LabourNet, the NGO I know

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LabourNet, the NGO I know

• By B S Ranganath

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Introduction

• LabourNet is an initiative of MAYA (Movement for
  Alternatives and Youth Awareness), a
  non-governmental organization based in Bangalore.
  
• It began largely as an effort to provide a
  one-stop platform for unorganized sector workers
  to avail services similar to those available for
  formal sector workers.
• It now organizes financial inclusion and social
  protection / welfare services to workers.
• It effectively builds capacities of workers and
  markets their services to customers.

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Objective

• Informal sector workers make up 93 percent of
  Indias workforce.
• It is in the grip of from poverty, deprivation,
  lack of social and economic mobility.
• All out efforts will be a must to strengthen this
  sector.
• No stone should be left unturned to bring in
  professional competence in this sector,
  empowering it to be an asset to the nation.
• LabourNet strives round the clock to achieve
  these.

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Focus

• LabourNet seeks to provide easy and
  institutionalized access to jobs and enhance
  incomes of over one million workers in India in
  the next five years.
• LabourNet is a social enterprise that creates
  sustainable benefits for workers in the informal
  sector by offering them a platform to access
  services.
• LabourNet focuses on improving workers lives
  through seven strategies.

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Seven strategies

• Enabling workers to have an identity
• Improving productivity through a process of
  continuous assessment and skill training
• Facilitating work linkages
• Providing information to live in the city
• Facilitating access to accident insurance
• Linking workers to state sponsored social
  protection schemes
• Facilitating financial inclusion by opening bank
  accounts

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Corporate Structure
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Engagement with Customers

• LabourNet enables and facilitates customers to
  pick a right match to meet their work needs.
• LabourNet has a database of over 45000 workers
  from which customer can choose the worker suiting
  their business/contract needs.
• LabourNet registered workers undertake the
  following types of contract
• Piece rate Labour material contract, only
  labour contract.
• Sourcing and supply of manpower on daily wage
  basis.

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Training Services

• Training and re-training ensure that worker is
  capable of completing the task given.
• LabourNet conducts regular training programs
  on-site, using a blend of technology and
  apprenticeship system. It sees training as a key
  to ensure a productive workforce.
• LabourNet continuously conducts training for
  workers registered in its database, in order to
  enable better opportunities for them.
• LabourNet conducts training for
  contracted/employed workers and convert them into
  a productive workforce.

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Picture 5 Shahabad Stone in Box type
Waterproofing
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Assessment and Certification Soltiuons

• Knowing a worker's skill set and skill level is
  critical to companies for hiring/work
  sub-contracting need.
• LabourNet , using its custom built framework and
  assessment tools, helps companies to select the
  right match for their work needs i.e., the right
  worker for the specific job.
• LabourNet also provides assessment and
  certification services to companies and help them
  understand the skill level of their existing
  workforce.

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• Hivos, the Humanist Institute aiming towards a
  fair, free and sustainable world.

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Engagement with Partners

• Funding partners of LabourNet are
• Ford Foundation, Working with Visionaries on the
  Frontlines of Social Change Worldwide.
• CHF International, striving since six decades to
  build a Better World.
• Accenture, the world famous BPO entity.
• Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), a global impact
  investing organization.
• American India Foundation (AIF), which has a
  mission to catalyze social and economic change in
  India.
• GIZ, the Deutsche entity supporting people and
  societies worldwide in creation of sustainable
  living conditions and better futures.
• Hivos, the Humanist Institute aiming towards a
  fair, free and sustainable world.

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Engagement with Partners

• Service partners of LabourNet are
• Punjab National Bank, a leading Pan India Bank
  with global footprints.
• Corporation Bank, a major participant in nation
  building through its strategy empowering the
  rural and urban population alike.
• Training partners of LabourNet are
• Bosch, one of the world's best inspirers known
  for having task oriented workforce that never
  tires.
• Biome, an initiative to facilitate and foster
  environmentally and socially responsible
  practices.

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Engagement with Partners

• Training partners of LabourNet are
• ITC, widely perceived to be dedicatedly
  nation-oriented.
• Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC),
  set up by the Planning Commission, Government of
  India, jointly with the Indian construction
  industry to take up activities for the
  development of the Indian construction industry.
• Health partners of LabourNet are
• Swasth India Services Private Limited, working
  towards improving the health of low-income
  segments in urban and rural India.

