ABSTRACT

The word “social security” refers to any legal program designed to support a person’s or a family’s income in the event that one or more of their sources of income are interrupted or eliminated. Thus, anyone who experience illness or disability, unemployment, the death of a spouse, pregnancy, child care responsibilities, or retirement from the workforce may be eligible for cash benefits from social security. Social security is crucial to the preservation, advancement, and optimal use of human resources. This paper throws a light on how the social security norms in India have developed from the Pre- Independence period till date with the implementation of the Code on Social Security, 2020. Significance statement: This paper gives an outlook to the readers relating to the extent of need for a system wherein the State assumes responsibility for its funding and administration, hence the labour laws were implemented. Various programs regarding social security for the protection of the labourers is also highlighted in this paper.

 Keywords: Social Security, International Labour Organisation, Minimum standards, Human welfare, Compensation, Equality, Gig-Workers.

INTRODUCTION

As a safety net for the nation’s residents, Social Security is one of the most significant components of a welfare state. The word “social security” refers to any legal program designed to support a person’s or a family’s income in the event that one or more of their sources of income are interrupted, eliminated, or need extraordinarily high costs. Thus, anyone who experience illness or disability, unemployment, crop failure, the death of a spouse, pregnancy, child care responsibilities, or retirement from the workforce may be eligible for cash benefits from social security. For medical needs, rehabilitation, in-home care for a sick family member, burial costs, and legal assistance, social security benefits might be given in cash or kind. Employers (eg. through insurance firms), central or local government agencies, semi-public or autonomous entities, and court orders can all offer social security.

The ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 defines Social Security as: ‘The result achieved by a comprehensive and successful series of measures for protecting the public (or a large sector of it) from the economic distress, that, in the absence of such measures, would be caused by the stoppage of earning in sickness, unemployment or old age and after death; for making available to that same public medical care as needed; and for subsidizing families bringing up young children’ [1].

Three criteria are used by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to describe social security systems. First and foremost, the system’s goals must be to provide preventive or curative medical treatment, to sustain income in the event of an involuntary loss of employment or a significant portion of it, or to provide additional money to those who are responsible for supporting a family. Second, the system has to have been established by laws that bestow on public, semi-public, or autonomous bodies certain individual rights or impose certain obligations on them. Third, a public, semi-public, or independent entity ought to be in charge of running the system[2].

Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that the subsequent Code on Social Security, 2020 tries to protect the informal sector and the gig- workers as well.

 

NEED FOR SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATIONS IN INDIA

Human development demands that a minimal level of security be afforded to all. Additionally, workers desire to be free from economic dangers that interfere with their day-to-day existence. Because social security is crucial to the preservation, advancement, and optimal use of human resources, there needs to be a system wherein the State assumes responsibility for its funding and administration. Hence, social security is guaranteed by various programs that offer residents advantages intended to sustain them in situations where they are unable to produce income and to help them resume productive activities.

Social security law encompasses the legal mechanisms that are primarily focused on guaranteeing that an individual receives an adequate monetary income, when combined with in-kind benefits from other social services, to ensure a minimum standard of living that is culturally acceptable in situations where normal means of subsistence are not sufficient. A comprehensive service of social security is designed to encompass the five giants in the path of social progress–want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness [3]. Consequently, it is a program of protection offered by security against those modern-day calamities that an individual cannot be expected to defend himself and his family against using his own strength or foresight, such as illness, unemployment, old age, dependency, industrial accidents, and invalidity.

The summary produced by the Ministry of Labor of India states that social security laws provide benefit packages in the areas of financial security and healthcare, which safeguard not just the worker but also his entire family. They include:[4]

• The social security scheme should provide income in the event that all or a significant portion of one’s income from work is lost involuntarily.
• Public or private organizations must administer the system.
• The system must guarantee that benefits will be available when needed and that the protection will be sufficient in terms of both quantity and quality.
• establish legal obligations for the public and other organizations to ensure the same.

SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Every Indian citizen is guaranteed fundamental rights under the Constitution, including the right to life, and as the Supreme Court has noted, the right to livelihood is inextricably linked to the right to life. The ultimate goal of social security is to guarantee that every individual has access to a means of subsistence; hence, the right to social security and family protection are essential components of the right to life. In addition, the Supreme Court in the case of Calcutta Electricity Supply Corporation (India) Ltd. v. Subhash Chandra Bose, AIR (1992)573 :(1991) SCR Supl. (2) 267, has ruled that, as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution, the right to family pension and protection from illness and disability are components of the right to life[5].

