Presented by The Indian Express with Omidyar Network India and moderated by Deputy Associate Editor Udit Mishra in the eighth edition of the IE Think Migration Series, field experts talk about the need for a rights-based approach to portal design from a charity-based one Of.
No Indian should be left behind in the story of growth and development, it is their right. An important aspect of realizing this vision is targeting last mile delivery of welfare schemes to millions of Indians. E-Shram, the national database of unorganized workers across the country, has already completed the registration of 28 crore unorganized workers within eight months.
One of the major objectives of e-shram is to provide social security benefits and much-needed assistance to vulnerable labor force during disasters. By comparing the permanent and current address fields of all the registered or unorganized workers in the e-shram database, we can identify and track the migrant. We have sent SMS to the registered workers requesting them to update their current address field with any other occupation or demographic details which may have changed.
We are in the process of integrating e-shram with the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme of the Department of Food and Public Distribution based on the location data of monthly food grains collection. We are in the process of integrating e-Shram database with various State Governments and their respective Labor Departments to ensure that there is no barrier to access of Social Security benefits to the workers.
Second, the e-Shram platform will dynamically share all relevant and shareable data with the state governments through API-based integration. Relevant data of each worker will be shared based on the migrant worker’s home state and the state he/she has visited.
Each state government may be able to provide benefits designed for each occupation or income group. The benefits of central schemes can also be availed. We have given each unorganized worker a unique identity in the form of a Universal Account Number which will be acceptable, recognized and unique throughout their lifetime.
on the status of e-labor
Chandan Kumar: According to e-shram data there are 27.5 crore workers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has set nine indicators of social security – medical benefits, illness, unemployment, old age, injury during employment, family, maternity, illegality and survivor benefits. Many people are not aware of this but India has already achieved this through the schemes of EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) and ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation).
The benefits that the government is providing under e-shram i.e. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, cover these social security indicators in pieces, which I would call a charitable approach rather than authoritative. The government should have implemented the social security program that came out of the labor movement, which was a very strong labor union movement.
Most of these Social Security programs are for workers who can make some contributions. If you look at the recent CMIE data or PLFS data, the unemployment rate is huge.
ground experience
Asif Sheikh: How can we connect workers to social security benefits through e-shram portal? We realized that if a portal can combine multiple social security benefits, it can be a single window system for the migrant population as well as the unorganized workers.
The second issue is the utilization of BOCW (Building and Other Construction Welfare) funds. We need to link them too.
Shilpa Kumar Partner, Omidyar Network India
We can build on this database. We need middlemen to bridge the digital divide. Only then can this database become more interactive and enable insights. This will lead to better implementation of the plans.
on social security
Divya Verma: E-Shram really tries to bridge a significant gap in data and estimates. It has many progressive features, one of them being self-registration. Now any informal worker can declare that he is an informal worker without production of proof or employment certificate because that is exactly what makes him an informal worker.
There are also specially designed Common Service Centers for workers to register themselves. But there are very structural and basic fundamental criticisms of the design and architecture of e-labor. It is not backed by statutory law; It is not a legally mandated right for which workers can be held accountable to the state and employers. This means that informal workers are already quite disabled and have virtually no means of ensuring a guaranteed registration or access to social security through e-labor.
This is a slightly low level design for inclusion. Then the digital divide requires an intermediary. The Social Security Code introduced in Parliament is yet to be fully implemented and the divide between informal and formal workers remains.
on the challenges of implementation
Sanjay Awasthi: E-Shram is a classic example of a much needed cohesion to understand the nuances of the migration process. This portal has registered more than 400 businesses so far, so it can help in bridging the supply and demand gap. Linking to e-Migrate portal is commendable. But with the ever-increasing contribution of women, as 68 percent of these workers are women, we need to understand their needs better.
Asif Sheikh: How can we connect workers to social security benefits through e-shram portal? We realized that if a portal can combine multiple social security benefits, it can be a single window system for the migrant population as well as the unorganized workers. The second issue is the utilization of BOCW (Building and Other Construction Welfare) funds. We need to link them too.