As many as 5.13 lakh migrant workers have registered for the State government’s Awaz health insurance scheme till now, Labour Minister V.Sivankutty told the Assembly on Monday. In addition, 58,888 migrant workers have registered under the Government's welfare scheme.
Mr.Sivankutty said that the Labour Department is planning to introduce strict guidelines for agents bringing migrant workers to the State in the light of cases of exploitation. He said that as per the current situation anyone can declare himself to be an agent, bring migrant workers from outside and exploit them by giving meagre wages and pocketing the rest. Many labourers are staying in camps maintained in deplorable conditions. In this scenario, the Labour Department is implementing a system wherein only those with credibility and experience can act as agents. The guidelines for this will be framed soon.
"The migrant workers often get even more consideration than native workers. But many of them are under the total control of the agents. Officials with working knowledge of Hindi have been deployed to interact with the workers," said Mr.Sivankutty.
The families of a total of 27 migrant workers have been provided ₹2 lakh each under the accidental death coverage scheme, while 326 workers have availed benefits under medical insurance. Facilitation centres for migrant workers have been opened in most districts. Such centres will be opened in the remaining districts too, he said.
