Extend welfare schemes to all 13L workers: Kejriwal to labour officials
New Delhi, April 24
Miffed over the poor implementation of various welfare schemes of construction workers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said there was no point in having a Labour Department when it couldn’t extend the benefits of schemes to registered workers.
He also expressed his concerns over the fact that the benefits were not being extended to targeted beneficiaries. “If the department is extending the benefit of these schemes to barely 400-500 people…, there is no point in running this department itself. If the department has Rs 3,000-4,000 crore lying with it, then it must extend the benefit of its schemes to all 13 lakh workers. There can be no compromise with the welfare of our workforce,” he said. Kejriwal chaired a high-level meeting with the Labour Department on Monday to review the functioning of the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
The CM instructed the department to formulate an action plan to extend the benefit of all welfare schemes to each and every registered construction worker.
Meanwhile, the CM has also instructed the Labour Department to provide free bus passes and group life insurance. Additionally, the government announced that it will subsidised housing for construction workers in Delhi and would also provide transit hostels to migrant labourers working in the city.
