A worker who had been a permanent employee in a garment factory enjoyed benefits like health insurance and overtime pay at double the regular rate. After the factory shut down, she found new employment but lost all such benefits despite working for several years. What does her situation reveal about the broader impact of globalisation on employment conditions in the organised sector?
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:29 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Sushila's situation reveals that globalisation has had a deeply unequal impact on workers in the organised sector. To cut labour costs and compete for MNC orders, factories replaced permanent workers with temporary ones, eliminating benefits like health insurance and overtime pay. As a result, conditions in the organised sector have come to resemble the unorganised sector — workers face job insecurity, long hours, low wages, and loss of legal protections. This shows that while globalisation created opportunities, the benefits were not shared fairly; instead, workers bore the burden of competition so that MNCs could maximise their profits.
Source: Competition and Uncertain Employment, Chapter 4
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Explanation
- The examiner expects you to link Sushila's personal example to the broader trend: organised sector working conditions declining to resemble unorganised sector standards.
- Key phrases to use: flexible employment, temporary workers, loss of benefits, unfair share of globalisation's gains.
- Avoid just retelling Sushila's story — always draw the general conclusion for full marks.
- 3 marks = one clear cause (competition → cost-cutting → flexible labour) + one effect (loss of organised sector protections) + one broader insight (unequal benefits of globalisation).