UNIT

INTRODUCTION
  Unit Introduction
UNIT 5 TOPIC 1  What is a good job?
 Labour Market dichotomies in India.
 Characteristics of Unorganized Sector
 Labour Market dichotomies in India.
 What is unorganized sector?
 Characteristics of Unorganized Sector
 Provisions of the act
 Critic of the act.
WHAT IS A ‘GOOD JOB’?
 In line with ILO guidelines, we can categories a job as ‘good’ if it
 Generates earnings that are sufficient to maintain a decent quality of life and
which are distributed in a way that broadly benefits a large body of the
working population
 Provides security and social protection such that the risks of unemployment
are limited and, in instances where the labourer is unable to obtain
employment, s/he is able to fulfil basic needs through elements of social
protection such as unemployment or pension benefits.
 Ensures a safe and healthy work environment in which other non-wage
aspects of employment, such as working relationships, are suitably desirable.
 Enables labour to develop its capacities on the job, and partake of the fruits of
technological advancement and more efficient production techniques.
THE EXODUS DURING
PANDEMIC?
.

According to the report of Economic Survey released in 2019, the unorganized sector
accounts for 93% of the total workforce of the country.

This unorganized sector has a big hand in running the country’s economy, yet there is no
concrete provision to protect it.
UNORGANIZED LABOUR IN
INDIA.
CHARACTERISTICS OF UNORGANIZED SECTOR

 It is small in terms of employment;

 It is associated with low capital intensity;
 Labour productivity is low;
 Produces low priced goods and services in different modes of self-
employment, unpaid family labour and wage work;
 An enterprise has no legal personality of its own (other than the person
who owns it).
 Working condition in unorganised sector units is very poor;
 Excessive seasonality of employment is seen;
 Social security measures are absent;
 Often negation of social standard is seen;
 Workers have very poor human capital base in terms of education, skill
and training and thus they are immobile;
 Any effective legal action taken against any illegal activity in this sector
is seen as a step of impairing;
 Workers are hugely scattered and not unionized;
 They are also socially stratified on the basis of caste and sub-castes
(seen especially in rural areas).
THE UNORGANISED WORKERS
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT, 2008
The unorganised sector of the economy in India is the largest sector in
terms of employment of the workforce. It consists of agriculture and
such related activities as forestry, livestock and fishing as well as non-
agriculture. The bill is intended to provide a measure of social security
to the workers in the unorganised sector. This bill propose a model that
will be inclusive in nature and provide for a clearly demarcated division
of responsibilities between the central and state governments.

It mandates the central/state government to implement national social

security scheme
 The main objective of the legislation is to extend the
social security and other protections to unorganized
sector workers.
 An Act to provide for the social security and welfare of
unorganized workers and for other matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.
 It extends to the whole of India.
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
 "home-based worker" means a person engaged in the production of
goods or services for an employer in his or her home or other premises
of his or her choice other than the workplace of the employer, for
remuneration, irrespective of whether or not the employer provides the
equipment, materials or other inputs;

 "self-employed worker" means any person who is not employed by an

employer, but engages himself or herself in any occupation in the
unorganised sector subject to a monthly earning of an amount as may be
notified by the Central Government or the State Government from time
to time or holds cultivable land subject to such ceiling as may be notified
by the State Government;
 "unorganised sector" means an enterprise owned by individuals or self-
employed workers and engaged in the production or sale of goods or
providing service of any kind whatsoever, and where the enterprise
employs workers, the number of such workers is less than ten;

 "wage worker" means a person employed for remuneration in the

unorganised sector, directly by an employer or through any contractor,
irrespective of place of work, whether exclusively for one employer or for
one or more employers, whether in cash or in kind, whether as a home-
based worker, or as a temporary or casual worker, or as a migrant worker,
or workers employed by households including domestic workers, with a
monthly wage of an amount as may be notified by the Central Government
and State Government, as the case may be.
"unorganised worker" means a home-based worker, self-
employed worker or a wage worker in the unorganised
sector and includes a worker in the organised sector who
is not covered by any of the Acts mentioned in Schedule II
to this Act
SECTION 3. FRAMING OF SCHEME.
(1) The Central Government shall formulate and notify, from time
to time, suitable welfare schemes for unorganised workers on
matters relating to--

