BHADRAK : Notwithstanding the claims of the State Government to look after the welfare of labourers engaged in unorganised sectors, the benefits continue to elude them because of their lack of awareness.
While the State will celebrate the May Day on Tuesday to mark the labour movement and workers’ rights, more than 50,000 labourers in the district have little knowledge about Shramika Divas and benefits available to them under different schemes.
Majority of them were not registered with the Labour Department and hence are not eligible for insurance and other benefits. For the last 48 years, 60-year-old Suriya Jena has been toiling hard under the sun to meet the family’s needs. As a mason, he even works on May Day though it is a public holiday. Similar cases are galore in the district.
District president and State secretary of construction workers’ union Narayan Nayak said about 43 per cent of the workforce in the district are construction labourers. While 50 per cent of them have been registered by the Labour Department, the rest are yet to be identified. Due to lack of official survey, workers are deprived of the benefits meant for them. Similarly, labourers engaged by contractors and small companies are not enrolled under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and other statutory provisions, he alleged.
Abhinna Chandra Ray, a social activist, said due to lack awareness among the workers and measures by the State Government, the sector is being neglected. District Labour Officer Jasmine Sahoo said at last 58,000 construction labourers have been identified and registered for social benefits. Due to lack of staff and facilities, the provisions of labour welfare laws and schemes have not been implemented strictly, she added.
