Portal for workers launched

May 5, 2020, 04:52 IST

Coimbatore: The district revenue department on Sunday launched a registration portal for guest workers, who wish to return to home states. “We have collected details of 70,000 guest workers in industrial units and other places in the district. Whoever is willing to return home can register in the portal,” district revenue officer D Ramadurai Murugan said.
The workers can register from wherever they are, the official said. “We have instructed representatives of industries and police to help the workers register.”
Representatives of industry associations said the workers have been asking to be sent home whenever transportation resumes.
MSME unit workers stay in rented rooms and are being given food and essentials by their employers. After the lockdown was extended, the workers have been asking to go home as they wanted to meet their families.
Most of the workers in the district are from Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, and have been staying here for at least two years.
Industry representatives said they fear that if the workers leave for their homes, they might not return for around three months. This would mean they would lose their skilled workforce.