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IN ON SOCIAL SECURITY ILOCOMMENTS COUNTRIES DEVELOPING

lnterna'j o nal fdlol^$.} 'El' organization ABOUTME

social secority a d ageing populations in developing cormtries of ILO ir dteir Report are rqrr.odtced [Some r})I|1rnerrL9 Itclowl
thal life expe.tancyin Western counirles has hcteasedoverrhr It is comnon knowldge p.sr severaldecades it m.y .ome as a sulp se to and wlll conllnueto rise. However, wdld lhan In some lhal lhe ratio of elde y peoplels rishq taner in rhe developinq whar'smse, in some indancsthe averagellfe expeclancy ln indusrnallzed counrris. Akeadyroday,a majorliyot the emeqing counl es now exceeds thal of icher nations. 50 years, .our$rieswith no penslo coveraqe,In wortd'sotderpeoplelive in low-income

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Alyssaswlal,an ILOidem,.eports. 30 pr.enloftheelde y willbe in lhesecounlries. it is now discour3 oncelocusedoh llmlllngsclal expendnure, liJhere ihe development growth.Inthe Conference thats@lalspendlng ls actually necessaryfot wld!ly understood s@lal prolection rcpon, the ILO'Ssocirl s.urity expefts point out that welldesagned prrammes, padicularly in th form of social securlly penslons, ratherlh4 being a poverty dvelopment have proveh"very eflecllveIn plevenfing hindrance io economic fufil a lhrouqhodan Indlvld@lseiti.e lite cycle"r moreovr,lhey and socialinsecurity stablllzer. vltalrolersan economic insritullons and economlsls have.rgued $ar 54ial secu ry p{og}ammes som linancial itisio in devlopinq .ountries, BLnrc sesaregoodloranything, are slmplyunattordable and iolhe hosr vulnetable h socielysoci.l securitybeneJlts demonslrale how valuable

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assisiameare. The lrulh ls, says the ILO's social securitylean, thai a baslc social prote.tion pac*age ls afiordable In vtlu.lly all counrries, .osihg - v apptopriaiely smallpercentaqe of GDP. Forlhese programmes lo be succ.sstul, dsigned+ relatively gradually, rhe key nay betorrhemro b implemented playlhqa socid secu ty has lonq ben a defininqelemenlof hdunrializedcountris,

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crucialroleh e.sing lhe blowot not only a ranqeo! llte{ycle crisesbut.lso ot nlmerous ThereaG owids ones,andseryhg loenedively reduceincomeInequalltles. economic couni es need lo olgani4 dd reasonswhy qolehnents ot emeqing and developinq In Parllcultrihe lacl lhat il nothinql. implehent univeGalsocialscurityprogramnes, 6qr ii i5 do.e, the nailonwlll soonface. vast.umber of eldenypeoplellvhq h poverty. the exientlo whlchthe ageing s.ys BlmalKanlisatu,lo recnize specilically imporrant,

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populallon ol lheir count es, h.ve conrribdedin their yo(nqer daystolhe development clllzehs llve outthelrllveswiih dignit. andensure lhatrhesesenlor

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Thursday N POPULATIONS SGIAI.'SEGURITYANDAGEING ES DS}ES@PING'COI'NTRI {Somecommentsof ILO in their Reportare reproducedbelow) It is common knowledgethat life expectancyin Westerncountries has increasedover the past several decades and will continue to rise. However, it may come as a surprise to some that the ratio of elderly people is rising faster in the developing world than in industrialized countries. What's more' in some instances the average life expectancy in emerging countries now exceedsthat of richer nations. Already today, a majority of the world's older people live in low-incomecountries with no pension coverage.In 50 years, 80 per cent of the elderly will be in these countries.Alyssa Sewlal,an ILO intern, rcports. Where the development discourse once focused on limiting social expenditure, it is now widely understoodthat social spending is actually necessaryfor growth. In the conference report' the ILO'S social security experts point out that protection programmes' well-designed social particularly in the form of social security pensions, rather than being a hindrance to economic developmenthave proven "very effectivein preventing poverty and social insecurity throughout an individual's entire life cycle"; moreover, they fulfil a vital role as an economicstabilizer'

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Some financial institutions and economists have argued that social security programmes are simply unaffordable in developingcountries.But if crises are good for anything, it is to demonstratehow 316 davsaoo valuable to the most vulnerable in society social t> Indef inite Strike defered security benefitsand assistanceare. The truth is, says followed by negoliations the ILO'S social security team, that a basic social between Secretary [P] and Postal Joint Council of Action protection package is affordable in virtually all 391davsaoo countries, costing - if appropriately designed -a Cgmrade M.Kdshnan [P3CHQ relatively small percentage of GDP. For these Presidentl hasbeenelected programmes to be successful, the key may be for as lhe Secretary General of them to be implementedgradually. NFPE inthe8lhFederal
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Congratulations membersl the visitors to NFPE blogspot has yesterday crossedfive lakhs within elghtnd a haltmonthl

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Council Session 412 da$aoo Social security has long been a defining 8thFederal Council of NFPE elementof industrialized countries,playing a crucial is inaugurated todayby Dr.M.K.Pandhe CITUNational role in easing the blow of not only a range of VicePresident anda veten life-cyclecrises but also of numerouseconomic ones, TladeUnion ieader of lndia
415daE aoo Visit Cdnfc.lcrti6n mhsit.

