Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA), a trade union for poor, self-employed women workers, recently sent a representation to the ministry of health seeking urgent intervention to address the issues of occupational health hazards faced by the workers of unorganised sector. For prioritising the needs of this sector and to address various occupational health issues faced by these workers, they have demanded setting up of a separate board at the Centre.

In the proposal, they have requested the government to provide schemes and provisions that are aimed at sustaining the healthcare requirements of this sector. This demand was made with the view to encourage the government to formulate and implement a strong regulatory provision in the country for safeguarding the healthcare interest of these workers.

These suggestions were made after detecting an apparent rise in the incidence of occupational accidents and work-related diseases among the workers. Lack of adequate steps taken by the companies to ensure the safety and protection of the workers as per the requirements of their work is found to be the main reason for this.

SEWA feels that absence of government initiatives and regulatory set up are responsible for the current plight of this sector. Especially, since the workers, belonging from across all the economic sectors like agriculture, industry and services, work under the most risky conditions and circumstances with minimal safety measures increasing their work related risk.

To safeguard their health and provide a conducive  environment to work, it is essential to provide safety kits and other precautionary materials to the workers as per their work conditions. According to Mittal Shah, co-ordinator, social security, SEWA, “Occupational health hazards faced by the informal sector is a huge issue that needs to be addressed by the government, especially since nearly 93 per cent of the work force belong to this category. The health problems faced by these workers can be avoided to a great extend if they are provided with a proper working condition, safety gears and other required materials as a precautionary step.”

Since many years, SEWA has been working for the cause of occupational health in the country by advocating the use of head gears and gloves for tobacco workers and gum collectors, along with campaigning for the cause of garment workers as well.

“We want the government to recognise the efforts of these workers and provide them with essential tool kits to safeguard their health from any possible occupational hazards. Preventive measures should be taken by  adopting a proper management system to over look their affairs and address safety concerns, to reduce risks at work. Government should consider manufacturing prototypes of the tool kits as per the job requirements and supply it to the workers across the country compulsorily,” Shah suggested.

At present, Gujarat is the only state in the country to have a designated board specifically to address the issues of the informal sector.