The unorganised sector workers from all over the country is planning a mass rally on 5 May 2005, from Ram Lila grounds to Jantar Mantar demanding a comprehensive legislation ensuring social security and employment guarantee for themselves and amendments in the existing central legislations for constructions workers.  The rally is being organised by the National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers (NCC-USW), a platform of unorganised sector workers’ organisations.

NCC-USW has conducted a mass signature campaign of workers on a petition addressed to the Petitions Committee of the Lok Sabha. The campaign aims at a comprehensive legislation ensuring social security for the 37 crore unorganised sector workers and an Employment Guarantee Act. The law for unorganised sector workers should not be merely welfare oriented but provide for regulation of employment, guaranteed minimum employment earnings, minimum wage to meet basic needs, child care facilities, training and skill formation and up gradation, fixation of wages, resolution of disputes, protection of employment, protection of natural and common property resources, protection of migrant labour, complaints committee on sexual harassment and more. The demand is for implementation of all these through tripartite bodies at various levels in which workers have the decisive say. The existing central Acts on construction workers need to be amended.  The 5 May Rally will culminate by submitting this petition signed by lakhs of workers to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Prior to the rally, Baba Adhav, working president of NCC-USW, led a cycle rally, which began from Mahad in Maharashtra on 20 March, the day on which Baba Saheb Ambedkar had started his Pani Mukti Andolan from the same place in 1927. The cycle rally will pass through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and reach Delhi on 1 May. Another cycle rally by the Dalit Dassta Virodhi Andolan from the Hussainiwala border of Ferozepur, Punjab will be reaching Delhi on 3 May. It is estimated that around 20,000 unorganised sector workers from all over the country will participate in the rally.