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and serving to effectivelyreduce income inequalities, There are obvious reasons why govemments of emerging and developing count es need to organize and implementuniversalsocial security programmes, in particularthe fact that if nothing is done, the nation will soon face a vast number of elde le living

in poverty. But it is important, says

to recognize specifically the extent to which the ageing populationhave contributedin their younger days to the development of their countries, and ensure that these senior citizens live out their lives with dignity. PANELRECOMMENDS I{LE IN PARLIAMENTARY T1TE RATEOF GPF HIKERATEOF RETURN ON GPF.PANELADVISES GOVT

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2O'l1, 19232IST<><><><> you are awarethat the Confederation DearComrades! has been demandingfor the enhancement of the intercst rate on the GPF of Centlal Government Employeesand this had been one of the demandsof the CG EmployeesCharter.Now according to the PTl, a Parliamentary Panel headed by the former Finance Minister Sri. Yashwant Sinha has recommended hike to the GPF interest rates.We are reproducingthe news item lcentral GovernmentEmployeesNewsl: A Parliamentary panel today asked the Central

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wider :s $hich haslisroricalrools phenomenon Misation of \orkers a human ^and has e\er lile' lhe blisslul quell tldorado' for or ofsur\ival i.oli.arioni_it. ."*.h for lhesource of transor within. countries i"tpld"c *a the dovetailing force of migrations ffiilil; c!lturalramifications socio-polirical geneii'but resulring economic Vi"",i""t"r,a\e .i*ril"" on strain well as placing a5 contquences hadposilive h'as aln rentculrure" i"i?ia. rl"-iil* $a) migralron "iofthe upcomi.1g b) in either dffecled society aid life rhecu,ture or likely to is engaged as whena.person parlance, migation is perceived In economic or nallonal olshich heis nola native in a place aclivil) in a remuneratire engage to featureof humancivilization lt reflects' humanendeavour Misration is an important 'conditions existed Migation in Indiahas andman-made bothnatuml i" in ."ti1"tting it has ""r"1"" of the world e.c:1-omv up opening. globalization and of iri.al""[y, iri in the c-ontext and of historical u".ra"a Jpa"i"i,igincance for the counfy andthe societ).As consequence emplolment agrarian.distrcss'^inadequate disparities, income J"""".i" ?".t"", it'*" are serious to urban' liom ruralareas migralion andtheresullant \asl g'o!\lh olinfoTndleconoml seneraliol. condirions' appalling in the most regions ad\anced u^.loard'o comparative,y i.i"r-t u." "ia of Migration Causes of development' andpattems structures by soci,al Migrationin India is mostlyinfluenced theprccess accelemted hav lndependence since policies by all the govemments Thedev;lo;ment the disparities' it' are of migrationAddedto ii themaincause ;evelopment ;i;;;;t;. u;;i; belong poor who mostly Thelandless classes socio-economic different i; ;;i;;;i ;; the ".""gst communities regions.constitute major backward andeconomicallv ;.;is;;"t ;l;*;?;;;i";, -ln by serllemenlr oI outsiders' ol Indiainlrusion oonionof migrans the \ery largelribalregions

rolein a major anddeforesratiol ,r," ri,*r-tuur peoiie i#';;;;;;"d;i;;i"f .11'o..?luv"j li\'e Indians onless 840 million poputarion i e nearly 77"; ofthe .i-riio".' a"."ioi"*t6a study of thelives rakins nonremunerati\e became agricuintre i;fi"il;.ib i;6-;;;,;' u ari. inoian 45 every an Indian.peasant of a suicide 2003' i e 1996 to ftorn iiilbbo pLJ""" a.tii'gthe;eriod andbackward
and backwardcommunities ,n" aif peoplelrom the downtrodden -inut"..'i"."", at the lowest mployment travelfar afieldseoking .""i".r.""t' as Bibar,Oiissa,Uttar Pradesh in shor! complexes' rosidential and oiroads,irrigation Fojects,commercial -i"r'i"-""..i*ari"" to the miSration extemal caused of higherwages f',riii-i"" if't" "shining"lndia The pull factors as such professionals workers Migrationof liiaaft-+".t countri;sbv skilled ind semiskilled another constitutes countdes etc to developed managers teachers, a"ai"at practiiioners, "brain-drain "nnineet". se ll ca nhich ofmigraiion diiension

