WELFARE OF UNORGANIZED WORKERS: PROBLEMS & PROSPECTS

A large portion of India’s workforce falls into the unorganized segment and there is a steady growth in it over years. They are outside the purview of labor legislations and without benefits of social protection and often do not even have a legal status as worker. In spite of such common features, the unorganized/informal sector comprises several heterogeneous groups. The researcher has undertaken this study to find out the effectiveness of certain welfare activities in the unorganized sectors in Udupi District. The study further tries to suggest concrete measures to improve the situation of unorganized workers towards their growth and development through labour welfare measures. The units of population were selected by using simple random sampling method. It comprised of 50 respondents out of which 20 workers selected from fishery, 15 workers from unskilled category and 15 from construction industry according to the number. A descriptive design was used. The study attempts to give a true picture regarding the miserable situation of unorganized workers in terms of their working conditions, remuneration, terms of employment, lack of facilities and amenities. There are some practical difficulties in the administration of welfare measures for this sector due to the complex nature of the sector. However the study recommends that the workers in the unorganized sector can be recognized as a special target group by the government for the implementation of programmes of general welfare in the spheres of housing, education, health and other services. Apart from this all governments must support social security measures by providing necessary budgetary support since this sector suffers from paucity of funds