Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world
This article discusses the experience of economic inequality of badli workers in the state-owned jute mills of the postcolonial state of Bangladesh, and how this inequality is constituted and perpetuated. Nominally appointed to fill posts during the temporary absence of permanent workers, the realit...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Plenum Publishing Corporation
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8018 |
| _version_ | 1848745535626805248 |
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| author | Alamgir, Fahreen Cairns, G. |
| author_facet | Alamgir, Fahreen Cairns, G. |
| author_sort | Alamgir, Fahreen |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article discusses the experience of economic inequality of badli workers in the state-owned jute mills of the postcolonial state of Bangladesh, and how this inequality is constituted and perpetuated. Nominally appointed to fill posts during the temporary absence of permanent workers, the reality of badli workers’ employment is very different. They define themselves as ‘a different category of workers’, with limited economic entitlements. We undertake content analysis of the badli workers’ narratives to identify elements that they themselves consider constitute these economic entitlements. We consider their perceptions of discrimination and exclusion and explain how, in response to these feelings, they construct their survival strategy. From this, through the writings of Armatya Sen, we discuss the badli workers’ contextual experience and understanding of economic inequality in relation to extant theoretical understandings, seeking to contribute to the field and to empirical studies in the subaltern context. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:18:54Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-8018 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:18:54Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Plenum Publishing Corporation |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-80182017-09-13T14:35:41Z Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world Alamgir, Fahreen Cairns, G. This article discusses the experience of economic inequality of badli workers in the state-owned jute mills of the postcolonial state of Bangladesh, and how this inequality is constituted and perpetuated. Nominally appointed to fill posts during the temporary absence of permanent workers, the reality of badli workers’ employment is very different. They define themselves as ‘a different category of workers’, with limited economic entitlements. We undertake content analysis of the badli workers’ narratives to identify elements that they themselves consider constitute these economic entitlements. We consider their perceptions of discrimination and exclusion and explain how, in response to these feelings, they construct their survival strategy. From this, through the writings of Armatya Sen, we discuss the badli workers’ contextual experience and understanding of economic inequality in relation to extant theoretical understandings, seeking to contribute to the field and to empirical studies in the subaltern context. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8018 10.1177/0018726714559433 Plenum Publishing Corporation restricted |
| spellingShingle | Alamgir, Fahreen Cairns, G. Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| title | Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| title_full | Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| title_fullStr | Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| title_short | Economic inequality of the badli workers of Bangladesh: Contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| title_sort | economic inequality of the badli workers of bangladesh: contested entitlements and a ‘perpetually temporary’ life-world |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8018 |