Dear Friends,

We cordially invite you to participate in the National Workshop on Legislative Protection of Unorganised Sector Women Workers. The workshop is sponsored by the National Commission for Women and organised by the National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers (NCC-USW).

The NCC-USW has been campaigning nationwide for a Comprehensive Legislation on the Unorganised Sector Workers since 2002. The workshop will be followed by a meeting of the NCC-USW on 5 th August at GPF from 10 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. This meeting will be held in coordination with the Socialist Front.

Crores of women are working in the unorganised sector in our country in an unprotected state, labouring for long hours and at low wages, suffering economic and sexual exploitation, with no social security measures. The Unorganised Sector contributes 65% of GDP and the workers in the sector number 37 crores. Yet the majority of labour laws are designed for the organised sector. Basic laws such as the Minimum Wages Act and the Equal Remuneration Act lack an implementation mechanism and are violated with impunity. With Globalization, the poverty and suffering of the labourers has increased.

The Report of the Second National Labour Commission acknowledged the need for comprehensive protective legislation for Unorganised Sector Workers.

The NCC-USW has submitted to the Petitions Committee of Parliament a draft Bill which takes into account the specific issues of women labourers, such as employment and wages, social security and welfare, maternity entitlements, prevention of sexual harassment at workplace, rights over natural resources and tripartite boards with proportionate representation for women workers.

The National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector has recently submitted to the Prime Minister a Report and a Bill on Social Security. It has also circulated another Bill on Employment conditions.

The National Workshop will discuss the following:

i. The specific issues faced by women workers and legislative requirements in the various employments in the Unorganised Sector in the country, in the matters of

(a) Employment and Wages

(b) Social security measures such as ESI, Pension, gratuity, maternity entitlements etc.

(c) Welfare measures such housing, crèches, and training

(d) Prevention of sexual harassment at workplace

(e) Occupational health and safety

(f) Rights over natural resources

(g) Special protective measures for migrant workers

(h) Participatory mechanism with women's participation

(i) Dispute resolution mechanism

ii. The Bills circulated by NAC, NCEUS, NCC-USW etc

iii. Future strategies

Representatives of the NCEUS, the National Advisory Council and the Ministry of Labour besides Members of Parliament representing different political parties and representatives of NCW and other institutions will be invited to speak and participate.

You are requested to ensure that an equal number of male and female activists participate in this workshop on behalf of your organization, particularly those who will take up the responsibility for the awareness campaign and organization building work among unorganised sector workers in your area. They should also be willing to regularly participate in the national campaign of Unorganized Sector Workers.

Modest board and lodging at GPF and ICCW will be provided by NCC-USW at its own cost. We are seeking travel support for a few deserving activists but request all organizations to arrange their own funds for travel.

A confirmation by email or on phone about your participation, date of arrival at Delhi will help us in organising our support for the workshop better.

Thanking You,

Yours Sincerely,

(Subhash Bhatnagar)