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EmploymentGuaranteeandJustice in India

Contents:Historicalevolution of Employment Guarantee SchemesShiftsintheoreticalunderstanding

CourtJudgmentsLawsPolicydocuments

Historical Evolution of employment Guarantee Schemes

Employment Guarantee in the International PerspectiveStructural adjustment, financial liberalization and globalization have resulted in uneven and often disappointing patterns of socioeconomic development.inability of the private sector to create a sufficient number of jobs to absorb surplus labour.Various other reasons for joblessness

Employment Guarantee in the International PerspectiveStructural adjustment, financial liberalization and globalization have resulted in uneven and often disappointing patterns of socioeconomic development.

inability of the private sector to create a sufficient number of jobs to absorb surplus labour.

Various other reasons for joblessness

Contd...Over the years, many countries have undertaken what has variably been known as employment guarantee schemes, public employment programs, food for work, and public works programs.projects have been implemented to provide the means of survival to those most affected by natural disasters and economic crises

Contd...1930- Period of Great Depression Widespread unemployment in the USPresident Franklin D Roosevelt provided funds either directly to recipients or to the states for maintaining a minimum standard of living. federal programs were established that provided additional welfare benefits, including medical care (medicaid), public housing, food stamps, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Theoretical Understanding

Government as Employer of last Resort

Redistribution of Income

Theories in PracticeEmployment Generation Programs during Pre liberalisation Period.

Employment Generation Programs during Post liberalisation Period

Laws

Labour Laws

Articles 14-16, 19(1)(c), 23-24, 38, and 41-43A concerned with labour rights.Article 16 extends the right of "equality of opportunity" for employment or appointment under the state.Article 23 prohibits all types of trafficking and forced labour.Article 24 prohibits child labourunder 14 years old in factories, mines etc. Article 41 creates a "right to work", which the National rural employment Act 2005 guaranteesArticle 42 requires the state to "make provision for securing just and human conditions of work and for maternity relief.Article 43 talks about right to a living wage and condition of work.

The Time Line of MGNREGA7 September2005 2 February2006April2007April2008October 200816 February 2009October2009NREGA LegalizedCame into force in 200 backward districts130 more districts includedUniversalization Of the schemeWage transaction through banks/post offices MOU with Postal Dep.Named changed to MGNREGA

Features Of MGNREGA Time bound GuaranteeDecentralized PlanningLabour Insensitive work Work site Facilities and management Women EmpowermentTransparency and accountabilityFunding Provision

Initiative under MGNREGA Permissible work list-Watershed related workAgricultural related Livestock relatedRural sanitation related

MGNREGAAccording to the eleven five years programme (2007-12) Number of Indian living on less than 67 rupees one day called below poverty line.Their proportion in the total population decreased from 26 percent (1993-94) to 28 percent (2004-05)Dependence on agriculture but within a years three months unemployed During the lok Shaba election government want to increase working day 100 to 159 but got failed. Total expenditure 289817.04 crores towards the schemeThe employing 68,26,921 workers on 2,61,942 worksites.Minimum wages determined 100 rupees.Later state determined 163 in Bihar and 500 in Kerala.Critique on MGNREGAArticle 16 Fundamental rights.

Protective Provisions for Women EmployeesMaternity Benefit Act, 1961.The maternity leave got increase as for the central Civil Service- 1972. Section 22(2) of the Factories Act, 1948.Section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act, 1948 Section 46(1)(b) of the Mines Act, 1952

Critique. No modification after 1972.

Employment and Disability ActAct may be called the Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.3% of vacancies in government employment shall be reserved for people with disabilities.1% each for the persons suffering fromBlindness or low visionHearing impairmentLocomotor Disabilities & Cerebral Palsy etc.

Critique on disability actComparison with the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990" (ADA).

Provision for SC/ST in Employment The 85th amendment of the Constitution restores reservation in promotion in government jobs to member of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Article 335 provides that the State shall consider the claim of members of SC/ST for making reservation in services, keeping in mind the efficiency of the administration.

Court Judgments

Vishaka and others vs State of Rajasthan and others Date of Decision: 13 August 1997 In 1992,Bhanwari Devia social worker inRajasthanwas brutally gang raped by a number of upper class men Vishakha and other women groups filed PIL against State ofRajasthanandUnion of India to enforce the fundamental rights of working women The petition, resulted in what are popularly known as the Vishaka Guidelines.

