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Vidhi seva samajik Utthan Samiti, on 18th of July has successfully organized its fourth webinar on the Topic “INDIA’S INFORMALISATION OF LABOURERS WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON MIGRANTS LABOURS” The systematic assault on informal workers is not a new phenomenon in India. Ever since ages the rights of the labourers are being exploited and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a grave humanitarian crisis in India. Apart from the public health challenges, the nationwide lockdown has led to the mass exodus of workers from big cities to their faraway villages, risking lives. The harrowing pictures of their hardships still haunt our collective imagination and pose serious questions about how justice is delivered in a democracy. To answer such questions and to have a qualitative discussion three speakers were invited to share their valuable insights.
The session was started by Mrs. Neha Mishra, Assistant professor of Law, Jindal Global School and she primarily talked about Social protection and Human Rights of labour force in India. She highlighted that Labour laws are the laws which deal with the relationship that governs the workplace, in an environment influenced by both the employer and the employee. Labour laws deal with the disputes between the employer and employee, regarding various matters during the course of the job and also after the specific term of the job is over. These Labour Laws had been enacted in India to codify the Fundamental of the workers regarding minimum wages and proper working conditions. Further, they provide a degree of certainity to the industries and bring them under a proper regulatory framework. Lastly, they help the State to fulfil its obligations enshrined in the Directive Principles of State Policy(s). So, they are expected to serve tripartite interests- of the employee, employers and the Government. She added the state always proposed the most inhuman and least empathetic labour policies, rejecting the provision of basic social safety nets to millions of workers. Over the years, this has created an ocean of workers living on basic minimum wage, deprived of freedom, dignity and security. Until the mass exodus of the migrant workers shook the world, our mainstream media, civil society and political parties were evasively silent on the existence of our informal sector workers as a political class. She emphasized on the point that all of the sufferings that workers have faced in sheer violation of their Human rights.
Session was further taken forward by the Advocate Pallavi Pratap, Supreme Court of India. She spoke on the topic Rights of the Women Labourers. She pointed, since the lockdown was announced hastily, thousands of migrant workers (Women workers included) were stranded on the streets without food, shelter and money. As a result, many of them died on the roads, under the trains, and the trees. She said this year the largest human exodus was witnessed after the partition of the country. It was explained by her that how women workers faced the worst during this pandemic. She point that how government failed in maintaining the data regarding migrant workers. She suggested that there is the need of proper management of Data and also policies in respect to workers in informal sector and also there is the wide need of special provisions for women workers.
Lastly, Mr. Prakash Badolia, Assistant Director at CAPT Bhopal and Principal of National Center for Prosecutors spoke on Sustainable and Inclusive Development: A Need of an Hour. He explained India has a large informal economy. The informal or unorganized sector constitutes approximately 96% of the total workforce in the country. These workers include agricultural labourers, street vendors, home-based workers, construction workers, daily wage labourers, etc. Most of them are migrant workers who left their home state in search of regular income and jobs. In terms of GDP, the informal economy accounts for roughly half of the country’s total GDP. Yet, they are primarily unorganised, and often work within an unequal power relationship characterized by sheer exploitation and oppression. The informal workers (including migrant workers) are far beyond the reach of our labour laws, regulations and social protection mechanisms. He further added that migrant workers are the small portion of unorganized sector and no proper data available in any of the states so as to cater their needs in the times of adverse situation. He added it is the high time to formulate sustainable and inclusive policies in relation to migrant labourers. There is also a need of amending old aged Disaster management Act in order to bring some ease to migrant workers.
The webinar was moderated by Mohammad Raashid Ali, President of Vidhi Seva Evam Samajik Utthan Samiti. On the behalf of the entire team I would like to extend my thanks to all the speakers for joining our Virtual platform.
By,
Priyanka Singh
LLM (National Law University, Odisha)
