No contract, paid leaves, social security: Life of salaried workers in India

Almost a fourth of India’s employed people have salaried jobs. However, the number of people who actually reap benefits out of it are not so much. This is what the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2020-21 report says.

Of India’s total number of employed people, more than a fourth have salaried jobs. This will look like a good thing on paper, but the PLFS report throws some light on the reality. “These were persons who worked in others’ farm or non-farm enterprises (both household and non-household) and, in return, received salary or wages on a regular basis,” the description read. The category also includes gig and part-time workers. However, the report also says most of these people do not have a job contract. The proportion of salaried workers without job contracts is a whopping 63.5 per cent. The proportion of women is higher in this category. While the number of workers without job contracts has been coming down over the last few financial years, the number is still quite high. It is also shocking to know that almost half of them, 49.3 per cent women and 43.7 per cent men are not eligible for paid leaves. “Paid leave included leave during sickness, maternity, or such leave an employee was eligible to take without loss of pay, as per the conditions of employment,” the report says. The analysis of the data also says that the proportion of employees eligible for social security benefits including provident fund, gratuity, health benefits and pensions have been going up over years. While 49.6 per cent of the salaried employees had no such benefits in financial year 2017-18, it jumped to 53.8 per cent in FY 21.

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