UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES

Unorganised Sector and Labour Laws

SUBMITTED TO: SUMITTED BY:

MS. SITAL AKASH MALIK

FACULTY, UILS B.COM LLB (D)

PANJAB UNIVERSITY 184/15

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Acknowledgement
Success is a blend of multiple efforts. The final import of this project is also a result of the sheer
hard work and constant support of many people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all
of them.

To begin with, I would like to express my humble gratitude to my teacher, Ms.Sital for her able
guidance and mentoring. The meticulous manner in which she teaches has paid significantly in
the completion of this project.

Secondly, I would like to thank my department, University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab
University, Chandigarh, for providing such an expansive library which provided me all the
relevant material required for this project.

Last but not the least, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my parents and my
friends who have constantly supported and motivated me throughout this project.

-AKASH MALIK

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………4

Definitions………………………………………………………………………………5

Characterstics of unorganized workers …..…………………………………………….6

Problems faced by workers…………………………………………………………...7

Unorganized sector and legal regimes ………………………………………………...9

The Minimum Wages Act,1948…………………………………………………………10

Ministry of labour and employment …………………………………………………….11

Unorganized workers social security act, 2008 …………………………………………12

Summary and Conclusion………………………………………………………………..19

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………20

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INTRODUCTION

Our Constitution of India provided to all citizens of the country justice- social, economic and
political, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; as well as equality of status
and opportunity irrespective of their caste, creed, status, religion, race, sex and nature of their
work. Yet the gap which existed between organized and unorganized sector in our country is
very wide which made our system unequal in the eyes of law. In local terms, organised sector or
formal sector in India refers to licensed organisations, that is, those who are registered and pay
sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the publicly traded companies, incorporated or formally
registered entities, corporations, factories, shopping malls, hotels, and large businesses.
Unorganised sector, also known as Unorganised sectoror own account enterprises, refers to all
unlicensed, self-employed or unregistered economic activity such as owner manned general
stores, handicrafts and handloom workers, rural traders, farmers, etc. An Unorganised Sector
can be defined as the sector where the elements of the Organised Sector is absent.

Labour market is not homogenous. It is broadly segmented into unorganised and organised, wage
earners and self-employed, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled and so on. Every regulation
relating to social security and working conditions has different meaning and implication for
every segment.

The Indian economy is characterised by the existence of a vast majority of informal or

unorganised labour employment. As per a survey carried out by the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO) in 2009–10, the total employment in the country was of 46.5 crore
comprising around 2.8 crore in the organised and the remaining 43.7 crore workers in the
unorganised sector. Out of these workers in the unorganised sector, there are 24.6 crore workers
employed in agricultural sector, about 4.4 crore in construction work and remaining in
manufacturing and service.

DEFINITION

According to the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act,2008

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“Unorganized sector means an enterprise which is engaged in the production or sale of the food
or in providing services of any kind owned by individuals or self-employed workers and where
the number of worker working is less than 10 in number.”

The Ministry of Labour, Government of India, has categorized the unorganized labour force
under four groups in terms of Occupation, nature of employment, specially distressed categories
and service categories.

1. In terms of Occupation: Small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural labourers, share
croppers, fishermen, those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labeling and packing,
building and construction workers, leather workers, weavers, artisans, salt workers, workers in
brick kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills, oil mills etc. come under this category.

2. In terms of Nature of Employment: Attached agricultural labourers, bonded labourers, migrant

workers, contract and casual labourers come under this.

3. In terms of Specially distressed categories: Toddy tappers, Scavengers, Carriers of head loads,
Drivers of animal driven vehicles, Loaders and unloaders come under this category.

4. In terms of Service categories: Midwives, Domestic workers, Fishermen and women, Barbers,
Vegetable and fruit vendors, News paper vendors etc. belong to this category.

