From the introduction of the article 'Unorganised Sector Workforce in India Trends, Patterns and Social Security Coverage': India’s workforce comprises nearly 92 per cent in the unorganised segment, with the entire farm sector falling under the informal category, while only one-fifth of the non-farm workers are found in the organised segment. Estimates suggest that in the non-farm sectors, as we move up the income ladder, the share of the informal sector gradually declines. However, as far as the agricultural sector is concerned, irrespective of economic class, the share of the unorganised workforce remains flat. Further analysis reveals that the coverage of social security schemes has been extremely sparse among the economically and socially vulnerable sections. The pro-rich, pro-capital policy of the present regime is reflected in the recent downward revision of the interest rate to the subscribers of provident fund. Further, the move towards defined contributory schemes away from defined benefit schemes of pension funds is fraught with danger. Therefore, we argue that given the poor affordability and lack of an institutional mechanism, any design of social security that relies heavily on a contributory basis is bound to fail dismally.

The full article by S Sakthivel and Pinaki Joddar is available online on the WIEGO website (PDF). WIEGO, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, is a global research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy. More information on WIEGO can be found in the about section of the WIEGO website.

The article (paper) is part of an on-going IDPAD project at the Institute for Human Development (IHD), New Delhi.

The full special issue "A Review of Labour" can be accessed at the Economic and Political Weekly website (subscription required).