Union govt plans to integrate construction labour cess into social security system: Shobha Karandlaje

Hubballi: Some state govts, including Karnataka, misappropriated the cess amount collected for the welfare of labourers by utilising it for other purposes, alleged Union minister of state for the ministry of labour and employment Shobha Karandlaje.Addressing a Labour Day event in Hubballi organised by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation here on Friday, she announced that the Central Govt intended to integrate this labour cess into the formal social security system, ensuring the money is directly converted into pensions and ESIC healthcare benefits for construction labourers.She also said some state govts were instead spending the amount meant for the welfare of labourers on conducting health camps and distributing kits to claim bills.Karandlaje said the Union govt consolidated 29 labour laws into four Labour Codes, including the Code on Social Security and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.She said the reform aimed to streamline compliance, modernise outdated provisions and create a simplified, efficient framework that promoted ease of doing business while safeguarding workers' rights and welfare.A meeting will be convened on May 5 with all states' labour ministers to discuss the framing of the law. "Already codes have been made, once law is made the labour codes will help both the labourers and employers," she added.Hubballi-Dharwad Central MLA Mahesh Tenginakai and officials from the labour and ESIC departments were present at the event.