In addition to these four categories, there exists a large section of unorganized labour force such
as cobblers, Hamals, Handicraft artisans, Handloom weavers, Lady tailors, Physically
handicapped self employed persons, Rikshaw pullers, Auto drivers, Sericulture workers,
Carpenters, Tannery workers, Power loom workers and Urban poor. There are various
definitions for the Unorganised sector in India. According to the Central Statistical Organisation,
all unincorporated enterprises and household industries (other than organized ones) which are not
regulated by law and which do not maintain annual accounts or balance sheet constitute the
unorganised sector. The Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET) defines the
organized sector as comprising all establishments in the private sector, which employ 10 or more
persons. By implication of this definition, Unorganised sector is comprised of enterprises with
less than 10 employees. These are not a) organised systematically, b) made formal through

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mandatory registration or licence , c) covered by legislation to protect minimum labour standards
in employment and (development) unionized.

The major characteristics of the unorganized labourers:

1. The unorganized labour is overwhelming in terms of its number range and therefore they are
omnipresent throughout India.

2. As the unorganized sector suffers from cycles of excessive seasonality of employment,

majority of the unorganized workers does not have stable durable avenues of employment. Even
those who appear to be visibly employed are not gainfully and substantially employed, indicating
the existence of disguised unemployment.

3. The workplace is scattered and fragmented.

4. There is no formal employer – employee relationship

5. In rural areas, the unorganized labour force is highly stratified on caste and community
considerations. In urban areas while such considerations are much less, it cannot be said that it is
altogether absent as the bulk of the unorganized workers in urban areas are basically migrant
workers from rural areas.

6. Workers in the unorganized sector are usually subject to indebtedness and bondage as their
meagre income cannot meet with their livelihood needs.

7. The unorganized workers are subject to exploitation significantly by the rest of the society.
They receive poor working conditions especially wages much below that in the formal sector,
even for closely comparable jobs, i.e., where labour productivity are no different. The work
status is of inferior quality of work and inferior terms of employment, both remuneration and
employment.

8. Primitive production technologies and feudal production relations are rampant in the
unorganized sector, and they do not permit or encourage the workmen to imbibe and assimilate

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higher technologies and better production relations. Large scale ignorance and illiteracy and
limited exposure to the outside world are also responsible for such poor absorption.

9. The unorganized workers do not receive sufficient attention from the trade unions.

10. Inadequate and ineffective labour laws and standards relating to the unorganized sector.

Problems faced by the workers

As being the weaker section of the society they face many challenges. They are as follows.

 Low wages– Wages is only the factor for which any person/employer works. As the
labourer is getting meagre wages. As there is the Minimum Wages Act defines the
minimum wage, which needs to be paid to the worker, but the worker fails to get
minimum wages. The Supreme Court of India ruled that employing workers at
wage rates below the statutory minimum wage levels is considered as the forced
labour and is the infringement of Article 23 of the Constitution of India even
though economic compulsion might drive one to volunteer to work below the statutory
minimum wage.
 No Knowledge about Work Hazardous and Occupational Safety-The working
conditions in the unorganised sector is the leading cause to have an adverse effect on
the health conditions of workers. Concerning home workers, most of the studies
reported that labourers suffer from health problems.
 The health problems are mostly related to respiratory due to inhalation of the tobacco
dust and body ache, or due to the peculiar posture that has to be maintained at all
times of work. Unguarded machinery, various toxic chemical coal, dust lime, dust
blaze, the raw material for synthetic generation leads to the death of many unorganised
workers because the working conditions are more severe and knowledge of
occupational health and safety is negligible.
 Maximum workers are living in deplorable conditions:-They live in unsanitary
conditions and likewise battle with sewer seepage framework overflowing drainage
system, flooding and storms. They live in a slum area. The facilities such as washing,