As they embrace concepts and policies relevant to social security measures that the State is to adopt going forward, the Directive concepts of State policy define standards of achievement based on a socialistic pattern of society. The provisions, which are related to social security are as follows:

• To Establish a Social Order for the Advancement of Human Welfare.
• Sufficient means of subsistence; Equitable allocation of possession and management of the community’s material assets to meet shared needs.
• The Right to Employment, Education, and, in Some Situations, Public Assistance.
• The protection of childhood and youth from exploitation; Equal compensation for equal work for men and women; The health and strength of workers; and prevention of the concentration of wealth and means of production.
• Orders for the State to Preserve Social Security Measures While Passing Laws.
• Providing Fair and Humane Environments.

Article 41 of the Indian Constitution, which stipulates that the state must, within the confines of its economic development and capacity, make effective provisions for securing the right to work, education, and public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness, and disablement, as well as other cases of unjustifiable want, calls for social security measures[6].

Article 43 requires the state to strive to secure to the worker work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities[7].

 In the case of Standard Vacuum Refining Co. of India v. Workmen, AIR 1961 SC 895, 901, it has been observed that every workman shall have a wage which will maintain him in the highest state of industrial efficiency, which will enable him to provide his family with the material things which are needed for their health and physical well-being, enough to enable him to discharge his duties as a citizen[8].

• SOCIAL SECURITY AS A HUMAN RIGHT

The natural rights to life, liberty, and other freedoms have traditionally been seen as categorical rights, meaning that there is no justification for violating them. Laws can be passed to protect such a political right. It is unusual, however, that laws alone can guarantee social and economic rights. The second group includes rights to social security, employment, and other benefits. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 was passed by India, and it defines human rights as those that are related to an individual’s life, liberty, equality, and dignity that are either enshrined in the constitution or represented in international covenants. The UN General Assembly’s adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights is the international covenant mentioned there that has to do with social security.

• THE RISE OF SOCIAL SECURITY LAWS IN INDIA

The Indian Social Security Schemes for organized sector have been influenced by these factors:

• • The British government’s policy of increasing labour costs in the traditional sectors.
  • A lot of the welfare and social security programs were legally required for companies.
  • A corporate paternalism approach that has several advantages, such as encouraging staff loyalty.
  • The commitment of the labour force to industrial and urban life needed to be encouraged because of the quick industrialization.
  • The rise of the welfare state idea in the post-independence era, which prompted the creation of several welfare and protective laws based on pertinent international labour norms.

A new class of industrial the workers, with a rural upbringing and limited social and material resources, emerged in India as a result of the country’s fast industrialization. They were in desperate need of social security agencies’ organized assistance. Due to the 19th-century industrialization, the non-industrial classes also desperately needed social security. As the Indian Social Reformers, labour welfare organisations, progressive employers recommended to undertake the social security measures, the Indian Government appointed a committee for the enquiry.

In 1929, the Bombay Government gave the first proposal in relation to the Maternity Act[9]. It has been noted that labour quality, which in turn depends on health, nutrition, literacy, social values, and customs, determines productivity.

• SOCIAL SECURITY OF WORKERS DURING PRE- INDEPENDENCE PERIOD

With the intention of raising wages, the first labour agitation occurred at “Empress Mills Nagpur” in 1877. The Bombay Mill Hands Association, the first trade union, was established in 1890 under the direction of N.M. Lokhande.

The original Fatal Accidents Act was passed in 1885. Even still, the living conditions of the labourers were awful and harsh. Prior to 1920, social security was not addressed in any way.

Labour welfare and social security programs received a boost in 1920 from the International Labour Organization. The 1929 ILO Convention placed a strong emphasis on the social security programs for workers. Next, robust suggestions on social security and labour welfare emerged.

As a result of the Indian National Movement following the World War I, the British government began to consider its workforce. As a result, the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1923, the Payment of Wages Act of 1936, the Minimum Wages Payment Act, and the Medicare Benefits Act were introduced on occasion. Following the Second World War, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was appointed as a Labour Member of the Viceroy’s Council.

With the recommendations from the Whitley Commission[10], in 1937 a contributory health insurance scheme was implemented. In 1947, the Industrial Dispute Act was enacted with the main aim of providing provisions for the settlement and investigation of industrial disputes.

• SOCIAL SECURITY OF WORKERS POST- INDEPENDENCE PERIOD

In 1947, India got Independence and the Indian Government strengthened labour welfare and social security measures. In 1948, Employees’ State Insurance Act was modified and that was beginning of the era of Social Insurance for Indian labour.

The original Indian Act 1934 was significantly modified by the Indian government in 1948, and an entirely novel law known as “The Factories Act 1948” was created with the primary goal of controlling working conditions in manufacturing facilities to guarantee proper health, welfare provisions, work hours, and paid time off[11].

