For workers in the unorganised sector the wait could just get longer for social security benefits under the proposed Unorganised Sector Workers? Social Sector Bill, 2007.
The Parliamentary committee on labour has slammed the government for its ?unimaginative approach? and insufficient spadework for the Bill in its present form. The panel has suggested changes in the title of the Bill to cover the entire workforce and inclusion of ad hoc employees in areas like event management and cultural activities.
Vexed at the government?s approach towards the Bill, the standing committee that reviewed the legislation said the Bill ?in its present form will not be able to meet the aspirations of the millions of workers in the unorganised sector?.
Aimed at providing social security to the entire gamut of workers, the committee has suggested omission of the word ?sector? from the title of the Bill and wherever it occurs in the entire legislation.
The committee has further stated that the very definition of unorganised sector as given in the Bill is ambiguous. It does not cover all the sectors that are likely to be dealt with due to continuous change in the employment pattern owing to the public sector increasingly resorting to outsourcing.
Also missing in the definition is the cooperative sector, which is a strong and important segment of the working class. The committee said the death and disability benefits and a pension scheme proposed under the Bill to unorganised sector workers who live below the poverty line, should be extended to casual and contract workers in the organised sector as well.