NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY BOARD FOR UNORGANISED WORKERS

Abstract

The National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers (NSSB) plays a crucial role in bolstering social security for vulnerable unorganised workers. This study examines the NSSB’s structure, mandate, and effectiveness in delivering benefits to this demographic. Utilizing a mix of primary and secondary data, including government reports and expert interviews, the research evaluates NSSB’s achievements, challenges, and areas for enhancement. It assesses governance, financial sustainability, outreach, and coordination mechanisms, elucidating their impact on socio-economic well-being and livelihood security. By analyzing NSSB’s experiences, the study contributes valuable insights to social protection policies for informal sector workers. It underscores the necessity for continuous efforts to expand coverage and improve accessibility to social security schemes for the marginalized sections of society, thereby fostering inclusive development. This article will explore the role of NSSB in providing support and security to the country’s vast portion of the unorganised sector. The national social security board for unorganised workers also plays a pivotal role in providing various benefits like health insurance, old age pension, maternity leave, education, housing, disability cover and social awareness about their rights. In doing so, NSSB faces various challenges like inadequate fundings, less resources, insufficient awareness and identification of workers. This article emphasizes the background, composition, working mechanism and legal framework of the National Social Security Board for unorganised workers which is formed for the benefit of a vast population of unorganised workers.

Keywords

Unorganised Workers, National Social Security Board, Social Security Act of 2008, Informal Sector of economy. Standard of Living, Poverty, Exploitation.

Introduction

According to data by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Unorganised workers constitute around 93% of the country’s workforce.^[1] Around 43.7 crore people are working in the informal sector of the economy as Unorganised workers. If we see the division of that 43.7 crore then 24.6 crore are engaged in the agricultural sector, 4.4 crore are engaged in construction site works and the remaining manufacturing and service sector. It shows that a huge portion of the country’s economy is dependent on the unorganised sector. So, their interests cannot be neglected. They also contribute an important portion to the country’s economy. So, with the introduction of Liberalization, Privatisation and Globalization (LPG) in the 1990s, they became more vulnerable for exploitation and the government and other organisations worked together to form a legal framework for their protection. In the report of the Second National Commission on Labour with Emphasis on Rationalization of Labour laws and unorganized labour, it was suggested that there is immediate need of a legislation for the support and security of unorganised workers. Following the report, the National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) was formed in 2004 with an objective to improve the conditions of unorganized workers. This paved the way to the formation of The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act of 2008. The joint conference of the International Labour Office and secretariat of the World trade organisation also played a crucial role in adoption of this act by highlighting the condition of unorganised workers. The process of registration of unorganised workers are given in Section 10 of Chapter 5 of this act. According to Section 10(1) of this act, every unorganised worker shall be eligible for registration subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions, namely: (a) he or she shall have completed fourteen years of age; and (b) a self-declaration by him or her confirming that he or she is an unorganised worker. This act directs the registration of unorganized workers by the District Administration and the issuance of identity cards to them to solve the problem of identification. As per Section 2(m) of the act defines Unorganized sector as a home-based worker, self-employed worker or a wage worker in the unorganized sector and includes a worker in the organized sector who is not covered by any of the acts mentioned in Schedule-II of the act. ^[2]

Legal Framework

Unorganised workers are those who are employed in the informal sector of the economy. It includes domestic work, agriculture, construction, street vending and others. Unorganised workers are found in both rural and urban areas but the number is higher in urban areas due to various factors like migration, vast economy and different class of people used to live there. People from rural areas migrate to urban areas with a hope for employment and better standard of living but sometimes they face various discriminations and exploitations. These are the certain provisions to solve these problems-

As per section 5(1) of Unorganised workers social Security act, The Central government is empowered to constitute a National Board to be known as the National Social Security Board to exercise the powers conferred on and to perform the functions assigned to it under this act.
As per Section 11 of Chapter VI of this act, the central government may give directions to the National Board or the government of the state or state board of that state in respect of matters relating to the implementation of the provisions of this act. The central government may by notification make rules to carry out the provisions of this act.
Composition: As per Section 5(2) of the act, The National Social Security board shall consist of Union Minister of Labour and Employment as Chairperson of the Board, Director general for Labour Welfare as Member Secretary and thirty-four other members nominated by the Central Government. The thirty-four members consist of seven members for unorganised sector workers, seven members for employers of unorganised workers, seven eminent from civil society, two from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha, five from central government ministries and departments concerned and other five representing the state government. There shall be adequate representation from Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes among members.
The term of the National Social Security board shall be for three years. The National Board shall conduct meetings at least thrice a year. The time and place of the meeting shall be based on the observation of the rules of procedures as may be prescribed.
Section 5(8) of the act prescribes the functions to be performed by the board which includes the followings:

The central government is empowered to introduce suitable schemes for the well-being of unorganised workers.
To check the functioning of state board and keeping record of it
To advise the central government on such matters related to administration of this act.
To keep the record of registration of unorganised workers done by district administration.
To review the accounts of expenditure of funds under various schemes.
The National Board will also monitor the implementation of social welfare schemes started by the central government.
The National Board will perform functions assigned by the central government from time to time.^[3]

Various Schemes for Unorganised Workers

Governments launch various schemes for unorganised workers to address the unique challenges they face and to promote their socio-economic well-being. Unorganised workers often lack access to formal employment benefits such as social security, healthcare, and pensions. These workers constitute a significant portion of the workforce in many countries and are particularly vulnerable to economic shocks, exploitation, and poverty due to the informal nature of their employment. These are some schemes launched by Government to support Unorganised workers-

e-Sharam Portal:

e-Sharam portal is formed with an objective of formation of a centralized database of 38 crore unorganised workers including construction site workers, agricultural labourers, vendors, domestic workers and others. It will also help the government in reaching the targeted beneficiaries easily. The workers will be provided with an e-Sharan Card containing a 12-digit unique number. If a registered worker on the E-sharam meets with an accident, then he will be compensated with Rupees 1 lakhs in case of partial disability and 2 lakhs in case of permanent disability.

