OTHER UNORGANISED WORKERS

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DEFINITION

The first National Commission on Labour (1966-69) defined unorganised labour as those who have not been able to organise themselves in pursuit of common objectives on account of constraints like casual nature of employment, ignorance and illiteracy, small and scattered size of establishments and position of power enjoyed by employers because of the nature of industry etc. Nearly 20 years later the National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL: 1987-91) visualised the same scenario and the same contributory factors leading to the present status of unorganised rural labour in India.

EXTENT OF UNORGANISED LABOUR

The 1991 Census has classified workers in this country into two distinct categories as main workers and marginal workers. The main workers are those workers who work for the major part of the year (296 days) and marginal workers are those who work for less that 6 months (183 days). Out of a total work force of 314 million in India, about 286 million (i.e. about 91%) were main workers and about 28 million (i.e.9%) were marginal workers. The data of the Census of India also shows that the bulk of the working population is in the unorganised sector (i.e. 91% of the total population) and this workforce is as yet not actively unionised. The organised sector, which is generally extant around urban settlements, accounts for only 9% of the total work force.

CATEGORIES OF UNORGANISED LABOUR

Unorganised workers can be categorised broadly under the following four heads, namely -

1.     In terms of occupation

Small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural labourers, share croppers, fishermen, those engaged in animal husbandry, in beedi rolling, beedi labelling and beedi packing, building and other construction workers, leather workers, weavers, artisans, salt workers, workers in brick kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills, oil mills etc. may come in this category.

2.    In terms of nature of employment

3.    Attached agricultural labourers, bonded labourers, migrant workers, contract and casual labourers come under this category.

4.    In terms of specially distressed categories

Toddy tappers, scavengers, carriers of head loads, drivers of animal driven vehicles, loaders and unloaders, belong to this category.

5.    In terms of service categories

Midwives, domestic workers, fishermen and women, barbers, vegetable and fruit vendors, newspaper vendors etc. come under this category.

LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION

The Government have taken various initiatives through enactment of legislations, creation of welfare funds, spreading workers education and through supporting non-governmental organisations to bring this deprived class into the mainstream of our work force. Some of the important legislations which help unorganised workers are as under:-

Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.

Maternity Benefit Act,1961

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970.

Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.

 

 

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