Minister of State for Labour P.T. Parameshwar Naik on Monday said the Department has urged the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to take over the affairs of the ESI hospital in Mangaluru. It is presently with the State’s Labour Department.
Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Naik said the request was made to the Union Labour Ministry due to the large number of patients seeking services from the hospital. Though the Department had posted five medical officers to this hospital recently, three of them got transferred using ‘high’ levels of influence. Hence, there has been shortage of doctors in the hospital, he said.
As such, the director of the State ESIC has been asked to recruit doctors on contracts immediately on the lines of the Health and Family Welfare Department, which pays a consolidated salary of Rs. 42,000 a month to doctors on contract, he said.
‘ITIs not patronised’
Mr. Naik said that though the Department had sanctioned four new industrial training centres for Dakshina Kannada in 2014-15 at various places, they did not start functioning owing to poor admission. He urged officials and legislators to ensure that enough students get admitted at least in the coming academic year.
At the same time, the department would make efforts to enhance the syllabi of ITIs to the levels of National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT), from the present State Council for Vocational Training levels. This is because students, particularly in the coastal region, prefer to get NCVT certificate since it has international validity, he said.
Mangaluru South MLA J.R. Lobo, Labour Commissioner Vishwanath, Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim, and others were present.
Minister of State for Labour P.T. Parameshwar Naik on Monday directed the officials concerned to treat labourers in sand extraction as construction workers and extend them all benefits available to construction workers, including the Rashtreeya Swasthiya Bima Yojana.
The direction came after Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim informed the Minister that though hundreds of labourers are engaged in sand extraction activities, they are bereft of any facilities being offered by the department. Responding to this, Mr. Naik said since sand is part of construction activities, the workers should be considered construction workers.
