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Social Security To Daily Labours

Social security is important to protect daily workers during crises like Covid-19. Most daily workers in India are in the unorganized sector and work in jobs like street vendors without benefits. They have low social security coverage and struggled during the pandemic. While laws exist to provide some benefits to organized sector workers, most daily workers remain disadvantaged due to the casual nature of their work and lack of organization. Expanding social security coverage to all workers and ensuring benefits reach even informal workers is needed.

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27 views

Social Security To Daily Labours

Social security is important to protect daily workers during crises like Covid-19. Most daily workers in India are in the unorganized sector and work in jobs like street vendors without benefits. They have low social security coverage and struggled during the pandemic. While laws exist to provide some benefits to organized sector workers, most daily workers remain disadvantaged due to the casual nature of their work and lack of organization. Expanding social security coverage to all workers and ensuring benefits reach even informal workers is needed.

Uploaded by

smchmp
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Social Security in this Corona situation to daily workers

In India corona hit hard – daily workers who earned their livelihood by selling
goods and services on road.
More than 90% of working population in India are engaged with such works.
Include Women and Children.
To amaze the class of people contributing in Majority of GDP are held hopeless.
This pandemic showed why they are called most oppressed section of Indian
Society.
They are outside the horizon of various labour legislations, and are at the mercy of
employers.
They are outisde the ambit of provident fund, pensions, maternity benefits etc.
They do not get even minimum wages even in situation where their category of
work is covered under the minimum wages act.

Social security is understood to provide assistance to society in distress caused by


the unforeseen and inevitable eventualities specially like Covid-19.
The pain of such people was seen when they walked miles and found other ways to
come home sacrificing their 2 day meals.
This showed that they continues to be outside the preview of social security
coverage.
Basic characteristics and the trends of daily workers are analyzed.

Compare with Organized sector - they are already covered by the Factories Act, 1948, the
Shops and Commercial Establishments Acts of State Governments, the Industrial Employment
Standing Orders Act, 1946 etc. This sector already has a structure through which social security
benefits are extended to workers covered under these legislations.

Daily Workers who have not been able to organize themselves to pursuit of their common
interests due to certain constraints like casual nature of employment, ignorance and illiteracy,
small and scattered size of establishments, etc. Example can be Street food wala/ Momos wala/
vegetable seller/ construction labors etc. Another example can be workers working under non-
registered shops i.e. shops not under companies act.

Found reason why despite such disadvantages people work informally??? 18 reasons
from National Commission On Labour [Next Page]
1. Low scale of organization
2. Operation of labour relations on a casual basis, or on the basis of kinship or personal relations
3. Small own account (household) or family-owned enterprises or micro enterprises
4. Ownership of fixed and other assets by self
5. Risking of finance capital by self
6. Involvement of family labourers
7. Production expenditure indistinguishable from household expenditures and use of capital
goods
8. Easy entry and exit
9. Free mobility within the sector
10. Use of indigenous resources and technology
11. Unregulated or unprotected nature
12. Absence of fixed working hours
13. Lack of security of employment and other social security benefits
14. Use of labour intensive technology
15. Lack of support from Government
16. Workers living in slums and squatter areas
17. Lack of housing and access to urban services
18. High percentage of migrant labour
Social security measures initiated for daily workers in India

Analyzing concept of SS - SS is based on the idol of human dignity and social justice. The basic
idea behind social security measure is that a citizen who has contribute or likely to contribute to
his country’s welfare should be given protection against certain hazards.

We can say it varies from time to time and country to country. But in simple words we can say
that social security is a social, economic and legal protection to human being to earn his/her
livelihood and maintain his standard of living.

India was known as self sufficient country but due to western influence lost
Self-sufficient village economy and agricultural based village economy had totally been broken
down .
Traditional cottage industry in the Indian villages came to an end.
As a result of industrial revolution, the comparatively cheap and standard quality cotton and silk
saree and other products were available in the Indian market. Accordingly, the Indian Industry
was totally broken down
The Apprentices Act figures the first law introduced in India relating to labour. It was enacted for
better enabling children to learn trades, crafts and to seek employment by which when they
come to full age, they may gain a livelihood.
SS laws in India

Employees state insurance act, 1948


covers factories and establishments
Provides medical care to employees and their families
Provides Cash benefits during sickness and maternity
Monthly pension after death or permanent disability.

Employees’ Provident Funds Act, 1952


To provident fund, superannuation pension, and family pension in case of death during
service.

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923


Requires payment of compensation to the workman or his family in cases of employment
related injuries resulting in death or disability.

Maternity Benefit Act, 1961


Provides for 12 weeks wages during maternity as well as paid leave in certain other related
contingencies.

Payment of Gratuity Act


Provides 15 days wages for each year of service to employees who have worked for five
years or more in establishments having a minimum of 10 workers.
Recent developments in social security

Looking at the constitutional approach I found that

The right of workers including social security was demanded to be included in


Constitution as fundamental right but the nature of the right and the difficulty in its
enforceability made its position in the subordinate category of non-justiciable right.

Matters relating to Social Security are listed in the Directive Principles of State Policy and
the subjects in the Concurrent List.
Article 41 Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases the State
shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective
provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved
want.
Article 42, Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. The
State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for
maternity relief.
These provisions contained in Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of Constitution
helped a lot for providing facilities to workmen and making effective provisions of public
assistance
Conclusion and Suggestions

Undoubtedly, Central and State Governments have taken numerous initiatives for the
betterment and development of the unorganized workers, but there are no accurate
figures to measure the effectiveness and implementation of these initiatives as there is no
strict standard check. Even these unorganized workers are also not aware about all these
schemes, benefits and rights which make their condition unchangeable.

•There should be a standard social security system in the country as well as a strict check is
required to assess whether these schemes and laws are successfully implemented or not.
•There should be registration of these unorganized workers as organized workers.
•Government and NGO’s should conduct such programs in which these workers are given
knowledge about these laws, schemes and benefits in their support and of course about
their rights too.
•More need of life and disability cover as in this sector there is the risk of untimely death
due to such diseases
•Comprehensive mechanism for providing pension benefits by the Government on its own,
or in collaboration with insurance companies to ensure old age income security.
•Universalisation of social security so as to ensure the availability of minimum social
security floor to every worker in the unorganized sector.

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