labour and ESI Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallick on Friday admitted in the State Assembly that there has been no survey on the number of child labourers in the State since 1997.
However, a survey on child labourers would be undertaken this year, he said.He said as per the survey conducted by the field officials of the labour Department in the last five years, a total of only 210 children were found working in hotels and roadside dhabas.Mallick also informed that there has been no survey on the classification of labourers conducted by the department.
However, at present, a total of 3,37,540 labourers, engaged in the construction of buildings and other works, have been registered under the Odisha Buildings and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board.He, however, said though there has been no mandatory provision for registration of the labourers working outside Odisha, there are rules under the Inter State Non-Resident labourers Act, 1979, under which the concerned contractors, while taking more than five labourers for work outside the State, have to obtain license from the concerned district labour officers.
In the last 10 years, 3,144 contractors have been issued licences to take a total of 1,28,349 labourers for work in other States. The labour Department has initiated action against 429 contractors for gross violation of the Act, Mallick said in reply to a question by Prafulla Majhi.