In an effort to improve workers’ living conditions, the interim government created a five-year plan for labour class welfare. The following were the programs’ noteworthy aspects:

• • Creation of a health insurance program, initially for industrial workers.
  • Amendment of the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
  • A national maternity benefit law.
  • Expansion of the right, within certain bounds, to take sick leave with pay to other categories of employees.

There was a complete change in the approach to labour legislations after independence as the ideas of Social Justice and Welfare State were enshrined in the Constitution which laid down in the DPSP under part IV relating to labour and its welfare.

Accordingly, the legislative measures have been adopted by the Government of India by the way of social security schemes for industrial workers such as Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923; Employees’ State Insurance Act,1948; Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972; Payment of Wages Act, 1936; Minimum Wages Act, 1948, etc.

INDIAN LABOUR LAWS ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Indian Legislations on social security are as follows:

• Workmen Compensation Act of 1923-This Act, which was subsequently renamed as the Employees Compensation Act of 1923, offers benefits for death, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and temporary disability resulting from accidents or occupational diseases that occur during and related to employment. Compensation is given according to the severity of the injuries sustained while on job[12].
• The Employees State Insurance Act of 1948- This Act established a fund to pay for medical treatment for workers and their families, as well as monetary benefits for pregnancy and illness and monthly payments for workers in companies employing 10 or more people in the event of death or disability[13].
• The Payment of Gratuity Act of 1972-A lump sum payment made by an employer is known as a gratuity. The Actdirects establishments with ten or more employees to provide 15 days of additional wages each to employees who have worked for five years or more[14].
• Maternity Benefit Act of 1961- The Indian Constitution’s Article 42 imposes a duty on the government to provide maternity leave and fair and compassionate working conditions. In order to provide social fairness for female workers, this Act was passed. Some of the main benefits of the Act were enhanced when it was revised in 2017. The new law offers 26 weeks of paid maternity leave to women working in the organized sector. After Canada and Norway, India currently offers the third-longest maternity leave in the world[15].
• Minimum Wages Act,1948– it is a Central legislation aimed at statutory fixation of minimum rates of wages in the employments where sweated labour is prevalent with possibility for exploitation of unorganized labour. The provisions of the Act are intended to achieve the object of doing social justice to workmen employed in the scheduled employments by prescribing minimum rates of wages for them[16].
• Payment of Wages ACT, 1936 – The strategy mainly targets sector workers making less than INR 24,000 a month. The Act further states that a worker cannot withdraw from any privilege or right granted to him under its provisions. The Act’s primary objective is to regulate the prompt payment of specific employee categories that work in the sector[17].

PRESENT LEGISLATION ON SOCIAL SECURITY

CODE ON SOCIAL SECURITY, 2020

The Code on Social Security, 2020 is a proposed set of laws in India that replaced several existing social security laws. The bill received the presidential assent on 28 September 2020, and section 142 of the Act has come into force on 3 May, 2021.

Object: The Code on Social Security, 2020 seeks to unify and revise the current labour laws pertaining to social security with the objective of providing social security benefits to all workers and employees, regardless of their affiliation with the organized or unorganized sector[18]. For the purposes of social security schemes, such as life and disability insurance, health and maternity benefits, and provident funds, the self-employed, wage workers, migrant workers, workers in the unorganized sector, gig workers, and platform workers are all included.

The Code has an overriding effect over anything inconsistent in any other law or the terms of any award, agreement, or contract of service, whether it was made before or after this Code came into force.

.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE CODE

1. Universal Social Security: The code attempts to give every worker access to social security benefits. This covers those who work for themselves as well as those hired by the unorganized sector.
2. Medical Benefits: It places a strong emphasis on offering employees’ access to healthcare, health insurance, and maternity benefits.
3. Benefits of Retirement: It guarantees that employees can access pension or provident fund benefits.
4. Disability Benefits: It ensures that people with disabilities receive support and financial assistance.
5. Skill Development: In order to improve employability and generate better job possibilities, it supports skill development initiatives.
6. Benefits for Unemployment: During times of job loss, workers can get benefits under the framework for unemployment established by the code[19].

 

ISSUES WITH THE CODE

1. A social security system cannot be based on an organization’s size, which is determined by its workforce. However, the Code relies upon a system of thresholds defined by the number of workers employed in an establishment. 
2. Example:  The Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) employs 20 workers, whilst the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) employs 10 workers.
3. The idea that there should be a vision and objective to universalize social insurance within a set time frame is one that every nation must acknowledge. The SS Code 2020, which the Indian parliament adopted, does not.
4. It should be mandatory for all establishments to be registered, and employees of those establishments should likewise be registered under the same company. The SS Code 2020 does not have any such clause.
5. Approximately 91 percent of India’s workforce works in the informal sector, which often lacks job security benefits, application of labour laws and access to formal social security programmes[20].
6. There is limited access to technology and internet.

