The planners in various five year plans emphasized on the need to improve the conditions of labour engaged across the sectors generally and agricultural and unorganized sectors particularly. Thus, the ‘First Five Year Plan’ while dealing with the labour problems emphasized on the basic needs of workers, namely, food, clothing and shelter. The ‘Second Five Year Plan’ touched upon the problems of providing ameliorative measures to agricultural labour. The ‘Third Five Year Plan’ highlighted the need for providing better living and working conditions in the case of agricultural labour and workers in unorganized sector.
It was mentioned in an article that considerable improvements have been occurred in the living and working conditions of employment in large and organized industries. The credit goes to i.e. to the state actions and efforts made by trade unions. However, a great deal of lee-way remains to be made up for the workers engaged in agricultural generally and unorganized industries in particular. Their abysmally low conditions should become a matter of special concern to the Government as well as to their organizations.
The Draft Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans made provisions for training of craftsmen, employment, service and labour welfare. The Sixth Five Year Plan emphasized the need for special programmes for agricultural labour, artisans, handloom weavers, fishermen, leather workers and other organized workers in the rural and urban areas. The Seventh Five Year Plan stressed the need for evolving an appropriate wage and policy and provisions for the welfare and working and living conditions of unorganized labour not only in the rural sector but also in urban areas. The Eighth Five Year Plan paid considerable emphasis on improvement on the quality of labour, productivity, skills and working conditions. That also made provisions for the welfare and social security measures especially, for those working in unorganized sector. It was found crucial for enhancement of the status of labour in this sector because of its employer-employees relations and other embedded conditions. The Plan also emphasized on the need for the greater enforcement of labour laws especially laws relating to regulate the conditions of unorganized labour. It was also found that among labour, the conditions were worst for women and child labour.
The Report of the Working Group on Labour Policy for the Ninth Five Year Plan 1997-2002 may be said to be the beginning of formulation of social security policy in India. It suggested the following activities in respect of the unorganized sector for the Ninth Plan, namely:
(i) Undertake a survey of the unorganized sector,
(ii) Conduct a study of the impact of structural adjustment on labour in the unorganized sector, and
(iii) Set up a research wing in the labour bureau for providing comprehensive information on the needs and requirements of the social security for workers in the unorganized sector.
The Working Group on Labour Policy set up by the Planning Commission for the Ninth Plan Stated: “The schemes of social security types of benefits of protection provided hereunder do not conform to any overall plan or design. There is as a matter of fact, no policy on social security, no plan for social security and the Five Year Plans are practically silent about this important aspect.”
Another expert has said that “Social Security in India is inadequate, highly skewed, complex, and fragmented. Further effective access to it is severely constrained by a variety of factors”.
“Indian plan documents have been virtually silent on the topic. The implementation of such social security as is available in the country is fragmented between the Centre and the States and at each level among different Ministries, departments and agencies. There is little coherence in policy formulation, programme designing, implementation and monitoring. The data base is particularly poor”.
Having regard to the foregoing facts, the Working Group on Labour Policy for the Ninth Plan had recommended that a national policy on social security should be announced with a view to ensuring compulsion and direction. The Study Group on Social Security of the National Commission on Labour re-affirmed the recommendation of the Working Group and suggests that while evolving the policy the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution concerning social security should be kept in view.
It is high time that a national policy on social security is formulated and a national plan to achieve the objectives set out in this policy. It is necessary to create a small but strong agency in the Central Government which will be concerned with the horizontal and vertical coordination of social security planning, monitoring and review.
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