Problems of Life and Livelihood of Zari-Zardozi Workers in Western Uttar-Pradesh

Zari-Zardozi is a type of hand embroidery and usually done on apparels for embellishment with the help of needle, threads and metal wires. This handicraft work has been taken as patrimonial art in the artisan family. Even a strong presence of this art in the domestic and international market in last decade of 20th century and the first decade of the twenty first century, the plight of labourers was not improved and became so miserable. This descriptive research has been done on Zari-zardozi labourers of different villages of Bareilly, a western Uttar Pradesh’s district famous for this handicraft. There was 150 rural household samples were collected randomly to depict Zari-zardozi labourers’ present actual condition with their socio-economic background.

There are two types of workers involved in this sector. One, who are doing this work as their main occupation and engaged in that throughout the year while others are temporary workers whose main occupation is some other but to earn sufficient or to use their holidays, they work for some hours or few days in a month or year. The nature of employment may affect the labour productivity. This paper would try to know the age-group, education, technical qualifications, wages variance between permanent and temporary labourers. With the help of Zari-Zardozi labourers’ inputs it would suggest the major factors affecting wages and would prescribe the possible measures to increase their income. Along with it, this study would try to assess their quality of life up to some extent with socio-economic condition of them. Minimum wage payment, skill development and social welfare schemes within the ambit of structural change of selling may be helpful to improve their poverty ridden condition