THE TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL

B.A.LLB, (HONS) FIFTH SEMESTER 2016

LABOUR LAW PROJECT

ON
WOMENS IN UNORGANISED SECTOR IN INDIA

SUBMITTED TOPROF. PREETHAM BALKRISHNAN

(FACULTY)

SUBMITTED BYSIDDHARTHPANDEY
(ROLL NUMBER-BA0140061)

BA0140061Page 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
At the outset, I thank the Almighty who gave me the strength to accomplish this project with
sheer hard work and honesty.
I take this opportunity to observe protocol to show my deep gratitude to our revered labour
law professor, PROF. PREETHAM BALKRISHNAN (FACULTY) for his kind gesture in
allotting me such topic as research project, which is full of knowledge and is related to our
future study of the Labour laws. Her timely advice, direction and valuable assistance
tremendously boosted me during the making of this project.
Secondly, all this wouldnt have been possible without my parents and friends who gave their
valuable time for guidance, boosted my confidence and helped me a lot in completing this
project without any drawbacks. Hence I am forever indebted and grateful to them.
Thirdly, I am very much thankful to the staff and administration of TNNLS who provided
valuable sources of information in the form of library and database connections.
The successful creation of this project is due to the background work and co-operation of
many persons. So I once again take this opportunity and privilege to convey my deepest
regards and thanks to all those who was involved directly or indirectly in the making of this
project.

Date:-27-9-16

BA0140061Page 2

ABSTRACT
This research project deals with the women workers in unorganised sector of economy in
India. Women labour is an important segment of the total labour force in India. The
researcher will analyse and present the answers of the following questionsthrough this
research project.

Whether the womens in unorganised sector are facing any kind of problems or not?
Whether the laws or statues made by legislatures have some positive applicability to

secure the rights of womens working in unorganised sectors?

What will be the remedial strategies to improve the conditions of womens working in
unorganised sector?

Women represent 50 percent of the total adult population and one third of the labour force of
India. They perform nearly two- third of all working hours and receive only one-tenth world
income. Women work longer hours than men in every country. More than 90 percent of the
working women in India are engaged as wage labourers in the unorganised sector, many of
them belong to the economically poor, socially backward, and oppressed section of the
society. Mostly they are from backward caste communities. Most of them bear the brunt of
poverty, homelessness, underemployment and destitution. Many of these women workers are
primary earners for their families. The objectives of the study are to examine the level of
women labour participation in the informal services. This paper focuses on the household,
socio- economic, health, problems, vulnerabilities and working conditions of female labours.
The study is mainly based on primary data collected through material sources. The term
unorganized refers to the vast numbers of women and men engaged in different forms of
employment. These forms include home-based work e.g. rolling papads and beedis, selfemployment e.g., selling vegetables, employment in household enterprises, small units, on
land as agricultural workers, labour on construction sites, domestic work, and many other
forms of casual or temporary employment. The unorganized sector is physically more visible
in India. It is found in almost all the industrial segments of the Indian economy, that is, in
agriculture, industry, household and the services sectors. But though it has been in existence
in India for a long time in one form or the other, it is only in the 1970s that it drew the
attention of the policy-makers and researchers notably from the point of view of opportunities
for participation in and reaping the benefits of development. India, the formal sector which
received significantly large resources has failed to provide employment to the growing labour

BA0140061Page 3

force, resulting in the problem of labour force explosion. Under these circumstances the
surplus labour force has been forced to generate its own means of income and employment.

KEYWORDS: Female labour, Household, Employment, Income.

INTRODUCTION
Seven percent of Indias labour force is employed in the organised sector, which includes all
public sector establishments and all non-agricultural establishments in private sector with 10
or more workers. While 93% is employed in the unorganized sector. The unorganized /
informal employment consists of causal and contributing family workers; self employed
persons in un-organized sector and private households; and other employed in organized and
unorganized enterprises that are not eligible either for paid, sick, or annual leave or for any
social security benefits given by the employer. The largest numbers of informal workers are
in agriculture. In fact, 98.84 percent of the employment in agriculture is informal. In the nonagricultural sector, the highest numbers of informal employees are in retail trade,
construction, land transport, textiles etc.
Thus, the unorganized sector plays a vital role in terms of providing employment opportunity
to a large segment of the working force in the country and contributes to the national product
significantly. The contribution of the unorganized sector to the net domestic product and its
share in the total NDP at current prices has been over 60%. In the matter of savings the share
of household sector in the total gross domestic saving mainly unorganized sector is about
three fourth. Thus unorganized sector has a crucial role in our economy in terms of
employment and its contribution to the National Domestic Product, savings and capital
formation.
Statistically speaking, 70% of the 1.2 billion people living in poverty are female1. Women do
more than 67% of the hours of work done in the world yet earn only 10% of the worlds
income and own only 1% of the worlds property. Women are paid 30-40% less than men for
comparable work on an average and hold between 10-20% managerial and administrative
jobs. Approximately 67% of the worlds 875 million illiterate adults are women2. Although

