A running theme of this report as well as the Commission's earlier report is on social security to the unprotected unorganised workers. They are, by definition, disadvantaged workers. The degree of disadvantage, if one may say so, varies from segment to segment. The earlier chapter discussed the gender dimension of this disadvantage and its manifestations in terms of the conditions of work, access to capital and earnings. There is yet another segment of disadvantaged workers who perhaps constitute the bottom layer of the working class in the country. These are the migrant workers, particularly the seasonal migrants, child labourers and bonded labourers. These workers are highly vulnerable on account of their lack of physical assets and human capabilities coupled with their initial conditions of extreme poverty and low social status. This results in their low bargaining power in the labour market that further reinforces their already vulnerable state and traps them into a vicious circle of poverty and deprivation. Not only is it more difficult for them to find avenues for gainful work, but it is also harsh when some such work is found. The conditions of work are often miserable, hours of work long, wages meagre and security of work non-existent.
URL : 20170818025030.pdf