Agricultural Labourers Social Security and Welfare Scheme in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The government of Tamil Nadu constituted a Committee on Agricultural Labourers in 1997 to analyze the nature extent of socio-economic problems faced by the agricultural labourers in Tamil Nadu and to suggest the ways and means of improving their levels of living. The Committee was assisted by the representatives of the trade union of agricultural labourers, members of the farmers association and academians . The report was submitted to the government of Tamil Nadu in 1998. The Committee has made several recommendations for the overall development of the agricultural labourers. The report was well received by the agricultural labourers' trade union andd NGOs and they demanded that the government should accept the recommendations of the committee's report. They also conducted several struggles for implementation of the committee's report. The government of Tamil Nadu issued an order in 2001 for the establishment of the "Tamil Nadu agricultural labourers social security tutd welfare scheme". The immediate cause for the estublishment of this welfare board is due to the fact tha1 the agricultural labourers trade unions and NGOs were fighting for the implementation of the recommendations of the Kolappon Committee report on agricultural labourers. The objectives of the paprr are: I) to examine the report on the committee on agricultural labourers and 2) to analyse the nature and the functions of the agricultural labourers social security and welfare scheme.