 They form the bulk of the workforce and account for over two- thirds of the economy. Nine out of 10 workers in India do not get the primary benefits of pension, leave or medical aid. You would think that a constituency which has over 37 crore voters would be chased by politics and policy. But that has not happened. It is a cause that has tormented many regimes but not enough to get policy or legislation moving. Even the NDA tried to do its bit when Sahib Singh Verma as labour minister conjured up a bill that promised social security to the unorganised sector. It has been no different with the present government, which is ostensibly for the aam aadmi (common man). Prime Minister Manmohan Singh believes socio-economic initiatives are key to moving to more modern labour laws. There is even a body headed by economist Arjun Sengupta-the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS)-which has written drafts of bills for workers in the unorganised sector. While the organised sector has been pampered with 154 labour laws since the 1950s, the unorganised one has functioned in a vacuum. Barring the Contract Labour Act of 1970 and a few stray laws and social security schemes operational in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, there is no comprehensive or even essential legislation for the ordinary worker. It's not as though attempts have not been made. At least three draft bills on social security in the unorganised sector are at the disposal of Union Labour Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's officers, one formulated under the NDA government and the other two under the UPA regime (see list). Indeed, Rao announced at a May Day rally that "we will introduce the unorganised sector workers' bill once Parliament resumes its session".  | | | |  The NDA's draft of 2003 was followed by the recommendations of the NAC in 2005. Later, the NCEUS proposed two drafts. | | | | | | | Social security schemes to take care of old-age pension and medical and accidental insurance alone. | | Both employers and employees to contribute voluntarily. Each worker to be provided with a social security number. | | Beneficiaries: agricultural and construction workers and migrant labourers. | | | | | | | Union Government should levy a cess or an appropriate tax for funding social security. | | Schemes to provide medical care and employment injury, maternity, old-age, housing and educational benefits. | | Recommended constitution of one or more welfare funds to meet the expenses of the schemes. | | | | | | | Benefits for all workers in the unorganised sector with a monthly income of up to Rs 5,000. | | Centre-state contribution in 3:1 ratio. Centre will bear the contribution of BPL households. | | Employers, employees, state and Central governments to contribute towards social security. | | The truth is that Labour Ministry mandarins are clueless. Normally, ministries draft bills which are vetted by the Law Ministry and Parliamentary sub-committees before they are introduced in Parliament. The entire process takes five weeks at the minimum. But with the draft legislation yet to be finalised, there is little chance of the measure coming up this month. Rao, who is the president of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, may be too busy with his core issue of statehood for Telangana. Referring to Rao's frequent visits to Hyderabad, W.R. Vardha Rajan, secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, says, "How can a non-resident minister take the proposal forward?" The indifference of political parties has led to quaint soundbites from the self-claimed representatives of the working class-the trade unions. While theoretically, reforms in the unorganised sector will make it easier for the government to push through changes in the archaic labour laws, union chieftains believe otherwise. "The Government thinks labour welfare will hinder economic liberalisation," says S.N. Thakur, secretary, All-India Trade Union Congress.  "India should have a social security tax like developed countries."
- ARJUN SENGUPTA
Chairman, NCEUS | |  "There shouldn't be a tax. The Government should fund social security schemes."
- AMIT MITRA
Secretary-general, FICCI
| | There is, of course, politics too. The Left does not push the cause of unorganised sector workers because they are rarely unionised and difficult to mobilise. Perhaps the Congress, which lost the battle to represent workers way back in the 1970s, also finds it very taxing. But there is a glint of hope as unions seem to be realising the potential of the issue. Recently, major unions converged on Shram Shakti Bhavan, headquarters of the Labour Ministry in Delhi, to press for changes. The challenge now is to translate this desire into action. The three draft bills that have seen the light of day provide an ample pool of thoughts. The NDA's draft of 2003 proposed only old-age pension and medical and accident insurance. Not happy with it, the UPA brought its super recommendatory agency-the National Advisory Council (NAC)-into the picture. The NAC proposed a series of funds for social security, but the draft didn't completely appeal to the Manmohan administration. The NCEUS then worked on the suggestions to deliver two separate draft bills, the Unorganised Sector Workers' Social Security Bill 2005 and the Unorganised Sector Workers' Conditions of Work and Livelihood Promotion Bill 2005. "A single law will not work because aspects beyond social security are involved," says Sengupta. The first draft seeks to give pension, health insurance and maternity benefits, among others, to all workers with a monthly income of up to Rs 5,000. It stipulates employees' contribution of Re 1 per day to the social security fund. In case a worker is so poor that he can't pay even that, the Centre is supposed to bear his share. Much against the stand of corporate India, the panel advocates a social security tax. Amit Mitra, secretary-general of FICCI, says the Government should fund the schemes. The future of the unorganised sector workers is thus trapped in a maze of recommendations. Even as the Labour Ministry awaits a report from the committee of secretaries on the draft bills, the NCEUS has been asked to prepare a roadmap for labour reforms. That may sound like putting the cart before the horse, but sometimes this is what drives policy in India.
Index
|