1 Source: http://www.comminit.com/BaseLineArchives/sld-36.html, accessed on 21.9.16.

BA0140061Page 4

efforts have been taken to improve the status of women, the constitutional dream of gender
equality is miles away from becoming a reality.
ILO AND WOMEN WORKERS
According to the most recent global and regional estimates of domestic workers produced by
the ILOs Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL), at least 52.6 million
women and men above the age of 15 were domestic workers in their main job in 2010 .This
figure represents a significant share of global wage employment, some 3.6 per cent
worldwide. Women comprise the overwhelming majority of domestic workers, 43.6 million or
some 83 per cent of the total. Domestic work is an important source of wage employment for
women, accounting for 7.5 per cent of women employees worldwide. In spite of the valuable
role played by domestic workers in the functioning of individual households and society as a
whole, they remain one of the least protected groups of workers under national labour
legislation. The ILO law and practice report on domestic work, which had been prepared for
the 99th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2010, presented information
on the legislative practices of member States in a range of policy areas concerning working
conditions, social protection, freedom of association and collective bargaining. While some
countries have put in place policies and laws that extend labour and social protection - albeit
in varying degrees and ways - to domestic workers, this group remains unprotected in many
other places. Extending the reach of labour law is a means of bringing domestic workers
within the formal economy and the mainstream of the Decent Work Agenda. As articulated by
the International Labour Conference in its 2002 Resolution concerning decent work and the
informal economy, the challenge of reducing decent work deficits is greatest where work is
performed outside the scope or application of the legal and institutional frameworks 3.Over
the last few years, studies on domestic work in India have noted the increase in the numbers
of migrant female domestic workers in the cities. They have also observed that domestic work
is highly informal in its organization and highlighted the vulnerabilities of domestic workers
who belong to the poorer and uneducated sections of society.4
2 Source: http://www.undp.org.in/webbook/Enlrg-spc-wmn-india.htm, accessed on 21.9.16.

3 International Labour Conference, 2002.

4 Dsouza, Asha. 2010. Moving towards decent work for domestic workers: An overview of the ILOs work,
http://www.oit.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--- dgreports/---gender/documents/publicatio/wcms_142905.pdf, accesed on
21.9.16

BA0140061Page 5

These studies also note that women from marginalized castes form a substantive group of
domestic workers like wise The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulations) Act 1986 lists
domestic work in the schedule of hazards whereby the permissible age for work is 18 years.
Yet, given the socio-economic conditions in the country, 15 years may appear permissible but
most organizations working on the issue and child rights advocate the age of admission to
domestic work as 18 years. They argue that these children work long hours, are not given
nutritious food, are often sexually abused and have no way of raising their voices. Based on
the 2001 census, about 185,595 children are employed as domestic workers and in dhabas
(roadside tea and food stalls) (UNICEF 2007). Employers prefer children as they are cheap. 5
They are often paid as little as Rs. 300 per month for a work for ten hours a day and seven
days a week. They are also beaten up and in some cases, sexually abused. Dimensions of
trafficking can be seen here as well. Children are often brought in from poor areas of the
country and made to work as bonded labourers. Many are not allowed to contact with their
families. They live in their employers homes without any support system.6

UNORGANIZED WOMEN WORKERS: THE INDIAN SCENARIO

Women workers in domestic services in1999-2000 constituted 3.2% of the workforce and this
comprised 39, 25,000 workers. The services provided include cooking, cleaning utensils,
washing, and babysitting amongst other responsibilities. In the global economy there has
been an emergence of a new professional class of workers that include well educated women.
With this there has been a need for for domestic servants to help the professionals in their
daily chores (Padma 2002). Unorganized sector always play a vital role in terms of providing
employment opportunities to a large segment of the workforce in India. Near about 92% of
the total employment in the Indian economy during the period 1999-2000 was accounted for
by the unorganized/informal sector (NSSO 55 th Round 1999-2000). In most states the share of
informal workers is approximately the same as the national average. In West Bengal, 89%
male workers and 94% female workers were unorganized workers.

5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.

