"Laborers in India are not willing to work": L&T chairman stirs controversy again

Speaking at CII's Mystic South Global Linkages Summit 2025 in Chennai on Tuesday, Mr Subrahmanyan said it is difficult for the construction industry to get labourers as they are reluctant to travel from their hometowns for leisure.

Schemes such as MNREGA, direct benefit transfers and Jan Dhan accounts could influence the mobilisation of labourers, he said. "Laborers are not willing to move for opportunities. Maybe their local economy is doing well, maybe it is because of various government schemes," he said.

Mr Subrahmanyan also said India faces a peculiar problem of migration, with L&T requiring 4 lakh workers but recruiting 16 lakh people because of a shortage of workforce.

The Larsen & Toubro chairman had last month said he wanted his employees to work even on Sundays. "What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Come on, go to the office and start working," he said, adding that he even works on Sundays.

The debate saw several industry leaders such as Adar Poonawalla, Anand Mahindra and ITC's Sanjiv Puri advocating the need for work-life balance for productivity. The matter reached Parliament when the government told Parliament last week that it was not considering any proposal to increase the maximum working hours to 70 or 90 hours a week.

The survey said sitting at your desk for long hours is detrimental to mental health, and individuals who spend 12 or more hours at their desks (per day) are more likely to have poor or struggling mental health.