What’s the news?

• World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10, underscores the theme of ‘mental health as a universal human right.’

Central idea

• While the World Mental Health Day theme highlights the importance of mental health for all, it’s crucial to address the often-overlooked mental health challenges of India’s informal workers. This necessitates proactive policies aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Global Perspective

• According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), approximately 15% of working-age adults globally live with a mental disorder.
• Decent work can positively influence mental health, but unemployment, unstable employment, workplace discrimination, and unsafe working environments pose significant risks to mental health.
• Informal workers, particularly those in low-paid and precarious jobs, often face psychosocial risks that compromise their mental well-being.

India’s Informal Workforce

• India’s informal workforce constitutes over 90% of the total working population. These workers endure unsafe conditions, work long hours, and have limited access to social and financial protections.
• Discrimination and gender disparities are prevalent, with over 95% of working women engaged in informal, low-paying, and precarious employment.
• The mental health of informal workers is further undermined by patriarchal structures and practices in their social and familial spaces.

Challenges faced by the informal workforce in India

• Lack of Formal Protections: Informal workers often lack legal and social protections. They work without employment contracts, job security, or access to benefits like health insurance and paid leave.
• Unsafe Working Conditions: Many informal workers labor in hazardous environments, increasing their risk of occupational health and safety issues.
• Long Working Hours: Informal workers frequently work long hours, often without clear boundaries between work and personal life, affecting their physical and mental well-being.
• Limited Access to Social Protections: These workers have limited access to social safety nets, making them vulnerable to economic shocks such as illness or job loss.
• Gender Disparities: Gender disparities are pronounced in the informal sector, with many women engaged in low-paying and precarious employment. Discrimination and patriarchal structures exacerbate these challenges.
• Precarious Employment: Informal work is characterized by its precarious nature, including irregular income, job insecurity, and uncertainty about future employment.
• Income Inequality: Informal workers often earn lower wages than their formal sector counterparts, contributing to income inequality.

Youth and Unemployment

• Youth unemployment is a pressing issue in India, significantly affecting mental health.
• Many young workers are forced into precarious and informal work due to desperation, accepting lower pay and poorer working conditions.
• Unemployment rates are particularly high among educated young women, reaching 42%.
• Given India’s demographic dividend, it is crucial to prioritize employment quality and long-term social security for this population.

Aging Workforce and Vulnerability

• India is expected to become an aging society in two decades, yet there is no clear social security plan for this growing demographic group.
• The Census of India 2011 reveals that 33 million elderly individuals continue working in informal sectors post-retirement.
• This vulnerable group lacks financial and health-care security, which can severely impact their physical and mental health.

Social Security and Mental Health

• Informal workers face mental distress due to accumulating debt and rising health-care costs: Informal workers often experience financial strain due to their precarious employment, leading to the accumulation of debt and increased healthcare expenses.
• Interconnectedness of Economic and Mental Health Factors: Mental health and well-being are interconnected with factors such as food security, access to livelihoods, and financial stability. These factors play a significant role in determining the mental health of informal workers.
• Post-COVID-19 Recovery Challenges: A study conducted among informal workers in Delhi, primarily migrants, reveals that the recovery post-COVID-19 remains uneven among different cohorts of informal workers. Many still report food insecurity, skipped meals, or reduced consumption, which can have detrimental effects on their mental health.
• Impact of Government Schemes: While some social security schemes have received increased funding, others, like the MNREGS, have seen reductions in funding. Adequate funding of employment guarantee programs can positively impact the mental health outcomes of informal workers.
• High Suicide Rates Among Daily Wage Earners: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported that in 2021, 26% of people who died by suicide were daily wage earners. This statistic highlights the mental health challenges faced by this group and the need for better support and social security measures.
• Types of Social Security Measures: Social security measures can take various forms, including:
  1. Promotional: Aimed at augmenting income.
  2. Preventive: Intended to forestall economic distress.
  3. Protective: Designed to ensure relief from external shocks.
• The Code on Social Security 2020: It is necessary to revisit the Code on Social Security 2020, highlighting that it doesn’t explicitly state the goal of universalizing social security in India, particularly for informal workers.

Way Forward: Improving Mental Health Care

• Low Budgetary Allocation for Mental Health: India’s budgetary allocation for mental health currently stands at less than 1% of the total health budget. This allocation has predominantly focused on digital mental health programs.
• Importance of Community-Based Care: The World Mental Health Report 2022 emphasizes the need to strengthen community-based care as part of a comprehensive mental health approach.
• Human Rights-Oriented Care: To address mental health effectively, it is important to provide people-centered, recovery-oriented, and human rights-oriented care.
• Urgent Need for Proactive Policies: There is a pressing need for proactive policies that not only recognize the importance of mental health but also take concrete actions to improve mental health care in India.
• Basic Human Right to Good Health: Mental health is a basic human right, and it emphasizes the need to uphold this right by providing access to quality mental health care.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being: Improving mental health care aligns with SDG 3, which aims to ensure good health and well-being for all.
• SDG 8: Decent Work for All/Economic Growth: Addressing mental health issues among informal workers is crucial for advancing SDG 8, which focuses on decent work for all and economic growth.

Conclusion

• Proactive policies and comprehensive social security measures can uplift the mental well-being of this marginalized group, promoting a society where mental health is indeed a universal human right. Achieving this goal will contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure a healthier, more equitable future for all.

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