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 urinal, toilets facilities at work are found to be below standard. It could be said that no
such facilities were provided to workers in the industries.
 Extended Hours of Work:-Long hours of work in the unorganised sector beyond the
labour and regulatory norms are standard in India. In the agricultural sector, there are
no fixed hours of work as there are no laws to act as guidelines for the working
conditions of agricultural labourers.
 In the case of non-agricultural sectors such as fireworks, matchmaking, power looms
and so on, workers started their work very early in the morning at 6:00 a.m and
continue till the evening. In the handloom sector, the work is organised in such a way
that wages were based on 12-15 hours of work per day. A large number of workers
and the labourers are illiterate and as a result, the employers exploit the labourer by
forcing them to work for extra hours. Due to long working, social isolation of migrant
workers, high level of unemployment, illiteracy and lack of awareness are the major
hurdles in organising themselves.
 No Knowledge About the Trade Union or Labour Union:-Not many but most are not
aware of the existence of Trade Union and their rules. The primary purpose of the
establishment of the Trade Union is to settle the dispute that may arise between the
employer and employee. Trade Union means a Trade Union which is for the time
registered under the Trade Unions Act,1926. High Level of insecurity is common-
Social security means which provide amenities and assurance to the workers. For
instance, the employment of the agricultural sector is irregular and unassured. This is
due to the availability of work to them only for about three months and remaining nine
months, they are mostly unemployed and suffer from starvation.

 Seasonal Employment-The workers are employed as a seasonal employer. They are

employed only for a particular season and remain unemployed during the remaining
year. Employment is only for 3-4 months. In India Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Workers Employment Guarantee Act,2005 aims to provide employment security by
guaranteeing at least 100 days of work in the most backward districts of the country
who can perform manually.

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 Women and children are unprotected and get meagre wages: Article 39(d) of
Constitution of India talks about Equal pay for equal work means that all the person
should get equal wages irrespective of their age, sex if they work for the same hours.
The children are forced to work at hotels, dhaba for low wages.
 Children and women are paid low wages as compared to male despite working for the
same hours. Children and female workers work as household labour at the house of the
people living in the urban area. Such child labourers are subject to long working
hours and involved in the hazardous sectors such as carpet weaving, cloth printing,
explosives and fireworks, cigarette making, printing and soldering process in electronic
industries.
 Harassment issues at the workplace for women- Sexual Harassment is a big issue
that occurs at the workplace. A safe workplace is women’s legal right, but it has been
neglected. They still experience a wide range of physical and psychological ailments
due to eve-teasing and sexual harassment. In spite of the Act that was enacted in the
year 2013 still, the woman is being assaulted at their workplace.
 Vulnerable Labour Groups:-The study group on the construction of the First National
Commission on Labour as well Second National Commission (2002) observed that
on quarries, brick-kilns as well as in big construction sites a system of bondage exists
and get extended from one generation to the next through labour.
 The bonded labour involves a debtor-creditor relationship in this system, the creditor
advances loan to the labourer and put him in bondage until the loan is returned. The
repayment of debt is so arranged that the servant cannot repay it during his lifetime
before ensuring lifelong service for the master. It is this feature which differentiates
bonded labour from unpaid forced labour.
 Insecurity due to natural disasters:-There are many natural disasters like floods,
droughts, earthquakes, famine etc. which also have a devastating impact on the
informal sectors. Natural disasters do not wipe out the productive base of the informal
sector, but can also affect the limited household assets of the owner.

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Unorganised Sector and Legal Regimes

India has a long tradition of social security and social assistance directed particularly towards the
more vulnerable sections of society. The institution of self sufficient village communities, the
system of common property resources, the system of joint families and the practice of making
endowments for religious and charitable provided the required social security and assistance to
the needy and poor of the nation. In fact, the caste and religion based institutions also played
significant role in providing the needed support to the weaker sections of the selected castes and
group of people. These informal arrangements of social security measures underwent steady and
inevitable erosion in the wake of industrialisation and urbanisation.

During the British rule the policy was to provide assistance only to the employees of the
company or the government, basically to promote the commitment and loyalty of the workforce
and as a part of non-union strategy. Only during the post- independent period, the welfare
dimension gained relevance and importance. However, even after independence, the State was
concerned more with the problems of industrial (organised) work force and neglected the rural
labour force on social security matters to a greater extent, till recent past.

