Labourers’ welfare is govt’s priority: CM Bommai

Labourers are wheels of progress

Bengaluru, Sept.20:Saying that the welfare of labourers’ is given top priority, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state government will bring all schemes for the uplift of labourers’ and their hard efforts will be suitably rewarded.

He was speaking after organising a function in connection with the inauguration of a new software, distribution of free bus pass for labourers and felicitation of meritorious students here on Tuesday.

The CM said workers are the wheels of progress of any country. They will invest money and calculate but the efforts of workers cannot be measured. It is they who bring changes and such labourers’ must be given the hopes of a good life. A labourer will work with more enthusiasm if he is encouraged. It is not possible for them to give 100 percent hard work if they work under anxiety. So, their hard work must be given its due importance. Keeping this in view, the Labour Department has created a fund. It was of no use if the money kept for their welfare remained unspent.

Understanding this, Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar has implemented several schemes including Vidya Nidhi program for the welfare of children of workers.

“After I became the CM, the Vidya Nidhi scheme was launched first for the children of farmers and then extended to the kids of labourers and fishermen as these three people are important for the nation. A country will be prosperous if farmers, labourers and soldiers are happy”.

Bommai said the Department of Labour has implemented many programs including mobile clinics, scholarship, house construction and others. Today, free bus passes are distributed to the construction labourers as they don’t get jobs near their houses and have to go to other cities for jobs. Every morning, there will be 30,000 to 40,000 labourers near the Hubballi Bus Stand and they will come from various villages in search of jobs. They are given a free bus pass which is very helpful for them. The bus passes are issued to 70,000 people and in each taluk there will be a minimum of 20,000 to 30,000 labourers and imagine the number of construction labourers in all cities. Instructions are given to the authorities concerned to issue the bus pass to all of them. The adalats are held to solve long pending disputes of labourers and the Labour Department has given Rs 91 crore to 2.90 lakh workers so far. Rest houses are constructed in every village for labourers and this will be opened in the current year.

Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar, Large & Medium Scale Industries Minister Murgesh Nirani and senior officials of the Labour Department were present.

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