‘Fix minimum wages for construction workers’

A conference of the district-unit of CITU-affiliated Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI) held here on Sunday called upon the State Government to issue necessary orders fixing minimum wages for construction sector workers and also asked for improved social security features to the workers.

The State secretary of CITU, M. Chandran, said the government should fix the minimum wages for the workers in the construction sector on a scale that would help them get a minimum of Rs. 10,000 a month. “This is essential considering the escalation in the cost of living in the last few years,” he added.

The meeting came up with a demand for lowering the pension age for women workers in the construction sector from 60 to 50 years.

“Similarly, the monthly pension disbursed through the construction workers’ welfare board needs to be increased from the present Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000,” CWFI district secretary D. Kumar said.

Besides requesting provision for subsidy-linked credit to construct houses for themselves, the construction sector workers said that the government machinery and financial institutions should initiate steps to help them obtain credit at low interest rates for purchasing tools and appliances needed for their profession.

Some of the other major demands that would be forwarded to the State Government include gratuity benefits for all workers who had been employed in the construction industry for more than six months, medical coverage for entire workers and enhanced solatium to the kin of workers, who died in harness.