Chapter 7: Social Security and the Informal Sector in Assam
7.2 State level Initiatives 150
Besides the centre led schemes (as discussed in chapter 3) a number of social security initiatives have also been taken at the state level. The Welfare Fund model of Kerala introduced in 1969 showed considerable innovation in its design and organisation. There are almost 23 welfare boards functioning in Kerala for the informal workers which offer some form of social security at the end of the working life, social insurance in the event of sickness, accident and/or death and a measure of welfare arrangements in the form of assistance for housing, education of children and marriage of daughters. In certain cases where the welfare funds are not in a position to provide old age pension, the state came out directly to provide such pensions from the budgetary fund. This Model with suitable modifications can be replicated in other states of India, as well as in other countries, where there are no social security arrangements for informal sector workers (Kannan 2002, NCEUS 2006). The other southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh also constitute labour Welfare board for the workers in the informal sector. In Tamil Nadu under the Annapurna scheme destitute and senior citizens are given 10 kg’s of rice per month free of cost. However, Uttar Pradesh, the largest state of India, lacks specific social security schemes for the unorganised workers. A few social assistance schemes are available for the old aged and the physically handicapped. Punjab and Haryana share
a similar pattern of social security schemes which include old age pension, financial assistance to widows and destitute woman, orphans, victims of accidents and pension to the physically handicapped persons. Both the states are maintaining the labour Welfare Boards which are running various welfare programmes for the informal workers of the states including cash assistance for daughter’s marriage, the scholarship for children of the industrial workers, reimbursement of computer education expenses etc. Government of Gujarat has been maintaining a Rural Workers Welfare Board, under which four insurance schemes are in operation which include group insurance for landless agricultural labourers, fisherman and forest workers and salt workers. Another Shramik Suraksha Scheme has been maintained by the government for the rural and the urban informal workers. The government of Maharashtra has constituted the Mathadi Worker’s Welfare Board for providing social security measures for the workers engaged in loading and unloading of goods.
This includes regulating the conditions of work, providing health care facility for the workers and their families, housing facility and promoting education among the mathadi workers families. Government of Madhya Pradesh has taken a systematic step for providing social security to the unorganised workers by constituting an Unorganised Sector Workers Committee in 2001 to study the working conditions and social security needs for the informal workers of the state and make recommendations for improving the same. On the basis of its recommendations two separate welfare boards for rural and urban unorganised workers are constituted in the state, which will administer two separate welfare funds. The benefits provided under the funds include old age, family and disability assistance, pension, house construction loans, education assistance, marriage assistance, funeral assistance, etc.
The social welfare department of Bihar is running various schemes for the interest of the old aged, women, children and destitute. Some of the schemes are Mukhyamantri Kanya Suraksha Yojana, Lakshmi Bai Social Security Pension Scheme, Scholarship Scheme for the disabled, Bihar Social Security Pension, Bihar Disability Pension etc2. The effort of the left front government in providing social security to the informal workers is also commendable. The government of West Bengal, for the first time in the country, has introduced a provident fund scheme for the unorganised sector workers in the year 2000-01, on the basis of contribution from the workers at the rate of ` 20 per month and the equal amount from the state government. The state government has also introduced a health scheme for these unorganised workers under which money will be paid to the families of the worker who are bed ridden for more than 5 days. A lump sum of ` 5000 will be provided to the workers under this scheme for medical reasons. The welfare schemes for the beedi workers include financial assistance for house building and for electrification purposes. Under the schemes for the unorganised construction workers, a worker has to pay ` 20 per month and can avail various facilities under this scheme such as medical allowances, pension, accident benefits etc. Allowances are also paid for sending their children to the schools and colleges. Introduced in 2010, social security scheme for the transport workers offers it beneficiaries pension benefit, accident benefit, medical benefit for an annual fee of ` 30. Besides these schemes the government of West Bengal has been providing financial assistance for the workers of the closed factories since 1998.
The allowance was ` 500 per month in 1998; which increased to ` 1500 in 2010.
Besides this, monthly assistance of ` 1000 is provided to every workers during puja and id (NCEUS 2006). Very similar to the provident fund scheme of the West
Bengal, the government of Tripura has introduced an assisted scheme for unorganised workers (Asanghatita Shramik Sahayika Prakalpa) in 2001, which cover all wage and self employed workers between 21 to 55 years in the unorganised sector, whose family income is not more than ` 3500 per month.