It is rightly true that when independent India’s Constitution was drafted, social security was
specially included in List III to Schedule VII of the Constitution and it was made as the
concurrent responsibility of the Central and State Governments. A number of Directive
Principles of State Policy relating to aspects of social security were incorporated in the Indian
Constitution. The initiatives in the form of Acts such as, the Workmen’s Compensation Act
(1923), the Industrial Dispute Act (1947), the Employees State Insurance Act (1948), the
Minimum Wages Act (1948), the Coal Mines Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act
(1948), the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act (1952), the Assam Tea
Plantations Provident Funds/Scheme Act (1955), the Maternity Benefit Act (1961), the Seamen’s
Provident Fund Act (1966), the Contract Labour Act (1970), the Payment of Gratuity Act (1972),
the Building and Construction Workers Act (1996), etc reveal the attention given to the
organised workers to attain different kinds of social security and welfare benefits.

Needless to state that the benefits arising through these initiatives are meant for (a) employees of
the Central and State Governments, local bodies, including universities and aided educational

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institutions, (b) Public sector establishments, under both the Centre and States, including mines,
railways, ports and docks, air corporations, banks, insurance companies, electricity Boards, road
transport undertakings, manufacturing units, trading concerns, service industries, etc. (c)
employees in organised private sector establishments in industries as in cotton textiles, jute, silk
and art silk, cement, engineering, chemical, electronics, transport, construction, services and so
on. Though it has been argued that the above Acts are directly and indirectly applicable to the
workers in the unorganised sector also, their contribution is negligible to the unorganised
workers.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 provides for the fixation and enforcement of minimum wages in
India. It prevents the labour from exploitation through payment of low wages. The Act offers a
minimum subsistence wage for the workers. The national floor level minimum wage from
November 2009 is Rs.100/- which has been increased from Rs.80/- in 2007. The minimum
wages for the semi-skilled and unskilled labourers in Maharashtra are Rs. 145/- and Rs.141/-
respectively in the year 2009 . But still the minimum wage is far less than these levels. One of
the major reasons for this unions that collective bargaining and wage negotiations can be done.
Another important aspect is that the union gives it members respect and an identity in the
society. The employers may not be concerned of an individual employee, but they may consider
the union and its strength. So the employers may hesitate to cheat the workers who are union
members. In the case of domestic workers, if they are unionised the workers will be able to take
a day off in a week and the union may be able to provide somebody else in place of her for
ensuring an uninterrupted service. The customers will be happy in such cases and the payment to
the alternative worker can be done through the Union. In addition to that, a minimum wage for
the domestic additional service charge if the customer needs service on Sundays also.

The surplus labour in the informal economy gives a choice to the employers and this causes the
workers that the issue could be solved.

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MINISTRY OF LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

The Ministry of Labour is also operating Welfare Funds for some specific categories of workers
in the unorganised sector like beedi workers, cine workers and certain non-coal mine workers.
The funds are used to provide various kinds of welfare activities to the workers in the field of
health care, housing, education assistance for children, water supply etc. Governments and
registration of beneficiaries under the Fund and provision for their identity cards etc. These
legislations provide for regulating the employment and conditions of service, safety and health
and welfare measures for the construction workers by setting up a Welfare Fund at the State level
to be financed by contribution made by beneficiaries, levy of cess on all construction works at
rates between 1 to 2% of the construction cost incurred by an employer (the Government has
notified the cess @1%).

The Fund is to be used for providing financial assistance to the families of beneficiaries in case
of accident, old age pension, housing loans, payment of insurance premia, children’s education,
medical and maternity benefits, etc.

Most of the State Governments and Union Territories have constituted State Welfare Boards.
The Government of Tamil Nadu has been implementing its own Act. Government of India
notified the cess @ 1%.

