The Unorganised Sector Workers' Act, 2008

Unorganised Workers Unorganised workers, be they wage labour, home based workers or self employed workers, with their dependents account for the bulk of our population Contribute to two thirds of our national product Form 93% of our workforce

What did unorganised workers fight for? A comprehensive law encompassing all aspects of their work and life at work including regulation of their - Employment, - Wages, - Social security, - Safety & conditions of work

They fought for Their lawful right as the citizens and workers of our country Not a munificence from the Government But now Serious discontent among the vast masses of unorganized workers about the contents of the Act

Act ignored all recommendations of Second National Labour Commission, Report of the Petitions Committee of Lok Sabha, Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Labour Report along with draft laws prepared by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector

Claimed purpose of the Act “To provide for social security and welfare to the unorganised workers and for other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto“. Term "social security" is not defined in the law; Even more strangely , the term does not occur in the body of the law in any substantive sense. Emphasis seems to be only on schemes of welfare. Not a social security Act for unorganised workers

No welfare schemes exclusively for workers Schedule I of the Act describes applicable "welfare" schemes Schemes listed out in Schedule I are for the general population and not exclusively for workers, Bulk of these schemes are devised and designed as Poverty Alleviation efforts meant for families below the Poverty Line.

Clever move to divide workers The schemes meant for BPL families also constitute "welfare" schemes for unorganised workers National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers suspect that this Act is essentially for workers below the Poverty Line An attempt is to create a divide among workers as being above or below the Poverty Line.

No time limit for implementation Commencement of the Act is left to be decided by the Central Government. Not even a time limit, say 12 months, has been prescribed.

A contributory scheme No concern for employment The Act prescribes that nonpayment of the contribution disentitles the worker from getting any benefits. So it is a contributory scheme. Without any employment, the workers will not be able to pay even the minimal contribution. Lack of full time and regular employment is the biggest concern of unorganised workers. The Act does not address the basic issue facing them.

‘Family’ not defined The Act does not define the "Family" There is a danger that in the interpretation of the “family" may be restricted to include only the worker, his/her spouse and up to two children. Dealing with the most disadvantaged sections of our society and keeping in view our social traditions of strong family ties, it is desirable to also include parents of the worker and/or the spouse, dependent widowed sister, dependent widowed daughter-in-law and so on. Without this, the "Social" in social security will not attain its full stature.

Definition of ‘unorganised worker’ The Act defines an unorganised worker as "a home based worker, self employed worker, or a wage worker in the unorganised sector......". The term "Unorganised Sector" restricts the coverage to those enterprises employing workers who number less than 10 or 20 for enterprises not using power. Enough loopholes in the definition to deny the benefits

Total lack of legislative policy or intent Parliament is entitled to, and in fact obliged to, build into the law what constitutes appropriate and adequate social security for unorganised workers and their dependents, eligibility criteria, scale of benefits that they are entitled to receive and under what conditions, the funding arrangements to meet the cost of social security

Parliament abdicates responsibility Our Parliamentarians have enacted a law which enables the Central and State Governments to do whatever they deem expedient. Workers have not been entitled to receive minimum standards of social security, even after 60 years of independence.

Conclusion The Act as enacted is totally inadequate. Government ignored recommendations of all the workers’ organisations and its own commissions The law has failed to indicate clearly the extent of funds that must be earmarked for providing social security and welfare. In all, the Act suffers from a serious lack of legislative policy and intent.

Thank you