'Plans afoot to hike min wages, expand social security net'

The NDA government is seeking to significantly boost incomes of the country's lowest paid workers by substantially raising the minimum wages and also extending them various benefits, Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattareya said today.
The government is firm on raising the standards of workers and would ensure all required steps are taken for their social security, he said.
Dattareya was speaking after laying the foundation stone for an ESIC (Employee's State Insurance Corporation) hospital at Patancheru in Medak district here. An ESIC dispensary currently exists in Patancheru and it has been given the status of a hospital.
The Union government is seeking to significantly boost incomes of the lowest paid workers by substantially raising the minimum wages payable to them, Dattareya said.

Social security benefits like provident fund and medical insurance would also be provided to them, he said.
Fresh amendments are being readied to incorporate them in the Minimum Wages Act and they would be tabled in Parliament shortly for approval, the Minister said.

The Centre will soon issue social security smart cards to unorganised sector workers, who number 40 crores or 93 per cent of the total employment force, he said.
These workers will get U-WIN (unorganised workers identification number) smart cards, thus bringing them under social security net, Dattareya said.
Welfare schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Jan Suraksha Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna and Atal Pension Yojna would be linked to these smart cards to enable beneficiaries to avail hassle-free access, he said.

ESIC, an agency under Labour Ministry, has taken some very important decisions towards extending social security cover to workers, the minister said.
At present, ESIC scheme is being implemented in industrial clusters and it would be extended to cover all the districts of the country by the end of next year.
ESIC is now catering to 2.03 crore insured people and this number is likely to reach 8 crores in the next 2-3 years.