Unorganised workers social security act, 2008

In keeping with the commitment of the Government towards unorganised sector workers, the
“Unorganised Sector Workers’ Social Security Bill, 2007" was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on
10th September 2007. This Bill was referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour.
The Committee submitted its report on 03.12.2007. The Standing Committee recommended
certain modifications. On the basis of the recommendations of the Standing Committee, the
Government moved official amendments. The amendments, inter-alia, include change in the title,
definition of unorganized worker, inclusion of grievance redressal, inclusion of MPs in National
Board and Members of State Legislature in State Board and insertion of new section for setting

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up of Workers Facilitation Centres. The Bill has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament.
The salient features of the Bill are as under :

Section (2) provides for the definitions, including those relating to unorganised worker, self-
employed and wage worker.

Section 3 (1) provides for formulation of schemes by the Central Government for different
sections of unorganised workers on matters relating to (a) life and disability cover; (b) health
and maternity benefits; (c) old age protection (d) any other benefit as may be determined by the
Central Government. Section 3 (4) provides formulation of schemes relating to provident fund,
employment injury benefits, housing, educational schemes for children, skill upgradation, funeral
assistance and old age homes by the State Governments.

Section 4 relates to funding of the schemes formulated by Central Government.

Section 5 envisages constitution of National Social Security Board under the chairmanship of
Union Minister for Labour & Employment with Member Secretary and 34 nominated members
representing Members of Parliament, unorganised workers, employers of unorganised workers,
civil society, Central Ministries and State Governments.

The National Board, would recommend the Central Government suitable schemes for different
sections of unorganised workers; monitor implementation of schemes and advise the Central
Government on matters arising out of the administration of the Act.

Section 6 has provision for constitution of similar Boards at the State level.

Section 7 relates to funding pattern of the schemes formulated by the State Governments.

Section 8 prescribes record keeping functions by the District Administration. For this purpose,
the State Government may direct (a) the District Panchayat in rural areas; and (b) the Urban
Local Bodies in urban areas to perform such functions.

Section 9 provides for setting up of Workers’ Facilitation Centre to (a) disseminate information
on social security schemes available to them (ii) facilitate registration of workers by the district
administration and enrollment of unorganised workers.

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Section 10 provides for eligibility criteria for registration as also the procedure for registration
under the Act.

Sections 11-17 contain miscellaneous provisions for implementing the Act.

Apart from the above, a Health Insurance Scheme namely, the ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima
Yojana’ for BPL families ( a unit of five) in Unorganised Sector was formally launched on 1st
October, 2007. The scheme became operational from 1st April, 2008 and benefit under scheme
started accruing to the beneficiaries. The benefits under the scheme include :

(i) Smart card based cashless health insurance cover of Rs. 30,000 to a BPL family of five.

(ii) All pre-existing diseases to be covered

(iii) Hospitalisation expenses, taking care of the most of the illnesses.

(iv) Transportation cost of Rs. 100 per visit with an overall limit of Rs. 1000/ - per annum.

22 States/ Union Territories have initiated the process to implement the scheme. Out of these 22
States/UTs , 17 States namely Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, NCT of Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar,
Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand,
West Bengal, Goa, Nagaland and Chandigarh Administration have started issuing smart cards
and more than 39.71 lakh cards have been issued in these States providing the health insurance
cover to more than 1.98 crore persons. Nagaland is the first State in the North East States to issue
smart cards. Remaining States except Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
are also in the process of implementation of the scheme.”

THE BUILDING AND OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

The construction workers constitute one of the largest categories of workers in the unorganized
sector. The Government has enacted the following two legislations for the construction workers:

The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act, 1996.

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The Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess, Act, 1996;

Further, the Building and Other Construction Workers (RECS) Central Rules, 1998 have

been notified on 19.11.1998.

The Act is applicable to every establishment which employs 10 or more workers in any building
or other construction work and to the project cost of which is more than Rs.10 lakh. The Act
provides for constitution of Central and the State Advisory Committees to advise the appropriate
Governments on matters arising out of administration of the legislation besides constitution of
Welfare Boards by the State.

Although not much has been done in providing social security cover to the rural poor and the
unorganised labour force, the country has made some beginning in that direction.

