Par panel may submit final report on Code on Social Security on Friday

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour is likely to submit on Friday its final report on The Code on Social Security, 2019, which seeks to subsume nine laws related to social security of workers.

The panel adopted its draft report in a meeting held on Wednesday, a member of the panel said on the condition of anonymity.

Under the report, the member told PTI that the panel has firmed its view that government should specifically mention the source of fund, it is contemplating under the draft law for providing social security to unorganised workers, platform workers and gig workers or any such class of workers.

These unorganised sector workers are presently not covered under any social security net of the government.

The beneficiaries of the proposed social security fund would get old-age pension, receive life & disability cover and health & maternity benefits among others.

Under the Code introduced in the Lok Sabha in December last year, the labour ministry had proposed a number of funding options for the scheme.

These are wholly-funded by the central government; partly by the Centre and partly by the states; partly by the Centre, partly by state and partly by contribution from the beneficiary or the employer.

It was also proposed to be funded from any source including the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund or any other such source as may be specified in the scheme.

The panel member said that the panel wants to know about the source fund because it needs to have regular fund flow to serve its purpose of providing social security to unorganised sector workers.

The panel has also firmed a recommendation to bring in farm workers and domestic help workers under the proposed social security fund.

The code on social security also proposed to empower the central government to provide for the scope of the scheme, authority to implement the scheme, identify the beneficiaries of the scheme, resources of the scheme and the agency that will implement the scheme.

The Centre may also set up a special purpose vehicle for the purpose of implementation of the scheme.

The social security code proposes to empower the central government, by notification, to constitute the Social Security Fund or funds for provision of social security and to be administered by the central government.

It also empowers the central government to provide for the scope of the scheme, authority to implement the scheme, beneficiaries of the scheme, resources of the scheme, agency that will implement the scheme.

The Centre may also set up a special purpose vehicle for the implementation of the scheme.

The code on social security would subsume nine laws including Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 and Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

Among others, it proposes differential rates of employees' contribution for class of employees for Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) as the central government may notify for a specified period.

It also proposes to provide for payment of gratuity in case of fixed term employment on pro-rata basis even if the period of fixed term contract is less than five years.

The code also makes Aadhaar mandatory for seeding at the time of registration of member or beneficiary or any other person to register or for receiving benefit.

It also empowers the appropriate government to exempt certain establishments from all or any of the provisions if the proposed code.