The Hindu Business Line : Workers in small firms may be brought under social security plans

Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here on Tuesday, the Union Labour and Employment secretary, Ms Sudha Pillai, said: “After the necessary amendments are carried out, these unregistered workers would be able to receive benefits under the Government social security schemes.”

Non-disclosure

According to Ms Pillai, employers, at times, do not disclose the exact number of employees on payroll to avoid labour law complexities.

Stating that the proposed amendment to the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act of 1988 was pending before Parliament since 2005, she sought the support of trade unions in this regard.

Unions’ Opposition

The trade unions affiliated to CITU and INTUC have been opposing the amendment on the ground that this was nothing but a form of rooting for a kind of self-certification in the disguise of a pro-labour amendment.

Increase threshold

The Ministry has proposed to increase the employee threshold limit from 19 to 40 for bringing more units under the cover of mandatory statutory benefits clauses.

“By increasing the threshold limit, the employer will be allowed to maintain only two registers on computer and send only one return via email. This will bring down paperwork and will also simplify the process, bringing in larger a number of workers under the social security net.”

Target Cover

The Government has set itself a target to cover 1.6 crore workers in 2008-09 under the social security scheme for below poverty line workers and is looking to introduce it at a later stage. The health insurance scheme ‘Rashtrya Swasthya Bima Yojna’, launched in October 2007, is expected to be rolled out in April 2008, Ms Pillai added.

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