The Hindu : New Delhi News : Unemployment benefit scheme for labour from April

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Saturday, Mar 19, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Unemployment benefit scheme for labour from April

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 18 . The Union Labour and Employment Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, yesterday announced the Unemployment Benefit Scheme for workers from April this year.

The scheme to be known as Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana would be implemented by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), he said while making a statement in the Lok Sabha.

The opening sentence of the Minister's statement — wherein he said the decision was taken under the "guidance of the UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, and the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh" — drew immediate protests from the Opposition and a counter from the ruling side. Demanding a clarification on Ms. Gandhi's status, V. K. Malhotra and Anantha Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party said: "It is alright to mention the Prime Minister's name, but why is Ms. Gandhi being referred to.''

Though the Lok Sabha saw a few moments of disruption over the issue, the Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, called the House to order by stating that the Opposition had made its observations and they were now part of the records. Reluctantly, the Opposition conceded and allowed Mr. Rao to read out the remaining part of his statement.Mr. Rao said the workers losing employment on account of closure, retrenchment or permanent invalidity would be covered under the scheme. They will be provided an unemployment allowance equivalent to about 50 per cent of their wages for a maximum period of six months. They along with their families shall also be eligible to receive medical care at the ESIC dispensaries and hospitals. The workers, however, should have to have contributed to ESIC scheme for at least five years to become eligible for the scheme.

The scheme would provide the much-needed social security cover for about eight million employees who were insured with the ESIC. The medical benefit would extend to 30 million family members of the insured workers.

About Rs. 300 crores are being provided by the ESIC and the Corporation proposes to meet the expenditure of this scheme from its existing resources.

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