The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Unorganised workers list demands

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Unorganised workers list demands

Staff Reporter

Thursday's rally in New Delhi will demand measures to protect the rights of unorganised workers.

CHENNAI: Job security, wage and pension guarantee were some of the demands raised by members of the Unorganised Workers Federation at a seminar on Tuesday.

The members assembled at Andhra Maha Sabha, Moore Market, to discuss the demand for a "cmprehensive central legislation on unorganised sector workers."

K. Shanmugavelayudam, convener, Tamil Nadu Forces, said the unorganised workers did not enjoy social security benefits such as pension and housing services. He demanded a guaranteed minimum number of working days and earnings for them.

He said the model bill, drafted by the National Campaign Committee for the unorganised sector, comprised the rights of the workers, regulation of employment, conditions of work and social security including maternity benefits and childcare facilities.

Other speakers, including federation president G. Natarajan, stressed the need for separate boards for different groups of employment based on the requirement of the States.

Besides amending the Central Act on construction workers, a separate law for agricultural workers must be enacted. The Central and the State budgets must allocate three per cent for social security of unorganised sector workers, they said.

Rally

About 150 representatives of the State will participate in a rally in New Delhi on Thursday seeking to highlight the rights of unorganised workers. The rally will be attended by 20,000 participants from all over the country.

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