The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour has voiced a recommendation for a social security number specifically for migrant workers. This proposal places an increased focus on those employed in unorganised sectors not governed by labour laws.
Migrant Worker Statistics: A Challenge for the Ministry of Labour and Employment
The Ministry of Labour and Employment faced difficulty in providing concrete numbers concerning migrant workers. Officials relied on data from the Railway Ministry, which suggested approximately 1.08 crore migrant workers utilised the government’s Special Shramik express trains. However, this statistic may be misleading as both students and family members of the workers also travelled on these trains.
The Advantages of a Social Security Number for Migrant Workers
Contrarily to using Aadhar as the foundation for allocating government benefits to migrants, it has been proposed that migrants should be assigned social security numbers. These individual identifiers could more effectively link workers with insurance, health, and other welfare programmes. Such a system could prevent calamities like those experienced during the extended lockdown, when large amounts of workers were suddenly left without employment. A social security number could help monitor the number of migrant workers and their migration patterns.
Proposed Record Keeping and Accessibility
Records of both the origin state and the destination state of each migrant worker must be taken into account. As migrant workers may or may not have internet access, the smallest administrative bodies – such as gram sabhas – could play a crucial role. In urban areas, this could also be managed by municipality workers.
Issues Surrounding the Social Security Fund
The committee flagged several issues in relation to the social security fund under the Social Security Code Bill, 2019. This includes concerns about who will contribute to the fund and how it will be organized and used. The committee also discussed changes in labour laws due to the pandemic and the potential effects on workers.
Decoding the Social Security Code Bill, 2019
The central government has been aiming to consolidate 44 central labour laws into four comprehensive codes on wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational health & safety. The Social Security Code Bill aims to amend and combine nine current laws related to social security. This includes the Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 1952, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008.
Implications of the Social Security Code Bill, 2019
The term ‘social security’ refers to initiatives ensuring access to health care and providing income security to workers. The Social Security Code Bill, 2019 proposes a social security fund. This fund aims to provide all workers, including gig workers, with benefits such as pension, medical cover, and death and disablement benefits. The code also outlines the establishment of various bodies to administer government-notified social security schemes.
In addition, the code stipulates that every woman is entitled to maternity benefits paid by her employer based on her average daily wage for the period of her actual absence due to delivery. There are also specific penalties for offences such as falsification of reports, punishable with up to six months imprisonment.
