Anganwadi workers, ASHA and mid-day meal scheme workers across the country will soon be covered under the Provident Fund and Employee’s State Insurance Corporation as part of the Union government’s initiative to convert informal workforce into formal sector.
The government already brought 4.7 crore construction workers under the net of PF and ESIC in the first phase.
In India, 93 per cent of the workforce was in the unorganised sector and of that, 50 per cent of them were women workers with no wage or job security. To correct the situation, the NDA government launched several initiatives to provide wage, job and social security to those in the unorganised sector as major priorities, said Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya here on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Round Table on Women Employability organised by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on the eve of Women’s International Day, Mr. Dattatreya said the theme was chosen in the context of India’s growth potential being directly proportional to the number of women entering the workforce.
Earlier, Ms. Karuna Gopal, Advisor on Smart Cities, chaired the session attended by women who made a mark in various fields. The Union Minister later felicitated them.
Responding to the suggestions made in the Round Table, Mr. Dattatreya assured the members that the government was positive for providing 33 per cent reservation in employment for women in all sectors and in legislatures. In seven States, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, governments agreed to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in police force, he said.
He agreed to the members suggestions to start medical colleges and para medical institutions for women in rural areas, software tools to help women work from home, scholarships to women to pursue skill training or education instead of aid for marriage of girls. He announced that eight regional vocational training institutes and 100 driving training schools for women were being set up in the country including Telangana.
He said the NDA government was bringing in legislative reforms, e-governance reforms and executive orders to facilitate more women to enter workforce, become self-employed and turn entrepreneurs.
The Payments of Wages Act was amended to make all payments through bank account, cheques to ensure proper wages. After demonetisation, 90 lakh new workers accounts were opened for transparency and accountability, he said.
The Ministry was taking several measures for employment generation and better wages through skill upgradation training and ₹18,000 crore was allocated for PM’s Skill Development programme. The Prime Minister announced ₹.6,000 crore package for employing one crore women and the government would pay 8.33 per cent provident fund per new woman employee and ₹1,000 crore budget was allocated for the new employment generation, he added.
