Chief Minister Oommen Chandy assured labourers from other states working in Kerala that the government was committed to ensuring their welfare and safety.
The Chief Minister said that the studies being done to ensure their welfare and follow-up actions on them would have the total support of the government.
The Chief Minister was speaking at a function organised at the Maharaja’s College premises on Saturday to distribute Onam kits to migrant labourers.
He described the Onam kits as a sign of love from the people of Kerala, of which the migrant labourers’ contributions were inseparable parts.
Minister for Labour Shibu Baby John, who presided at the function, said that the state budget had set aside Rs. 50 lakh for setting up camps for migrant labourers in the three big cities in the State.
These camps are proposed to be set up on a BOT basis and the project would be put up during the Emerging Kerala summit in September in Kochi.
The Labour Minister said that since the registration process for migrant labourers was not complete, the money set aside for their welfare — Rs.10 crore, could not be utilised so far.
The number of migrant labourers, who have registered with the Labour Department is 30,000 while figures from the Department of Home says that there are 60,000 migrant labourers in the State.
However, the Minister said, unofficial estimates put the number of migrant labourers in the State at a million.
The government is keen to implement welfare schemes including retirement benefits for the migrant workers, the Minister added.
