Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee. India

Ahmedabad:The Gujarat High Court has sought details from the state government on the steps taken under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 and on any of the schemes framed under it. The HC has also asked the state government to furnish details of the State Social Security Board and the schemes under it .

The HC order was pronounced recently by the division bench of Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and A S Dave on a 2008 petition filed by an NGO, Bruhad Ahmedabad Adivasi Bhil Shikshit Yuvak Mitra Mandal. It sought direction to the state government to implement various statutory schemes for the welfare of unorganised construction labourers.

The petitioner said lakhs of construction labourers are illiterate tribals unaware about their statutory rights. Some of these are accidental benefit schemes, pension and retirement schemes, housing loans, group insurance, educational and medical schemes, maternity benefits and the like under laws like Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act and Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996.

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