Wage disparities between local and migratory paddy farm workers in Haryana

Paddy is one of the most labour intensive crops of Haryana which absorbs both local as well as migratory labourers from adjacent states during peak paddy season. The present study is engrossed to find out whether the migratory labourers are receiving wages equal to the local labourers or is there any disparity in the same? Data on wage rates was collected from paddy farmers in Haryana. The reason of selecting paddy farmers instead of labourers is to avoid the response biasedness of regarding wages rates. Statistical technique viz., t-test is applied to achieve the objective. Results indicate that migratory labours at Jind get significantly lower wages than their local counterparts for various paddy farm operations. Similarly, migrants were accepting lower wages at Kaithal, Karnal and Palwal but the difference was not statistically significant. Overall, the districts where locals get alternative work opportunity readily available, have high disparity in wage rates and vice-versa.