BA0140061Page 6

The great majority of women in India do home-based work, are self employed, employed in
household enterprises, small units, on land as agricultural workers, as labourers on
construction sites, as domestic workers, and in many other forms of temporary employment,
in rural as well as urban areas. Liberalisation has ensured that when employment becomes
sub-contractual or piecemeal, an even greater number of women join the ranks of the
unorganised. As women in a vulnerable and impoverished sector, they face the additional
inequalities of gender. These translate into many tangibles -- unequal wages, no maternity
benefits, sexual harassment, and poor nutrition and ill- health. Women in the unorganised
sector as well as countless other women invariably also do a wide variety of "invisible" work,
and often shoulder the dual burden of paid and unpaid labour. The unpaid contribution of
many of the activities associated with household maintenance, provisioning and
reproduction ,which are typically performed by women or female children -- tends to be
ignored in calculations of labour.
Nature and Status of Women Domestic Labour, In 2000, the UN Human Rights
Commission declared domestic workers as a form of

challenge as the work place is

inaccessible and multiple, marked by a high rate of attrition and instability. As a result, the
demand for the better wages of working conditions through an organized union has been weak
and scattered a strong and well organized work force has been pivotal in ensuring progressive
policy and legislation, while simultaneously enabling better enforcement of existing
legislations. Women are treated as the object of pleasure or merely machines to serve and
reproduce like voiceless puppets.7
The socio economic conditions of women workers in South Asia are poor because they are
concentrated in low paid occupations. This is primarily because the society has discriminated
against women by not allowing them to act as major players in economic activities. The issue
of informal sector is common to the developing countries, but has to be understood in the
context where informal systems of work are promoted and encouraged among the working
poor. The character of this sector is connected to highly exploitative irregular working
conditions and wage discriminations. The workers in unorganized sector remain unprotected
by law. They are the most vulnerable section of the society and they enjoy no job or income
security with little bargaining power. The emerging labour market is likely to prove even more
7 See, UN statistics, The Human Development Report, 1995, http://www.undp.org.in/webbook, accessed on 21.9.16.

BA0140061Page 7

problematic in the case of women workers than for the rest of Indian workers. The proposal
for participating in the workforce made by feminist literature and the gender empowerment
measure proposed by UNDP may not empower women; rather it will burden the women more
and more.8
Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination at the workplace is subtle and is reflected in the nature of
work performed, valuation of the skills and the technology used by men and women.
Generally lower wage rate jobs are assigned to women and higher wage rate jobs are
assigned to men. Women workers suffer vital disadvantages comparative to men in their
search for employment opportunities, lower real wages, increased uncertainties and
irregularities of employment. They do not possess much of skill, training and education for
the type of work they perform. Thus, women in the unorganised sector are oppressed
sections of the society as they live under subdued conditions with family and children,
devoid of proper living and working conditions, even they receive humiliating treatment
from the contractors.
In a study of the garment industry in Tiruppur, Vijayabhaskar (2002) noted that
women workers in Tiruppur were concentrated in the lowest paid category of workers
receiving substantially lower wages than men. Women were concentrated in embroidery,
cleaning, finishing, tagging and packaging. Most recently, women are entering into
stiching in large numbers. There is a clear sexual division of labour and with the
introduction of machines this has further been augmented and facilitated. The fashion
masters are the most skilled and this category is exclusively reserved for male workers.
Machine attendants carry out the actual process of knitting, control, adjust and monitor
the process with the assistance of helpers. Female workers are mostly helpers in these
units and their chance of moving from helpers to attendants is nil, while the male workers
are able to make this vertical movement. This very clear sexual division of labour has
implications for the wages earned, permanency in the job and the possibilities for upward
mobility in the industry. It was also observed that women receive lower wages
and have limited job mobility in the hierarchy of the knitwear industry. 9
8 Ibid.
9 Kaur, Ravinder.2006. Migrating for work: Rewriting gender relations, in Sadhna Arya Anupama Roy (eds.): Poverty
gender and migration: Women migration in Asia. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

BA0140061Page 8

Also

observed

sexual

division

of

labour

in

garment

export industry in Delhi where the hierarchy was such that men were the supervisors
since men tailors do not like to take orders from women. In the supervisory category
usually women supervised only women. Men tended to be placed in all the critical skilled
jobs and were consequently paid higher wages. Hand embroidery done by women was the
most skilled and time intensive, but pays the lowest wages, i.e. womens skills were
systematically undervalued. Studies have brought out that women also did the most
monotonous jobs, such as, checking, button stiching and thread cutting, the drudgery was
greater and the wages were lower.10
Occupational Profile, In the unorganised sector women are engaged in almost all kinds of
activities such as livestock, forestry, fishing, plantation, construction, retailing, beedi
making, bangle making, pottery, embroidery, stitching etc. Most of the women work as
casual labourers

in agriculture, construction, brick-making, coir, or as own account

workers in handloom weaving, basket weaving and vending fish, vegetables. Some of the
newer activities are floriculture, poultry and livestock rearing, garment making, food
processing and fish processing etc. 11
In fish industry, women dominate the handling and processing activity accounting for
about 70 per cent of the workforce and in brassware industry women constitute 50 per
cent of the total workforce. As per available estimate there are about 50 lakhs scrap
collectors in the country. Illiterate, unskilled persons and poorest of poor persons are
pushed into this occupation. A study shows that about 92 per cent of scrap collectors are
women in the age group of 19-50 years with the minimum age of entry between 9-10 years.
Beedi rolling is a major source of employment for women which, however, remains
low paid, insecure and has health implications. It is estimated that there are 4.5 million
beedi workers in India of whom 80 per cent are women. 12

10Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.

