Employment guarantee act

This Primer introduces you to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA 2005). It is written in simple language and addressed to a wide audience: labourers, activists, journalists, researchers, and all concerned citizens.

NREGA 2005 is a law whereby anyone who is willing to do unskilled manual labour at the statutory minimum wage is entitled to being employed on public works within 15 days. If employment is not provided, an unemployment allowance has to be paid. However, the work guarantee in NREGA 2005 is subject to an initial limit of "100 days per household per year".

Workers' organisations have been demanding a national Employment Guarantee Act for many years, along with other legal safeguards for the right to work. The NREGA 2005 was enacted by the Indian Parliament after a long struggle, and much resistance from some quarters (including sections of the corporate sector, the business media, and the Finance Ministry). The Act is by no means perfect. In fact, it is a heavily "diluted" version of an earlier draft, prepared in August 2004 by concerned citizens. Nevertheless, NREGA 2005 is a potential tool of empowerment for rural labourers: guaranteed employment can protect them from economic insecurity, strengthen their bargaining power, and help them to organise and fight for their rights. None of this will happen, however, if NREGA 2005

remains on paper, or if it is implemented in a half hearted manner. The history of every social legislation is that it takes a long struggle for people to enforce their entitlements, even after the law is in place. The success of NREGA 2005 requires a massive process of public mobilisation. In particular, it depends on the strength of organised demand for guaranteed employment.

The first task is to understand the Act, and especially the rights that we have under the Act. The main purpose of this Primer is to facilitate this learning process.