The Hindu : New Delhi News : Unorganised workers organise protest rally

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Unorganised workers organise protest rally

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Several organisations and workers from the unorganised sector staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar here on Monday to put pressure on the Union Government to come out with comprehensive social security legislation for the unorganised sector workers.

The workers demanded that the legislation include registration and identity cards for all unorganised workers, life and disability insurance, health insurance, maternity benefits, old-age pension, adequate financial provision in the Union Budget for “national social security fund”, provision for workers’ contributions and setting up of workers’ facilitation centres. Also, they demanded inclusion of all category and types of workers in the social security net irrespective of whether they were below poverty line.

A memorandum to the Prime Minister pointed out that 60 per cent of the unorganised sector workers were engaged in agriculture and a majority of them were earning much less than the minimum wages prescribed by the Government.

More than 20 organisations representing various categories and types of unorganised sector workers including Self-Employed Workers’ Association (SEWA) and Hamal Panchayat participated in the dharna.

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