AP To Supply Labourers To Qatar, Singapore

Labour minister Danam Nagender on Thursday announced that the state government would try to encash the demand of construction labourers in Singapore and Qatar by training the youth from the state in the required skills.

Briefing the media about the performance of departments under his ministry in connection with the "Prajahitham" program at the state Secretariat, Danam said that a delegation comprising the Commissioner of Labour and the Director of Employment And Training would soon visit Qatar and Singapore for a detailed study. Based on their observation, the state government will chalk out a plan to send both skilled and unskilled labourers to these countries for employment, he said.

He stated that enough precautions would be taken to ensure that labourers are not exploited.

Nagender said that the central government has already agreed to set up vocational training centres for women. The District Collectors of Ranga Reddy and Medak have been asked to identify a suitable location in an urban area to set up the proposed centres. He said that he hopes that the land is identified by this weekend.

The Labour minister said that a high-level meeting would be conducted soon to review and act on the complaints of exploitation of labourers by some contractors and sub-contractors in the state. He also said that efforts were being made to ensure the safety and protection of construction labourers and their families.

"All the organisations taking up construction works are required to deposit 1% of the project for the welfare of labourers working on site. Besides ensuring that the deposits are made by all the organisation, measures are also being taken to register all the construction workers with the Labour Welfare Board across the state," he said.

Danam said that stern action would be taken against shops and establishments that have not issued appointment letters to their employees and have not registered them for PF, ESI and other facilities.

Regarding the Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu (RYK) schemes, the minister said that 9,814 candidates were given placements through campus interviews, and that 8,787 placements were uploaded on the RYK portal.

"All government and private ITIs are registering the candidates under RYK. So far, 56,521 candidates have enrolled their candidatures under DET submission," he said.

Danam added there was a proposal to ensure that there is at least one ITI in each Assembly constituency in the current year, and one ITI in each mandal in ITDA areas.

The minister also briefed the media about the performance of five major departments under his ministry.

"The Commissionerate of Labour will soon devise a new scheme for building and construction workers, and for those in the unorganised sector. The department will also focus on the eradication of child labour, payment of wages through bank account, variable Dearness Allowance (DA) for contract labour and the constitution of a welfare board for un-organised workers.

"The Directorate of Employment and Training is taking steps to increase overseas placements through OMCAP. The Directorate of Insurance Medical Services has proposed to set up three new hospitals at Ongole, Vizianagaram and Siddipet. Further, three Haemodialysis units have been proposed at Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, and an ESIC Medical College will be set up at Sanathnagar." said Danam.

Stating that 4,900 accidents took place in different industries this year, Danam said that the Directorate of Factories is preparing an action plan for the prevention of accidents, and that a special drive will be taken up for the improvement of welfare amenities for workers.

He also said that the Directorate of Boilers is proposing to conduct an examination for Boiler Operation engineers and attendants. (INN)