Over 93L unorganised workers benefitting from WB govt schemes

There are more than 93 lakh workers in the unorganised sector of West Bengal and they have been enrolled under the state government's social security scheme, Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak said in the Assembly today.
The government will ensure that all workers of the unorganized sector enjoy equal benefits under the scheme, he said.
The workers are entitled to pension and cash relief in case of death, the minister said, while placing a demand for a budgetary grant of Rs 939.18 crore for his department in fiscal 2018-19.
The demand was passed by the legislators through a voice vote.
"At present the labour department runs 14 ESI hospitals in various parts of the state and two more 100-bed facilities will be coming up soon at Haldia and Siliguri," he said.

Asserting that social security schemes for workers of West Bengal is the "best" in the whole country, the minister said that apart from running its own hospitals, patients here are also referred to private facilities, depending on the requirement and government funds.

The minister said that daily wagers in the tea gardens, who were getting Rs 132.50 per day in 2016-17, are now getting Rs 150 per day with an interim increase of Rs 17.50, as the process for pay revision is still under negotiation.
Of the seven closed tea gardens of Duncans Industries Ltd in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts in north Bengal, four have been reopened after bipartite and tripartite negotiations.

Another garden will get functional from March 9, while discussions are on for the reopening of the remaining two. Over 6,500 workers will benefit from the reopening of the five tea gardens, Ghatak said.
The government, as part of its initiative to stop child labour in the state, has sanctioned 985 special schools. Of that 862 are already up and running, he said.
"The department proposes to spend Rs 40 lakh in 2018-19 on residential schools for the working children. One special school in each district will have boarding facilities," he said.
At present, the state government runs residential schools in Uttar Dinajpur, Nadia, Burdwan, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Bankura and West Midnapore.