Scheme-Based Workers: Status, Contributions & Challenges
- Recently, ASHAs in Bengaluru protested, demanding fixed wages and formal recognition. This action drew attention to the persistent neglect of Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs)—the frontline force behind schemes like ICDS, NHM, and MDMS. Despite their critical role in public welfare delivery, SBWS are excluded from formal employee status and lack job security, fair wages, and social protection.
- SBWs, officially labelled as “volunteers” or “honorary workers,” are grassroots personnel under key welfare schemes. Despite their continuous and essential public service, this classification denies them core labour rights, including minimum wages, social security benefits, and legal safeguards.
About Scheme-Based Workers
- Scheme-based workers are employed under government or institutional initiatives aimed at social welfare and development.
- They operate in sectors like healthcare, education, rural employment, and digital literacy, contributing to policy implementation at the grassroots level.
- Anganwadi workers support child nutrition and early education under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
- ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) play a important role in healthcare outreach, especially in maternal and child health.
- MGNREGA workers receive employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, ensuring livelihood security.
- BharatNet and PMGDISHA initiatives engage workers to improve digital infrastructure and literacy in rural areas.
- Their efforts help bridge gaps between government policies and local communities, ensuring effective implementation.
Status of Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs) in India
|
Case |
Judgment |
| State of Karnataka v. Ameerbi (2006) | Anganwadi Workers not treated as govt employees; not holding statutory posts |
| Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya v. DDO | Gratuity rights extended under the Payment of Gratuity Act |
| Gujarat HC (2024) | Directed govt to pay Anganwadi Workers minimum wages under RTE & NFSA |
Contributions of Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs) in India’s Welfare Architecture
- Childcare & Nutrition: AWWs provide preschool education and nutrition to over 7.3 crore children under 13.9 lakh Anganwadi Centres (MoWCD).
- Maternal & Child Health: ASHAs ensured 86% institutional deliveries in rural areas (NFHS-5) by enabling antenatal care and referrals (NHM).
- Mid-Day Meals & Enrolment: MDMWs serve hot cooked meals to 11.8 crore school children daily, reducing dropout rates and improving attendance, particularly with a 22% increase in rural girl child enrolment (NIPCCD).
- COVID-19 Frontline Work: ASHAs were instrumental in contact tracing, door-to-door surveys, and vaccine awareness during the pandemic.
- Grassroots Health Access: Over 10.4 lakh ASHAs are community health facilitators, linking rural areas with PHCs (MoHFW).
Challenges Faced by Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs) in India
1. Identity and Legal Status
- No formal worker recognition: SBWs like ASHAs, Anganwadi and Mid-Day Meal Workers are designated as “volunteers” or “honorary workers,” excluding them from formal workforce & labour laws.
- Legal exclusion from employee rights: In Ameerbi v. State of Karnataka (2006), the Supreme Court ruled that Anganwadi Workers are not government employees, denying them legal entitlements like provident fund or job security.
2. Wages and Payment Issues
- Below minimum wage standards: Despite their critical roles, SBWs receive paltry honorariums (E.g., ASHAs earn ₹2,000–4,000/month), far below the statutory minimum wages prescribed by many states.
- Irregular and discriminatory payments: Remuneration is frequently delayed, lacks uniformity across states, and is not linked to inflation or workload, aggravating economic vulnerability.
3. Social Security and Labour Protection
- Lack of social security coverage: SBWs are not included under EPFO, ESIC, or schemes like PM-SYM, leaving them without health, maternity benefits, or pensions despite hazardous and stressful work.
- Curtailment of labour rights: Governments have invoked laws like the Essential Services Maintenance Act to suppress their right to protest without granting them essential service protections.
4. Structural and Gender-Based Discrimination
- Gendered undervaluation of work: With over 95% of SBWs being women, their unpaid or underpaid care labour reflects deep-rooted gender bias in wage and policy design.
- Lack of career progression: Most SBWs receive no structured promotions, skill upgradation, or integration into formal service cadres like health or education, leading to stagnant roles.
Government Initiatives for Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs) in India
- PM Vishwakarma Yojana: To provide holistic and end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople in India, including women SBWs in some states.
- National Health Mission (NHM): Provides performance-based incentives and training support to ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), recognizing them as the cornerstone of rural health outreach.
- POSHAN Abhiyaan: Focuses on improving nutritional outcomes using Anganwadi Centres and Workers through digital monitoring, training modules, and convergence with health services.
- Gratuity Entitlements under the Payment of Gratuity Act: Supreme Court extended gratuity rights to Anganwadi workers, legally recognising their contribution and mandating financial compensation after years of service.
- Digital Payment and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Systems: Implementation of DBT for SBWs ensures timely and transparent payment of wages and incentives, reducing delays and leakages in honorarium disbursements.
Way Forward: Key Initiatives for the Empowerment of Scheme-Based Workers
- Official Worker Status: Recognise SBWs as government employees with legal entitlements to job security and employment rights. E.g., ASHAs recognized under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
- Minimum Wages and Timely Disbursal: Ensure uniform wage standards that comply with minimum wage laws and facilitate prompt digital payments to avoid delays. E.g., implement direct benefit transfers for Mid-Day Meal workers.
- Social Security Inclusion: Provide health insurance, pension, maternity benefits, and provident fund coverage through schemes like ESIC or PM-SYM. E.g., extend Ayushman Bharat coverage to all SBWs.
- Skill Development and Training: Offer structured training, digital literacy, and upskilling programs for service quality and career mobility. E.g., regular ICDS refresher training for Anganwadi Workers.
- National Policy and Stakeholder Dialogue: Frame a centralised SBW welfare policy in collaboration with trade unions, state governments, and civil society. E.g., align with Indian Labour Conference recommendations for formalisation.
India’s social delivery mechanism rests silently on the shoulders of these invisible foot soldiers. Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs) are essential to India’s welfare delivery but lack formal recognition and benefits. To achieve national goals like the SDGs, universal health coverage, and immunisation, the government must integrate them with legal protections and timely reforms.
Reference: The Hindu
PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 204
Q. Despite performing essential public functions, Scheme-Based Workers (SBWs) lack formal employee status in India. Critically analyse their contributions and suggest a policy framework for their integration into the formal workforce. (250 Words) (15 Marks)
Approach
- Introduction: Write briefly about Scheme-Based Workers and mention current data.
- Body: Write Scheme-Based Workers (SBW) contributions, challenges and suggest a policy framework for their integration into the formal workforce.
- Conclusion: Emphasis on the formalisation of SBWs with the social security net.
