Organised and unorganised workers are an integral and essential part of the industrial system and the overall economy. Unorganised workers are generally neither united nor well-structured. They often lack the economic, educational, and social strength required to come together and fight for their rights. One such group within the unorganised sector is Mathadi workers.

In Maharashtra, Mathadi workers united during the 1960s–70s under the leadership of Shri Annasaheb Patil and launched a collective struggle. As a result of this movement, a separate and independent legislation, the Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and Other Unprotected Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Act, 1969, was enacted.