BHUBANESWAR: Half of Odisha’s salaried class continues to find itself uncovered under any kind of social security benefit. The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (2022-23) of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) points out that out of the state’s total salaried employees or those earning regular wages, 51.6 per cent (pc) are without any social security benefits like provident fund, pension, gratuity, health care, maternity benefit or a combination of these benefits. This percentage has remained more or less consistent for the last five years.
The incidence is higher (57.3 pc) among workers in rural areas whereas it was 42.8 pc in urban areas. The survey, that was recently published by NSSO, found that 47.7 pc of workers were not provided any job contracts while 40 pc were not eligible for any paid leaves.
In the urban-rural context, the survey further revealed that among the regular wage earners, while 32.2 per cent males were not eligible for paid leave in urban areas, the figure was higher in rural areas (47.4 per cent). Similarly, 36.1 pc females were not eligible for paid leave in urban areas, in rural areas the number was 36 pc.
Across genders, the trend is largely uneven. More women employees - 64.4 pc - are without any social security benefits while it is 47 pc when it comes to men. On the contrary, while 50.3 pc of male workers were not provided any written contracts during their appointment, the percentage was 40.5 pc in case of women.
Although the percentage of salaried employees without any social security benefits has been hovering around 50 pc since 2019, comparison of data of the 2021-22 financial year shows that things worsened further in 2022-23. The percentage was 48.7 in 2021-22 while it went up to 51.6 in 2022-23. However before Covid, 51.4 per cent workers had no access to PF, pension or any health care benefits.
Economists said since most of the companies today hire people through outsourcing agencies, the workers are not provided any health care, pension and even maternity benefits. “Today, not just the private sector but even the state government recruits a lot of professionals through outsourcing agencies. They do not contribute to EPS. Besides, many salaried employees prefer being consultants and take their salary as cash in hand without any benefit,” said secretary of Orissa Economics Association Amarendra Das.
