People's Democracy

LEGISLATION FOR UNORAGNISED SECTOR WORKERS

Stick To Commitment And Tripartite Conclusions: CTUOs

Responding to the union cabinet decision approving a bill for social security for unorganised sector workers, the Central Trade Union Organisations (CTUOs) viz. the AITUC, BMS, CITU, HMS, INTUC UTUC- LS and UTUC jointly issued the following statement on May 31, 2007:

WE, the Central Trade Union Organisations (CTUOs), view with serious concern the reported decision by the Union Cabinet of May 24, 2007 that a bill will be introduced in the parliament as early as possible for social security for the Unorganised Sector Workers and that the bill would provide for setting up a National Advisory Board and enable the central government to notify welfare schemes from time to time. We strongly resent the arbitrary decision of the government, which totally negates the declared commitment of the present government and tripartite conclusions so far arrived at.

The background note appended to the government press release in this connection quotes the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) estimates for the year 1999-2000 and states that of the total employment of 36.9 crore (about 93 per cent) in the unorganised sector, 23.7 crore are in the agricultural sector. These figures suggest that the government is contemplating to introduce the proposed legislation covering both the agricultural workers and other unorganised sector workers.

We wish to draw the attention of the government to our long pending demand that there should be two separate but comprehensive legislations covering 1) the agricultural workers and 2) unorganised sector workers. The National Common Minimum Programme adopted by the present government had also specifically committed a comprehensive protective legislation for all agricultural workers and assured ensuring of the welfare and well being of all workers, particularly those in the unorganised sector who constitute 93 per cent of our workforce. We also reiterate that the government should stick to this commitment. Hence, we oppose the present move to bring an omnibus legislation, covering workers of both these sectors.

The issue of separate legislation for unorganised sector workers had been under tripartite dialogue ever since 2002. The ministry of labour and employment had circulated several drafts on the unorganised sector workers bill, the latest being the one published on the website of the ministry in 2007. The National Advisory Council (NAC) had also presented a note and draft bill. The National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) had also come out with separate drafts – on social security and conditions of work – relating to the workers in the agricultural and unorganised sectors. Successive sessions of the Indian Labour Conference had deliberated on these issues and conclusions arrived there are before the government for implementation. In this backdrop, we are dismayed at the arbitrary move by the union cabinet to introduce a bill, which has nothing in common with the long-drawn process of tripartite consultations.

We reiterate that the proposed legislation for the unorganised sector workers, as well as another one for the agricultural workers, should include conditions of work, regulation of employment, guaranteed minimum wages, equal remuneration for women and social security, with an effective implementation machinery in place. The attempts in the past to introduce social security schemes without statutory backing and guaranteed resource allocation have ended up only as non-starters. In the light of this unsavoury experience, it is strange that the union cabinet has accorded approval for a legislation, which at best contains only vague enabling provisions, without any timeframe to cover the 93 per cent of work force in this country.

We strongly urge the government to review its present decision and take immediate steps to reconvene tripartite consultations in order to finalise the drafts of two separate but comprehensive bills for the agricultural workers and unorganised sector workers, keeping in line with the unanimous inputs provided by the CTUOs on more than one occasion in the past. We urge that such a process be completed well in time, in order that the bills, after appropriate revisions, may be introduced in the forthcoming session of the parliament as envisaged.