Polls in mind, the Government is pushing through a proposal to provide social security to 3.7 crore employees in the unorganised sector. The scheme, cleared by a Group of Ministers (GoM) just weeks ago, is listed for Cabinet approval on Thursday. The introduction of the Unorganised Sector Workers’ Bill has been scheduled for the winter session of Parliament starting December 2. The proposal, mooted by the Labour Ministry, was cleared by the GoM headed by Deputy PM L K Advani on September 26. Also on the Cabinet anvil is a proposal to make Allahabad University — HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi taught physics there for more than three decades — a Central university. If this gets the Cabinet okay, funds to Allahabad University can flow from the Centre and its administration will be somewhat under the control of Joshi’s ministry. But it’s the Unorganised Sector Workers’ Bill which will be on every mind. It provides old-age pension of Rs 500 per month after an employee turns 60 and includes medical cover up to Rs 30,000 per annum to each worker and his five family members through a Universal Health Insurance Scheme. It also provides for an accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh. The money for the scheme, estimated at Rs 1,000 crore, will come largely through a cess of 10 paise per litre each on petrol and diesel and a monthly contribution of Rs 50 per month from those who subscribe to the scheme. An employer could participate in the scheme but will have to pay Rs 200 per month for each employee enrolled. There will be income tax benefit for the employer for the contribution. The Bill provides for workers facilitation centres to register the workers while the funds would be managed by Employees Provident Fund Organisation that will provide each enrolled worker with a unique social security number and card for operating the account. The Cabinet, when it meets on Thursday, will also discuss rejecting the Arbitration Board’s award allowing government officials to encash leave during their service. That would put a cap on leave encashment to three months pay at the time of retirement, sources said. The Ministry of Personnel has suggested that since officials have the option of encashing 10 days’ leave while utilising leave travel concession once in two years, there should not be a separate provision allowing further encashment. The objective is to save the outflows from the national exchequer by forcing the officials to avail their leave rather than encash them. A Bill would be introduced in the winter session rejecting the Board’s 1989 award allowing leave encashment while in service.
