Parliamentary panel recommends welfare fund, national database for migrant workers

NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour submitted its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the Code on Social Security, 2019, which seeks welfare fund for interstate migrant workers, social security fund and other rights for the unorganised sector which has been hit by Covid-19.

The committee, headed by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, submitted the report which was moved in the Lok Sabha by labour minister Santosh Gangwar on December 11, 2019. The report, which is likely to be tabled during the next session of Parliament, amalgamates nine labour acts on aspects such as compensation, insurance, provident fund, maternity leave, unorganised labour and gratuity. As many as 44 labour laws have been subsumed into four codes: The Code on Wages, 2019; The Occupational Health, Safety and Working Conditions Code, 2019; The Industrial Relations Code, 2019; and The Code on Social Security, 2019.

The committee has made some important suggestions regarding the unorganised sector - a segment which witnessed large-scale migrations during the lockdown. These concerns range from expanding the definition of unorganised workers to strengthening their rights. The committee said interstate migrant workers should be mentioned as a separate category in the Code and a welfare fund should be created for them."This fund should be proportionately financed by six agencies - sending state, receiving state, contractors, principal employers and the registered migrant workers (with limited and minimal contribution)," said the report.

The panel has also suggested creation of a social security fund for the unorganised sector and underlined that this provision should be madepart of the Code to remove any room for ambiguity.

The report has laid a lot of emphasis on creation of a national database managed by the central government. This data can be used for providing social security benefits to migrant workers.

The report said the government should also incorporate "Unemployment Insurance" in the Code for the unorganised sector workers.