Both the Central and State Governments have formulated certain specific schemes to support
unorganised workers. The Old Age Pension Scheme (OAPS) was introduced in all the States and
Union Territories. Kerala was the First State to experiment with the pension scheme for the
agricultural workers in the year 1982, followed by Tamilnadu (1982). Andhra Pradesh (1983)
introduced the OAPS to the landless agricultural workers.

The Government of Karnataka introduces the Asha Kiran Scheme (1983) to provide relief
against death or loss of limbs due to accident to agricultural labourers and other labourers (aged
16-65) such as fishermen, beedi workers, washerman, cobblers, masions, goldsmiths, drivers of
animal drawn vehicles, riksha pullers, etc.

The Government of Maharashtra introduced a pension scheme in 1980 to support the physically
handicapped and economically weaker sections of the society. In addition to pension schemes,
there were initiatives to provide death and retirement benefits for the artisans and skilled workers
and insurance benefits to the unorganised sectors initiated in state level.

In order to evolve comprehensive legislation for workers in the unorganised sectors, various
commissions and study groups were appointed. The First National Commission on Labour
(1969) defined the unorganised workers and recommended the Minimum Wages Act to cover
unorganised workers too. In 1984, the Economic Administration Reforms Commission

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constituted a 6-member working group on social security. The Working Group could not carry
out detailed investigation. In August 1987, Government of India appointed a National
Commission on Rural Labour to examine the national and regional problems pertaining rural
labour in India. The Commission submitted its report in July 1991 and recommended old age
pension, life insurance, maternity benefit, disability benefits and minimum health care and
sickness benefits to all rural workers.

The Second National Labour Commission constituted in 1999 submitted its report in 2002 and
recommended an umbrella type legislation and drafted an indicative Bill also to provide
protection to the workers in the unorganised sector. Based on the Commission’s
recommendations, the Government launched the ‘Unorganised Sector Workers’ Social Security
Scheme, 2004’ on pilot basis in 50 districts. The scheme provided three benefits such as, old age
pension, medical insurance and accidental insurance. However, the scheme was not found viable
as it had no statutory backing, it was voluntary in nature and the contribution from the employers
was not forthcoming. Moreover, given the size of the unorganised sector the magnitude of the
problem is huge and the resource requirements are quite large.

The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the present government highlights the
commitment of the government towards the welfare and wellbeing of all workers, particularly in
the unorganised sector. The government constituted a National Commission for the Enterprises
in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) under Chairmanship of Dr. Arjun Sen Gupta to examine the
problems of enterprises in the unorganised sector and make recommendations to provide
technical, marketing and credit support to these enterprises. The Commission was also to review
the social security system available for the unorganised workers and make recommendations for
expanding their coverage. The Commission presented its report on the Social Security for the
unorganised sector workers in May 2006. Based on the committee’s recommendations the
government is in the process of enactment of Legislation (Bill) and formulation of social security
schemes. Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAP) and Employment Oiented Programmes
initiated in India are primarily focused on developing rural labour and unorganised workers.
These programmes improve the access of the poor to developmental programmes, use surplus

labour for community asset formation and strengthen the position of the poor by providing assets
and income. The first PAPs introduced were Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) and

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Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labour Agency (MFAL). In 1980, Integrated Rural
Development Programme (IRDP) was launched with the aim of helping the poor families to
cross poverty line and enabling them to achieve sustain poverty eradication. Productive assets
and inputs were provided through financial assistance by government subsidy and term credit
from financial institutions. The programme covered small and marginal farmers, agricultural
labourers and rural artisans.