BA0140061Page 9

A large proportion of food processing in the unorganised sector in carried out by women
using the traditional skills in many primary food processing areas. The informal or
unorganised service sector is expanding too, generating large scale openings of
opportunities for women. The largest increase in employment opportunities come from
domestic service, education including home tuition, childcare and health services.
Unfortunately, these women workers have received little attention with the result that
their earnings remain low and their employment insecure. 13
Wages

and

Earnings,

Agarbatti

rollers

whether

home

or

factory-

based are paid on a piece-rate basis. Earnings vary across states with workers in Karnataka
appearing to be somewhat better placed in contrast to their counterparts in
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, the other two states for which estimates are available.
Workers here are paid at a rate of Rs. 9 per 1000 sticks and at an average productivity of
4000 sticks per full working day manage an effective wage rate of Rs. 36 per day. The
average worker manages to earn about Rs. 1000 per month. In Gujarat, the rate is much
lower at Rs. 5 per 1000 sticks and combined with lower productivity rates yields the
workers incomes in the range of Rs. 325 per month. Payment in both these states is
reported to be on a monthly basis. In Andhra Pradesh a rate of Rs. 6 per kilo of masala
processed is reported. Earnings for a family of six were reported in the range of Rs. 400
to 800 for a six day week implying an effective wage of Rs. 12 to 20 per day. Further, if
the product is rejected for quality reasons the loss has to be borne by the workers
lowering

earnings

further.14

Women

working

in

mining

industry

of

Rajasthan are deprived of even the minimum wages, what to talk of welfare measures.
They are never employed on a permanent basis. The basic nature of their work requires
strenuous physical labour in heat and dust. Women are employed both on daily wages as
well as on piece rate. In a daily wage system a woman gets a minimum of Rs. 40 and a
maximum of Rs. 60 per day, with working hours starting at 8:00 am in the morning and
ending during the sunset. There is no concept of paid maternity or medical leave.
13 Rao, R.V. and Hussain, S., (1997), Women Workers and Struggles in the Garment Export Industry
- A Case Study of Delhi, in Sujatha Gothaskar (ed.), Struggles of Women at Work, Vikas
Publishing House, Delhi

14 Shankaran, Kamala, Shalini Sinha and Roopa Madhav.Domesticworkers Background document,

http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/ files/resources/files/ dw_background_note.pdf (undated).

BA0140061Page 10

It was observed that the remuneration paid to the women workers sometimes includes the
labour of daughters, so that young girls work as a component of their mothers wage.
Tasks that a woman worker is required to carry out are often divided between mother and
daughter and change in time, with increasing responsibilities being placed on the
daughter. They are both clothed and fed, but the daughter never receives a cash payment. 15

Working and Health Conditions, The working conditions are another important aspect of
the unorganised sector, and are of particular importance to the women workers. The
assessment of working conditions of women labour is also important to have a deep
understanding of their life. The working conditions imply the duration of working hours,
nature of work, terms and conditions of payment and overtime payment etc. The working
conditions

of

the

home-based

workers

engaged in agarbatti making in Bangalore and found that the workers roll agarbattis on
the pavements and lanes around homes in urban slums. They sit on the floor and roll the
agarbattis hunched over low tables bought out of their own resources and their legs are
stretched under these low tables. The reasons for vulnerability of the unorganised
women workers are irregular work, low economic status, little or no bargaining power,
lack of control over earnings, need to balance paid work with care for children and home,
little or no access to institutional credit, training and information, and lack of assets.
Unequal gender relations assume a very important role in defining their insecurities.
The

tasks

performed

by

women

are

usually

those

that require them to be in one position for long periods of time, which can adversely
affect their reproductive health. A study in a rice-growing belt of coastal Maharashtra
found that 40 per cent of all infant deaths occurred in the months of July to October. The
study also found that a majority of births were either premature or stillbirths. Women in
gold mines handle mercury and cyanide with their bare hands. Woman has to work
beyond working hours, even in advanced stages of pregnancy, and there is no leave
facility, while the employer ends up making more profits by paying lower wages as well
15 K.D. and Gathia, Joseph A. 1983. Women and child workers in the unorganised sector. New Delhi: Concept Publishers.
http://fifthwiseman.blogspot.com/20090101arc , accessed on 23.9.16

