Labour Conference resolves to promote welfare of workers

Tirupati: Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav said the Centre is taking initiative for expansion and improvement in service delivery mechanism of the ESI Corporation. He said this will help in fulfilling PM's vision of 'Swasthya se Samridhi' by bridging the gap between policy and execution benefiting all the Shram Yogis and their dependents.

Addressing the concluding session of the two-day National Conference of Labour Ministers of States and Union Territories in Tirupati on Friday, Yadav reiterated the need for the ESI Hospitals to work in a time-bound manner for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) compliance and adoption. During an informal interaction with the media, the Union Minister said, there is need to revise the norms for sanctioning of new Dispensaries and Hospitals keeping in consideration the latest technological advancements and future beneficiaries.

He said Swasthya se Samridhi is for improving medical care and services through ESI hospitals run by State governments and integration with Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

On this occasion, a special session on Vision Shramev Jayate@2047 was held for framing of rules under four Labour Codes and modalities for implementation along with development of portals for licensing, registration, returns, inspections, etc.

The Union minister said the ESI will work to expand its services in all 744 districts of the country and this expansion will take into consideration the increased beneficiary base, post implementation of Social Security Code.

The convergence with PMJAY in all the Districts of the country (where PMJAY is implemented) enables better accessibility of services to beneficiaries leading to pan-India portability, he added.

Addressing the concluding session virtually, AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed hope that the productive deliberations of the conference will help pave the way for a robust framework of comprehensive labour laws. The brainstorming sessions might have resulted in strong labour laws which will be in the interests of AP as well as the labour force in the country.

The conference held extensive deliberations with Labour Ministers and Secretaries representing 25 States and Union Territories and had a healthy consensus for amalgamating and subsuming a spectrum of labour laws and acts that would benefit the working class with a Vision Document 2047.

Sunil Barthwal, Secretary Labour & Employment, Neelam Shami Rao, Central P F Commissioner and others took part. AP Labour Minister Gummanuru Jayaram was among Labour Ministers of other states who were present.