In a bid to enable better access to government schemes and benefits to unorganised sector workers, the central government has launched an eSHRAM portal. Two months back on June 29, the Supreme Court directed the central government to develop the portal by July 31 for registration of unorganised sector workers so that government benefits can be accessed by them. The central government finally launched the portal on August 26.

Calling it a game changer, the Centre said the portal would have the database of millions of unorganised workers and it would link them to social security and other schemes of the government.

The Working People’s Charter (WPC), an all-India network of organisations working on issues related to unorganised, informal, and migrant workers, has welcomed the launch of the eSHRAM portal. 

On August 26, the WPC stated, “A time-bound implementation of the portal could prove to be effective in providing crucial security entitlements.” 

The eSHRAM portal was launched along with a national toll-free number (14434), where workers seeking to register themselves on the portal can seek assistance. 

The workers can register on the portal (https://www.eshram.gov.in/) using their Aadhaar and bank account details. After registration, which is free, an eSHRAM card containing a 12-digit unique number will be issued to them, that is expected to work across the country.

Although the WPC network welcomed the move it pointed out the struggles of migrant workers who were ‘abandoned’ by the central and state governments as soon as COVID19 hit India.

Also Read: Unregistered and unorganised, daily wage workers slip through the cracks during the pandemic 

“It is imperative to remember the vast constituency of working families who continue to toil each day without any governmental support and only time will tell if this database proves to be effective in delivering justice for the informal workers and restoring their dignity,” stated the WPC.

The unpreparedness of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to deal with the COVID19 migrant crisis, was exposed a day before the lockdown when it issued a statement to the effect that “no migrant worker register was maintained”.

Also Read: ‘Almost 50% informal workers didn’t receive full wages in the second wave lockdowns’

Taking the hardships of the unorganised sector into consideration, WPC has expressed the following concerns.

Concerns:

• The portal has limited access as workers who do not have an Aadhaar card will not be able to register.
• At present, social security schemes and entitlements are not part of the process. There are proposals to provide access to some schemes, such as accident insurance (amounting to Rs 200,000) and benefits arising under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), but details of other schemes are missing.
• The database only asks for the father’s name and not the mother’s name. This might create gender exclusion.
• The current system does not include the workers who are already registered under different boards. It is not clear how it will migrate this existing data into a national database.
• This scheme only operates for individual workers who are registering. There is no provision to include details of families or dependents of the workers.
• Elderly workers, above the age of 60, are being excluded (The portal allows registration only for workers between 16-59 years of age).
• It is pertinent to note that the majority of informal workers are not covered under any pension scheme.
• Authentication of workers for the registration is only done by the Shram Suvidha Kendra, which itself is problematic as it might lead to exclusion while handling the database of over 43 crore (430 million) workers.
• The registration system does not take into consideration the digital divide which is creating barriers for workers to access or understand the registration process.  
• Workers have not been receiving any communication/notification/link after submission or UAN number even after receiving the card.

Also Read: Labour Day: Is it time to organise the unorganised sector?

In the wake of the concerns, WPC has made the following  recommendations to govern the process of registration of workers:

Inclusion of all workers

A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been proposed, which, if implemented, can help in the inclusion of most of the workers from different sectors. Therefore, workers’ organisations should be involved in facilitating the registration process to avoid exclusion along with imparting awareness and training.

Registration process:

• Other government-issued identity cards such as a voter ID card should also be included as valid proof as an alternative to an Aadhaar card.
• Self-declared information shared by workers must be treated as true unless proven incorrect. The burden of proof for the veracity of information should lie with the states and not on the individual worker. A worker wishing to register himself/herself should not be required to give any proof or any other personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting him/her. Recognising that, despite best efforts, the modes of registration can be corrupted or blocked, multiple modes (online and offline) and routes (multiple spatial access points) must be provided by the states to enable workers to register in a free and fair manner. Therefore, workers’ organisations should be made a part of the registration and authentication (fixing any errors) system.
• Once the workers are registered in the system, they should get a link or a text with the UAN number with an easy-to- download pdf to get a printout of the card.
• Workers who are already registered on existing government portals/lists should not be asked to re-register. Their inclusion in the national database portal should be automatic. In such cases of auto-enrolment, the worker’s unique registration number should be communicated to the worker by SMS on the given phone number and the worker’s registration card should be sent by post to the address in the database. However, if a person who is registered on any of the portals or lists appears at the registration desk, she/he should not be denied registration. An acknowledgement receipt with the ID, list from which the name has been pulled, and status (active/inactive / pending for renewal, etc.) should be given along with the physical copy of the worker’s registration ID card.
• It should be the responsibility of the state/central government to take proactive steps such as organising registration camps, door-step registration services, etc. to reach the worker and facilitate him/her through the process of registration and other incidental activities, instead of relying on the worker to contact the state/central government.

Also Read: Almost every fourth migrant worker returned home on foot during the lockdown