BA0140061Page 11

as saving the cost of operating a workplace like rent, electricity, water, equipment and
other maintenance costs. 16
Usha in her study about the women working in the textile shops of Trivendrum
found that women are not provided with adequate space for taking food and rest. Women
in this field are not getting service benefits as and when they quit the field. The women in
this field are getting a nominal increment as per the whims and fancies of the owner. The
facility of provident fund and insurance is limited to only two per cent workers. 17
Due to diversified nature of the work in various kinds of unorganised activities, the health
problems become a constraint for women workers, highlighted in selected districts and
blocks in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh the poor access to health services
for women wage labourers in the informal sector. In all these three states a large population
of female workers was found to be engaged in agriculture, forestry and stone quarrying.
These women started working as early as 18 years or even earlier, and continued until past
55 years. Working in extreme conditions has led to a number of health risks both due to
the heavy work burden and nature of their work. Sufferings from muscular aches and
pains, injuries, exhaustion, weakness, fever and swelling of feet were quite common and
went untreated. Nath observed that lack of health benefits, high infertility rate, poor and
unequal wages, improper sanitation and childcare facilities were becoming major
concerns with these working women. Public spending on the health in all the three
regions was found to be inadequate. Irregular growth and poverty were seen to be major
bottlenecks. In Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, lack of money was reported as a barrier in
accessing maternal healthcare, and women in Chattisgarh needed to take loans for
childbirth expenses. In Uttar Pradesh working conditions were gruesome. Even after
childbirth, the women got only 6-12 days off from work. No work means no money,
which put their survival at stake.18
16 Rajalakshmi, T.K., (2005), The Other India, Frontline, Vol. 22, Issue 23, November 5-18
17 P.E., Usha, Determinants and Consequences of Womens Work in the Unorganised Sector - A Case Study
with Reference to the Women in the Textile Sales Sector of Trivendrum Corporation Area, Kerala Research Programme
on Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, Tiruvananthapuram, www.krpcds.org

18 NCCUSW, (2006), Brief Report of the National Workshop on Unorganised Sector Women Workers, National
Workshop on Unorganised Sector Women Workers, The National Commission for Women, New Delhi, August 3-4

BA0140061Page 12

Legistations and organisation for Women Workers, Women workers in the

unorganised sector have little or no social security. Absence of protection against
occupational and health hazards is creating vulnerable situations for women workers in
the unorganised sector. Unorganised workers in India face three major threats to human
security: poor health, shrinking livelihoods and muted voice. Health is among the leading
causes of both impoverishment and vulnerability of workers in the unorganised sector.
Many laws have been provided to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for the
female workers - the Trade Union Act (1926), the Minimum Wages Act (1948), the
Maternity Benefits Act (1961), etc. The most recent is the Unorganised Workers Social
Security Act of 2008, which provides benefits to workers registered with the District
Administration, including some health insurance and maternity benefits. Despite these laws,
health and health services remain disheartening.
Agarbatti workers are especially vulnerable to postural and locomotive system
problems due to highly confined and repetitious nature of their work as well as to skin
problems due to exposure to phthalic acid esters used in the production of agarbattis. They
found a number of health problems among women engaged in agarbatti and masala
making in Ahmedabad including back pain, blisters on hands, bodyache, chest pain,
dizziness and exhaustion, eye problems, headache, nausea, neck pain, pain in
abdomen,

pain

in

limbs,

shoulder

pain,

white

discharge, heavy bleeding, early periods, drying of breast milk and itching or burning
while urinating. In such kind of health conditions no protective or preventive measures
were taken by the agarbatti workers as it hampers speed and hence earnings. 19
As per the health conditions of women workers in mines they suffer from several
occupational illnesses right from respiratory problems, silicosis, tuberculosis, leukemia,
arthritis to reproductive problems. They work with toxic and hazardous substances
without any safety. When they leave the mines, they have no pensions or provident funds
given by the companies. On the other hand, at the time of dropping out of work they are
left with heavy debts due to repeated illnesses, medical expenses, unpaid holidays taken
due to sickness, other domestic expenses which overshoot their incomes due to the low
19Padma. 2002. Women workers in India in the 21st century-Unemployment and
underemployment.http://www.cpiml.org/liberation/year_2004/february/WomenWorkers.htm, accessed on 23.9.16.

