process, the total costs come down to about Rs. 35000 per season per acre (as compared to Rs. 23000-24000 per plot per season paid by farmers who were able to hire a crew on time). This additional income also gets added to the seasonal incomes of the workers Further the group of workers respondents reported that the farmer gave one quintal of grain to each team for every one-acre plot in the beginning of the season. The tea in the evenings was provided by the farmer. In case of a good yield the farmer also awarded the workers with one pair of clothes. These, the respondents reported, were the added perks of working in the vineyards, which they were yet to encounter in other agricultural livelihoods. Examining wages: In order to closely examine how much truth was held in whether the work in vineyard yielded better wages than sugarcane harvesting – a livelihood that the people of Dang have been engaging intergenerationally for over decades; the team attempted to calculate the wages earned by both groups of workers and compared it with the prevailing minimum wages in the state of Maharashtra. Fruit of labour 43 The workers during discussions and mapping exercise revealed that they would be working on an average of 105 days in a season (after adjusting for days taken off to return home or for illnesses). On the days they do not have work on the vineyards the workers shared that they would find agricultural daily wage work. The workers stated that they were penalised for the days when they refused to work. As per the findings of the study the average daily wages for tender workers i.e., Rs.232. This should be juxtaposed with the minimum wages for the state of Maharashtra amounts to Rs. 256 for eight hours of work. Since the migrant worked from 8 am to 6 pm – the adjusted minimum wages would be Rs. 384 (since the wage rate doubles for more than eight hours of work). This means, statutorily the workers should receive a consolidated amount of Rs.40,320 at the end of the season. The average income received by a tender worker was approximately Rs.23,500 at the end of the season. For harvesting workers, from the data collection exercise we know that they received an average wage of Rs. 225 per day, which visibly stands less than the minimum wage of Rs. 256 for eight hours of wage. The findings indicate that the reported incomes earned by the workers reveal not even one worker received a wage commensurate with the minimum agricultural wages for the state of Maharashtra. Role of mukaddam and the burden of work: On an average, a team of workers worked on 32 acres of vineyards in one season. Average amount of workers in one team was 10 to 11 workers that were able to complete one plot on one day. Larger teams of workers were able to work finish more work in lesser time and hence were deployed in more number of plots. Which is how big mukaddams like Pravesh who heads a team of 120 workers was able to work on about 80 acres of plot in the past 14. Monthly minimum wages for Zone III for unskilled agricultural wages is Rs. 6652 i.e. a daily wage of Rs. 255.84 (source: https://www.workforce.org.in/blog/minimum-wages-in-maharashtra-1st-july-2021/ accessed on December 10th, 2021) 44 Fruit of labour year. The mukaddams explained that even though there has been a rise in the number of young mukaddams, not many are able to sustain. Becoming a mukaddam also entails financial capacity to borrow amounts enough for each member in their teams. Even though not all workers take advance – the mukaddam has to make provision for enough funds so that he can provide the same to his workers. The mukaddams also maintain a contingency fund in case of any medical exigency while in the destination. Interacting with highly corrosive solutions also presents a risk of urgent medical care in time of need. Even though the work in vineyard was not as expending and exacting as that in sugarcane yet -the mukaddams are held responsible to maintain the efficacy of the workforce, ensure the progress of the work was maintained, manage the quality of work, supervise the work in all the vineyards while also ensure that the workers and he receives the payment on time. The group of young mukaddam explained that all these tasks have to be completed in addition to the complete responsibility of the worker in exchange for a commission of Rs.500 to Rs 1000 per worker per season. The farm owners had an agreement made on a stamp paper that detailed the contracted period, amount decided, and the advance payment made in addition to the Aadhaar card details of each worker along with police verification. This acted as security for the farm owners and helped to track the workers in case they are found to be absconding. The assistance of police is also involved by the farm