The State government will expedite the process for merger of welfare fund boards to improve their efficiency and to cut down on administrative expenses, Labour Minister V. Sivankutty has said. The number of the welfare fund boards existing in the State will come down from 16 to 11 following the merger. He was speaking after inaugurating a day-long workshop for welfare boards here on Monday.
He said that irregularities of any kind whether it be delay in the distribution of benefits or inclusion of ineligible persons on the beneficiary list will not be tolerated. Regular inspections will be carried in the various boards to prevent these. No expenditure in excess of what is provided for in the Welfare Fund Act and Rules will be allowed.
The Minister said that the manner in which the welfare boards in the State are functioning is a model for the country. As part of the workshop, performance review of eight welfare boards including the Kerala Motor Workers Welfare Fund Board, Kerala Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Fund Board, Kerala Headload Workers Welfare Fund Board and the Kerala Toddy Workers’ Welfare Fund Board, was also held. Performance review of the other boards will be done in the second phase.
Elamaram Kareem, MP, presided over the meeting, in which Labour Commissioner K.Vasuki, various welfare board CEOs and trade union leaders including R.Chandrasekharan (INTUC), K.P. Rajendran (AITUC), G.K. Ajith (BMS), M. Rahmatullah (STU), Thomas Vijayan (UTUC) and Tommy Mathew (HMS), were present.
