SOCIAL SECURITY FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS IN INDIA BY UTKARSH

AGRAWAL AND SHAILJA AGARWAL:

The present article is an extensive piece for the readers to understand the nuances of the existing
labour laws with respect to the provisions of social security as well as the need of enactment of
the comprehensive code on social security, 2020. The article starts by introducing the plight of
domestic workers in India. The author states as to how the domestic workers have a distinct as
well as diversified range of work therefore it requires regulation. Numerous countries have made
several attempts in order to enact such welfare laws for domestic employees. However, all of
such countries have received only limited success. The author has explicitly stated in the article
that in the Indian scenario it is observed that such measures are largely scattered in form of
multiple laws in place therefore, there needs to a specific regulation in order to tackle with the
problems associated the Domestic workers. In order to address the concerns of the domestic
workers over social security, initially a number of pre-existing laws were extended to include
them as well, such as that of the Minimum Wages Act of 1948 for wage control. There have been
several other acts which were extended to deal with some of the specific concerns such as Sexual
Harassment Act; 2013, Employees state Insurance Act, 1948. In this article we can understand
that the legislations those were enacted were inadequate in addressing their concerns. Therefore
the government revamped the entire labour law regime and amalgamated several labour laws
into the draft code for social security and welfare, 2017. The most important change brought
about by this code was the recognition of domestic workers as employees. Thus, the author in the
article has also made these recommendations in order to ensure the grant of social security to
domestic workers.
 THE INTERSECTION OF PUBLIC POLICY, LABOUR LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS
LAW IN THE MIGRANT WORKERS' CRISIS BY SAIRAM BHAT AND VIKAS
GAHLOT

The article talks about the plight of migrant workers in the times of COVID-19 pandemic. This
article states the importance of the Code for Social security, 2020 in order to provide the migrant
workers the relief from all the distress they had faced during the pandemic. The article starts by
stating the issues faced by the migrant workers. The author had specifically made reliance on
certain national labour legislations relating to migrant workers such as The Inter-state migrant
Workmen Act, 1979, or The Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008 etc. It was
observed that not only these acts dealt with certain specific as well as niche problems those were
faced by these migrant workers; however they also lacked behind in the proper implementation
of the act. The author mentions as to how decentralizations is the key to management of success.
The author made several recommendations in the article specifically with regard to the Code for
Social Security, 2020 that a decentralized social security programme will have a better reach
than a centrally administered one. It will also inspire confidence in migrant workers because
their issues will be handled locally. The Social Security Code of 2020 gives local level entities
the authority to distribute funds collected under the act. The workers will thus benefit at a
quicker pace. Further, the author also goes ahead to state that an economic distress relief fund
can be created by amending the Code for Social Security, 2020.
REGULATION OF INQUIRIES UNDER SECTION 7-A OF THE EPF ACT-THE NEED
OF THE HOUR? BY JEEVAN BALLAV PANDA, MEHER TANDON AND DHRITI
MEHTA

The article talks about the aims and objective of introducing the Code for Social Security, 2020
by the Legislature. The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Code), which was passed by the Central
Government on September 29, 2020, was created with the goal of giving social security benefits
to all employees and workers, regardless of whether they work in the organised or unorganised
sectors. When put into effect, the Code will nullify and reenact nine key labour laws pertaining
to social security, including the EPF Act. In accordance with the five-year statute of limitations
set forth in Section 45-A of the Workers' State Insurance Act of 1948, the Code has added a
statutory limitation term for recovery in such procedures. The addition of a 5-year restriction
period for starting an investigation similar to the one under Section 7-A is unquestionably a
positive change that will improve clarity on the situation and be a big relief to the employers.
The author further goes ahead in order to state that although the Code on Social Security, 2020
seems to have acknowledged and solved the limitation issue, there are still a number of other
practical concerns that need for additional regulation and, more crucially, a shift in the way
things are done.