NEW DELHI: While a large section of workers are employed with the informal sector in the country, the recently released Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report highlights poor job security and facilities provided to the employees.
The survey said that among regular salaried employees in the non-agriculture sector, 69.5 per cent had no written job contract and 51.9 per cent are not even eligible for any social security benefits.
This is significant, given the current situation due to pandemic, in which the informal sector employees are at the receiving end.
The PLFS report (2018-19) was released last week by the government disclosed that in India, 68.4 per cent of the workers in the non-agriculture sector were engaged in informal sector.
While a written job contract give a sense of job security, the report said, “In India, among regular wage/salaried employees in the non-agriculture sector, 69.5 per cent had no written job contract: 70.3 per cent among males and 66.5 per cent among females.”
Similarly, social security benefits for the informal sector employees included provident fund or pension, gratuity, health care and maternity benefits.
On the earnings in the informal sector, the PLFS report said that in rural areas, among regular wage/ salaried employees, earnings ranged from Rs 13.2k to Rs 13.8k among males and it was around Rs 8.0k to Rs 9.4k among females during July 2018 to June 2019.
In urban areas, among regular wage/ salaried employees, earnings ranged from Rs 18.9k to Rs 19.5k among males, from Rs 14.4 k to Rs 15.7k among females.
In rural areas, average wage earnings per day by casual labour engaged in works other than public works ranged between Es 277 to Rs 297 among males and nearly Rs 170 to Rs 199 among females.
In urban areas, it was between Rs 342 to Ras 368 among males and nearly Rs 205 to Rs 244 among females during this period.
India less equipped
An International Labour Organisation (ILO) report released in April this year said that India is among the countries less equipped to handle the situation.