Modi govt’s e-Shram takes digital literacy for granted. Will not help workers in the unorganized sector

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The Ministry of Labor and Employment recently launched the e-Shram portal to develop a national database of unorganized workers. The ministry estimates that there are 38 crores of unorganized workers in India. After registering on the portal, workers will receive an e-Shram card with a unique 12-digit number. They will receive social benefits under various social security schemes from anywhere in India. A national toll-free number – 14434 – will also be launched to help and answer questions from workers wishing to register on the portal.

However, the Narendra Modi government initiative lacks the key features required to truly help the cause of workers in the unorganized sector.

On e-Shram, the responsibility for registration lies with the workers. From a labor administration perspective, the state provides the framework for registration, but the success of the initiative depends on whether or not an unorganized worker shows up for registration. Employers have no role to play in this context. An alternative could be for the government to identify non-union workers and collect data. Employers could also be involved in the process. The employer-employee relationship, which is a primary condition for protection under labor laws and access to institutional social security, could have been tested in the process.

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Why e-Shram is important

The immediate benefit that an e-Shram cardholder will get is accidental insurance of Rs 2 Lakh in the event of death or permanent disability and Rs 1 Lakh in the event of partial disability. Any worker, aged between 16 and 59 and working in an unorganized sector is eligible for the e-Shram card – agricultural workers, MGNREGA workers, fishermen, dairy workers, ASHA workers, Anganwadi, migrant workers, concert workers, platform workers , street vendors, domestic workers, rickshaw pullers and other workers in similar occupations.

Since its launch on August 26, 2021, the e-Shram portal has registered 21 lakh of unorganized sector workers, according to data from the portal of the Ministry of Labor and Employment. India does not have a credible database for its unorganized workers. There are only approximations. Narendra Modi’s government did not provide figures regarding migrant workers who died or suffered during the pandemic-induced lockdown in 2020.

The lack of data on unorganized workers is not accidental but intentional. Informalization of the workforce is perpetuated to reduce the cost of labor by making labor casual and subsequently anonymous. The decentralization of the production structure that has been occurring around the world for three decades is a manifestation of the process of informalization and flourishing of the global supply chain based on cheap labor destinations.

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E-Shram limits

The Modi government has opted for the easy way out by placing the burden of registration on non-union workers. The legal mandate for the introduction of such a provision emanates from certain sections of the newly promulgated Social Security Code 2020 and the Code of Working Conditions of Occupational Safety and Health 2020 (OSHWC Code 2020). Under articles 109 and 113 of the 2020 Social Security Code, central and state governments are supposed to formulate social security schemes for unorganized workers and workers / platform workers respectively. Under Article 21 (2) of the OSHWC 2020 Code, the central government should provide an online portal for the self-registration of informal migrant workers. The introduction of the e-Shram portal should also be seen in this context. There are serious limitations in this process.

First, there is a glaring lack of awareness among workers in the unorganized sector about the unveiling of such a facility. Information asymmetry is a serious problem in labor administration. Past experiences show that when social security schemes were introduced by various state governments, registration of beneficiaries took a long time and even after a decade or so, large swathes remain uncovered. For example, the registration of construction workers with building assistance councils established in all states is still not satisfactory, even after about 15 years.

Second, the majority of non-union workers are unable to register online. They just don’t have the know-how. That anyone can register online by downloading the necessary documents is assumed too easily and digital literacy and access are taken for granted. However, in reality, things are not that easy.

Third, if non-union workers register, they have the right to become beneficiaries of social security schemes to be defined by the state. But social security rights and institutional labor rights are entirely different things. Social security schemes provided by various governments are akin to state social protection initiatives. Labor rights are quite different. For example, the maternity allowance under the Maternity Allowance Act is 26 weeks of paid leave to be provided by the employer. While maternity benefits under social security schemes are generally cash assistance of around 10,000 rupees. This assistance never equates to 26 weeks of paid vacation. Non-union workers deserve labor rights and the benefits of legislative protection. At best, the e-Shram portal can guarantee rights under social security schemes. Registration on the e-Shram portal has nothing to do with labor rights. In the process, the identity of a worker is diluted and he becomes no more than a beneficiary of the social security system.

There is no denying that India needs a database for non-union workers. The introduction of e-Shram is a step in the right direction. But at the same time, an opportunity is lost to formalize the employer-employee relationship in the informal sector as well as in the informal part of the organized sector. The formalization of the informal is an acknowledged component of the decent work paradigm, and ILO Recommendation 204 speaks of the transition from the informal economy to the formal economy. The creation of a database could have been initiated by the establishment of an employer-employee relationship within the framework of informal working arrangements.

The role of the employer is very important to guarantee labor rights within the general framework of labor law. Informality is based on mystifying the employer-employee relationship and, in the process, bypassing an employer’s responsibilities as enshrined in various labor laws. The creation of a database and the retrieval of the employer-employee relationship in the informal workspace should be combined through an appropriately designed and state-led labor census. . It’s a more active way to set up a database

In addition, employers should be held responsible for providing benefits such as social security, accidental death and injury compensation, occupational safety and health, etc. Employers reap the gains resulting from labor productivity and should be held responsible for providing certain facilities under various labor laws. The e-Shram portal abdicates these responsibilities on the part of employers and makes it a matter between the state and non-union workers. The self-registration ecosystem as envisioned in the e-Shram portal does not involve employer participation in the process. This does not bode well for labor rights in our country.

Kingshuk Sarkar is an independent researcher and former professor at the VV Giri National Institute of Labor, Noida. He holds a PhD in Economics from JNU, New Delhi. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and not of the organizations to which he belongs.

(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)

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