owners while tracking the workers in such a scenario. However, no such protection was ensured for the mukaddams or his teams. Even the copy of the agreement was not provided to the mukaddam or the workers. However, the question now arises who is the new class of workers that was being able to transition into mukaddams and what kind of resource capital was allowing them to do so. Secondly what are the benefits that the mukaddams have access to as contractors in addition to commission for supplying workforce to the vineyards, how do farmers incentivise them to ensuring that progress of the work continues. Furthermore, the other livelihood from which the workers seem to be moving away from i.e., the sugarcane harvesting was known to have extremely strong and intricate interlinkages of labour and debt. These interlinkages ensure that the workers remain trapped in sugarcane harvesting. This offers a new avenue of investigation to understand how was the younger generation being able to make this shift and negotiate a way out of the interlinkages that has been ensuring that the workers stay trapped for generations. Occupational Safety and Hazard: The work in vineyards, as explained in the labour process involves working with growth boosting pastes and growth regulating solutions some of which are highly corrosive. The respondents shared during the mapping exercise that working with pastes requires a skill and experience. Govind of Gaygothan helped the research Fruit of labour 45 team to understand that new workers often sustain blisters if they were not careful with how they handled the paste. The respondent who has been migrating to the vineyards for seven years explained that it was after a year or two after sustaining injuries that he learnt how to work with the paste and dipping solutions. He elaborated that while dipping of the bunches in growth boosting solutions was done with small cups, the probability of developing skin allergies and the skin contact with paste while applying the same on the shoots was relatively high. Direct skin contact can lead to fluid filled blisters and severe rashes that may take days to heal – which forced worker to take leave from work. Thus, experienced workers, like Govind use socks or some kind of cloth layering that reduced the contact in the absence of protective gear that should be supplied by the farmers. Irrespective of which the dyes permeate the gloves or layered cloth and leave a strong stain on the limbs of the workers that cause the feet and the hands of the workers to stay magenta hued for days. Sunila of Chikhli shared that the workers also develop allergies due to the dipping solutions however they were far less severe than the ones paste can cause. She further shared that right after the days of paste application and dipping, the dyes refused to wash off even after days – and she suspected that the dyes and the solutions find their way in the food which the workers prepared. Sunila explained that the workers were strictly instructed to not consume alcohol on the nights before the day of paste application and dipping. She shared about an incident where the worker had a heart attack because the alcohol in his blood interacted with the paste and along with sun exposure – he suffered a cardiac arrest. 46 Fruit of labour This rationale was reported and quoted by quite a few workers across discussions and data collection in the source as well as the destination. Pravesh although dispels the myth by sharing that this rumour was pedalled by the farmers to discourage workers for turning up drunk on the vineyards and disrupting the progress. However, he added, one cannot dismiss the fact that the kind of pastes and solutions used during the cultivation would have an adverse impact on the health of the workers in the long run. Since the volume of workers have started increasing only in the last decade – the effects and impact on the larger health of the worker was yet to be observed. This was particularly true only for the tender workers wherein the workers have repeatedly shared the fear of poisoning. Other symptoms reported were swelling in the limbs and persistent joint aches. This was also true for the harvesting workers who have been engaged in harvesting grapes for years. The condition of work were not starkly different from other forms of agricultural labour. The workers reported that they worked for 10- 12 hours. The work being piece rate entailed that the wages, more often than not, will be not be commensurate with the labour performed. Thus, cultivation of table grapes is as exploitative as any other agricultural tasks as prevalent in this geographical location (as is true in sugarcane harvesting, seasonal agricultural work, and wage share cropping). Same is true of