ABSTRACT
The Indian government’s major focus has been on formalising enterprises rather than employees, to the detriment of the conditions of informal workers. Even formal organised sector enterprises increasingly hire workers on informal contracts (and sometimes on no written contract at all), and the nature of the enterprise provides no guarantee of formal employment with workers’ minimum rights protected. Most official formalisation strategies have failed, not because of inadequate design, but largely because of poor implementation. Gaps are even greater in the case of women workers, who are amongst the most disadvantaged even among informal workers and self-employed. Even well-meaning measures to improve conditions of working women (such as maternity benefit laws) can operate against their interests without associated moves to change material incentives for employers, context and attitudes. A major feature of employment in India is the fluidity of the situation confronting workers, as they can move across unorganised/organised sectors without changing their basic situation. In such a situation, targeted interventions alone will not work: macroeconomic policies designed to expand employment, including good quality public employment, are required.
