ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IN KINATHUKKADAVU TALUK OF COIMBATORE DISTRICT IN TAMIL NADU

The present study aims at ? identifying the major issues related to socio economic profile of women construction labourers, by analyzing the job satisfaction levels, wages, their economic status by finding out their savings, loans and also examining the status of these women in social ladder and recommending measures for mitigation of the problems. The job of an unskilled worker is more strenuous in the construction industry than in other manufacturing industries. As causal workers, women not only face insecurity of work but are also paid lower wages compared to their male counterparts. Minimum wage and other legislation are violated for women. Women face instability in work, they get poor remuneration discrimination in the payment of wages and virtual absence of enforcement of protective labour legislation. Their work is regarded as unskilled, but they are given no opportunity to acquire skills on the job. Usually, women workers in construction industry have to assume multiple burdens of household work, looking after children and work in the sites to earn a living. More than 35 percent of the construction workers are women. Unlike other industries where women are employed in semi-skilled or sometimes even in skilled jobs, in the construction industry they are employed only as unskilled labourers