Rs 250 fee for Rs 2,000 aid: HC summons Karnataka labour secretary

BENGALURU: Karnataka’s labour secretary has been asked to appear before the high court on Thursday through video conferencing in connection with collection of nearly Rs 250 in service and commission charges from domestic workers before they register and avail Rs 2,000 relief announced by the state government.
The court is hearing a petition filed by Domestic Workers Rights Union. The petitioner has contended that the May 28, 2021 order issued by the state government makes registration on the Seva Sindhu portal mandatory for getting Rs 2,000 benefit.
The petition has said that such an insistence would disentitle a large number of eligible domestic workers from receiving the compensation.
CJ: Labour dept should learn from legal authority report
The service charges and commission fee were part of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority’s report on Seva Sindhu Kendras.
A division bench headed by chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka noted that the detailed report should work as an eyeopener to the labour department.
“The report details how difficult it is for workers to register themselves for getting a small amount of Rs 2,000. The procedure appears to be very cumbersome. It is such that a majority of eligible (workers) will be deprived of the benefit. In fact, the reports throw light on the manner in which registration of other category of the unorganised sector is being made in the Seva Sindhu portal,” the bench added.
The report stated that it was learnt that during the June 28 visit of para-legal volunteers and the PRO of KSLSA BangaloreOne and an adjacent computer centre (Koramangala area) would charge Rs 100 to Rs 150, and Rs 100 to obtain gazetted officer’s signature required for submission of application.