From his Parliamentary constituency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed ‘Shramik Kalyan Mela’ via video conferencing on Thursday and reached out to a large number of labourers across 20 districts in his home State Gujarat.
Using this technology, Modi launched new schemes for unorganised labourers and praised his successor Anandiben Patel’s Government for various initiatives for labourers, including Shramik Kalyan Melas.
Gujarat has more than 1.25 crore labour force, Modi said, adding that these labourer’s lives changed following establishment of Majur Mahajan Sangh. In Government system, generally labour welfare is the main function and limited to urban areas only, but Gujarat Government has formed rural labour welfare board, he said terming the initiative as innovative.
labourers have to work on project basis and as result of it they frequently migrate from one place to other place, knowing the fact the State Government has made an arrangement for the education and other need of their children, so their future is different than their parents.
“Gujarat Government has also launched a card which will give benefits to labourers in sustained manner. Besides the State Government has launched a portal which will connect prospective employer and skill labourers,” said the Prime Minister, who chose to talk in Gujarati.
He said that he would like to suggest that employers and owners of companies should be assigned responsibility to see that labours are free from intoxicants. “It will be a foundation to pull out labours from poverty. Similarly, housing scheme for poor labourers planned by Gujarat Government will prove very important,” he added.
Modi added that when he shifted to Delhi in May 2014 after the lok Sabha elections, he was told that the amount as big as Rs 27,000 crore was lying untouched in Government treasury.
“Suppose a labourer is employed in some company for six months in Ahmedabad, and his PF is deposited there. For some reason he changes job and goes to another place. In such scenario he would not come again to Ahmedabad to take back his hard-earned money,” said the Prime Minister adding that his Government has taken a decision that through Aadhaar card such labourers would be traced and their money would be returned in their bank accounts. “We are working sincerely in this direction,” he added.
Recommending respecting labourers, he said that dignity of labour is not in our nature as we are used to give respect to those who are in western outfit (coat-pant). “We need to give equal treatment to laborers, despite their rustic dressing irrespective of their income. There is a need to understand importance of labour,” Modi said.
Just like Gujarat where zero man-day loss due to cordial relations between labours and employers, the country also require same amicable environment across the country to woo investors from across the globe.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced hike in daily wages of unorganised laborers from Rs 60 to Rs 65 during Shramik Kalyan Mela at Ahmedabad.