LABOUR: Labour is the mental or physical efforts of man which is directed towards the production of goods and services. Examples of labor are the work of farmers, carpenters, teachers, policemen etc.
Features of Labour
- Labour is mobile i.e. can move from one location to another
- Labour controls other factors of production
- Labour has feelings
- Labour requires motivation
- Labour is not fixed
- Labour is a human factor
- The reward for Labour is WAGE
The important peculiarities of labour are:
- Labour is inseparable from the labourer: Here labour means a quantum of work performed while labourer means who perform the work (e.g. labour). Therefore, the labour’s work has to be delivered in person.
- Labourer sells his services not himself: If labourer is employed means an employer only pays in the form of wages on account of services received from the labourer. Thus labourer is only selling his services not himself.
- Labour is more perishable than other commodity: If time passes, it lapses forever. Therefore a day lost which out work means the days work gone for ever. That is why many times workers have to accept lower wages rather than earn nothing.
- Labourer has not the same power of bargaining as their employers. This is because labour can not be stored up and labourers are poor and ignorant.
- Man, not a machine: A labourer differs from machine. He can not render services like machine. After all labourer is man and he has feelings and likings. If good surrounding, health, recreation is provided, he can work efficiently otherwise he will not work efficiently.
- Less mobile: Generally labourer does not want to leave his home. It is therefore labour is such less mobile a compared to other factors.
- Supply Independent of its demand: The supply of labour is always independent of its demand and cannot be easily and quickly increased or decreased. If supply of labour is surplus, their numbers can be reduced only by a painful process of starvation. But when sudden increase demand for labour, as during war, wages will rise but supply can not be quickly increased.
- Labourer differs in efficiency: Like machinery every worker can not render same quantum of work labourer they very inefficiency and therefore wages differ from labourer to labourer.
Assessment
Mention 4 characteristics of Labour