the living conditions. During the period of migration – both sets of workers camped in the land that is situated outside the villages and near the vineyards. The camps or accommodations were open in nature. Farmers who have been hiring the same group of workers allow the workers to stay in the sheds where they house their agricultural equipment or skeletal metallic structures. The workers have no access to basic amenities such as sanitation and hygiene, with minimal access to electricity. Although all workers reported that they had access to water at nearby sources – such as hand pumps for borewells. It was reported that the workers and their family members had no access to public services such as nutrition and health for their children and women. Furthermore, the workers relied on the private medical facilities and practitioners and home remedies. However, if the illness has worsened, they did visit a government hospital or dispensary. Thus, on one hand one encounters many favourable trends that attract the migrant workers- increased wages and liquidity when compared to sugarcane harvesting, with shorter migration period that allows workers to take multiple piece rate assignments, and interest free advance amount in times of contingency. Young workers were choosing to work in the vineyards in Nashik, Maharashtra over other kinds of agricultural work such as bhag kheti or agricultural labour across other parts of Gujarat. This act of choice and agency is a step away from the intergenerational trend of working in the sugarcane harvesting like their parents or grandparents who had no other alternative but to migrate to plains of south Guja- rat to work for daily wages as low as Rs.119 per tonne. One also observed a rise of young mukaddams among the workers. Pravesh, Arjun, and his brother – and many more like them who have been foraying into the tender work as well as harvesting season too. On the other hand, one also realises that the work is no less tedious and meticulous than the sugarcane harvesting while the wages received are still much below. The constant anxiety of the adverse effects of the solutions, the impact of the same on their physical health which is aggravated by the exhaustion due to constantly working in about 30 to 32 acres of plot in a given season. In order to maximise the seasonal earnings per worker – the workers work round the clock – first to finish the plots of vineyards under the contract and then use the waiting days to engage in additional piece rate work or other agricultural work so that they may sustain themselves while in the destination. Thus, when one views from the perspective of the workers – given their history of migration as sugarcane harvesters – working in vineyards therefore appears as a better alternative where the living and working conditions along with wages are only relatively better. But when one views the amount of work the workers perform in all the seasons the wages received at the end of the season were highly incommensurate and inadequate. This was starkly brought forth when one compares the existing wages with the seasonal wages calculated as per the minimum wages. Either way, it cannot be denied that the migrants are the fulcrum to the pivot that balances the prospering industry of table grapes in the district of Nashik. Fruit of labour 47 Occupational Safety and Health for Vineyard Workers By Jagdish Patel, Peoples Training & Research Centre, Vadodara The author reports that of all the agriculture workers in India, 60-65% of wage workers work in this primary sector. However, there was no law for protection of health and safety at work for these workers. National Policy on Safety Health and Environment at Workplace, 2009 promised protective law for workers in all economic sector while the Second Labor commission recommended to enact separate OSH Law, yet India yet to ratify ILO 155 – Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981. Agricultural workers are often at risk of accidents and hazards such as electrical accidents, confined space entry, tractor, sickle and other accidents, attack by animals, snake bites, fall from tree in addition to occupational diseases such exposure to organic dust, plant allergens, pesticides, exposure to ambient environmental condition, adverse effect of working at night, Leptospirosis. Hazards in agricultural sector: Globally each year 3 million cases of pesticide poisoning is registered out of which 7 lakh are work related 1.7 lakh workers die due to work related accidents and diseases in agriculture 70% of pesticide poisoning take place in poor countries- estimated 11 lakhs In India there are 155 registered pesticides. More than 50 plants to manufacture, hundreds of formulation plants. Pesticides are sold without