The classical conceptualization of the working class, of workers' collective action and, especially, of trade unionism, was implicitly or explicitly based on the Standard Employment Relationship that, for a few decades, has been dominant in North America, Europe, Japan and Australasia. The 'classical' model of collective bargaining, which has shaped the world's traditional labour movements, was based on this conceptualization. However, it is now increasingly undermined by the rapid spread of 'informal' or 'precarious' labour in the global North. It is our contention that the 'classical' view of the working class and workers' collective action is fundamentally biased and takes as a norm or standard what was in fact an historical exception. The real norm or standard in global capitalism is insecurity, informality or precariousness, and the Standard Employment Relationship is an historical phenomenon which had a deep impact in a limited part of the world for a relatively short period of time. If, as we argue, the 'Rest' is not now becoming like the 'West', but the other way round, then the 'traditional' forms of collective action that have developed in the North Atlantic region during the last two centuries are gradually losing much of their impact. New forms of collective action are emerging, though these are often still at an embryonic stage. It is, therefore, high time to rethink the concept of the working class and the ways in which it can further its interests. THE RISE AND FALL OF LABOUR RIGHTS AND SOCIAL SECURITY IN THE GLOBAL NORTHFrom the start of the twentieth century, the plight of the working class in western Europe and other advanced capitalist countries began to improve, offering a solution to the poverty and bad living and working conditions brought about by the industrial revolution. As Karl Polanyi has shown in his seminal book The Great Transformation (1944), this change was unavoidable, since the dynamic of an unfettered commoditized economy is self-destructive. A prominent feature of the emerging system was regular Development and Change 45(5): 920-940.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening the divide between people on the safe side of the social order and those at risk. The former are not only better equipped to protect their immunity, but can also count on support and care if they become infected. In a civilization haunted by the purity–pollution syndrome, the virus amplifies the stigma of impurity in which substantial segments of the population are forced to work and live. Social distancing fits well with a customary code of segregation. The transition to an informalized economy should be seen in the context of India’s ingrained social inequality resulting in widespread pauperism. In the havoc the pandemic created, politics and governance have further distorted the already highly skewed balance between capital and labour. An overview of the impact of the pandemic on the workforce kept adrift should also allow for the regional diversity that exists. Underlying my appraisal is the anthropological research I have carried out in the state of Gujarat, a major destination for footloose labour from other parts of the country. Since circular migrants are not allowed to settle down and set up home where they have gone to, they are bound to return to their place of origin after shorter or longer bouts of casual employment without effective legal protection and social security. They are kept floating because both capital and government want it that way.

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