The consortium of 14 NGOs organised a National
Convention on Social Security for Unorganised
Workers from 26 to 28 October at Morbhawan, Nagpur,
Maharashtra, placing social security as a fundamental
right of workers. The Convention had been a successful
and historic event, which registered the participation
of over 800 participants and representatives of
more than 300 NGOs, trade unions, people’s movements,
community organisations, government authorities,
and the participation of state ministers and intellectuals
among others.
We adopted the Nagpur Declaration and resolved
to hold regional- and state-level conventions
and workshops. Consequently, consortium members
are organising state-level conventions
. The Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan, Ekta Parishad,
NIWCYD, CEC and various trade unions and others
organised a Regional Convention in the Adivasi
belt (covering eight districts) on 10 and 11 February
2007 at Umariya in Madhya Pradesh. In this meeting
more then 300 representatives of trade unions,
NGOs, panchayats and other organisations were
present despite heavy continuous rains. These
participants discussed various social security
issues, additional social security issues and
land rights for Adivasi workers, mine workers
and agriculture workers. The campaign also began
with posters and handouts.
The Indian Social Institute, a consortium member,
organised a social security workshop/convention
in Guwahati on 12 February 2007. More than 150
participants attended this workshop. The community
organisations and workers unions of North-Eastern
states initiated an intense campaign.
The NIWCYD, Bhopal, with other partner organisations
along with trade unions and peoples groups organised
state level social security conventions in Bhopal
on 20 February 2007. About 100 representatives
of various organisations of Madhya Pradesh, social
activists and academicians attended this convention.
FEDINA-Bangalore has organised a workshop on social
security at Bangalore on 25 February 2007. In
this meeting about 75 people discussed various
issues of social security.
The organisations who participated in the Nagpur
National Convention are planning to organise state
conventions in Ranchi, Hyderabad, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Orissa and in other states in the month
of March 2007. Reports of conventions held in
other places such as Chennai (organised by NCDHR)
are still awaited. The consortium is also planning
to hold a meeting in Delhi in order to put more
pressure on government and to challenge inaction
or perfunctory actions of the Government.
Campaigning
Consortium organisations and their partners are
also engaged in campaigning by displaying posters,
distributing detailed handouts in local languages
and conducting postcard campaigns and explaining
the need for social security in smaller meetings.
Activists are visiting industrial areas, villages
and mining areas to campaign. Trade unions are
also collaborating in this movement. This campaign
is emerging as a national movement. Some other
groups have been campaigning in different ways
such as by conducting cycle rallies.
Consortium members have also decided that we will
actively support and participate in Action 2007
in action programmes for social security for unorganised
workers and for livelihood protection. We will
also actively participate in and support trade
union programmes and participate in and support
movement for social security of unorganised workers.
Submissions to the Government
Consortium members (representing ISI, NCDHR, PWESCR,
NCC-USW and CEC) personally submitted the Letter
of Demands with the Nagpur Declaration and other
papers to Ms Sayeeda Hameed, Member of the Planning
Commission, after a discussion on 11 December
2006.
Consortium members personally submitted the Letter
of Demands with the Nagpur Declaration and other
papers to Mr B.C. Mungekar, Dr Abhijeet Sen, and
Dr B.N. Yugandhar, Members of Planning Commission
and to Mr M.V. Rajasekharan, Minister (Planning)
& Ex-Officio Member of the Planning Commission
and discussed all the issues for more than half-an-hour
on 13 December 2006. In these meetings, Mr Vincent
of NCDHR was also present. The members also met
Ravi Shrivastava, Member in NCEUSW and submitted
the Letter of Demands with the Nagpur Declaration
and other papers to him on 13 December 2006.
In these meetings, members of the planning commission
and the NCEUSW suggested the building up of continuous
pressure on the government, particularly before
or at the beginning of the Budget session of Parliament,
as they felt that otherwise the Government, that
is, the finance ministry and the labour ministry
would ensure that the bill is not introduced in
the Parliament.
Response to the ‘Unorganised Workers’ Social
Security BILL, 2007’ placed on the website by the
Ministry of Labour, Government of India
The consortium members decided to oppose the new
Bill of the Ministry of Labour on the grounds that
it ignored the demands of trade unions, demands
raised in the Nagpur Declaration and the demands
submitted to the Labour Ministry by the consortium.
The following points were submitted to the Ministry
vide a letter dated 15 February 2007
. i) The draft ‘Unorganised Workers Social Security
Bill 2007’ is not comprehensive; the provisions
of employment regulation, livelihood protection
and dispute resolution have been deliberately removed.
ii) The draft bill is merely a charity handout rather
than a document that affirms the rights of workers
based on the principle of social justice.
iii) The term ‘social security’ has not been defined
in the current Bill. The components of social security
as in the ILO definition, together with security
needed immediately after natural disasters such
as earthquakes, flood and the additional social
security needed for Dalits, women, Adivasis and
other marginalised workers with decent work, as
recommended by ILO, should be the necessary components
of definition of ‘social security’.
iv) The definition of ‘worker’ excludes those getting
above Rs 6500/- and unpaid women workers. The wage
ceiling for different social security benefits could
have been left to the powers of boards in the schemes
so as to make it flexible.
v) The bill deliberately avoids affirming the rights
of unorganised workers; their right to organise,
the rights of women, Dalits, Adivasis and other
marginalised workers, the right to social security
and other labour rights.
vi) The accountability of the government has not
been established, including accountability from
the Consolidated Fund of India and the accountability
of the Board to Parliament. vii) The representation
of Dalits, women, Adivasis and other marginalised
workers in the Social security boards and in the
administration of social security has been ignored.
viii) Affirmative provisions concerning these marginalised
sections have not been incorporated.
ix) The bill undermines the autonomy of Social Security
Boards
x) The roles of the Social Security Boards and the
government are confusing and overlapping. The bill
does not prescribe clear autonomy for the Board.
xi) The government has blatantly ignored the demands
of trade unions, people’s organisations, this consortium
and other community organisations. This Bill is
a shell without content; a very diluted and narrow
attempt from the labour ministry. In the light of
the points given above, this bill was strongly rejected
in its present form.
Moreover, the manner in which this bill has been
floated on the Internet giving very little time
for the citizens to respond casts serious doubt
on the intention of the government. We wonder whether
there is a deliberate attempt on the part of government
to create confusion and further delay a comprehensive
legislation for unorganised workers.
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