PANJIM: Contemplating a hike in the minimum salary of daily wage employees to Rs 18,000 a month, the Union Government is working towards providing social security cover to nearly 93 percent of the unorganized workers, including those in construction, auto drivers, auto rickshaw pullers and midday meal workers.
Considering also the unending exploitation of contract workers, the Union Labour Ministry has decided to strictly implement the provisions in the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 and punish those found violating them. The Ministry aims to rationalize existing labour laws by bringing all 44 laws under four Labour Codes.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment, Bhandaru Dattatreya, on Tuesday met the Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Panjim.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Dattatreya said the State is an appellate authority to decide on minimum wages but at the same time, following consistent demands from labour unions, the Ministry wants to amend the statutory minimum wages for the country that is universal wages.
“The unions are demanding that it should be between Rs 16,000 to 18,000. We are considering the proposal,” he said. “Our main aim is to give proper jobs, wages and social security to workers and the Ministry is working towards it,” he added.
Dattatreya said the Ministry focus is on providing social security to unorganized workers. “93 percent of the unorganized workers have no social security, no proper enforcement of labour laws. We need to protect them,” he said adding the concept would be implemented in three phases.
In the first phase, construction workers would be covered by bringing them under the purview of formal sector giving them benefits of provident fund (PF), ESI and others. In the second phase, auto drivers, auto rickshaw pullers would be covered and in the final phase, workers under the midday meal scheme and cine workers would be included.
The Minister said that in a bid to have a large impact of Labour laws, the Ministry is working to rationalize existing Labour laws by bringing all 44 laws under four Labour Codes – Code on Wages, Code on Industry Working, Code on Social Security and Code on Wages, Safety Conditions and Health.
Dattatreya reiterated that the government is firm on punishing those violating the provisions in the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act. “We are also working on how we can regularize the services of these people,” he said.
