Social Security and Its Importance in Labour Law
Uploaded by
Shilpi AgarwalSocial Security and Its Importance in Labour Law
Uploaded by
Shilpi AgarwalABSTRACT
In this blog I have written
about what is Social Security
and what roles does it play in
the lives of workers and
some conventions and
recommendations that are
ratified by India to establish
it. At last, the coverage
percentage of social security
in different countries is
provided.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND ITS
Shilpi Agrawal- 500084801
IMPORTANTANCE IN LABOUR
LAW
INTRODUCTION
Social Security for workers is the concept which
has become very popular in the industrialized
countries. Social security is a protection which is
provided by the society to any individual to ensure
access to health care and to guarantee income security
mainly at the time of unemployment, sickness and old
age. Therefore, Social security is an investment that is
made on the wellbeing of the workers and facilitate the education process, services and
essential Good, vocational training. Overall, it enhances the employment and thus economic
conditions of the country. The Conventions and Recommendations present in ILO are based
on the principle that there is no single model for social security, and that it is for each country
to develop the required protection. For this purpose to be achieved, International Labour
Organisation presents so many clauses which are flexible to achieve the object of the
universal coverage and social risks with sufficient benefits level.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOUR LEGISLATION
There are 4 principles of labour legislation- Principle of Social Justice, International
Uniformity, Social equity, Social security.
Some of the legislations that have been enacted for social security are Employees’
State Insurance Act, 1948
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923
Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
Social security sector under the industry of Labour and Employment to make policies
regarding social security for the workers of Organized sector.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
Unorganized Sector Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008.
Domestic Workers (Registration, social security and welfare) Act, 2008.
IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SECURITY IN LABOUR LEGISLATION.
1. Social Security provides important life insurance and disability insurance protection.
- About 96 percent of people aged 20-49 who worked in jobs covered by Social
Security in 2020 have earned life insurance protection through Social Security.
- For a young worker with average earnings, a spouse, and two children, that’s
equivalent to a life insurance policy with a face value of nearly $800,000 in
2020, according to Social Security’s actuaries.
2. Security provides a guaranteed, progressive benefit that keeps up with increases in the
cost of living.
- Social Security benefits are based on the earnings on which people pay Social
Security payroll taxes. The higher their earnings the higher their benefit.
3. Children have an important stake in Social Security.
4. Social Security lifts millions of older adults above the poverty line.
- Social Security benefits lift more than 16 million older adults above the
poverty line, these estimates show.
5. Social Security is especially beneficial for women.
- Social Security is especially important for women, because they tend to earn
less than men, take more time out of the paid workforce, live longer,
accumulate less savings, and receive smaller pensions.
6. Social Security benefits are modest.
7. Social Security is a particularly important source of income for groups with low
earnings and less opportunity to save and earn pensions and this also includes Black
and Latino workers and their families as they face higher poverty rates during their
working lives and in old age. ( for outside india).
8. Most older beneficiaries rely on Social Security for the majority of their income.
9. Relatively modest changes would place Social Security on sound financial footing.
SOCIAL SECURITY COVERAGE
One out of five countries have sufficient social security coverage.
Only an estimated 5% to 10% of the working population has some social security coverage
in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia,
Social security coverage normally ranges from 20% to 60% of the population in middle-
income countries.
Although increasing informalization of work results in lower levels of coverage, especially in
countries in economic transition, in most industrialized countries, coverage is close to 100%
Europe is the region with the highest level of social security expenditure at nearly 25% of
GDP, followed by North America at 16.6%. Africa has the lowest level at 4.3% of GDP.
The Covid -19 pandemic threatened the financial ability of social security systems to be
successful in many developing countries.
Lack of social security coverage is largely focused in the informal economies of the
developing world, which are mostly a larger source of employment for women than for men
CONCLUSION
Hence, we see that social security is an irremovable factor for any labour scenario. The
purpose of any social security measure is to give individuals and families the confidence that
their level of living and quality of life will not erode by social or economic eventuality. The
reason a worker work is not just the financial need but the also because he wants to sense the
belongingness within the workplace. Therefore, it is the duty of the employer to take care as
best as he can that his workers have this psychological satisfaction that their as well as their
families’ lives are cared and secured socially. Indian legislations have done so much to
strengthen this cause and because of this and many other factors, today in the world of labour
and employment, the employee and employers’ interest is at par with each other and the
principal focus is on the combined interest and satisfaction of both. If these conditions are
fulfilled with a joint effort and contribution from both the employer and the employee then
the workplace to a great extent will become a home of sorts