PREFERENCE UPON THE INFORMAL SECTOR AND GIG- WORKERS

• INFORMAL WORKERS

With 475 million workers, up to 91% of them are unemployed and do not have social insurance. This covers everything, including maternity benefits, disability insurance, and old age pensions.

The Act was introduced as a light of good hope towards this unregulated industry as it covers employees in both organised and unorganised sectors.

The code mandate various benefits such as provident fund, gratuity benefits and employee state insurance to all the employees including the workers employedin the informal sector. To avail the above benefits by the employees from the informal sector, the code mandates such an employee or a worker (even from the formal sector) to provide his Aadhaar number to receive social security benefits, this provision is mentioned under section 142 of the Act[21].

the Code elaborates on the framing of schemes which includes ‘education’ for the unorganised workers. To be eligible under the Code, a worker must satisfy two requirements:

(a) completion of 16 years of age; and

(b) submit a self-declaration certificate in the manner prescribed by the Central Government.

Additionally, the State Government may provide a helpline facility for unorganised workers to assist them in registration and avail information relating to the social security schemes.

Also, the code aims to create a National Database of Unorganized Workers, which will help in the identification and registration of unorganized workers and provide them with social security benefits

ANALYSIS

• • The SS Code 2020 amalgamated eight existing social security legislations, most of which dealt only with formal enterprises, not informal ones; that bias still exists in SS Code 2020.
  • In an attempt to make social security universal, the SS Code 2020 falls short of its objective of bringing informal workers into its purview. The current workforce in India won’t be able to support the country’s aging population in the future if social security isn’t provided. Enabling social security benefits can contribute to the formalization of labour.
  • Any social insurance currently available to informal workers is voluntary (Atal Pension Yojana, Shram Yogi Maan-dhan). SS Code (2020) should have made social security mandatory, and within 10 years, all unorganised workers in whatever sector could be covered. It did not.

• GIG-WORKERS

The Code elaborates on the framing of schemes which includes ‘creche’ for gigs and platform workers under its coverage, unlike the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008.

The definition of gig-workers under the code means, Freelancers, independent contractors, etc. who engage in hourly or temporary work and share a non-traditional employer-employee relationship are grouped as gig workers[22].

The Code on Social Security, 2020 provides for framing of suitable social security schemes for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection.

Due to the proliferation of digital platforms that enable people to sell their services on a freelance or part-time basis, the gig economy has grown significantly in India in recent years.

According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, India’s gig workforce comprises 15 million workers employed across industries such as software, shared services and professional services.According to a report by the International Labour Organization, India’s gig economy is expected to grow by 23% by 2025[23].

the State Government may provide a helpline facility for gig-workers to assist them in registration and avail information relating to the social security schemes.

ANALYSIS

• • The code provides definitions for platform workers and gig workers and stipulates various systems for each of these worker types. There might be some overlap in the definitions, though. It is uncertain how schemes tailored to these worker categories would operate given the degree of overlap among definitions.
  • The gig economy offers many opportunities for individuals to earn a livelihood and gain work flexibility, there is a need for better regulation and protections for gig workers in India.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

To guarantee that the intended beneficiaries of the program receive its benefits, the government must solve certain problems. Suggestions include-

1. More public awareness campaigns, improved government funding and support for vulnerable workers, lower administrative costs, universal social security and social security for the working population as a whole.
2. Increasing the coverage of social security measures to include a wider range of risks, such as maternity benefits and disability benefits.
3. Simplifying the process of accessing social security benefits by issuing nationwide labour force card, including reducing the paperwork required and providing more assistance to workers.
4. Mandatory social security benefits for workers should be implemented by employers; this would encourage accountability and formalization of the employer-employee relationship.
5. expanding the scope of social security coverage beyond the construction and gig worker sectors.

 

CONCLUSION

Labourers play a vital role in society; it has long been important to give them a safe and respectable place to work. The framers of our Constitution included this as a command for the state to consider in the future, and the government has moved to formally enact this directive through a number of measures. The government’s social security programs and the legislation passed by Parliament are essential in guaranteeing that individuals’ basic necessities are satisfied. Undoubtedly, there are significant obstacles to the successful execution of these programs, and these obstacles must be addressed in order to offer benefits to the final tier of the targeted recipients.