Mumbai: Labour groups are actively campaigning for the implementation of state insurance for informal workers, who currently lack social security and employee benefits despite comprising over 93% of the country’s labor force. The Working Peoples’ Coalition (WPC), a collective of unions, NGOs, and labor experts, recently organized a conference with various stakeholders to discuss expanding the scope of the Employee State Insurance scheme (ESI) to cover all informal workers.
Bilal Khan, one of the organizers, highlighted that the ESI not only provides health insurance but also offers additional benefits. However, the current scheme is limited to salaried employees in organizations with more than ten workers and earning less than ₹21,000 per month. To address this issue, the WPC is advocating for the creation of welfare boards for informal workers to access the benefits typically associated with formal employment.
Rajiv Khandelwal, vice-president of WPC, emphasized that informal workers often earn too little to contribute to the ESI fund, and employers in these sectors may not be formally recognized or absent. Nonetheless, efforts are being made to collect employee cess from companies that engage gig workers, such as drivers and delivery personnel.
The challenges extend to funding ESI hospitals in Mumbai, which lack essential resources despite having a significant corpus. Encouraging informal workers to enroll in the ESI scheme is another hurdle, but various organizations are actively working on the ground to address this issue.
The conference saw participation from fifteen sectors of informal worker unions from the western zone, representing a diverse range of occupations. The government’s initiative to introduce social security benefits for informal workers, demonstrated through the e-shram portal, reflects a broader commitment to uplift marginalized labor sectors.
Historically, the struggle for labor rights and social security benefits for informal workers dates back to the early days of the labor movement in India. The demand for equitable treatment and fair compensation has been a consistent theme in the fight for social justice within the workforce.
In conclusion, the push for state insurance for informal workers is gaining momentum, with stakeholders actively engaging in dialogue and advocacy efforts to bridge the gap in social security coverage. It is a step towards ensuring equitable access to fundamental rights and protections for all workers, irrespective of their employment status.
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