Government mulls hike in minimum wages of workers. The State Government is planning to hike the minimum wages of garment and hotel workers, Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik said on Monday. He told reporters here that currently the workers get a minimum wage of Rs 4,700 per month and the government intends to hike it due to the increasing cost of living. The extent of hike would be discussed with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. There are 6.50 lakh garment workers in the state, including 5.40 lakh in Bangalore, according to a survey. The Minister said the government is also considering a hike in compensation given to both registered and unregistered labourers in case of death while working. At present, the family of a registered labour gets `2 lakh and the family of unregistered worker `50,000. The proposal would be placed before the Labour Board for approval, he added. Land for Schools The minister said the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board has agreed to give land to open residential schools for children of construction workers at 11 places across the State. Some of the places where the schools will come up are Bangalore, Mysore, Belgaum, Bellary, Gulbarga, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Shimoga and Dharwad. The cost of purchase of land in all these places will be `85 crore. The KIADB has agreed to sell the land at current market prices. In Bangalore, the KIADB had given 30 acres near Obadevanahalli on Doddaballapur Road where the Construction Academy and a residential school will come up. Some schools will enrol students from Class V and others start from Class I to Pre-university. The medium of instruction will be either English or Kannada. The purpose of these schools is to impart quality education to the children of construction workers. These schools will function on the lines of private schools and education experts will be consulted to improve the standard of teaching. Replying to a question, Naik said the department has registered 10 lakh construction labourers in the State and the target for the current year is to add another 6 lakh. A lot of welfare measures have been launched for the uplift of construction workers and their families in the State. The department has in its account `2,060 crore collected as cess from various departments and around `1,000 crore will be spent on improving their standard of living. The minister said the department has plans to provide job security to contract and outsourced workers by extending the benefits such as Provident Fund and ESI. The matter will be discussed with various unions and officials before taking a decision, he said.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 09:41:46 +0000
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