Abstract
The unorganized sector encompasses half of the GDP and has been subliminally understood as the most significant division embracing of all unincorporated enterprises in India. The vast majority (90%) of the Indian labour force has been depended on the incessant assistance rendered by the unorganized workers. This informal sector includes domestic helps, construction labour (migrant or otherwise), drivers, masons, carpenters, street vendors, incense sticks and beedi makers and several others home-based sectors (Das et al., Odisha Review, Odisha, 2012). Being a seasonal and informal employment, they are not understood very clearly in terms of labour and are anguished by frequent vindictiveness, minimum wages, denial of rights, lack of social security, social welfare opportunities and benefits. In the course of informal employment, they customarily face lot of physical and psychological problems like poor health conditions, substandard working life, harassment at work, inadequate and unequal wage structure, long working hours, poor housing facilities, lack of safety measures, stress, work pressure, non-stop tension, abuses, depression and suicide (Moses, K. M., Unpublished master dissertation. Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, pp 1–3, 2010). Nevertheless, government, NGOS, health sectors, working organizations, volunteers and other public and private concerns are strenuously outspoken for the improvement of their health, safety and well-being, it attitudes as a mirage hitherto. This paper attempts to make an effort to understand researches related to health, safety and well-being of unorganized sector and informal economy in Indian context. The nucleus of the study group is women who are engaged in the domestic household works. The paper consists of three components. The first part is about the unorganized sector and specially spells out the domestic work and its present situation. The second part is exclusively mentioning on their problems faced by the domestic workers and the third part deals on bringing out problem solution approach and to make an appeal to the social work fraternity to contribute for health, safety and well-being of women in the informal sector.
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George Bernardshaw, J., Santhosh, J.S., Lovelina Little Flower, F.X., Nancy, D. (2019). Health, Safety and Well-Being of Women in Unorganized Sector and Informal Economy. In: Panneer, S., Acharya, S., Sivakami, N. (eds) Health, Safety and Well-Being of Workers in the Informal Sector in India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8421-9_5
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