Despite stiff opposition from the Left parties, the government plans to introduce the Unorganised Sector Workers' Bill, which provides for health and life insurance benefits to workers in the informal sector, in the current session of Parliament.
The four Left parties that support the United Progressive Alliance government have already rejected the Bill, which has been approved by the Cabinet. Instead, they have asked for separate Bills for agricultural and non-agricultural workers.
However, with elections looking likely given the Left's increasing differences with the UPA over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the government appears to be keen to send out a strong political message.
Sources said Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes would introduce the single Bill with minor changes in health and accident insurance benefits.
The Bill, however, is unlikely to be passed in Parliament, which adjourns on September 14 in the normal course but may end sooner if the opposition National Democratic Alliance does not allow the nuclear deal to be debated.
Pressure to introduce the Bill has also come from Congress President Sonia Gandhi. In her speech at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on August 14, she described the Bill as "truly landmark and like the national rural employment guarantee Act it is in keeping with one of the key pledges of our manifesto".
Tapan Sen, CPI(M) MP from the Rajya Sabha and national secretary of the powerful Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said: "The government's own committee headed by Arjun Sengupta has suggested two different Bills, but strangely, this has not been done. The proposed Bill will hardly be of any use."
Added Debabrat Biswas, leader of Left constituent Forward Bloc: "There are already dozens of Acts like this. But where is the implementation? So many projects and schemes are there in the name of Nehru, Indira and Rajiv but no work has been done. We don't want another useless Bill."
