The Unorganised Sector Workers' Act, 2008

1. The Unorganised Sector Workers' Act, 2008 Presentation based on A Critique of the Act By Shri T S Sankaran Former Additional Secretary- Ministry of Labour, Government of India Past President of Lok Raj Sangathan And presently Honrary Chairperson of Lok Raj Sangathan vlaxfBr {ks= et+nwj dkuwu 2008 Jh Vh ,l ladjufjVk;MZ fof'k"B lfpo] Je ea=ky;] Hkkjr ljdkj yksd jkt laxBu ds iwoZ v/;{k o orZeku ekuuh; lHkkifr }kjk dkuwu dh leh{kk ij vk/kkfjr çLrqfr

2. 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 vlaxfBr et+nwj • vkcknh ds T;knkrj yksx] pkgs os osru ij dke djrs gksa] ?kj ls dke djrs gksa ;k Lofu;ksftr gksa] vius ifjokj ds lkFk vlaxfBr et+nwjksa dh Js.kh esa vkrs gSa • jk"Vªh; mRikn dks nks&frgkbZ iSnk djrs gSa • Jfedksa dk 93% gSa

3. 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 vlaxfBr et+nwj fdl ds fy;s la?k"kZ dj jgs Fks\ • ,d ,sls loZ&O;kih dkuwu ds fy,] ftlls muds dke rFkk dke ds thou ds lHkh igyw fu;af=r gksa] ftuesa 'kkfey gSa & • jkst+xkj • osru • lkekftd lqj{kk • dk;ZLFky dh ifjfLFkfr o lqj{kk

4. 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 unorganised workers about the contents of the Act mUgksaus la?k"kZ fd;k • bl ns'k ds ukxfjd gksus ds ukrs o et+nwj gksus ds ukrs vius U;k;iw.kZ vf/kdkjksa ds fy;s • u fd ljdkj dk ijksidkj ds fy, ijUrq vc • bl dkuwu dh varoZLrq ds çfr vlaxfBr {ks= ds vke et+nwjksa esa xaHkhj vlarks"k

5. 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 bl dkuwu us lHkh flQkfj'kksa dks ut+jvankt fd;k • f}rh; jk"Vªh; Je vk;ksx dks • yksd lHkk dh ;kfpdk lfefr dh fjiksVZ dks • Je ds ekeyksa ij laln dh LFkk;h lfefr dh fjiksVZ dks • vlaxfBr {ks= ds m|eksa ij jk"Vªh; vk;ksx dh fjiksVZ rFkk dkuwuksa ds fofHkUu elkSnksa dks

6. 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 dkuwu dk dfFkr mÌs'; • **vlaxfBr et+nwjksa ds dY;k.k ds fy;s o mudks lkekftd lqj{kk çnku djus ds fy;s vkSj mlls tqM+s ;k lacaf/kr lHkh elyksa ijA** • dkuwu esa lkekftd lqj{kk dh ifjHkk"kk ugha gSA • blls Hkh T;knk vk'p;Ztud] iwjs dkuwu esa Bksl rjhds ls bl 'kCn dk ç;ksx gh ugha gSA • ,slk çrhr gksrk gS fd flQZ dY;k.k ds mik;ksa ij tksj fn;k x;k gSA vlaxfBr et+nwjksa ds fy;s lkekftd lqj{kk dk dkuwu ugha

7. 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. flQZ et+nwjksa ds fy;s dksbZ dY;k.kdkjh mik; ugha • dkuwu dh vuqlwph 1 esa mfpr **dY;k.kdkjh** mik;ksa dk o.kZu gS] • vuqlwph 1 ds lkjs mik;] lHkh yksxksa ds fy;s gS] u fd flQZ et+nwjksa ds fy;s] • T;knkrj mik; xjhch js[kk ls uhps ds ifjokjksa ds fy;s xjhch mUewyu ds fy;s cuk;s x;s gSA

8. 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. et+nwjksa dks ckaVus dh ,d /kwrZ pky • xjhch js[kk ds uhps ds ifjokjksa ds dY;k.kdkjh mik; vlaxfBr et+nwjksa ds fy;s Hkh ykxw gksrs gh gSa • vlaxfBr et+nwjksa dh jk"Vªh; vfHk;ku lfefr dk 'kd gS fd ;g dkuwu ewy :i ls xjhch js[kk ds uhps ds et+nwjksa ds fy;s gS • xjhch js[kk ds Åij o uhps ds et+nwjksa dks ckaVus dh dksf'k'k dh x;h gS

