3 min readNew DelhiJun 25, 2024 08:28 AM IST
First published on: Jun 25, 2024 at 04:37 AM IST
Prominent labour unions on Monday reiterated their demand for permanent workers’ status and better social security net for Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), anganwadi, mid-day meal scheme workers during a pre-Budget consultation meet chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Labour organisations also highlighted the need to broaden the scope of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the provision for a guaranteed 200 days of work from current 100 days for each family and focus on the welfare of migrant construction workers who were particularly hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The demands also featured a stronger social welfare scheme such as provisions for minimum wages and social security benefits for gig workers like food delivery workers facing disproportionate impact of the ongoing heatwaves in the country. Gig workers fall outside the bounds of traditional employer-employee relationships.
“ASHA, anganwadi, mid-day meal workers must be identified as workmen. They must be given the workmen status given the permanent nature of their work. The government had announced a hike in honorarium for scheme workers in 2018. Since then, prices have increased sharply and hence it is necessary to increase the honorarium of the scheme workers,” Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliate trade union, said.
There are over 10 lakh ASHA workers across the country, with the largest workforces in states with high populations — Uttar Pradesh (1.63 lakh), Bihar (89,437), and Madhya Pradesh (77,531). ASHA workers are volunteers from within the community who are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government.
Trade Union Coordination Committee (TUCC) that attended the consultation meeting said: “Scheme workers, such as ASHA, anganwadi, mid-day meal workers are unfortunately not recognised as workers … So it is humbly requested to consider bringing these scheme workers under the definition of worker and bestow upon them the social security coverage”.
BMS further asked the government to ensure funding for different industrial boards like the beedi workers welfare board, contract labour board, which were funded through a cess before implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Furthermore, BMS sought special packages for labour-intensive sectors like — plantation, beedi, agriculture, and fisheries.
TUCC in its pre-Budget letter to the government also asked for a security net for domestic helpers. “A vast number of women work as domestic help in our country without any social security only because the existing definition of worker does not recognise them as workers. So TUCC demands that the worker tag should be given to them and they should be brought under the social security net,” the union said.
“Construction workers should be guaranteed access to ration through ration cards across the country under ‘one ration one nation’ scheme. Similarly, Ayushman cards should be issued based on the worker’s identity rather than the family, allowing workers to use Ayushman across the country during their migration,” TUCC said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs a pre-Budget meeting with representatives of trade unions and labour organisations in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI) 
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