The parliamentary standing committee on labour has recommended the creation of a national social security and welfare fund to ensure minimum social security benefits for unorganised sector workers.
Formation of the fund under the provisions of the Unorganised Sector Workers? Social Security Bill would ensure permanency, continuity and sustainability of social security benefits, the committee emphasised.
The panel said, ?The mobilisation of resources for the proposed fund may vary from earmarking of a definite percentage of GDP to levying of cess on various forms of taxes, grants and loans from the union and state governments, monthly collection of contributions from employers and beneficiaries on the lines of ESIC and EPFO, making provisions for cross subsidy of certain percentage of benefits from national, financial and developmental institutions or from any of such companies which have been directly or indirectly benefiting from the unorganised workers.?
?All contributions made to the fund should be exempted from the payment of income tax or any other tax under the different tax laws. The fund will be utilised to meet the expenditure on the implementation of various social security schemes for welfare of unorganised workers and on all such matters related to the enhancement of the scope of various schemes meant for unorganised workers,? the committee said.
The committee observed that the fiscal burden under the proposed National Social Security Policy should be minimal and these benefits should be covered in phases within a time frame of three years, which can be supplemented and progressively enhanced.
Moreover, the panel has suggested that the concept of National Minimum Benefits should be made part of the Act and state governments be allowed to add on the benefits.
