They are your lifelines to comfort and yet ignored: 15 most underrated jobs to acknowledge this May Day

Many professions are not just undermined, but also looked down upon. This is happening at the cost of harming our own societal order and happiness. We take them for granted and don’t repay what they deserve.

On Labour’s Day, we take a look at some of these professions that are indispensable yet hardly endorsed.

1. Farmers

At the end of the budget session in Parliament (April 29), Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi spoke about farmers not being let to ‘make in India’. It’s time to take this accusation seriously. We need our food, but won’t give them the land to grow it. We need it clean and yet don’t think twice about their starvation. Farmer suicides are on the rise as never before and the time has come to thank these fellow men.

2. Street hawkers

Some of our most quick and easy purchases come from the vegetable and fruit vendors. Most of us live off them and yet see them as sour spots on the streets. These vendors battle for space and money on a daily basis and have no security of life. In 2014, though the government brought the street vendors act to protect them,  even today they live in bad conditions as they continue to provide our needs and greed at the ‘bargained’ rates!

3. Garbage collectors and sanitation workers

They take the stink, the infections, the load and the dirt to keep us clean. We need them as much for our house as our street and yet when they ask for a bit more than usual it’s something to lament. His holiday taking is not for fun. In most cases, he already has enough to dump to be able to collect anymore. One day without them and we think we have too much trash at home. They are overworked and underpaid. Don’t get any likes for it either!

4. Housemaids

No holidays on Sundays, expected to do all the odd jobs and still get yelled at for a gap. They are even served stale food at times in return for cutting fresh vegetables for the next day’s meal. They are like background dancers, we need them and yet hardly acknowledged.

5. Mortuary and burial ground workers

These people see death every day and get the final act of farewell together. But those mourning barely take notice of their work. They dig the final place and ensure a decent good bye, living in appalling conditions themselves. But don’t get no thanks for it.

6. Electricians

We need our power supplies together at all times and when somebody is working at the wires, there is no cause for tension. These men work at the cost of great personal harm. When a transformer bursts the whole street restlessly waits for these men to arrive. As soon as the job is done they are forgotten. Now how convenient is that!

7. Veterinarians

Do we remember Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle? Ofcourse! Well veterinarians do much more than that. They ensure that the cycle between human and animal ties continue in the healthiest and happiest sense by keeping the animals away from diseases. They also keep the environment clean for the same reason. Not many grant the extent of their contribution to a safe society.

8. Construction labourers

None of us are alien to how they contribute towards our lives. We are see them slog away with cement hands and heavy bricks on their shoulders for hours together and yet have no gratitude towards them. One of the most exploited jobs in India, it’s time we gave them their due. After all, it is they who made it possible for you to live in a house of your own!

9. Watchmen

They do the rounds when the rest of us snore. They are generally the first to be harmed in case of a mishap. There is also a good chance that if you hear loud shouting outside, it’s a watchman being yelled at. Guys, it’s time to recognize that they stay away from home to let us have our good night’s sleep.

10. Cab drivers/auto drivers/bus drivers

At their mention we hate them and it’s true that all our dealings with them aren’t pleasant. But they have a tough job at hand. They travel far with hardly any comfort and feel journey worn every single day, to get you to where you should reach safely

11. Artists

They are generally hailed as the intellectual beacons of the society, but are thrashed too for the same reason. These keepers of talent are restricted from expressing their best and in our case also heavily underpaid. Most are expected to work alongside. The street side musician or artist barely manage to survive with their art.  If we need their imaginations to scale new waters, they will need the motivation and encouragement to keep it going.

12. Plumbers, carpenters, painters

Who is not proud of a beautiful house and a good neighbourhood? But the ones who help us keep them that way are not approved enough. These people live in much less fortunate spaces and need quick wit to know if they are being cheated of their due after work. True they have their own unions, but their rights are still on precarious grounds

13. Traffic policemen

In the sun all day, exposed to the most unbearable sounds of all, they manage to do their best to get you to your destination on time and without trouble. They too are understaffed and in our country the traffic issue is no less than an Olympiad puzzle.

14. Government school teachers

They are the only ones who seem to be working on 100% literacy on a daily basis. Managing over filled classes with students of different capabilities and backgrounds, these teachers have an elephantine task of spreading education to make children a guiding light to the more unfortunate parents.

15. Police constables

They work for long hours to keep the city crime free. For these local BSF’s every day is a new challenge, and a tryst with law and order for a mass that is mostly unaware of their presence.

The hour is here to acknowledge these professions and their importance in our lives. It is time to recognize them and set the chart of reciprocation right. What better day to think of it than May Day?