Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan has said that the government would ensure that migrant workers enjoy the same rights and privileges as Kerala-born workers.
Inaugurating a medical camp organised by the Labour Department for migrant workers near the Technopark campus here on Wednesday, Mr. Ramakrishnan said the government would provide each migrant worker who becomes a member of its new health insurance scheme Rs.15,000 worth of free medical care and, in the event of the member’s death, pay his next of kin Rs.50,000 ex gratia assistance.
The entire premium would be paid by the government. The health insurance scheme would be implemented in association with the Local Self Government Department.
The government, he said, was constructing a hostel for migrant workers at Kanjikode in Palakkad. Similar hostels would be constructed in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode as well. Accommodation would be provided to the migrant workers at a nominal rent. The government would also take stern action against those who indulge in substance abuse, he said.
Cooperation and Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, councillors Medayil Vikraman and S. Sivadath and Additional Labour Commissioners A. Alexander and G.L. Muralidharan and District Labour Officer K.G. Valsalakumar also attended the meeting. A team of five doctors and 30 nursing and paramedical staff conducted the camp where three malaria cases were detected.
“We are generally ignored at hospitals because we don’t belong here, but things seem to be changing. We are happy that the government is now thinking of giving us free medical care, living quarters and health insurance,” Ram Prasad, one of the 500-odd migrant workers who turned up for the medical camp told The Hindu .
“I have been living and working here for the past one year and I have been suffering from breathing problem. This camp is a blessing for me,” said Ajay Mahajan, a migrant worker from Bihar.