WASTE PICKING LABOUR PROFILE

NEWS: The Union Government has released official data for the first time on waste-pickers in India as part of an ongoing national enumeration exercise

Waste-pickers

Under the NAMASTE scheme, waste-pickers are defined as people informally engaged in:

• Collection of reusable and recyclable waste
• From streets, garbage dumps, material recovery facilities

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Total workers enumerated: 52 lakh waste-pickers profiled and validated: Data collected from urban areas of 35 States & UTs
• Out of all waste-pickers: 5% → SC, ST, OBC communities, 10.7% → General category, Others: small residual category
• Gender profile: 7% women, 51.3% men, 0.007% transgender persons

Link with hazardous sanitation work

• 859 deaths since 2014 due to hazardous sewer/septic tank cleaning
• Around 91–95% of sewer/septic tank workers are from SC, ST, OBC

NAMASTE scheme

• NAMASTE = National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem
• Objectives: End manual and hazardous cleaning of sewers & septic tanks, Enumerate sanitation workers & waste-pickers
• Provide: Formal recognition, Safety equipment, Skill training, Alternative livelihoods

Core issues raised by this data

• Reflects structural inequality, not individual choice
• Workers lack: Written contracts, Health insurance, Legal protection
• Persistent caste-based hazardous work questions substantive equality.

Complete nationwide enumeration

• Ensure formal recognition by Urban Local Bodies
• Provide: PPE & mechanisation, Health insurance, Skill diversification
• Enforce laws banning hazardous cleaning