An occupational health and safety needs assessment exercise was carried out by Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), South Asian Research and Development Initiative (SARDI) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in collaboration with the Indian National Mine Workers Federation (affiliated to the INTUC) on behalf of the Asian Workers Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Institute (OSHEI).
A recent document of the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that at the beginning of the twenty-first century, access to any form of social protection remains a dream for 80% of the world’s population.1 Social security in India exists only for 7% of the workers - those who are employed in the so- called formal sector. Why so many in India are denied the benefit of social security and what could be our strategy for ‘Social Security for All’?
More than a decade after the world coined a definition for informal sector workers, nothing seems to have changed for these poor people who work on the fringes of so-called organised labour. Informal activity in the developing world consists primarily of unregulated but productive work, on which depends the survival of millions. Data on the labour force currently collected through the official statistical systems in India and at the national level in most countries, are not able to capture the new processes of informalisation of the workforce.
The Indian economy grew at a rate of about five percent per annum during the 1980s. Despite this growth the country faced an acute economic crisis, reflecting some domestic problems but primarily external ones relating to pressure on the balance of payments. Major domestic problems related to inflation, which peaked at 17 percent in 1991, and a central government fiscal deficit that stood at an all time high of 8.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Consider the following scenarios - Li Guihong (not her real name) worked in a shoe factory in southern China. Her job was to apply glue to the shoes. However, the glue she used was a benzene-based solvent, which is very toxic. Ventilation in the factory was very poor and workers were directly exposed to the toxic fumes. Management had provided the workers with cotton face masks, and the workers in the factory believed that these could protect them. However, Li is now in a hospital in Guangzhou, suffering from partial paralysis. She is unable to walk on her own and is in a wheel chair.
We claim compensation when workers’ lungs or limbs are injured, when there is permanent loss of vital capacities, and death. However a senior unionist recently said to me, “Claiming compensation is like converting the loss of life or limb into dollars. How can you place a price tag on workers’ precious limbs and organs? You should work for prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.”