Syllabus: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population
Ground Reality of Worker Exploitation
- Case Study: Investigation into seafood factories found women peeling fish heads without gloves, on cold tables, for meagre wages. Workers were initially promised Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF). Before benefits could accrue, they were reclassified as “daily wagers”, and contributions were stopped. Such exploitation indicates the fragility of protections in India’s labour ecosystem.
- Informalisation of Workforce
- Wages are paid off the payroll, without contracts, stripping workers of legal rights.
- 90% of India’s workforce is informally employed (ILO, 2024).
- This violates Article 14 (equality before law), Article 16 (equal opportunity) and Article 23 (prohibition of forced labour).
Draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025: Key Provisions
- Introduces a Universal Social Security Account linking PF, ESI, PM-JAY, e-SHRAM, State boards.
- Aims for portability of health, maternity, pension, accident and life insurance benefits.
- Vision aligns with Article 41 (right to work, education, and public assistance).
- Proposes strict enforcement of Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
- Targets near-zero workplace fatalities by 2047.
- Structural Gaps and Risks
- No funding mandate as employers are not compelled to contribute.
- Digital-only access risks exclusion: only 38% household literacy; impacts women, elderly and low-literates.
- Lack of union safeguards reduces collective bargaining power.
- Reliance on AI-based job matching risks algorithmic biases, potentially violating Article 15 (non-discrimination).
- Goal of increasing female labour participation to 35% lacks concrete mechanisms like quotas or maternity support.
Conclusion
- Without offline access, penalties, and clear funding, policy risks becoming symbolic, not transformational.
- Success depends on restoring dignity, rights, and justice to India’s informal workforce.