much restrictions Poor laws, poor implementation No data on accidents/occupational diseases For the impact on vineyards Information on chemicals used in grape cultivation is sourced from “Good Agricul48 48 Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour tural Practices for production of quality table grapes” published by National research Centre from grapes (ICAR unit; Manjri Farm post, Solapur Road, Pune-412307) published in 2013 Information on hazards of these chemicals has been taken from various sources Over 75 different chemicals used either as fertilizer, growth regulators, fungicide, weedicide, pesticide. Use of pesticides in grape farming According to the California Department of Pesticides Regulation, in 2010, 25 million pounds of pesticides were applied to conventionally-grown wine grapes in California. That was a 19% pesticide increase from the year before. Conventionally-grown wine grapes received more pesticides than almonds, table grapes, tomatoes or strawberries. Insecticide use increased by 34% and acreage treated with sulfur, a fungicide, increased by 21%. The Pesticide Action Network (PAN) classifies about a million pounds of those chemicals dispersed on wine grapes as “bad actors,” meaning that they are known or probable causes of cancer, are neurotoxins, or groundwater contaminants What do farmers spray on grapes? Roundup, an herbicide, is widely used on wine grapes in conventional farming. A recent study has linked Roundup with health dangers, including Parkinson's, infertility, and cancers. In 2010, more than 400,000 pounds of Roundup (known as Glyphosate to the trade) were applied to wine grapes. Roundup, an herbicide, is widely used on wine grapes in conventional farming. A recent study has linked Roundup with health dangers, including Parkinson’s, infertility, and cancers. In 2010, more than 400,000 pounds of Roundup (known as Glyphosate to the trade) were applied to wine grapes. What are the health risks of glyphosate? Acute toxicity of glyphosate is officially declared low by government agencies; however agricultural workers have reported many symptoms including skin irritation, skin lesions, eye irritation, allergies, respiratory problems and vomiting. Ingestion of large volumes causes systemic toxicity and death.” Long-Term Health Risks Cancer. Some studies suggest glyphosate may be linked to cancer. ... Liver and kidney damage. Glyphosate may affect your kidney and liver. ... Reproductive and developmental issues. Risk for pregnant women and children. However, glyphosate has been reported to increase the risk of cancer, endocrinedisruption, celiac disease, autism, effect on erythrocytes, leaky-gut syndrome, etc. The reclassification of glyphosate in 2015 as 'probably carcinogenic' under Group 2A by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Moreover, several investigations confirmed that the surfactant, polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA), contained in the formulations of glyphosate like Roundup, is responsible for the established adverse impacts on human and ecological health. Subsequent to the extensive use of glyphosate over the last 45 years, about 38 weed species developed resistance to this herbicide. Consequently, its use in the recent years has been either restricted or banned in 20 countries. Use of Hydrogen Cyanide Hydrogen Cyanide is a highly toxic chemical used as a chemical weapon agent. Used for ripening grapes. It is characterized as a colorless gas or liquid with a strong pungent odor that causes irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract, as well as toxic systemic effects. Deadly poison by all routes (absorption through skin of liquid, inhalation of vapors, etc) Fatal if inhaled or absorbed through skin Contact may cause severe burns to skin and eyes. Effects of contact or inhalation may be delayed. Extremely Hazardous. Initial odor may be irritating or foul and may deaden your sense of smell. Contact with gas or liquefied gas may cause burns, severe injury and/or frostbite. Fire will produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases. May form explosive mixtures with air. May be ignited by heat, sparks or flames. Vapors from liquefied gas are initially heavier than air and spread along ground. Vapors may travel to source of ignition and flash back. Runoff may create fire or explosion hazard. Cylinders exposed to fire may vent and release toxic and flammable gas through pressure relief devices. Containers may explode when heated. Ruptured cylinders may rocket. (ERG, 2016) Use of Fungicides: Copper sulfate can cause severe eye irritation. Eating large amounts of copper sulfate can lead to nausea, vomiting, and damage to body tissues, blood cells, the liver, and kidneys. With extreme exposures, shock