Politics overpowering welfare: Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act 2008

Abstract

An analysis of the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act 2008 shows its distance from the original National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector proposal. Passed as a measure of political expediency ahead of the 2009 general elections, the legislation creates few timelines or compulsions for central and state governments to provide for unorganised workers. Current schemes included in the Act's ambit focus only on below poverty line workers, threatening to leave out a large swathe of this vulnerable workforce.