GUWAHATI, Oct 8 - The Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment (independent charge) Bandaru Dattatreya today said that the Centre is soon going to come up with a legislation on National Minimum Wage, which will go a long way in solving the wage issues across the country, including the tea gardens in Assam.
Talking to media persons here today, the Union Minister said, �Tea plantation workers of Assam, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal are very important for us. Be it the organised or unorganised sector, the legislation will cover all types of labourers. We will soon table the Bill in Parliament after consulting the matter with other stakeholders.�
He said that there are at present over 11 lakh plantation workers in Assam and the living condition of most of them is pathetic. �A conducive atmosphere between the industries and the employees is what we are trying to create,� the Minister said.
The Union Minister, however, expressed satisfaction that the State Government has already initiated move to increase the minimum wages for the plantation workers.
He also announced that the 50-bedded Beltola ESI Hospital would be upgraded to a 200-bedded super speciality hospital very soon and all the construction workers will be brought under the Employees� State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) facilities.
�All the ESIC dispensaries of the northeastern States will be developed to at least 10-bedded hospitals provided the required space is made available by the State Governments,� he said, adding that States like Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman Nicobar, which remained uncovered till date, will have ESIC facilities soon.
Earlier, the Union Minister took part in an interactive session on �e-governance initiatives� at the Employees� Provident Fund Organisation, North East Regional Office.
He dwelt at length about various new interventions, including introduction of the Universal Account Number (UAN) to more than 4.5 crores provident fund members in the country, including 3,59,000 contributory members in the Northeast region.