(a) life and disability cover;

(b) health and maternity benefits;
(c) old age protection; and
(d) any other benefit as may be determined by the Central
Government.
(2) The schemes included in the Schedule 1 to this Act shall be deemed to
be the welfare schemes under sub-section (1).
(3) The Central Government may, by notification, amend the
Schedules annexed to this Act.

(4) The State Government may formulate and notify, from time to
time, suitable welfare schemes for unorganised workers, including
schemes relating to--
(a) provident fund;
(b) employment injury benefit;
(c) housing;
(d) educational schemes for children;
(e) skill upgradation of workers;
(f) funeral assistance; and
(g) old age homes.
FUNDING OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SCHEMES.
Section 4.
(1) Any scheme notified by the Central Government may be--
(i) wholly funded by the Central Government; or
(ii) partly funded by the Central Government and partly funded
by the State Government; or
(iii) partly funded by the Central Government, partly funded by
the State Government and partly funded through contributions
collected from the beneficiaries of the scheme or the
employers as may be prescribed in the scheme by the Central
Government.
(2) Every scheme notified by the Central Government shall
provide for such matters that are necessary for the efficient
implementation of the scheme including the matters relating
to,--
(i) scope of the scheme;
(ii) beneficiaries of the scheme;
(iii) resources of the scheme;
(iv) agency or agencies that will implement the scheme;
(v) redressal of grievances; and
(vi) any other relevant matter.
NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY
BOARD.
Section 5.
(1) The Central Government shall, by notification, constitute a National Board to be known as the
National Social Security Board to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions
assigned to, it under this Act.

(2) The National Board shall consist of the following members, namely:--
(a) Union Minister for Labour and Employment-Chairperson, ex officio;
(b) the Director General (Labour Welfare)-Member-Secretary, ex officio; and
(c) thirty-four members to be nominated by the Central Government, out of whom--
(i) seven representing unorganised sector workers;
(ii) seven representing employers of unorganised sector;
(iii) seven representing eminent persons from civil society;
(iv) two representing members from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha;
(v) five representing Central Government Ministries and Departments concerned; and
(vi) five representing State Governments.
(3) The Chairperson and other members of the Board shall be from amongst
persons of eminence in the fields of labour welfare, management, finance, law
and administration.
(4) The number of persons to be nominated as members from each of the
categories specified in clause (c) of sub-section (2), the term of office and other
conditions of service of members, the procedure to be followed in the
discharge of their functions by, and the manner of filling vacancies among the
members of, the National Board shall be such as may be prescribed:
Provided that adequate representation shall be given to persons belonging to
the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the Minorities and Women.
(5) The term of the National Board shall be three years.
(6) The National Board shall meet at least thrice a year, at such time and place
and shall observe such rules of procedure relating to the transaction of
business at its meetings, as may be prescribed.
(7) The members may receive such allowances as may be prescribed for
attending the meetings of the National Board.
(8) The National Board shall perform the following functions, namely:--
(a) recommend to the Central Government suitable schemes for different
sections of unorganised workers;
(b) advise the Central Government on such matters arising out of the
administration of this Act as may be referred to it;
(c) monitor such social welfare schemes for unorganised workers as are
administered by the Central Government;
(d) review the progress of registration and issue of identity cards to the
unorganised workers;
(e) review the record keeping functions performed at the State level;
(f) review the expenditure from the funds under various schemes; and
(g) undertake such other functions as are assigned to it by the Central
Government from time to time.
Under Section 6 State Social Security Board will be
formed with similar provisions
WORKERS FACILITATION CENTRES.