of Migration Magnitude wiih around60% of migrantschanging sho distance Mieration in lndia is predominantly \thile the rest (province)' th"i, ."ti;;;";; ;ithi. ih"ir iistrict of bini and20% withintheir State t67 million t97l arc of per census the The iotal migants as boundades state ;;;";";;;'th. As per million 315 20Ol census million, 1991censusi32milli;n and -213 n"oonr. fSSf census livelihood' seeking states to other people migrated il ;;;,-issi, nearlvzo miLtion il;#;;i persons asper the census to 41,166,265 aoubled migrcnis intentate of number ti,e within a decade.

figues of200l. It is estimated that thre are at presentaround80 million migrantsof whicb 40 20 million are domestic workers,2 million are sex million are in the construction industry, workers, 5 million arecall girls andsomewhere from halfa million to 12million work in illegal mines". lt is estimated aromdfive anda half minesotherwise called"smallscale that at present 2 million millionIndians areworkingin theoil expotting countries ofthe Middle-East andanother areworkingin thedeveloped world. 92oZofthe domesticworke$ a.e women,girls and childrcn and 20% of$ese femalesare under 14 years of age, as per a study conducted by the organization"Social Alert". There is a perceptiblephenomenon in this migration,that is, the t.emendousincreaseof womenworkef migrating either individually or in groupsto find work. They are travelling very long distances still evenfor short-termemplo),rnent, in the absence of any prospector promiseof employment, they are migrating.This is a disturbingtren4 as in the eventof not gettingemplo),ment, they end up as victims of sexualabuse.Even if they get employment, they have to work underinhuman conditions. Conditions of Migrant Labour In terms of employment,constructionis the largest emplo),rnent sector in India afte. agriculture.Most of the employees in constructionare migrants.The working hours arc from sunrise to sunset. The workingday for womenoften shetches from 14 to 16 hours, combining house work andwork on sitewherewomen arcpaidRs.60-70a day while menarepaidRs.l00175.Masons eam up to Rs.175-250 a day. Work placesare unsafe. Worke$ haveno social security,compensation for injuries,access to drinking waterand healthcare.India hasthe world's highest accidentrate among constructionworkers. A recent study by the IntemationalLabour Otganization shows that 165outofevery1,000 workers areinjured on thejob. Thereare20 million domestic stieams workers nostly migrants from ruralIndia.Regular ofnew migrants leave behind scorched fieldsand emaciated families in tie tribalbeltsofBihar, Oriss4 Chattisgarh Jlarkhand,Assam,and Mizoram for Mumbai, Delhi and other Metros.They are desperate to join the army of domesticworkers.They arc willing to work for much lessthan thosewho are alreadyworking. They are victims of constantverbal and sexualabuseand work without any gdevancemechanisms. Their situationis madewolse by local govemments' brutal eviction without whomthecities drives dislocating anddestabilizing the livesofthe verypeople wouldcometo a cripplinghalt.Further, covels. theyhaveto live in make-shift tentswith plastic They are forced to batheand defecate out in the open.As they are migrantwo*ers, they do not possess Public Distribution System(PDS) Cards and hencearc forced to buy food grahs and little kerosene at higherthan marketprices.The ruling elite which considerchild laboura menace realize thatit is a natural coosequence ofmigrations. Gendrdiscrimination Womenform more than halfofthe intemtate migmnt workforce.As statedabove,92% of the 20 million domesticworkersare womenand children and 20% of thesefemalesare under 14 yearsofage. Womenconstitutemorc than one third in the constructionindustry.Yet the division Masonryis a male-dominated of labour is gendered. skill as are carpenty and other skilledjobs. Their wagesare Womencarry headloadsof baick,sand,stone,cementand water to the masons. lessthan thosepaid to men. In the mining sectorwomendo unskilledjobs abovegtound. They lose wages and also may lose employmentfor taking leave. They are subjectedto sexual harassment. By consewativeestimatesonly 15% of the casesof sexual assaultare reported,

