Social sector Bill in next LS session

The government would table the bill to introduce social security in the unorganised sector in the next session of Parliament, Chandrashekhar Sahu, minister of state for labour and employment has said.

The draft bill, which is currently with a group of ministers, will be finalised over the next one month.

"We will start the scheme on a pilot-basis in 200 districts and then extend it to other districts across the country," added Sahu.

The proposed bill will cover only agricultural and construction workers, as these comprise the bulk of the unorganised sector.

"The proposed bill may be linked to the National Employment Rural Guarantee bill," said Sahu.The latter aims to provide employment in rural areas for 100 days.

The proposed bill seeks to provide a social security system for 38 crore workers, also include self-employed, casual, contract and home-based workers under its purview.

The proposed legislation offers health insurance, maternity benefits, old-age benefits, an integrated insurance scheme and schemes for conservation of natural resources on which workers depend.

The proposed bill will also allow the government to levy a cess or a tax, or create a mechanism for collecting contributions from individual employers.