SOCIAL JUSTICE – POLITY
News: Tread
a new path, one that prioritizes social justice
What's in the news?
● May 1
is known as Labour Day, a day when
the world celebrates the contribution of workers worldwide.
Key takeaways:
International Labour Day:
● The
day is observed as an occasion to commemorate
the contributions of laborers and the working class.
● The
International Labour Organization, a
United Nations agency, works towards setting international labor standards.
● India:
The first Labour’s Day was celebrated in 1923
in Chennai. This day was observed by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan.
Constitutional Provisions Related to Labour:
● Article
14 commands the State to treat any person equally before the law.
● Article
(19) (1) (c) grants citizens the right to form associations or unions.
● Article
21 promises protection of life and personal liberty.
● Article
23 prohibits forced labor.
● Article
24 prohibits employment of children below the age of fourteen years.
● Article
39(a) provides that the State shall secure to its citizens equal right to an
adequate means of livelihood.
● Article
41 provides that within the limits of its economic capacity the State shall
secure the Right to work and education.
● Article
42 instructs the State to make provisions for securing just and humane
conditions of work and for maternity relief.
● Article
43 orders the State to secure a living wage, decent conditions of work and
social and cultural opportunities to all workers through legislation or
economic organization.
● Article
43A provides for the participation of workers in Management of Industries
through legislation.
Legal Provisions:
● Social
Security Code, 2020.
● Code
on Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020
● Industrial
Relations Code, 2020
Issues faced by Labours:
● Falling
real wages.
● Rising
poverty.
● Inequality
seems more entrenched than ever.
● Enterprises
have been hard hit.
● Small
and micro-enterprises were particularly affected, and many have ceased
operations.
● People
feel that the sacrifices they made to get through COVID-19 have not been recognized.
● A
perceived lack of opportunities.
Measures needs to be taken:
● Policies
and actions must be human-centered,
to allow people to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual
development in conditions of freedom and dignity, economic security and equal
opportunity.
● It
was set out and agreed when International Labour Organization’s international
membership signed the Declaration of
Philadelphia, in 1944
● Set
guiding principles for our economic and social systems, that they should not be
turned exclusively to hitting specific growth rates or other statistical
targets, but to address human needs and aspirations.
● Focusing
on inequality, poverty alleviation and core social protection.
● Providing
quality jobs so that people can support themselves and build their own futures - ‘Decent Work for All’, as Sustainable
Development Goal 8.
● Realistically
addressing the long-term structural
transformations of our time.
● Ensuring
that new technology creates and
supports employment.
● Pro-actively
facing the challenges of climate change.
● Ensuring
to offer the jobs, skills training and transition support necessary for workers
and businesses to benefit from the new low-carbon era.
● Treating demographic
changes as a ‘dividend’ rather than a problem.
○ With
supporting action on skills.
○ Migration
and social protection.
○ To
create more cohesive and resilient societies.
● Reassess and refashion
the architecture of our social and economic systems,
so that they support this change of course towards social justice, rather than
continuing to channel us into a policy ‘doom loop’ of inequality and
instability.
● Reinvigorate labor
institutions and organizations so that social
dialogue is effective and vigorous.
● Review laws and
regulations affecting the world of work, so that
they are relevant and up-to-date and able to protect workers and support
sustainable businesses.
● Need for a Global
Coalition for Social Justice - This coalition will
create a platform to bring together a broad range of international bodies and
stakeholders. It will position social justice as the keystone of the global
recovery, so that it is prioritized in national, regional and global policies
and actions.