The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Construction labour insurance should cover all types of workers’

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Wednesday, Jun 18, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Construction labour insurance should cover all types of workers’

Staff Reporter

Government proposal to insure building masons welcomed

Some 3,000 masons and their assistants enrolled with trade unions
Registered persons only to be eligible for benefits under the scheme

ADILABAD: The recent proposal of the government to consider according accident insurance and pension cover to building masons has raised expectations among members of this largest of the unorganised sectors. Trade unionists and leaders of construction workers demand inclusion of all kinds of building workers in any such plan in the future.

There are about 25,000 building workers in Adilabad district whose work is related to masonry. Between 2,000 and 3,000 masons and their assistants are enrolled with trade unions. Only these few are likely to be considered for inclusion in the proposed plan while a few thousand others like carpenters, stone polishers, painters and tractor drivers who are also associated with building works may be ignored.

Befitting status

“We want not only masons, but people working in these areas and any others associated with building works to be considered as ‘workers’ under the Industrial Disputes Act. Once these workers get such a befitting status, they will become eligible for benefits of any government scheme,” explains S. Vilas, the district general secretary of All-India Trade Union Congress.

This trade union has been in the forefront of fighting for the cause of the unorganised sector at national level. The Act in the pipeline is also a result of its championing the cause of construction labourers. The government had actually declared its intentions towards formulating the plan last year.

“So far, only a few builders in the private sector and contractors of government buildings under obligation go in for getting the construction labourers insured. Insurance companies will need clear orders and guidelines from the government before taking up the scheme,” says a source in an insurance company.

“However, based on available information it can be said that a list of name of masons will be registered with the government and persons from this list only will be eligible for scheme benefits. The scheme benefit will be in addition to the compensation that the owner of a private building or a contractor is liable to pay in case of an accident on the site,” he adds.

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