Social Security for the Unorganised Sector Workers in India

The right to social security has been widely recognised as a basic human right. Many international and regional instruments have laid down a particular set of guidelines which emphasise the protection of this right to all the individuals, including those in unorganised sectors. As of 2021-2022, the total number of people working in the unorganised sector was around 43.99 crores, i.e roughly around 93% of the population of India was working in the unorganised sector. Although the workers in this sector make a significant contribution to the national wealth, they do not have sufficient and reliable access to social security. While the Indian government has adopted a whole range of labour and welfare policy initiatives that aim to extend the scope of social security benefits to unorganised sector workers in the country, their coverage remains rather limited. This paper highlights the concept of social security vis-à-vis the unorganized sector workers, drawing on viewpoints based on international and regional frameworks, constitutional provisions in India, and the present framework on social security. It further deals with the current and emerging challenges of these workers, along with recommendations for improvement. The article insists on comprehensive changes that need to be made to assure economic and social justice for this helpless part of the population.