ContinuedIn India, before 1997, there were no formal guidelines for how an incident involving sexual harassment at workplace should be dealt by an employerTheVishaka Guidelineswere a set of procedural guidelines for use in India in cases of sexual harassmentprovide a safe working environmentSexual harassment should be affirmatively discussed at workers' meetings, employer-employee meetings, etc.The employer should assist persons affected in cases of sexual harassment by outsiders.Names and contact numbers of members of the complaints committee must be prominently displayed

Ranjit Kumar Rajak VsState Bank of India DOJ- 26/5/2009 Judgment of the Bombay High court: The Petitioner in this case underwent a renal transplant in 2004. he applied to the post of a probationary officer in the State Bank of India. After a medical test, the bank rejected him on the ground that he was found medically unfit for the post.

ContinuedThe petitioner approached the Bombay High Court by a writ petition claiming that despite medical reports that indicate his fitness to perform his duties, he was denied being considered for employment. The main question, according to the Court, was whether a person who is fully qualified for a post because of his past or present medical condition which otherwise did not interfere with his fitness to dispense the duties of his post, be denied employment because of the financial burden that would be cast on the employer.The court recognized that India had signed and ratified the CRPD and that Article 27 of the Convention recognizes the right of persons with disability to be "accepted in the labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.

ContinuedThe court incorporated the right to reasonable accommodation by declaring that Reasonable accommodation, if read into Article 21, based on the U.N Protocol, would not be in conflict with municipal law. It would give added life and dimension to the ever expanding concept of life and its true enjoyment.Following this, the court concluded that the bank has a duty to provide reasonable accommodation to the petitioner subject to any undue burden.Consequently, the court allowed the petition and directed that the Petitioner be offered appointment and allowed to join the post.

Policy Documents

Directive Principle of State Policy:

(38)State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people.The state shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.The state shall, in particular , strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status , facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

Contd (39) Certain principles of policy to be followed by the state. The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing a) That the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood; d) That there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;(43) living wage, etc, for workers.- The state shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure, social and cultural opportunities, in particular, the state shall endeavour to promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas. (Source: The Constitution of India.)

Reservation as a Policy Employment: The Indian Governments make special provisions to promote the educational and economic interest of the SCs/STs and to provide legal and other safeguards against discrimination in multiple spheres.The State to make provision for reservation in matters of promotion to any group or groups of posts in the services under the State in favor of the SCs and STs.

(Source: www.dpe.nic.in)

MGNREGAWage Rate policy- Balance a wage rate that provides a strong social net without competing with market rates. Section 6(1) specifically authorizes the central government to notify a wage rate, notwithstanding anything contained in the minimum Wages Act. There is considerable discussion challenging delinking MGNREGA wage rates form minimum wages for agricultural labourers, as nothing should be less than the minimum.

ContdInstitutional Accounts for wage disbursementTowards this end, schedule II of the Act was amended to make wage payments through institutional accounts statutory.Model for timely wage disbursement NREGA workers were opened to reduce leakages in cash transfer, payments have been delayed both because of delayed measurements, or lack of financial services outreach.Establishing a Technical Support Unit at Gram PanchayatThe skills of existing staff will be upgraded through training. Priority is being given to extremism affected districts, and districts where the annual MGNREGA expenditure is above Rs. 1 billion.

ContdConvergencePrimary earth-work under MGNREGA can be firmed up under another Programme for roads like PMGSY, tanks and check-bunds under irrigation schemes.Professional Institutional NetworkThis system has the advantage of relating problem analysis with possible solutions, assessing what factors work positively to promote the Acts objectives, and to document and share insights and practices for cross- learning.Knowledge Resource CenterMGNREGA has shown that transparency in the processes can be enhanced if proper infrastructure for transaction is put in place.

(Source: Sharma A.(2010).Right- based Legal Guarantee as Development Policy: The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act.)

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On a Concluding NoteEmployment security

Budget allocation for MNREGA

Women and employment

Disabled persons and employment

Policies regarding the employment

Thank You

H2015RDGM031Ms.P.ShravaniH2015RDGM032Ms.AashnaSinghH2015RDGM033Mr.Md.TanveerRH2015RDG034 Mr.Mahamood.M.KH2015RDG035 Ms.MinakshiPatel

Reference;

R. M. U. SULEMAN(1976),Employment, Income Distribution and Social Justice, Pakistan Economic and Social Review , Vol. 14, No. 1/4, pp. 101-118 Sharma A.(2010).Right- based Legal Guarantee as Development Policy: The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act.http://ethesis.nitrkl.ac.in/3620/1/Soumya_Mohanty_410HS1006.pdfhttp://www.ifmr.co.in/blog/2013/05/08/an-overview-of-the-features-of-the-mahatma-gandhi-national-rural-employment-guarantee-act-2005/ http://indiatogether.org/health/disability/dact.htm http://socialjustice.nic.in/pwdact1995.php?pageid=5