Har Haath Ko Kaam Do, Kaam Ke Poore Daam Do,
Suraksha Aur Samman Do, Budhaape Men Aaraam Do
The All-India Shramik Samman Yatra is an effort to reach out to over 90% of informal workers across India to advocate with national and state governments for their right to a safe and dignified life. The initiative is led by the Workers People Coalition, a network of diverse organizations across 14 states in India focused on mobilizing legal and mediation support and making policy suggestions to improve the quality of life of informal workers.
The Yatra will pass through 12 states, mobilising workers from different sectors such as street vendors, construction workers, domestic helpers, gig and platform workers, agricultural and MGNREGA labourers, fisherfolk, sex and bar workers, head loaders, waste pickers, rickshaw pullers, transport workers among others, and their organizations to unite, demand, and present proposals to governments at both state and national levels. It will culminate in Delhi, where the demands and actionable proposals and solutions will be presented to national leaders to secure justice, security, and dignity for all workers.
The Shramik Samman Yatra aims to engage directly with informal workers and their organizations to understand their struggles and aspirations through active dialogue, propagating just policies with the government, and uniting trade unions, policymakers, civil society, and businesses to plan comprehensive solutions for issues affecting informal workers.
The Samman Yatra has placed 10 key suggestions and recommendations to promote workers’ rights and dignity. These are:
- Guarantee the right to decent and gainful work with dignity for all in rural and urban areas, acknowledging all categories of workers (such as domestic workers, gig and platform workers, home-based workers, construction workers, waste pickers, street vendors, head loaders, sex and bar workers, MGNREGA workers, agricultural workers, fisherfolks, transport workers, rickshaw pullers etc.). Abolish the contract labour system in permanent work.
- Ensure occupational safety, health standards and protection from injury, accidents and trauma at the workplace.
- Provide a Shramik Samman Nidhi (at least Rs 5000 per month) to all informal workers, starting with workers registered on the e-shram portal.
- Extend ESI (Employees State Insurance) and EPF to all formal and informal workers including independent self-employed workers and guarantee dignified social security as a right to all.
- Guarantee minimum wage linked to the real cost of living. Make Rs 26000 statutory monthly wage. Ensure that retired workers receive at least Rs 5000 per month. Create support for single women and transgender.
- Stop forced eviction/ displacement of vendors (including fish vendors) and residents and ensure proper rehabilitation. Ensure decent working conditions for vendors. Guarantee housing for all workers, including affordable rental housing. Reserve land for workers’ housing in all industrial development zones.
- Ensure sustainable access and protection rights of natural resource-based working people over natural resources (water, fish, forests, land etc). Protect workers from climate-related disasters, extreme weather events, and destruction of natural resources.
- Ensure strict measures against sexual harassment, Provide child care centres, ensure maternity benefits, equal pay for equal work, and safety for women on night shifts.
- Abolish caste and identity-based discrimination. Ensure the dignity of workers in all kinds of labour eg. Sanitation workers, people in sex work, bars etc. and decriminalise such work.
- Legislate a special law for informal workers. Ensure collective bargaining rights and the rights of migrants on all government schemes and the portability of schemes.
The Shramik Samman Yatra is divided into two routes and will mobilize workers, spread awareness, and culminate in Delhi with the presentation of demands to national leaders.
- Route 1: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
- Route 2: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.
The All-India Shramik Samman Yatra invites unions, civil society organizations, the media, and the public to participate in this transformative journey of change.
Together, we can empower India’s workers and ensure their rights are upheld.
For more information, to support, or to join the Yatra, contact:
Phone Numbers: 9654080151, 7838114101
Email: [email protected]