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Engagement with Partners

• Health partners of LabourNet are
• AyurVAID, the first and the only Ayurveda
  hospital to be accredited by NABH (National
  Accreditation Board for Hospitals Healthcare
  Providers), Quality Council of India.
• Research partners of LabourNet are
• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB),
  one of the premier institutes for management
  education and research promoting managerial
  excellence in the country.

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Engagement with Partners

• Research partners of LabourNet are
• Microsoft Research, the global entity constantly
  changing the World of Science.
• Construction Welfare Board, Haryana, that
  regulates the employment , conditions of service,
  safety, health and welfare measures for the
  building and other construction workers.
• Construction Welfare Board, Karnataka, known for
  its unmatched efforts in creating awareness
  amongst the general public about the need to
  register workers.

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Concern

• Most of the unorganized sector workers are
  invisible in the larger world of work.
• Their work is undervalued and often unrecognized.
• This lack of recognition has serious
  repercussions resulting in exploitation.
• Exploitation in terms of working hours, tasks to
  be performed and wage determination for the said
  tasks.
• Exploitation in terms of working hours, tasks to
  be performed and wage determination for the said
  tasks.

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Concern

• Exploitation affects the work too and results in
  various spill over effects in other realms, such
  as ability to access government welfare services
  and partaking in mainstream banking.
• This being the core issue daunting humanity,
  LabourNets main goal is to provide identity to
  workers.
• LabourNet, through its network of worker
  facilitation centers, enables registration of
  workers.

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Registration process

• Workers' profile, qualification, certificates of
  experience, family details, address proof etc.
  are collected and uploaded by staff members meant
  for it, onto a centralized data base.
• Another team of staff focuses on registering
  workers through referrals and direct field based
  registration drives.
• An Annual fee of Rs. 150 is collected from each
  worker towards registration, accident insurance
  coverage, laminated LabourNet identity card and a
  bank account opened in his/her name.

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Financial inclusion

• Financial inclusion is the availability of
  banking services at an affordable cost to
  disadvantaged and low-income groups.
• LabourNet works in this sphere in a sustained
  manner by enabling workers to buy tailor made
  insurance products, open accounts and obtain
  loans through banks.
• LabourNet has so far opened 14000 no frills bank
  accounts for migrant construction workers and
  other informal sector workers, in Bangalore City.

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Financial inclusion
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Financial inclusion

• Bank account ensures identity which the working
  community deserve richly.
• It enables small labour contractors to venture
  into bigger contracts.
• It also gives workers the means to take loans, in
  order to finance purchase of vehicles, tools and
  working capital.
• It even allows them to save in the form of
  recurring deposits.
• LabourNet is determined to see that each one
  enrolled with it feel happy with these benefits.

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Health Coverage

• Unorganized workers are vulnerable to diseases
  and ill-health.
• They tend to earmark 20-30 percent of their
  income on health related expenditure.
• It often results in pushing their families into a
  debt trap.
• Health insurance hence becomes an important
  aspect of the social security needs of the
  worker, but is often prohibitively expensive.

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Health Coverage

• LabourNet ensures availability of the health
  insurance to unorganized workers, at a low
  premium.
• It has attempted to work in partnership, from
  preventive care to addressing costs of OPD,
  in-patient care, drugs, insurance coverage and
  quality of care.
• It has piloted a unique project which negotiated
  with a network of healthcare providers.

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Health Coverage

• The healthcare providers included doctors,
  laboratories, pharmacies, nursing homes and
  hospitals, to ensure delivery of quality health
  services to workers.
• A facilitator accompanied the beneficiaries
  through the entire hospitalization and treatment
  process.
• LabourNet in the last three years provided health
  coverage to over 1200 worker families.

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Accident insurance

• LabourNet provides accident insurance to the
  workers, in view of the hazardous nature of their
  job and living condition.
• It buys group insurance from the company and
  provides workers with the necessary ID card.
• The worker pays Rs 75/- per annum and receives a
  cover of Rs 1,00,000/-.
• LabourNet has in the last four years provided
  insurance coverage to over 32000 workers.

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Concluding note

• It is common knowledge that trained and certified
  workers will command better prices and ensure
  better quality of work.
• However, the reality is that a large majority of
  the workers are untrained and uncertified.
• This is because there is a serious shortfall in
  the availability of good training agencies.
• There is a perception that training will not
  result in better wages.

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Concluding note

• Its LabourNets experience.
• Professional service providers are willing to pay
  higher wages for trained and certified workers.
• Anyone can examine and notice the success
  achieved.
• LabourNet could be contacted at 24/1-4, 9th
  Cross, Marenahallipalya, J P Nagar II Phase,
  Bangalore 560078. Ph 91-80-44504450