and death can occur. Handling of copper products may cause irritation of the nose, mouth and eyes, and in extreme cases can cause nausea and stomach upsets. Carbendazim is particularly hazardous to living organisms, including humans. ... Its mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic properties have been reported since Carbendazim may cause damage to the immune, nervous or endocrine systems. This material is irritating to the eyes Skin irritation: This material is irritating to the skin Allergenic and sensitizing effects Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 49 49 Copper Oxychloride is widely used copper fungicide. Exposure to fumes and dust may cause irritation of the nose and upper respiratory tract. Prolonged inhalation may be harmful. INGESTION: May be harmful if swallowed. EYES: Moderately irritating to the eyes Other Chemicals: Forchlorfenuron (CPPU) is a hormone. It is suspected of causing cancer Lambda-cyhalothrin is a pesticide. It may cause irritation to the skin, throat, nose, and other body parts if exposed. Skin tingling, burning, and prickling feelings, particularly around the face, are unique temporary symptoms of exposure. Other symptoms may include dizziness, headache, nausea, lack of appetite, and fatigue. It can be absorbed into the body by inhalation of dust or mist and by ingestion. It causes serious eye irritation. Symptoms of poisoning include burning sensation, convulsions, cough, labored breathing, shortness of breath, sore throat. Skin exposure may also result in a sensation described as a tingling, itching, burning, or prickly feeling. Onset may occur immediately to four hours after exposure and may last 2–30 hours, without damage. Hexaconazole is a fungicide. Hazards Acute Toxicity: Oral, Harmful if swallowed. May cause an allergic skin reaction. What can be done? Workers may be given information in local language Content may be prepared in consultation with the workers to use their knowledge and experience Advocacy for the protective law Workers may be encouraged to claim compensation for law Better use of existing law on pesticides, collect data on Agricultural injuries Worker Mapping Migrant Workers in the Vineyards of Nashik, Maharashtra Centre For Labour Research and Action, Ahmedabad This schedule is to be filled through the Shramshakti App. Worker profile Personal profile Name of the surveyor Date of Mapping Surname of the respondent Respondent’s name 50 50 Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour Father/Husband’s name Age in years Date of Birth Gender- Male/Female/Other Religion Caste Caste category – SC/ST/OBC/ General Marital Status : Single/Married/ Widow/Divorced Address Source Address Mobile number State (drop down options) District (drop down options) Block (drop down) Village / Area Address Pincode Police station Destination Address Mobile number State (drop down options) District (drop down options) Block (drop down) Village / Area Accommodation at the destination Worksite provided by the owner Workers Camp Rental In Open Own Housing Others In unauthorised settlement Govt night shelter Commuting Address Pincode Police station Education details Primary Middle Secondary Graduate ITI Identity documents Type of document Aadhaar Card Voter ID Driving License Other ID number ID Address Source Destination Union membership number (if any) Date of membership (if applicable) Upload photograph (if available) Landownership Land in Acres Details of the family members accompanying the respondent to the destination of work: 1. Name of the family member: 2. Relations with the respondent: 3. Gender: Male / Female / Other 4. Age: 5. Education Status: 6. Is he/she/they living with respondent in the destination? Yes No N/A 7. Have you ever met with an accident at work? Yes No N/A Last educational Level Illiterate Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 51 51 Household Survey Migrant Workers in the Vineyards of Nashik, Maharashtra Centre For Labour Research and Action, Ahmedabad This survey will be filled after discussing with the workers who migrate to the vineyards of in Nashik district. This form has been divided into three parts, in which we are trying to get the detailed information of different kind of workers: 1. Tender workers 2. Harvesting workers. The purpose of this survey is to get complete information about the work of the workers, especially keeping in focus the work conditions and the incidents happening at the work place. This interview is to be conducted after the personal details have been filled in the Shramshakti Application. The final part 9 takes a look at the impact of the Covid pandemic on work. Name of Surveyor: ____________ 2.2 Why did you choose this job? Part 1: Personal Information of the Due to