BA0140061Page 13

wages earned, etc. In order to pay up, they introduce their minor children into the mine
workforce, thereby getting tangled into the vicious trap of unending mine labour for the
next generations. Although a number of schemes have been introduced but only about 6 per
cent of the unorganised workers in the country are covered under any of the social security
measures.
There are a few organizations working for unorganised labour. Of these, trade unions working
for the economic betterment of workers registered under the Trade Unions Act 1926. These
trade unions differ in size, from industry to industry and from region to region. Almost all
central and regional trade unions have separate/ special arrangements for mobilizing
unorganized labour and working for them. The Self-Employed Womens Association (SEWA)
of Ahmadabad is an excellent example of a trade union doubling up as voluntary agency to
help poor women. It works on Gandhian lines and has been highly effective in mobilizing the
women workers. SEWA was instrumental in getting the Convention on home-based workers
passed in the ILO. They have freedom of operation .they are considered more flexible and
goal oriented with clarity of purpose and commitment. Cooperatives mobilize more the
selfemployed.

'National Commission of Self-Employed Women (SEWA)' by the Government of India in

1987 at the instance of SEWA.20 The Commission prepared a report on 'Women in the
Informal Sector', recommending improvement in the working conditions. The report "Shram
Shakti" was submitted in 1988 and was accepted by the Government of India in 1989, which
is a milestone in the women's movement in India. This initiative made working women in the
unorganized sector visible. In 1990, the Planning Commission of India took up some of the
major recommendations and set up the "Rashtriya Mahila Kosh" an exclusive national level
credit fund for women. It also set up another statutory body of the 'National Commission of
Women'. The report has been translated in 13 languages and is very useful to the NGOs
working with the grassroots women in both urban and rural areas of the country. Self
20 Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) based at Ahmedabad is a good example in this regard. The progress of
SEWA's activities is seen in the form of structures/organizations and movements that have complemented each other at all
levels of their public interactions such as banking, ecology, social security, legislations and management (Ela Bhatt, 1999).
Today SEWA has around 775,000 members all over the country out of which 535,000 are in Gujarat. Two thirds of the
members belong to rural areas. Started in 1972 it has emerged as a successful movement contributing to policy initiatives
and women's empowerment.

BA0140061Page 14

Employed Womens Association (SEWA) has succeeded in extending social security

many women workers in informal occupations, and has engaged in collective bargaining
with employers, where womens rights organisations have been involved in campaigns
more

tangible

results

have

been

attained.

In

Bangalore,

for

example, intervention by the National Womens Commission (NWC) resulted in

improved toilet facilities, a limit on working hours and reduced harassment by the
management.21
The success story of the Amul Milk Cooperative in Gujarat is world known. A large number
of small farmers were mobilized into a cooperative which brought tremendous benefits to
them. Labour Boards are tripartite organizations ensuring the welfare of unorganized labour in
some services. They are considered highly effective in states like Kerala and Maharashtra.
Government Organizations: Government and its supported organizations help unorganized
labour in training, marketing and other services.
For example, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) help in marketing
products of rural artisans and the self-employed in urban areas. There are special such
agencies for women. The Small Industries Service Institutes (SISIs) in different states offer a
large number of vocational and technical courses for the educated unemployed and for
disadvantage sections. Similarly there are special vocational training institutions for women.
Political Parties too promote their own organizations, trusts, etc. that help workers in getting
training, finance and business opportunities. They mobilize the unemployed unorganized
youth and help them in getting access to self-employment schemes like those for auto
rickshaw drivers, PCO stall operators, etc. Educational Institutions like the universities and
colleges have also helped the unorganized labour in getting training and access to facilities
like finance. For example, the SNDT Womens University runs a production centre in Gujarat
where women workers are mobilized and trained for employment and self-employment.
Associations are generally of the self-employed, registered or unregistered. It takes up
common issues with appropriate authorities.22

21www.sewa.org/pdf/Sewa_Annual_Report

22 see, http://www.ipedr.com/vol4/106-M00051.pdf.

BA0140061Page 15

For example in Mumbai there is the India Bakers Association (IBA) which protects
individual bakers interests like availability of flour or maida at a reasonable price. Similarly
there is the Bombay Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (BTBSA) which helps individual
dabaawalas in facing common problems and in reaching lunch boxes to people working in
offices.
Thus, the position of women workers in unorganised sector today remains as it
was in the past, in spite of increasing number of legislations, committees and comissions
and study groups for their benefits, there seems to be no impact of the constitutional
provisions regarding equality on the social and economic life of women in our country.
Legislations enacted during the last three decades are out of reach for most women
workers because by and large they have neither the mental awareness nor financial
resources

to

take

advantage

of

these

provisions and protective

legislations

boomerang to their disadvantage. Therefore, there is need for an integrated approach of all
the agencies presently engaged in human resource development in the unorganised
sector.
Central and State Governments though framed several rules and enacted
legislations to combat the exploitative force but the irony of the fact is that there has been
staggering gulf between framing rules, enacting legislations and their effective
implementation. There is a plethora of law for the protection of the working women
which regulate hours of work, provide safety measures and well being of female
labourers. But even then conditions of 95 per cent of the working women in field, mines
and construction sites, cottage and household activities are even worse. 23 In response to the
National Labour Commissions recommendations, the Ministry of Labour prepared a pilot
unorganised sector Workers Social Security Scheme (2004), which however met with limited
response. Further to this, the Ministry also prepared an Unorganised Sector Workers Bill,
2004,24 which contained measures relating to both social security and conditions of work in
the unorganised sector. This bill was enacted to provide for the welfare measures to be
23 NCEUS, (2007), Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector, GOI, New
Delhi, August, p 171

