Tamil Nadu govt sanctions Rs 371 crore financial aid for unorganised labourers, guest workers

Shanmughasundaram J | TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 19:25 IST

Guest workers spend time on a beach near Chennai on Tuesday. Photo by R Ramesh Shankar

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned Rs 270 crore to disburse a financial aid of Rs 1,000 each the registered members of welfare boards in unorganised sectors and Rs 101.73 crore to give essential commodities to guest workers in the state.
The financial aid would be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the welfare boards’ registered members. The government has asked the members, who have not updated their bank details, to furnish their bank details to assistant commissioner of labour (social security scheme) of their respective district. They could communicate through phone or email, according to a press release from the government.
It has also instructed the authorities to distribute kit – consisting of 15 kg of rice, one kg of dhal and oil - to each of the registered members of welfare boards and also to migrant labourers in construction industry.
The government has also sanctioned a fund to procure essential commodities to each of the registered members of welfare boards. A total of 14.57 lakh labourers in the unorganised sector in the state and 1.34 lakh migrant labourers would benefit. The TN civil supplies corporation would facilitate the department of labour and employment to procure the commodities, which would be distributed to the labourers through district collectors.