Class 5 EVS

Menial Job

It is a Sunday. So, Raju does not have to worry about school. He is enjoying a cartoon show on TV. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Raju's mother says it must be the man who comes to collect garbage. Raju's mother asks Raju to give the bin bag to the man.

Raju makes an awful face. He does not like to pick up the dirty bin bag. But her mother forces him to do so. After picking the bin bag, Raju walks slowly towards the door. On most of the days, it is his mother who gives the garbage to the person who comes to collect it.

Write

Talk with people who do the cleaning job around your house and school

Since when they have been doing this work?

Answer: The sweeper of my neighbourhood has been doing this work since 15 years.

How much have they studied?

Answer: He is 12th pass

Have they tried to look for some other work?

Answer: He tried to find a job of bank clerk, but could not succeed.

Did the elders in their family also do this work?

Answer: His parents and grandparents were also doing the work of sweeping and cleaning.

What kind of difficulties do they face in doing this work?

Answer: They face many difficulties in doing this work. Some of them are as follows:

Our house and neighbourhood should be clean. It needs lots of sweeping and mopping to maintain cleanliness. Sanitation workers from municipality sweep the streets. They also collect garbage. You will notice that all the sanitation workers belong to certain communities of the society. People from other communities do not do such jobs.

This system has been in place since ages. If you will ask a sanitation worker then you will find that their forefathers did the same job. Poverty and age-old social norms force such people to opt for such tasks.

Discuss

What kinds of work or jobs do people not want to do? Why?

Answer: Most of the people do not want to do the work of cleaning. This is seen as a dirty job.

So, who does this kind of work? Why do people do this kind of work that others do not want to do?

Answer: People want to work in offices. They want white collar jobs. People who do the job of cleaning come from poor families. They come from a specific community. Almost everyone from that community is engaged in similar jobs.

What would happen if nobody did this work? If nobody cleared the garbage lying outside your school or your house for one week, then what would happen?

Answer: If nobody does the job of cleaning, then our surrounding will remain dirty. If garbage is not collected for one week, it will start gicing unbearable stench. People will fall sick.