Union minister Bhupender Yadav | Image: Twitter/ Bhupender Yadav
Soumyadeep Das
Union minister for labour and employment, Bhupender Yadav on Saturday launched the Principal Employer 2.0 (PE 2.0) portal and unveiled an E-office an online office platform and the newly established regional language call centre virtually at Guwahati in Assam.
Yadav was in the city to attend the 230th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) held at Hotel Radison Blu.
Chief minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister of state for labour and employment, Rameswar Teli were also present on the occasion, state labour and employment minister, Sanjoy Kishan, state housing and urban affairs, Ashok Singhal, and secretary to the Union ministry of labour and employment, Sunil Barthwal
The event was organised as a part of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, a yearlong celebration of 75 years of freedom of India.
Speaking on the occasion Bhupender Yadav said, “The government is committed to work for the labour class. It is not a commercial bond, but a commitment and an assurance to the people. Last year, we had Rs 8 lakh 29 thousand crore corpus and we will ensure high returns for investments at minimum risks.”
“I am happy to announce that the newly constituted HR committee’s recommendations have been taken forward. Transperant transfer policy in groups C and D and training and skill development are under consideration,” he said.
Meannwhile, around 26 crore workers have been registered with the E-Shram portal. Two lakh life insurance coverages have been given to each of the 26 crore workers.
The Union minister also urged the citizens to donate for the unorganized labourers under ‘Donate A Pension’ scheme. The accounts of employers will be directly linked to the accounts of their employees under this scheme.
Delivering the opening address, Barthwal said, “The decisions taken by CBT will be beneficial for subscribers of Assam. A regional language call centre will be established in order to serve the people better.
Further speaking, he said, “E-Sharm card holders will be given Rs. 3000, half of which will be borne by the government of India while the other half will be paid by the state government.”
A proposal is also in place to link the E-Shram and NCS portal with the construction workers portal in Assam, he added.
Barthwal also said that the newly carved district Bajali and tea garden workers will also be covered under ESIC and informed that pending GMC approval, upgradation of the Beltola ESIC Hospital will be sanctioned.
“Almost 3.8 crore claims were settled by the provident fund organization in the last year. Taking it to the next level, EPFO is introducing provisions like E-Office, ISO certification, and much more,” said Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The state government will also introduce four labour codes, which are currently up for public consultation. The labour codes will be later sent to the Centre.
Over 6.5 lakh unorganized workers of the state are currently registered with the E-Shram portal.
Moreover, Yadav also launched the E-Compendium of circular and virtually laid the foundation stone for Naroda office building in Gujarat, while inaugurating two new EPFO offices at Chikmagalur and Shimoga on the occasion.
He also said that the request for another medical college will be accepted as soon as the proposal is placed before the ministry. He further urged employees of EPFO department to inculcate a culture of sports to keep themselves fit.
At the event, awards were also announced for zonal and regional offices for E-nomination, Swacchta and ISO certification.