long working hours (8-9 months) Worker Because the members of the family also 1. Full Name of Worker:_________ used to work in the cultivation of 2. Address (Name of Village/Block/District/ grapes State)___________________ In the absence of other types of work 3. Work of the Workers: Drip work is low load work Contract workers Workers who go for harvesting in peak season Don't have to work at night Others 2.3 How did you get the job of vineyard Part 2: Job Description of Contract/ Tender Worker By kin or relatives This part has been created for detailed By contractors information about the working conditions of the contract/tender worker. Please take By Village People information about the last season’s work Direct contact with the farmer done by the worker. Others 2.1 For how many years have you been 2.4 How many members are there in your working in vineyard cultivation? family?______________ _________________ 52 52 farming? Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 2.5 How many people migrate from your Part 3: Description of the work in the last home with you?_________________ season 2.6 How many people above the age of 14 3.1 On how many plots last year the work of migrate from your home with you? vineyard cultivation was done? (in acres) ____________ ____________ 2.7 When did you arrive for work last year? 3.2 How many people worked on your i. August ii. September ii. October iv. Other _______ team? , 3.3 How many workers work in one plot (or one acre)?_____________________ 2.8 In which month did you go back to your homeland/village last year? i. December ii. January iii. February iv. Others _______ 2.9 Did you take any loan/advance in the last year? Yes No 3.4. What was the tender rate for one plot (or one acre)?_______________ 3.5. Apart from tender work last season, what other work did you do? i. Agricultural work for daily wages ii. Others _________ 2.10 If yes, can you give the amount of loan/ advance/expenditure? 3.6 How was the agreement for the cultiva- i. Less than Rs. 5000 ii. Rs. 5000-10000 iii. Rs.10000-15000 iv. Rs 15000- 20000 tion of vines made last year? Verbally Written (Did you get a copy of the contract? v. more than Rs .20000 2.11 What did you use the loan/advance for? Yes No) Diary Other To repay old debt 3.7 What work did you do in the grape plot For everyday household expenses last year? For social rituals (religious, death, birth, Transplanting marriage) For the cost of medical treatment For children's education For house construction or repair For farming expenses on own land Other ___________________________ Grafting Sorting Applying Paste Dipping Thinning Hanging bunches on wire Wrapping Paper Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 53 53 i.Yes Others ii. No iii. Not Applicable 3.8 How much did you earn in the last season? 4.5 where do you go if you or someone from _______________ 3.9 How much money did you get in hand after your family falls unwell? removing advance/expenses last season? _______ Government Hospital/Dispensary 3.10 How much did you spend on traveling to Private Hospital/Dispensary work last season? __________________ Home Remedies 3.11 Are you afraid of poisoning while spraying paste or insecticide? i. Yes ii. No iii. Maybe Others 4.6 What facilities are present at the destination area? Drinking water 3.12 Have you been harmed by insecticide or paste? Yes/ No Water for other purposes If yes then give details Toilet ______________________________ Electricity facility Others Part 4: Access to Public Nutrition and Health Services Part 5: Details of incidence of violence at work This part takes information about the availability of public nutrition and health facilities at the destination of migration. This section deals with incidence of violence at work place in the destination of migration. 4.1 Is there Aangawadi for children 3-5 years who migrate to the destination? i.Yes place 5.1 Have you faced any kind of violence by the farmer? ii. No iii. Not Applicable i.Yes ii. No Not Applicable 4.2 Do children of 0 -3 years and pregnant women get food packets from Anganwadi? i.Yes ii. No iii. 5.2 If yes, what kind of violence have you faced? Verbal Abuse Physical Abuse Not Applicable 4.3 Do children of 6-14 year olds attend school in Mental Harassment the destination area? i.Yes Sexual Harassment ii. No iii. Not Applicable 4.4 Does the ANM come for regular check-up of migrant women who are pregnant destination area? 54 54 Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour iii. Others 5.3 Any incident of violence that you wish to report____________________________ 5.4 Have you ever faced non-payment of wag- vineyard in the last season? , es ? i.Yes ii. No 5.5 Additional Information: ­­­­ ______________________ 6.6 Approximately how many hours did you work in 1 day?