Govt sets up 20 control rooms to address wage-related issues, migrant workers' plight amid lockdown

The Labour Ministry on Tuesday said it has set up 20 control rooms on pan-India basis to address wage-related grievances and to mitigate problems faced by migrant workers amid the lockdown period to contain the Covid-19 crisis.

The Prime Minister has announced extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3 with conditional relaxation from April 20 in some areas on the basis of evaluation of the situation.

The workers, especially migrant labourers, are the worst among due to the lockdown as a large number of them either faced pay cut or job loss.

According to an International Labour Organisation assessment, 40 crore informal sector workers in India could be pushed deeper into poverty due to this lockdown.

"The Ministry of Labour and Employment has set up 20 control rooms under the Office of Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) (C) on pan-India basis due to issues arising in the backdrop of Covid-19," it said in a statement.

These control rooms have been set up to address wage related grievances of workers employed in the Central Sphere, the ministry said, adding that it would also work to mitigate the problems of migrant workers through coordination with various state governments.

These call centres can be accessed by the workers through phone numbers, Whatsapp and e-mails.

The control rooms are being managed by labour enforcement officers, assistant labour commissioners, regional labour commissioners, and deputy chief labour commissioners of the respective regions.

The functioning of all 20 call centres is being monitored and supervised by Chief Labour Commissioner (C) of Head Quarter on daily basis, the ministry said.

All the concerned officers/officials have been advised to adopt a humane approach to assist the aggrieved workmen to the maximum possible extent and ensure delivery of timely relief to the needy ones, it added.

Earlier, the Labour Ministry had also issued an advisory to employers to desist from any retrenchment or pay cuts during the lockdown period.