E-Sharam was formed when the Supreme court of India directed the central government to complete the registration process of unorganised workers that will help them in availing the benefits under various government welfare schemes.^[4]

Pradhan Mantri shram Yogi Man Dhan (PM-SYM):

PM-SYM is a central sector scheme announced in the interim budget of 2019 by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It targets the unorganised workers whose income is Rs 15,000 or less and belongs to the age group of 18-40 years. He/ She should not be an income tax payer. This scheme functions on a 50-50 basis which means that the central government will contribute the same amount paid by the beneficiary under this scheme. They will receive the minimum assured pension of Rs 3000/- per month after attaining the age of 60 years.^[5]

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA):

MGNREGA is a central sector scheme formed in 2005 with an objective of providing 100 days of employment in every financial year. It is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world. MGNREGA proved to be a boom for unorganised workers who get employment of 100 days in a year even if work is not available then they will be compensated with a salary of 100 days. The most important part of this scheme is that it guarantees for any rural adult to get employment within and if it fails to do so then ‘Unemployment allowance’ must be given.^[6]

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme (IGNOAPS):

IGNOAPS is a centrally sponsored scheme and one of the five schemes under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) formed with an objective of providing financial assistance to senior citizens who are below the poverty line. This scheme is run by the Ministry of Rural Development in India and it is implemented by social welfare departments at state levels. The beneficiary must have attained the age of 60. This scheme plays an important role for unorganised workers as they lack formal retirement plays and they also lack in savings that help them at their old age. And most of them are engaged in physically demanding jobs that they cannot continue into later life, so this scheme becomes essential for their personal and financial well-being in the later stage of life. As per this scheme, beneficiaries aged between 60 to 79 years will get a monthly pension of Rs 200 from the central government and those aged above 80 years will receive Rs 500 per month. These amounts are often supplemented by additional contributions from the state government according to its financial conditions.^[7]

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY):

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) is a government-sponsored health insurance scheme in India. Launched in 2008, it aims to provide financial protection to below-poverty-line (BPL) households and other vulnerable groups against high healthcare costs. Under the RSBY, eligible beneficiaries receive a smart card that entitles them to cashless hospitalization services at empanelled public and private hospitals. This scheme was launched to provide hospital expenditure for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and other vulnerable groups of unorganised workers. It provides coverage for hospitalization expenses of Rs 30,000 per annum for a family consisting of five members on floater basis.

Conclusion

The National Social Security board is a crucial step taken by the Central Government to protect the unorganised workers from exploitation and improve their social status and standard of living through various government schemes. The need for formation of NSSB can be traced back to the 1990s when the central government abolished the closed economy and introduced the concept of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG). With the introduction of LPG, the unorganised workers became more vulnerable to exploitation for the purpose of profit making. It is legally backed by the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act of 2008. There are various schemes started by the central government and monitored by The National Social Security Board to solve the problems of the unorganised workers which includes registration, pension, medical facilities and various other benefits. So NSSB also plays an important role in the prevention and protection of rights of unorganised workers. At the end, the working of NSSB requires concerted effort including sustainable commitment, resource allocation and other solutions.

References

MINISTRY OF LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, https://labour.gov.in/unorganized-workers#:~:text=Aam%20Admi%20Beema%20Yojana%20The,but%20the%20coverage%20is%20miniscule. , ( 10^th April 2024)
Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, No. 33, Act of Parliament, 2008
eShram Portal, https://eshram.gov.in/e-shram-objectives , 10^th April 2024
Dristi Ias, https://www.drishtiias.com/pdf/pradhan-mantri-shram-yogi-maan-dhan-pm-sym.pdf , 10^th April 2024
THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT 2005, https://nrega.nic.in/MGNREGA_new/Nrega_home.aspx, 11^th April 2024.
my Scheme, https://www.myscheme.gov.in/schemes/nsap-ignoaps , 11^th April 2024

[1] MINISTRY OF LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, https://labour.gov.in/unorganized-workers#:~:text=Aam%20Admi%20Beema%20Yojana%20The,but%20the%20coverage%20is%20miniscule. , ( 10^th April 2024)

[2] Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, Section 2(m), No. 33, Act of Parliament, 2008

[3] Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, Section 5, No. 33, Act of Parliament, 2008

[4] eShram Portal, https://eshram.gov.in/e-shram-objectives , 10^th April 2024

[5] Dristi Ias, https://www.drishtiias.com/pdf/pradhan-mantri-shram-yogi-maan-dhan-pm-sym.pdf , 10^th April 2024

[6] THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT 2005, https://nrega.nic.in/MGNREGA_new/Nrega_home.aspx, 11^th April 2024.

[7] my Scheme, https://www.myscheme.gov.in/schemes/nsap-ignoaps , 11^th April 2024

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