In 1979, Training for Rural Youth for Self-Employment was introduced to provide technical and
entrepreneurial skills to rural youth from families below poverty line to enable them to take up
income generating activities. To develop women and children in rural areas with a cooperation of
UNICEF a special programme named Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas
(DWCRA) was started during 1982-83. As an effort towards employment security National
Rural Employment Programme (NREP) was launched during the sixth plan (1982-85). In 1983,
Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) was introduced to ensure
employment generation of hundred days in a year in the rural landless households. By replacing
the NREP and RLEGP Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) was launched in 1989. In the same year
Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY) also got launched with a target towards persons living below the
poverty line in Urban areas. There are several other programme such as Drought Prone Area
Programme (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP), Hill Area Development
Programme (HADP) and North-East Council (NEC) were also launched with similar objectives
of developing weaker sections of selected areas.

In addition to the Central assisted programmes, State-level initiatives for poverty alleviation and
employment generation were initiated towards unorganised workers. For instance in Tamil Nadu
old age pension is available to (a) aged poor who are 65 year and above (b) destitute and
physically handicapped, (c) destitute widows d) destitute agricultural labourers and (e) destitute/
deserted wives. Under the Annapurna Scheme, food grains are distributed to the destitute/ senior
citizens covered under the National Old Age Pension Scheme. The beneficiaries are given 10
kgs. of rice per month at free of cost.

The State of Goa has enacted the Goa Employment (Condiitons of Service) and Retirement
Benefit Act, 2005. According to this act the employers is required to issue social security cards
to the workers engaged by him in both the organised and unorganised sectors. West Bengal

17
Government introduced a State Assisted Scheme of Provident Fund for unorganised workers in
2001. Tripura Government also introduced the similar Provident Fund programme in 2001. In
the State of Punjab, in addition to old age pension scheme, financial assistance to women and
destitute women, dependent children and disabled persons are also made available. Similar such
State level initiatives are carried out in Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Prades, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana,
Gujarat and other states.

The involvement of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the social security of

unorganised workers could not be ignored. A large number of voluntary and people’s
organisations are directly involved in providing protective social security to workers and their
families in the unorganised sector. The services provided by the NGO’s include access to micro-
credit, housing, preventive health care and employment. The NGO’s support to unorganised
workers is carried out in two ways. Firstly, the NGO’s use their own funds and the aids obtained
from other agencies (domestic and international donors) and implement several projects and
schemes to the targeted people who are basically weaker and vulnerable sections of the
community. Secondly, they serve as an intermediary between the formal provider (say,
Government) and the community, and help in routing the services to the needy. It is estimated
that the NGO’s could cover only 3 to 4 per cent of the total workforce in the unorganised sector.

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In the above discussion, an attempt has been made to understand the nature and growth of
unorganised workers, the initiatives of social security towards unorganised workers and to
highlight the needs of the unorganised workers on social security aspects. It was also observed
that the unorganised workers would expand further due to globalization. India had a long
tradition of social security and social assistance system directed particularly towards the more
vulnerable sections of society. The institution of self sufficient village communities, the system
of common property resources, the system of joint families and the practice of making
endowments for religious and charitable provided the required social security and assistance to
the needy and poor of the nation.

These informal arrangements of social security measures underwent steady and inevitable
erosion. Even after independence, the State was concerned more with the problems of industrial
and organised work force and neglected the rural and unorganized labour force on social security
matters to a greater extent, till recent past.

The social security initiatives of the Centre, State and NGO’s indicated that the needs are much
more than the supports provided and the efforts must be targeted and vast enough to cover the
growing unorganised workers. In this context, it is observed that the major security needs of the
unorganised workers are food security, nutritional security, health security, housing security,
employment security, income security, life and accident security, and old age security. In sum,
the study calls for a Comprehensive, Universal and Integrated Social Security System for the
unorganised workers in India.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY/ LIST OF REFERENCES

LIST OF BOOKS

a. ABDUL MAJID- LEGAL PROTECTION TO UNORGANISED LABOUR (2000)

b. DR. BALWINDER SINGH -WORKER’S LIFE, WORK AND DECENCY NEEDED

REGULATORY MEASURES IN INDIA (2009)

c. Dr. V.G. GOSWAMI- LABOUR & INDUSTRIAL LAWS

LIST OF WEBSITES

a. www.indiakanooon.com

b. www.wikipedia.com

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