Sonia's proposal has Rao in a bind

The labour ministry appears to be in a quandary over two separate drafts for a Bill on ensuring social security for the unorganised sector.

Both the drafts, one generated by the Arjun Sengupta-led commission for the enterprises belonging to the unorganised sector and the other by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) are with the ministry, awaiting the green signal. a nod from Labour Minister K Chandrashekhara Rao.

Rao, before he left for Andhra Pradesh last month to campaign for the municipal polls there, received the two drafts but has not yet decided which one to accept.

According to sources close to Rao, the minister has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about which draft to accept. Singh, it is learnt, has advised the minister to call a meeting where both Sengupta and NAC members will have to be present to determine the shape of the legislation.

"This meeting will be scheduled soon," said a ministry official.

Both drafts speak of creating a social security net and a fund for benefiting workers in the organised sector.

The Sengupta draft wants the financing of the fund shared by employers, employees, state and central government, and levying of a cess, if necessary. But the NAC draft speaks only of a cess, with workers having to pay only a small amount.

The NAC draft speaks about a unique identification social security number for all unorganised sector workers, including the self-employed ones so that benefits can be easily distributed. Rao has not made up his mind on which Bill to accept, but the financial implications of the Bill are not lost on him.