Kundangar Eshwari, Kulkarni Muralidhar M, Alok Yash, Rajendran Ambigai, Kumar Satish, Kumar Praveen, Bantwal Priyanka, Bhagawath Rohith, Naik Ashwath, Sinha Praveen, Goodchild Mark
Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Manipal School of Commerce and Economics, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Tob Induc Dis. 2025 Jun 5;23. doi: 10.18332/tid/203508. eCollection 2025.
India's significant role in the global tobacco industry is underscored by its position as the second largest producer and consumer. Among the various tobacco products, beedis are the most popular in South Asia. These small, thin, hand-rolled cigarettes are wrapped in leaves from native Asian plants and are a traditional form of tobacco consumption in the region. For many women in regions like coastal Karnataka, beedi rolling is a primary occupation and a vital source of income. Labor unions estimate that there are around 7-8 million people in the beedi industry across India, with around 5.5 million registered workers nationwide.
A mixed-method approach was initially used to finalize the parameters required for calculating the full-time equivalent (FTE), which comprised expert opinion, scoping review, and focus group discussions among beedi rollers. A 14-item questionnaire was developed, and four experts validated readability, relevance, and clarity in both the local language (Kannada) and English. Content validity was measured using the item-content validity index (I-CVI) and scale content validity index (S-CVI), with a modified Cohen's kappa value for inter-rater agreement. Subsequently, a cross-sectional design was followed for pilot testing the developed framework for FTE among ten beedi rollers.
The article outlines various frameworks for determining the full-time equivalent (FTE) for beedi workers, broadly categorized into workload-based, productivity-based, and forecasting models. Among these categories, the productivity-based model appears suitable for beedi rollers. Using the extended FTE-index, beedi rolling work was classified as underloaded (≤0.95), normal (0.95-1.04), and overloaded (≥1.05). A pilot study suggests that the proposed FTE framework can be implemented and utilized to assess their workload.
The study presents a pilot-tested framework to evaluate beedi rollers' workload and advocates for improved working conditions. Three different models were compared: workload-based, productivity-based, and forecasting. As beedi rollers are paid based on the number of beedis they roll in a week rather than the time it takes, the productivity-based model is best suited for calculating FTE for this occupation.
印度作为全球第二大烟草生产国和消费国，在全球烟草行业中扮演着重要角色。在各类烟草产品中，比迪烟在南亚最为流行。这些细小的手工卷烟用亚洲本土植物的叶子包裹，是该地区传统的烟草消费形式。对于卡纳塔克邦沿海等地区的许多女性来说，卷制比迪烟是主要职业和重要收入来源。工会估计，印度比迪烟行业约有700 - 800万人，全国登记在册的工人约有550万。
最初采用混合方法来确定计算全时当量（FTE）所需的参数，包括专家意见、范围综述以及对比迪烟卷制工人的焦点小组讨论。编制了一份包含14个条目的问卷，四位专家对该问卷在当地语言（卡纳达语）和英语中的可读性、相关性及清晰度进行了验证。使用条目内容效度指数（I - CVI）和量表内容效度指数（S - CVI）来衡量内容效度，并采用修正的科恩kappa值来评估评分者间的一致性。随后，采用横断面设计对10名比迪烟卷制工人进行了FTE所开发框架的试点测试。
本文概述了确定比迪烟工人全时当量（FTE）的各种框架，大致分为基于工作量的、基于生产率的和预测模型。在这些类别中，基于生产率的模型似乎适用于比迪烟卷制工人。使用扩展的FTE指数，比迪烟卷制工作被分类为负荷不足（≤0.95）、正常（0.95 - 1.04）和超负荷（≥1.05）。一项试点研究表明，所提出的FTE框架可以实施并用于评估他们的工作量。
该研究提出了一个经过试点测试的框架来评估比迪烟卷制工人的工作量，并倡导改善工作条件。比较了三种不同模型：基于工作量的、基于生产率的和预测的。由于比迪烟卷制工人的薪酬是基于他们一周内卷制的比迪烟数量而非所花费时间计算的，基于生产率的模型最适合计算该职业的FTE。