 Section 9.
The State Government may set up such Workers' facilitation centres as may
be considered necessary from time to time to perform the following
functions, namely:--
(a) disseminate information on available social security schemes for the
unorganised workers;
(b) facilitate the filling, processing and forwarding of application forms for
registration of unorganised workers;
(c) assist unorganised worker to obtain registration from the District
Administration;
(d) facilitate the enrollment of the registered unorganised workers in social
security schemes.
ELIGIBILITY FOR REGISTRATION
AND SOCIAL SECURITY
BENEFITS.
(1) Every unorganised worker shall be eligible for registration
subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions, namely:--
(a) he or she shall have completed fourteen years of age; and
(b) a self-declaration by him or her confirming that he or she is
an unorganised worker.
(2) Every eligible unorganised worker shall make an application
in the prescribed form to the District Administration for
registration.
(3) Every unorganised worker shall be registered and issued an
identity card by the District Administration which shall be a smart
card carrying a unique identification number and shall be portable.
(4) If a scheme requires a registered unorganised worker to make a
contribution, he or she shall be eligible for social security benefits
under the scheme only upon payment of such contribution.
(5) Where a scheme requires the Central or State Government to
make a contribution, the Central or State Government, as the case
may be, shall make the contribution regularly in terms of the
scheme.
THE WORKING OF THE
LEGISLATION
As a follow-up, a National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for unorganised sector workers was
set up in 2010-11 with an initial allocation of Rs 1,000 crore.

Announcing this in his budget speech, then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had stated:
“Recognising the need for providing social security to the workers in the unorganised sector,
and as a follow up to the Unorganised Sector Workers Social Security Act, 2008, it has been
decided to set up a National Social Security Fund for unorganised sector workers with an
initial allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore. This fund will support schemes for weavers, toddy
tappers, rickshaw pullers, bidi workers etc”.

A budget study group, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability said that “the
allocation of Rs 22,841 crore should have been made (i.e. 0.39% of GDP as estimated by
National Commission on Employees in Unorganised Sector) in the budget for universal
social security coverage”.
Most of the states are yet to pass legislation on this regard.
Even the allocation and actual spending of the fund is negligible.
CRITICISM OF THE LEGISLATION

 The act does not make it mandatory for the present or future governments
to introduce a single new scheme and to that extent it does not ensure
anything new by way of real benefits to the workers. Why was a new act
needed at all when these schemes had already been formulated?

 These existing schemes are for the BPL category and by dividing the
unorganised workers into BPL and non-BPL categories grave injustice is
being committed against the latter. The National Commission for Enterprises
in the Un organised Sector (2007) had visualised a minimum level of social
security for all workers and this should have been legislated into the act in
order to ensure that every worker in the country gets certain basic
entitlements.
 Wage issue.
 All other social security measures become meaningful only when the
wage earned by the worker (we are not even talking about the minimum
wage or fair wage, but just the wage earned by dint of hard labour as
part of the contract) is ensured to them. Non-payment of wages and
inordinate delays are far more rampant than is acknowledged by the
policymakers. No scheme can give as much security to the worker as the
knowledge that his or her rightful wages shall be paid on time.
 This was the basic security that the act should have ensured. The
present system of expecting the worker who is not paid by the employer
to go to the labour court against powerful employers when she does not
even have the money to buy the next meal is a mockery of justice. In
fact, the issue of dispute resolution through tripartite boards as
suggested by the Shramshakti report of 1988 should have been
considered.
Grievance Redressal: The act has come up with an impractical provision
that every scheme formulated by the government shall include its own
mechanism of grievance redressal.

Work Conditions: It is difficult to understand why our parliamentarians

did not show even a modicum of consideration for the inhuman
working conditions and long working hours that these workers face.
While it might be argued that an eight-hour working day, even if
legislated, would have remained on paper (which is true of most social
justice legislation in the country), such provisions would have said
something for the principles that should be upheld. Legislation gives
strength to the workers and their organisations who are struggling at
the grass roots.