Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Plan to make Acts more worker friendly

GULBARGA: The Union Government proposes to amend the Industrial Disputes Act and the Employees State Insurance Act to make it more worker friendly.

Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, Mr. Kharge said the proposals were before the parliamentary standing committees.

He said that the amendments would be made after consulting the employees and employers.

“We will bring in the amendments after a consensus is evolved, and if needed we will persuade the employers to accept the changes in the larger interests of workers.”

Expressing happiness over the approval for amendments to the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Kharge said the Bill would now be placed in the Rajya Sabha.

The Minister said he personally felt that the amendments to the Act were one of his major achievements in his political career.

He said that one of the major changes proposed was the removal of the condition in Schedule 2 of the Act and deleting the clause which made it compulsory that at least 24 employees should be there in the industry classified as hazardous industry to claim compensation.

“Now, even if one person is employed in the industry classified as hazardous, he is entitled to claim compensation in the event of any accident, resulting in death or disability.”

Mr. Kharge said that in another major amendment, the clerical staff in the Railways had been brought under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, making them eligible to claim compensation in the event of any accident or mishap. This would help lakhs of workers in the Railways throughout the country, he added.

Mr. Kharge said that another amendment was to raise the immediate relief given to the family of those who died while on duty from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 5,000, and as per the price index the amount paid as relief would be increased periodically through an enabling clause provided in the amendment.

The compensation paid to persons suffering permanent disability had been increased from Rs. 90,000 to Rs 1.4 lakh, and the relief in the event of death of a person has also been raised from Rs. 80,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh.

“We have tried to make the Act more flexible and more pro-worker, and all the rigidities in it have been removed through the amendments.”

Mr. Kharge said that as per the information available with him, the State Government had not spent the funds available on welfare measures for contract labourers.

“A sum of Rs. 340 crore is available as Contract Labourers Welfare Fund, but the State Government has so far spent only Rs. 80 lakh. Using the money, the Government can take up several welfare measures, including constructing low cost houses for them,” he said.

To a question, Mr. Kharge said the Union Government had constituted a sub-committee, headed by former Planning Commission member Mongekar, for preparing a plan for launching welfare measures for workers in the unorganised sector.

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