Labour

Labour would mean any work, manual or mental, which is done for a reward. Marshall defined labour as “any exertion of mind or body undergone partly or wholly with a view to some good other than the pleasure derived directly from the work”. A person who is working in his rose-garden as a hobby is not a labourer. But, if he works in rose garden, which is cultivated for sales, then he is a labourer.

Characteristics of Labour

Labour cannot be separated from the labourer. Hence, a labourer has to sell his labour in person.

Labour is highly perishable. A labourer cannot preserve his labour and deliver it in the future. A day without work in a worker’s life is lost forever.

Labourer has a weak bargaining power. As labour is perishable, it has no reserve price. Hence, labourers have to accept low wages rather than being idle or unemployed.

The supply of labour changes slowly. Supply of labour cannot be curtailed immediately, even if wages fall. This is due to the fact that labourers must earn their subsistence, somehow. Conversely, increase in labour supply depends on new births and a long period of training.

Labour is not so mobile as capital due to differences in language, environment, habits, etc in different localities.