Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Monday announced to set up ‘Haryana Unorganised Workers Social Security Board’ which will work for the welfare of workers employed in the unorganised sector.
He also announced to hike the monthly pension of workers aged 60 years or above registered with the Construction Workers Welfare Board, from Rs 1000 to Rs 2500.
The Chief Minister made these announcements while speaking at the state-level Rajkiya Sharamik Divas Samaroh organized by the Labour Department, on the occasion of Vishvakarma Jayanti, in Karnal. He also accepted on-the-spot 33 demands put forth by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nayab Singh Saini.
“Organised and unorganised are two sectors engaging workers. In Haryana, about 25 per cent workers are working in the organised sectors, while 75 per cent are in the unorganised sector. Our focus is not only on the organised sector but also on the unorganised sector. Thus, Haryana Unorganized Workers Social Security Board will be constituted, Manohar Lal said.
He said that at present, over 7.76 lakh workers are registered with the Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board out of which over 5.08 lakh members are active.
“The State Government is running several schemes for their welfare and for the welfare of their families. We have decided to increase the monthly pension of registered workers of this Board, who are 60 years or over, to Rs 2500 from Rs 1000,” he added.
Giving a broad view of the new health scheme launched by the State Government, Manohar Lal said from September 23, the Central Government would give Rs 5 lakh annually to poor families, on the basis of the data of Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC)–2014, for healthcare facilities.
According to the SECC data, there are 14 lakh poor families in Haryana, out of which 8.5 lakh families would benefit from this scheme. But those families which could not be recorded in SECC data, for any reason, would be given Rs 5 lakh for healthcare services from the Construction Workers Welfare Board, he said.
The Chief Minister further said it is a good coincidence that the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, falls on Vishwakarma Jayanti. On this occasion, foundation stone has been laid of Sharam Shakti Bhawan, Panchkula, Directorate Office Building of ESI Health Care, and ESI Dispensary Building, he said.
“We believe in ‘Satyamev Jayate’ and we respect our labour. While following the ideal of Antyodaya given by Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, we are first focussing on those who are most in need of the basic needs of life. The State Government is committed to protecting the rights of labour and is working for their welfare,” he added.
Manohar Lal said, the State Government had taken steps to remove the anomalies that sprung up during re-fixation of minimum wages. Today, Haryana ranks among the states which are giving highest minimum wages. In Haryana, the salary of unskilled worker is Rs 8,542 per month, which means, he gets daily wage of Rs 329. We have fulfilled the promises made during the elections by giving daily wage of Rs 300, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, the Labour Minister, Nayab Singh Saini, said that the State Government has started 23 schemes for the welfare of workers. Under these, over Rs 420 crore has been provided to about 4.88 lakh workers, whereas under the previous government, financial assistance of only Rs 39.61 crore was provided to 19,841 workers, he added.