On the occasion of International Labour Day today, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit presented awards to 14 labourers in recognition of their dedication and hard work in a function organised at the state secretariat.
Mukhyamantri Shramik Puraskar, which carries an amount of Rs one lakh and a citation, was given to Rajveer Singh and Rajendra Prasad for their suggestion to modify main filling gun of LPG filling machine to make the operation smooth and leakage-free, which has resulted in savings of around Rs 3 crore per annum.
Twelve other workers were presented Dilli Shramik Puraskar in six different categories. Under each category, the worker got cash prize of Rs 25,000 along with citation. Runners-up got a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and a citation.
The awards were instituted by the Labour department to encourage labourers to perform better in their work.
On the occasion, Dikshit said, "It is time to minimise the difference between workers and owners. We must understand the difficulties and ground realities of workers in order to make our Worker Welfare component comprehensive and satisfactory."
She said the ambit of awards must be extended to include outstanding women workers.
"From next year, the city government will institute two awards for women workers," Dikshit said, adding that the awards would go a long way in ensuring safety in factories and enhancing productivity and quality of performance of the workers.
Labour Minister A K Walia said his department has been working for the welfare and uplifting of workers, apart from efficiently implementing various labour legislations.
"Delhi has become the first state to commission a workers helpline 12789. It has also covered workers under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana which offers treatment of hundreds of diseases in private nursing homes and hospitals for the family of workers up to an amount of Rs 30,000 per year," he said.
Walia also said Delhi has been providing the highest minimum wages in the country. It has implemented payment to workers through cheques and ECS.
