Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan has directed various welfare boards to disburse workers’ welfare fund pensions before Onam.
Welfare pensions have been enhanced to ₹1,100 since 2017 April. Various welfare fund boards should take necessary steps so that all beneficiaries were given this pension before Onam, he said at a joint meeting of all welfare fund boards here on Friday.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said that planning and organisational effort was required so that welfare fund boards envisaged programmes to enhance their revenue and distribute it to beneficiaries.
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All boards should devise new projects and submit it to the Government. The Government will take steps so that these are implemented without delay
He said that all boards needed to improve their functioning and that district-level review meetings and monitoring needed to be held regularly. The government would take steps to conduct a review meeting of all boards every three months, he said.
Only the deserving should be made members of respective boards. The complaint that non-members had got into the headload workers’ boards would be examined separately.
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The government was taking steps to improve the functioning of farmers’ welfare fund board. Mr. Ramakrishnan said the previous UDF government had not allowed any financial assistance for farmers’ welfare.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the government was considering a proposal to restructure the existing 16 welfare fund boards and restrict the number to 11. A decision will be taken in this regard after discussions.
He directed all boards to implement the government order enhancing the wages of temporary employees.
Chairmen of various welfare fund boards, Additional Chief Secretary (Labour-Excise) Tom Jose, Labour Commissioner K. Biju, and senior Labour officials were present at the meeting.