Creation of an exclusive ministry for informal sector workers was highlighted in the ‘Madurai Declaration,’ a charter of demands, released at a meeting organised by Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO, here on Tuesday.
Around 150 workers from various fields like agriculture, textiles, fisheries, quarrying, construction, along with domestic helps, who participated in the meeting, wanted the minimum wage to be fixed at Rs 15, 000 per month. The other demands included job security, social security benefits and compensation for salt pan workers. “We have framed the demands keeping in mind the needs of every section of the informal sector workers,” said M. Britto, the convenor of the event. P. Balamurugan, Child Protection Consultant, UNICEF, said that the government and private sector entrepreneurs made sure that the informal sector workers were busy worrying about every day problems so that they did not think about any long-term demands.