Women are not provided with any extra facilities to take care of their children while they are womenmigrationis the highestin the periodfiom 1991to 2000dueto working.Notwithstanding, the a$arian crisis,73olo ofthese migrantwomenworkeNarefrom rural areas. LegalProvisions in 1979 of the"Inter-state Mi$ant Workmen Th Govemment of lndia madean enactment (Regulation of Employment andConditions of Service) Act 1979".Thoughthe act covers only interstate migants, it lays down lhat contractoNmust pay timely wagesequal or higherthan the prescribed accommodation, medical facilities, minimum wage, provide suitableresidential prctective and causalities authorities clothing,notify accidents to specified and kin, The Act jurisdiction provides in theprovincial for thedghtto raise industrial disputes where theyworkor in The act setspenalties including imprisonment for non-compliance. At the their homeprovince. same time the act provides an escaperoute to principal employers if they can show that were committedwithout their knowledge. Needless to say, the Act existsonly on transgtessions paper andnot in reality. Therecord ofprosecutions or dispute settlement is almost nil. Themigrant and constraints as they are both labourers andmigmnts.Hence, labourers faceadditionalproblems in the workingand living conditions for mi$ant workers. Thereareno tbereis no imprcvement the basicissues concemingmigrant labourrelations,leaveaside, to adequately address structures The rcasons are obvious. The IndianJudiciary addrcssing ihe wholegamutof labourrelations. pronouncements to therescue of mi$ant labour andmakes andobservations to occasionally comes justice gap in the delivery system. It seems regulatory mechanisms are over stretched, fill the qunched. inadequately structured, manpower deficientandresource to addressseasonal migration is the National Rural One noteworthyenactment Act (NREGA), whichguarantees 100daysofemployment in a yem.The Employment Guarantee to that territory. lt is implemented rateof daily wagesis, as per the minimumwageapplicable whichis a miniscule response. In mostcases the fundsare successfully only in a very few places channelled to vested interests. First stepon a longjourney Sometradeunionsandnon-govemmental organizations thoughvery small in numbermake problems the ofmigant workers. IMF initiated an effort to organize the sincereeffortsto alleviate yard Mumbai Alang Metal & at and through Sleel, migBnt workers at the ship-breaking (SMEII). in Fedemtion oflndia These migant workers wereorganized the Engineering Workers' Union (MPIDGEU) by existingunion Mumbai, Port Trust, Dock and GeneralEmployees' the ratesofsubscription.Non-economic demands like civic amending the constitutionand reducing (OHS)andsocial problems health andsafety werctaken up.Thebeginning amenities, occupational wasto provide safeddnking water at the workplace.As a next step,first aid boxeswereprovided and blood donation camps were organisedwith the help of St. Johns Ambulance.Identity (neighbourhood wereissued. Mohalla Committees committees) wereset badges/membership cards up to integratethese migrant workers to bridge the languageand cultural gaps.NGO'S werc with themreallyhelped to organise theworkers. Theunionencountered andcollaboration involved from employers, money lenders and local mafias. The Supreme Court of India stiff resistance (PIL) in the while disposing a Public Interest Litigation a MonitoringCommittee, appointed case,The Mi$ant WorkersUnion submitted a memorandum on sociofamousClemenceau by the Apex Court as a sourceof economicconditionsofthe migrantworkersand it is considered yard in the stateof Gujarat. to Alang which is the largestshipbreaking reference. This effort spread the fi$t ever workerscameinto tle fold ofthis initiative and registercd The Alang shipbreaking workers in India.To dateunionmembership stands at 5,705. As partofthis unionofshipbreaking

initiative, training programmes andworkshops wereconducted exclusivelyfor migant workers.It in their language andtook is an amazing experience that the migrantworke$ spokefor themselves oftheir gdevances. activepart in decisionmakingeffolt for redressal Thereare someefforts like these,but they are not stong enoughto build pressuein the conidor of powe6 to representthe legitimate and genuine issues of migrant labour. Some voluntary groups and non-govemmental organizations also have taken up the issuesof migrant The Employees State Insuarce Act, 1948 and the Employees Provident Fund Miscellaneous ProvisionAct, 1952can be considered as landmarklegislations. Suchenactnents have targetedthe fundamentalproblemsof labour including migant labour by suchprovisions which take careofthe workersin the exigencies of sickness, ill-health and other contingencies of 'Any Time Any where' services through life includingold age. The latestinitiative ofESI Scheme proposedIT Roll Out should go a long way in making availableboth medicaland cashbenefit relatedfacilitiesto migrantworkers. The road ahead between The problemof migant labou is hugeand requirescooperation and coordination the government and othersocialacto$ includingthe hadeunions.NGO'Shavingskilled manpower and resourcscan provide researchand background.Trade unions with their organizational policy makersand govemments structues,organizingskills cantake on the employers, for a htter gro\A'th. dealfor migrantworkersandcontribute for socialharmonyand sustainable

Acknowledgemert This is article of S B.K. Sahq Insurance Commissioner, ESI Corporation,India, This can be prior permission reproduced only with of Sri. B.K. Sahu. His e-mailis; bk_sahu04@yahoo.com

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