Journal of Appropriate Technology (적정기술학회지)

Academic Society for Appropriate Technology (적정기술학회)
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The Impact of COVID-19 on the Labor Market in India: Focusing on the Expansion of the Labor Gap and Digitization

COVID-19가 인도 노동시장에 미친 영향: 노동격차 확대와 디지털화를 중심으로

  • Received : 2021.03.31
  • Accepted : 2021.06.03
  • Published : 2021.06.20
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Abstract

India has recently experienced an acute crisis confronting the COVID-19 pandemic as confirmed cases exceeded 11.73 million in March 2021, which was the second worst scale only after the United States. The strict lockdown measures as well as the pandemic itself posed a serious threat of survival, in particular, to immigrant workers engaged in informal sectors, which triggered their reverse immigration. In case the COVID-19 pandemic continues in 2021, it is estimated that in the sector of tourism and service alone, more than 20 million jobs will disappear. The damage on industry is already being realized with the significant decrease of workforce. It is important to note, however, that jobless growth and labor polarization were observed even before the outbreak of COVID-19, and that the pandemic only served as one of the trigger catalysts that made those submerged problems burst out. In this study, we examine the structural problems in industry and labor market in India and consider the social context and efficacy of the "Make in India" or "Atmanirbhar Bhrat" policy. The latter initiative was presented in the trenches of the pandemic in 2020. While considering the complexity of problems, we would like to pursue a future-oriented approach and propose a direction in restructuring the labor market, attempted at reversing the critical conditions following the fourth industrial revolution and digitization into the shortcut to labor market restructuring.

인도는 2021년 03월 COVID-19 누적 확진자 수가 1,173만 명을 넘어섰고, 미국 다음으로 대규모 확진자가 발생하여 전국적으로 막대한 피해를 보았다. 특히 비공식노동에 종사하는 인도 내 이주 노동자들은 팬더믹과 봉쇄조치의 직접 타격을 받아 역이주와 생존의 위협을 겪고 있다. 2021년까지 COVID-19가 지속될 경우 관광 및 접객 산업에서 2천만개 이상의 일자리가 사라질 것으로 예상되고 있으며, 이미 노동자 부재로 인한 생산면에서의 타격도 현실화되고 있다. 더 큰 문제는 이러한 일자리 감소와 노동시장의 양극화가 COVID-19 이전부터 꾸준히 진행되어 오던 구조적인 문제에서 출발하였으며, 코로나 대유행은 구조적 문제의 폭발적 발현의 촉매제가 되었을 뿐이라는 점이다. 이에 따라 인도 산업과 노동시장의 구조적인 문제가 무엇인지 짚어 본다. 인도 정부의 제조업 육성책(Make in India)은 물론이고, 2020년 코로나 사태의 한 가운데서 제기된 자립 인도(Atmanirbhar Bharat) 정책도 이러한 문제의 해결에 대한 고민에서 시작된 것이다. 본 연구는 디지털화와 4차산업혁명을 맞이하고 있는 현실을 또 다른 위기 증폭의 촉매제가 아니라, 문제 해결의 단서가 될 수 있는 노동시장 재구성의 방향성을 살펴본다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

이 논문은 2020년 대한민국 교육부와 한국연구재단의 일반공동연구지원사업의 지원을 받아 수행된 연구임(NRF-2020S1A5A2A03046245).

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