Social Security Code Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

On December 11, 2019, the social security code bill was introduced in Lok Sabha. The bill paves way for universalization of social security of 50 crore workers in the country.

Key Features of the bill

The bill proposes setting up of a social security fund to fulfill benefits such as medical cover, pension, death and disablement benefits including gig workers. This will help to tap the corporate social responsibility fund and divert it towards the unorganized sector.

The bill will provide options of reducing the provident fund contribution of the employees. It is currently 12% of basic salary. This will increase their take-home payment.

The bill also makes the fixed-term contract workers eligible for gratuity. Currently under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, workers are not entitled to gratuity before the completion of 5 years.

The bill is completely based on the Drafts Security Code.

The bill intends to merge 8 laws and to support the unorganized workers as that mentioned in the code.

Need for the bill

India leads in global gig economy contributing 24% of online labor market in the world! The data was provided by the Oxford Internet Institute. Apart from internet, being the second most populous country in the world, India has maximum number of unorganized employees.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019