How to protect workers in the unorganised sector?

Unorganised sector includes employment which is not under the control of the government. Thus, jobs here are not regular and also low-paid. This sector is called unorganised because the job here is not secure, the worker may be asked to leave due to less work. All this depends on what the employer wants. They don’t have any benefits of working overtime, paid leave, holidays, leave due to sickness, etc. In rural areas, the people who are mostly engaged in employment in unorganised sector are landless agricultural labourers, small and marginal farmers, sharecroppers and artisans such as weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters and goldsmiths and in urban areas, workers in small-scale industry, casual workers in construction, trade and transport etc., those who work as street vendors, head load workers, garment makers, rag pickers etc. The workers can be protected by –

• In India, the farmers are mostly engaged in such activities. They can be protected by ensuring timely delivery of seeds, agricultural inputs, credit, storage facilities, and marketing outlets.

• In small-scale industry, the government could protect workers by procuring raw material and marketing of output.

Thus, for the economic and social development, the people working in the unorganised sector should be protected and supported by the government.