_________ 6.7 If on daily wages, the wage rate is ₹___________ Part 6 - Description of the work of the farm Workers going to the vineyard This section has been created to get detailed information about harvesting workers migrating in grape cultivation. 6.1 How did you find work in the vineyards? By contractors By Village People 6.8 If the farmer himself called the Workers by phone, then at what daily rate he called? ________ 6.9 If the payment on the contract is received in cash, then its total amount is ₹___________________ 6.10 How much did you spend on traveling to work last season? ______________ 6.11 Additional Information:_______________________ By relatives Directly contacted by the farmers Part 7: Public Services Others This part takes information about the availabil- 6.2 How many people in your squad went to ity of public facilities at the destination. peak season last season? ______________ 7.1 If children of 3-5 years of age go to the des- 6.3 Period of work when you went for agricul- tination area together, do they go to Anganwa- tural work di? i.Yes January - February February - March March - April ii. No iii. Not Applicable 7.2 Do children of 0 -3 years and pregnant women get food packets from Anganwadi? Others i.Yes ii. No iii. Not Applicable 6.4 What work did you do in the cultivation of 7.3 Do 6-14 year olds attend school in the desti- grapes last season? nation area? i.Yes Vineyard Harvesting Packing Storing Others iii. Not Applicable 7.4 If a pregnant woman is present at the destination, does the ANM come for her regular check-up? i.Yes 6.5 How many days have you worked in the ii. No ii. No iii. Not Applicable Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 55 55 7.5 If someone from you or your family falls ill, to whom do you go? your work? Work has reduced Government Hospital/Dispensary Work has increased Private Hospital/Dispensary No effect Home Remedies Others 9.2 What is the impact of Covid on your daily wages? Part 8: Details of incidents of violence at work place Wages have increased Wages are reduced This section deals with incidents of violence at Has no effect work place. 8.1 Have you faced any kind of violence by 9.3 What kind of difficulties did you have to face Farmer? i.Yes ii. No iii. due to Covid 19? Not Applicable Lack of work 8.2 If yes, what kind of violence have you faced? Decline in daily wages Verbal Abuse Restrictions on coming and going in Maharashtra Physical Abuse Others Mental Harassment 9.4 What are the difficulties faced by your family Sexual Harassment due to covid? Others 8.3 Any incident of violence that you wish to re- Scared of being infected with Covid-19 port _________________________________ Delay in getting wages 8.4 Have you ever faced non-payment of wages? Lack of food grains at home i. Yes ii. No 8.5 Additional Infor- Difficulty in returning home Lack of work mation____________________________ 9.5 Did you get yourself tested for Covid 19? i. Yes Part 9: Impact of Covid 19 on Workers This section seeks to evaluate the impact of Covid19 9.1 How have you read the impact of covid on 56 56 Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour ii. No 9.6 Did you or anyone in your family got Covid 19? i. Yes ii. No 9.7 Additional Information_________________________________ Map 1: Migration corridor in Dang and Nashik Diagram 1: Various labour processes (for tender workers) involved from September to December Diagram 2: Number of respondents that took advance in the last season Diagram 3: Representing public service situation at destination Diagram 4: Representing health services at destination Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 57 57 Table 1: Cost per Acre of Grape Cultivation Table 2: Rates for piece rate tasks for 1 plot Table 3: Blocks mapped along the migration stream Table 4: Sex distribution of respondents Table 5: Age wise distribution of Workers Table 6: Level of literacy among the workers Table 7: Landholding owned by the respondents Table 8: Break Up of Surveyed Workers by Type of Work Table 9: Migration history of the workers Table 10: Modes of Recruitment Table 11: Duration of the Work Season Table 12: Reasons for taking Advance Table 13: Number of plots worked by a worker in a season Table 14: Distribution of workers as per the team size Table 15: Distribution of workers on one acre of plot Table 16: Average Daily wages received by the respondents. Table 17: Seasonal rate for the plots (Per acre) Table 18: Distribution as per the team size Table 19: Months of migration for Harvesting Table 20: Travel expenses incurred by the workers households Table 21: Contract for Harvesting workers Table 22: Effect of Covid on Work Table 23: Difficulties faced due to Covid 19 58 58 Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour Bhosale, S. and The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India. (2001). Cluster Development Programme Nashik. Sid Online. Bhosale, S. S., Kale, N. K., and Sale, Y. C. (2016). Trends in Area, Production and Productivity of Grapes in Maharashtra. Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res, 3(10), 21-29. Centre for Labour Research and Action. (2017). A bitter harvest: Seasonal migrant sugarcane harvesting workers of South Gujarat. Ahmedabad: Centre for Labour Research and Action. Retrieved from : http://clra.in/files/documents/e055ab18-f083-45bb-bb8d11cd0b43c9ff.pdf Endangered Livelihoods: Adivasi Seasonal Labour Migration in the Dangs of Gujarat. Retrieved on December 10th, 2021 from: http://www.akrspindia.org.in/uploadcontent/resourcemenu/resourcemenu_15.pdf Gawande, D. N. (2021). A retrospection of Indian grape varieties. Kadbhane, S. J., & Manekar, V. L. (2021). Development of agro-climatic grape yield model with future prospective. Italian Journal of Agrometeorology, 1, 89-103. Larrington-Spencer, H. M. (2014). Should I eat grapes from India? A story of who wins and who loses in export grape production in Nashik district, Maharashtra. Thesis. Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Mhetre, A.V., Chavan, R.V. & Chaudhari, S. V. (2020). Economic Analysis of Grape Production in Sangli District of Maharashtra. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences.Special Issue-11 pp. 1439-1444. Naik, G. (2006). Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Competitive Agriculture: Grapes in India. TECHNOLOGY, ADAPTATION, AND EXPORTS, 243. Pawar, Tushar (2019, January 5). ‘Grape production likely to dip by 25%. Times of India. Retrieved on 6th December, 2021 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/grapeproduction-likely-to-dip-by-25/articleshow/67399345.cms Rath, S. (2003). Grape Cultivation for Export: Impact on Vineyard Workers. Economic and political Weekly, 480-489. Selwyn, B. (2012). Beyond firm-centrism: Re-integrating labour and capitalism into global commodity chain analysis. Journal of Economic Geography, 12(1), 205-226. Singh, S. (2013). Governance and upgrading in export grape global production networks in India. Singh, S. (2016). Fresh Produce Markets, Standards, and Dynamics of Labour. Labour Conditions in Asian Value Chains, 94. Study of Value Chain for Grapes. Nasik, Maharashtra. Report by NCPAH. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi. Retrieved on Dec. 10th, 2021 https:// www.midh.gov.in/VCS%20Reports/7-Value%20chain%20for%20Grapes%20crop%20in% 20Nasik%20district%20of%20Maharashtra.pdf Todkari, G. U. (2012). Origin & diffusion of grape orchards in India: A geographical analysis. World Research Journal of Geoinformatics, 1(1), 14-16. Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour 59 59 60 60 Fruit of Fruits oflabour labour Centre for Labour Research and Action Centre for Labour Research and Action (CLRA) promotes workers’ rights in the vast informal sector economy of India. It undertakes research to document the work conditions in the informal sector followed by policy advocacy with the state so thar the workers receive their due entitlements. The centre has done pioneering work in documenting the seasonal migration streams thar feed labour to labour intensive industries like agriculture, brick kilns, building and construction. Its work has facilitated development of an alternative paradigm of organizing workers that factors in the constant movement of workers, the critical role of middlemen, the nature of production process, and the socioeconomic profile of workers. Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) is Germany based foundation working in South Asia and other parts of the world on the subjects of critical social analysis and civic education. It promotes a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic social order, and aims to present members of society and decision- makers with alternative approaches to such an order. Research organizations, groups working for social emancipation, and social activists are supported in their initiatives to develop models that have the potential to deliver social and economic justice. Disclaimer: T“Sponsored by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung with funds of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany. This publication or parts of it can be used by others for free as long as they provide a proper reference to the original publication”. The content of the publication is the responsibility of the partner Centre for Labour Research and Action, and does not necessarily reflect a position of RLS. This study is not for commercial purpose and for private circulation only. Fruit of labour 61