9. 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. dk;ZUou ds fy;s dksbZ le; dh e;kZnk ugha • dkuwu dks ykxw djus dk le; dsUnz ljdkj ij NksM+k x;k gSA • 12 efgus tSlh Hkh le; dh e;kZnk fu;qä ugha dh x;h gSA

10. A contributory schemeNo 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. va'knk;h mik; csjkstxkjh ij dksbZ ç;kstu ugha • dkuwu dk uqL[kk gS fd viuk fgLlk u vnk djus ij et+nwj dks fgrykHk ugha feysxkA vr% ;g ,d va'knk;h mik; gSA • fcuk jkstxkj ds et+nwj U;wure fgLlk vnk ugha dj ik;saxsA • vlaxfBr et+nwjksa dh lcls cM+h fpUrk iw.kZdkfyd o fu;fer jkst+xkj feyuk gSA dkuwu bl ewy eqÌs dks lacksf/kr ugha djrk gSA

11. ‘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. ifjokj dh ifjHkk"kk ugha • dkuwu **ifjokj** dh ifjHkk"kk ugha nsrk • ifjokj dk eryc et+nwj] mldk ifr@iRuh o nks rd cPps fudkyus dk [+krjk gSA • lekt ds lcls fupys Lrj ds ckjs esa /;ku nssus ij vkSj vius ns'k esa xgjs ikfjokfjd fj'rs dh lkekftd ijEijk dks /;ku esa j[krs gq;s] et+nwj o mldh iRuh@ifr ds ekrkfirk] vkfJr fo/kok cgu ;k vkfJr fo/kok cgq] vkfn dks ifjokj dk lnL; ekuuk pkfg;s FkkA • **lkekftd** ds fcuk lkekftd lqj{kk dh efgek cgqr de gks tkrh gS

12. 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 vlaxfBr et+nwj dh ifjHkk"kk • dkuwu dh ifjHkk"kk ls **vlaxfBr et+nwj ,d ?kj ls dke djus okyk et+nwj gS] ,d Lo;e~ jkt+xkjh et+nwj] ;k ,d osruHkksxh vlaxfBr {ks= esa dke djus okyk et+nwj ----** • **vlaxfBr {ks=** dk eryc ,sls m|eksa rd gh lhfer j[kk x;k gS ftuesa 10 ls de] ;k ftuesa fctyh 'kfDr dk ç;ksx ugha gksrk gS] muesa 20 ls de et+nwj dke djrs gSa • bldh lqfo/kkvksa dks udkj us ds fy, vkSj ifjHkk"kk esa dkQh cpko ds jkLrs NksM+s x;s gSaA

13. 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 oS/kkfud uhfr ;k bjkns dh deh laln dks vf/kdkj gS vkSj mldk drZO; Hkh gS fd dkuwu esa fn;k tk;s • vlaxfBr et+nwjksa o muds ifjtuksa ds fy;s i;kZIr lqj{kk dk eryc D;k gSA • ykxw gksus dk ekunaM • fdl ifjfLFkfr vkSj fdu 'krksZa ij mUgsa lqfo/kk;s fdl iSekus ij feysaxhA • lkekftd lqj{kk dks ykxw djus ds fy;s /ku jk'kh dk çca/ku

14. 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. laln us viuh ftEesokjh R;kx nh • lkalnksa us ,d ,slk dkuwu cuk;k gS tks dsUnz o jkT; ljdkjksa ij NksM+ nsrs gSa fd os viuh ethZ ls dkuwu ykxw djsaA • vktknh ds 60 o"kksZa ds ckn Hkh et+nwj dks lkekftd lqj{kk dk U;wure Lrj Hkh gkfly ugha gks ik;k gSA

15. 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. dkuwufcYdqyv;ksX; gSA • ljdkj us et+nwjksadslaxBuksavkSjvius [kqndsvk;ksxksa dh lkjhflQkfj'kksadksut+jvanktfd;kgSA • dkuwudY;k.k o lkekftdlqj{kkçnkudjusdsfy;s t:jh fuf/k ijladsrnsusesavlQygSA • lkjka'kesa] dkuwuesaoS/kkfuduhfr o bjkns dh xaHkhjrklsdehgSA fu"d"kZ

16. Thank you /kU;okn