The State Government has set a target to eliminate child labour in all forms by 2025. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday while addressing the inaugural session of a two-day national conference on labour said, “The State commits itself to the cause of elimination of child labour in all forms by 2025, and I assure suitable budgetary outlays for this.”
To ensure the entitlements of the workers after migration, Patnaik said the State Government has decided to set up Odisha Help Desks in five States, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi.The conference, attended by Ministers and Chairpersons of labour Welfare Boards of 29 States, would conclude on Wednesday. Addressing the seminar, Union Minister for labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya said his Ministry has recently taken several initiatives for the benefit of laborers like, extending maternity holiday week from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and a hike in the minimum daily wage of unskilled labourers working in agriculture sector from `160 to `350.
“During the conference with the States, implementation issue of these initiatives would be raised”, he added.
State Minister for labour and ESI Prafulla Kumar Mallick, OB & OCWWB Chairman Subas Singh, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, Union labour Employment Secretary Shankar Agarwal among many other attended the event.