Profit in a business is perceived to be directly proportional to the extent of
exploitation of labour. Labour is classified into different segments as unorganised and
organised, wage earners and self-employed, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled and so on,
depending upon the nature, period, and place of work. Stunningly, the labour laws of the
country only covered workers of organised sector, who form only 8 % of the total labour
force. Informal sector or unorganised sector in India is broadly characterized as consisting of
units engaged in the production of goods and services with the primary objectives of
generating employment and incomes to the persons concern. In India, almost 92% of the
labour comes under unorganised sector. Dearth of regulations and absence of Legislation
purports the connivance of the government towards barbarous and roughshod (of course even
Inhuman, at times) treatment of these labourers by the employees. They are not provided
with any security against working conditions including safety, maximum hour of work and
job security.
T o protect the rights of this segment of workers, the first of its type; Unorganized
Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 was passed by the parliament. The preamble of the Act
reads as: “An Act to provide for the social security and welfare of unorganised workers and
for other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 is the beginning in the direction of
protecting the rights of unorganised workers in India but numerous implementation issues,
inherent in the very structure of the Act, barricades in its well functioning. Being among
ratifying countries of UDHR and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thesocial security of unorganised workers should be consider ed as their basic human right in
India and the country must adhere to protect such rights.
T he Act is claimed to cover six crore unorganized workers, and in turn their family
members of 30 crore people.6 The expectations are high but the objective still seems to be
far-flung. This paper analyses the provisions of the Act and also proposes amendments,
wherever it is felt necessary. |