In our country, 93% of the working population is in the unorganized sector, and 72% of them are from the agricultural sector. These unorganized sector workers contribute more than 100 crores of labor days per year to the Indian economy, and over 500 crores of free labor days are done by women in the agricultural sector. These workers are the backbone of the country’s economy.
However, the central government has not given due recognition to the labor of rural workers, especially after the 16 labor laws were merged into four codes, which ignore rural agricultural workers. This leads to the denial of minimum wages, job security, social security, and dignity in labor. Hence, there is a need for a comprehensive national-level rural workers policy.
The campaign's demands are as follows: Acknowledge the contributions of rural workers and ensure their representation in labor unions and labor boards, provide free, quality education and access to healthcare for workers and their families, ensure that elderly workers receive a pension of ₹5,000 per month, establish old-age care centers at the Gram Panchayat level, central and state governments must implement housing schemes for workers who have been landless for generations, ensuring transparent allocation.