Backing up its commitment to the safety of migrant workers in Kerala, the government on Tuesday announced a slew of measures for their welfare.
Addressing a press conference, Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan said the messages circulating on the social media about migrant labourers were nothing but a smear campaign against Kerala. The government, he said, viewed the safety and security of migrant workers as its responsibility. Efforts were on to trace the source of the malicious propaganda and stern action would be taken against the offenders.
The Minister said the government was rolling out a scheme to provide medical care and insurance for migrant workers in several sectors. The scheme named ‘Awaaz’ would be applicable for workers in the 18-60 age group and the services would be free of cost for the beneficiaries.
Registered members would be eligible for treatment at government and empanelled hospitals. The scheme would also provide accident and life insurance cover. Registration of workers was scheduled to start from November 1 and the services would become available from January 2018, Mr. Ramakrishnan said. Facilitation centres would be opened in all districts and registered members would be given chip-embedded smart cards with biometric data and personal information.
Admitting that the government lacked reliable data on the migrant population in the State, the Minister said the registration for the scheme was expected to provide accurate information.
Housing scheme
He also announced that moves were on to expedite the Apna Ghar housing scheme for migrant workers announced in the Budget. The first affordable housing project under the scheme was scheduled to be completed at Palakkad by January 2018. Similar projects were under way at Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram also.
Simultaneously, the Labour Department would take steps to enforce minimum accommodation standards for migrant labourers across the State. Temporary housing camps for the workers would be periodically inspected and contractors directed to ensure basic facilities. Medical camps would also be conducted for the workers, the Minister added.