24 This bill was enacted to provide for the welfare measures to be undertaken by the State for the unorganised labour and
agricultural workers by setting up a Welfare Authority and a Welfare Fund for the payment of minimum wages, for pension
and provident fund facilities, maternity and creche facilities along with medicare to the women workers and for matters
connected therewith and incidental thereto.

BA0140061Page 16

undertaken by the State for the unorganised labour and agricultural workers by setting up a
Welfare Authority and a Welfare Fund for the payment of minimum wages, for pension and
provident fund facilities, maternity and creche facilities along with medicare to the women
workers and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
Also, Parliament on 17, December passed the ambitious Unorganised Workers Social
Security Bill, 2008 that seeks to provide welfare measures for million of workers in the
unorganised sector. The Bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha while the Lok Sabha
passed it on Wednesday,17th December. The Bill was described as the first major step in 60
years to remove the plights of the poor worker in unorganized sector, after several
amendments moved by the members of the Left parties were defeated.
NCEUS (2007)25, in its report has mentioned that there are lack of comprehensive
and appropriate regulation in India; and even where regulations exist, there is inadequate
and ineffective implementation mechanisms. Aforementioned studies reveal that the women
workers in the unorganised sector

face the problems of sex discrimination at the

workplace, wage discrimination, poor working conditions, dual work burden, lack
of training, education and skill, job insecurity, low wages, health problems and so
on, which are most common.26
The improvement in the conditions of livelihood of the women workers depends not only
on their own agency, but also on a policy and a regulatory framework as well as
programmes, which create the conditions, which allow them to expand their livelihoods.
The main responsibility for creating such conditions rests with the state, although other
stakeholders also have an important role to play.

Social Implications of Women Domestic Labour, The maid servants are leading a miserable
life. They suffer from low wage, long hours of work, shift in nature of job, lack of freedom
25 National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (Ministry of Small Scale Industries, Government of
India), nceuis.nic.in,accessed on 23.9.16.

26 Padma. 2002. Women workers in India in the 21st century-Unemployment and

underemployment.http://www.cpiml.org/liberation/year_2004/february/WomenWorkers.htm, accessed on 22.9.16.

BA0140061Page 17

and low prestige due to inferior status of the job. Due to lack of coordination their children are
neglected and familial relations become tense. The fragmented nature of their job, lack of
education and low bargaining capacity refrain them from organizing collectively. According
to the Report on Working Condition of Domestic Servants in Delhi by the Ministry of Labour,
Government of India, nearly 90 per cent of domestic workers are women. According to the
National Survey conducted by the School of Social Work, women constituted 87.09 per cent
of domestic workers in Karnataka, 82.38 per cent on Ranchi, 75 per cent in Kerala and 90.78
per cent in Andhra Pradesh.27
The domestic workers face various problems and one of them is deplorable wage level. The
wages of domestic workers have not kept pace with the spiraling price-rise. Every price rise
cuts their real wage and further nutritional deficiency for them. The studies conducted in
Bombay and Pune indicate that women domestic workers are often the sole supporters of their
families. These women have to perform a dual role relating to production and reproduction.
while bearing and rearing children remain their primary responsibility , they are invariably
involved in the remunerative activities also. These women are unprotected and suffer from
economic exploitation. Their ignorance, illiteracy and poverty add to their woes all the more.
A great majority of them have not been benefitted from the protective legislation in the critical
areas of wages, maternity benefits, children and social security. Despite the universally
recognized obligation of social security, large section of people, especially in developing
countries have little or no social security. These sections of the people usually work in the
unorganized sector, or in the informal economy. In India, 93 percent of the total workforce is
in the unorganized sector, and has virtually no social security. The unorganized sector includes
selfemployed workers in various occupations including small and marginal farmers,
agricultural laborers, street vendors and home based workers.28
CONCLUSION
Although efforts have been taken to improve the status of women, the constitutional dream of
gender equality is miles away from becoming a reality. Even today, the mainstream remains
27 Shankaran, Kamala, Shalini Sinha and Roopa Madhav.Domesticworkers- Background document,
http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/ files/resources/files/ dw_background_note.pdf (undated), accesed on 22.9.16.

