Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Centre asked to protect unorganised sector

— PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

Sharing views: West Bengal Labour Minister Mrinal Banerjee at a seminar in Hyderabad on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: West Bengal Labour Minister Mrinal Banerjee has called upon the Central government to prepare a road map incorporating ‘adequate measures’ for providing social security to unorganised sector.

Though 94 per cent of the country’s 41.7 crore workers were from unorganised sector and the number continuing to increase, no proper safe guards had been put in place for them either at the State or Central levels.

Explaining about the provident fund scheme launched in West Bengal covering over 10 lakh workers with Rs. 20 a month each contributed by workers and the State, he wanted the Centre to contribute its share for such schemes launched by the States with their limited resources.

Mr. Banerjee was speaking at a seminar on the “status of unorganised sector workers in Andhra Pradesh” organised by Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) to mark the seventh death anniversary of veteran Communist leader Nanduri Prasada Rao here on Saturday.

Welcoming the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana launched by the Centre last year, he, however, wanted the allocation to be made reasonably higher and extension of the benefit to all below poverty line families.

Outlining various initiatives launched by the Left Front government like the special fund for welfare of construction workers, he said the government was planning to enhance the budgetary allocation for skill development of unemployed youth from the existing Rs. 30 crore to Rs. 100 crore. At the same time, he wanted the trade unions to re-orient themselves so that they could be of help to unorganised sector workers.

Senior TDP leader K. Vijayarama Rao lamented that while organised sector workers had provisions for insurance and other benefits, there was no set pattern for providing the same for unorganised sector workers.

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