Unorganised sector Bill: Govt junks Left proposals

Key supporters of the UPA government, the Left parties, might again need to take on the Congress-led government on the issue of welfare of the unorganised sector workers.

The Unorganized Sector Workers Bill, a favourite issue of both sides, is headed for trouble as the labour ministry is reluctant to incorporate any major change suggested by the parliamentary standing committee. The Left has rejected the Bill in its present form and wants the government to change the proposed legislation, which aims to cover 309 million workers.

The labour ministry doesn't see merit in the two main suggestions of the standing committee "" the creation of a dedicated fund for schemes for the sector and an administrative authority to implement these schemes.

"Whether there is a dedicated fund or not is immaterial. Our only concern is availability of money. The government is already providing funds for the BPL (below poverty line) families. There is no shortage of funds," said a top official in the labour ministry.

Ministry sources cite the example of the dedicated fund for north- eastern states. The huge amounts these funds are supposed to have are absent. Ministry officials say the welfare of unorganised labourers boils down to providing pension and life insurance. Since most of the schemes will be implemented by insurance companies and government agencies, there is no need to create another administrative body, they say.

The labour ministry says it has already extended old-age pension to all BPL families which is expected to cover a large section of unorganised workers. Then there is the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for BPL families which will be functional from April 2008. After these schemes, where money for the beneficiaries' health needs is paid for, the government is framing schemes for other unorganised labourers.

"We will soon moot schemes for autorickshaw drivers, domestic helps, fishermen, tailors, taxi-drivers and other unorganised sector workers. However, these schemes will be participatory," said Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes.

Another important demand of the Left and the standing committee"" separate arrangements for the agricultural workers "" is not a priority for the ministry. Most farmers or agricultural workers shift to other manual jobs in off-season, so it's difficult to assess them as a different category, officials say.

"A final decision on the recommendations of the standing committee will be taken by the Cabinet. We will try to pass the Bill in the coming session of Parliament," said Fernandes.

It is to be seen how much pressure the Left can exert on the government when the ministry is not ready to accept its major demands. A stubborn approach of the Left might stall the passage of the Bill and the Congress would have a political opportunity to campaign that the Left was obstructing the welfare of unorganised workers.