28 Ibid.

BA0140061Page 18

very much a male stream. The dominant tendency has always been to confine women and
womens issues in the private domain. The traditional systems of control with its notion of
what is right and proper for women still reigns supreme and reinforces the use of violence as
a means to punish its defiant female offenders and their supporters.
Thus, it is needless to say that even with the modernization of the world, even with the
realization of the importance of equality and even with the patronization of Human Rights, the
position of women has not come to par with the status of men. She is still the week and
helpless from the two sexes. In this paper the focus is primarily on the laws made to protect
female labourand the status of women in unorganized and organized sector. The States can be
asked for by offices like National Commission for Women by including more association on
the issue and prescribing the Government bodies-from region, state to national level to set up
Sexual Harassment Complaints Committee at all levels. However there must be the
advancement of the positive perspectives remembering the negative viewpoints. The
working women today helps the financial status of the family and the general public all in
all. For an autonomous India, the maxim is well-suited, "A free race can't be conceived of
slave moms."29
The female labour force constitutes one third of the rural workers in India. Women workers
face serious problems and constraints related to work such as lack of continuity, insecurity,
wage discrimination, unhealthy job relationship, absence of medical and accident care etc.
The exploitation of female labourers in rural regions happens both horizontally and vertically.
It is time to address the issues and discuss the kind of policy reforms and institutional changes
required for the emancipation and empowerment of rural female labour force. Empowerment
should aim at changing the nature and direction of the power structures which marginalise the
women labourers

29 Gothoskar, Sujata .2005. New initiatives in organizing strategy in the informal economy- Case study of domestic
workers organizing: Executive summary. Committee for Asian women. http://www.deshkalindia.com/publisher:Deshkal,
accesed on 23.9.16.

BA0140061Page 19

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Statutes reffered:

The unorganised labour and agricultural workers (welfare) bill.

Bill on social security for unorganised workers 2007.
The beedi and cigar workers (conditions of employment) act,1966.

Commissions report Reffered:

National Commission of Self-Employed Women report

Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA),report 1999
The Second National Commission report,1999
The Human Development Report UN, 1995.
The Central Board of Workers' Education (CBWE), 2001
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector(NCEUS), 2007

Articles reffered:
Dsouza, Asha. 2010. Moving towards decent work for domestic workers: An
overview

of

the

ILOs

work,

http://www.oit.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---

dgreports/---gender/documents/publicatio/wcms_142905.pdf, accesed on 21.9.16

Kaur, Ravinder.2006. Migrating for work: Rewriting gender relations, in Sadhna
Arya Anupama Roy (eds.): Poverty gender and migration: Women migration in Asia.

New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Rajalakshmi, T.K., (2005), The Other India, Frontline, Vol. 22, Issue 23,

November 5-18
P.E., Usha, Determinants and Consequences of Womens Work in the
Unorganised Sector - A Case Study with Reference to the Women in the Textile
Sales Sector of Trivendrum Corporation Area, Kerala Research Programme on
Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, Tiruvananthapuram,
www.krpcds.org

BA0140061Page 20

K.D. and Gathia, Joseph A. 1983. Women and child workers in the unorganised sector.
New Delhi: Concept Publishers. http://fifthwiseman.blogspot.com/20090101arc ,

accessed on 23.9.16
Shankaran, Kamala, Shalini Sinha and Roopa Madhav.Domesticworkers- Background
document,

http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/

files/resources/files/

dw_background_note.pdf (undated), accesed on 22.9.16.

Padma. 2002. Women workers in India in the 21st century-Unemployment and
underemployment.http://www.cpiml.org/liberation/year_2004/february/WomenWorker

s.htm, accessed on 22.9.16.

Gothoskar, Sujata .2005. New initiatives in organizing strategy in the informal
economy- Case study of domestic workers organizing: Executive summary.
Committee

for

Asian

women.

accesed on 23.9.16.

Websites Sources:

www.comminit.com
www.undp.org.in
www.sewa.org
www.icsi.edu
www.mca.gov.in
www.ey.com
www.icaiknowledgegateway.org
seniormembers.icai.org
www.deshkalindia.
www.cpiml.org
www.oit.org
nceuis.nic.in

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
BA0140061Page 21

http://www.deshkalindia.com/publisher:Deshkal,

The researcher has used Primary and Secondary resources such as Cases, journals, books,
websites etc., and aims to evaluate, interpret and suggest solution to the illustrative problems
through Doctrinal Method. The primary objective of this research is to know about work
fields, the organisational structure of unorganised sector, laws related to them and action and
remedial strategies for the women in unorganised sectors specially small scale industries.
Also more importantly the researcher will analyse conditions of womens in unorganised
sector in India such as small scale industries.

Thank you

BA0140061Page 22