LABOUR/MGNREGA/NREGA - 2016 January to April - 2016

Compiled By Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre

1. MGNREGA workers start year by wearing black badges (14)

Bathinda: Employees recruited under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Act (MGNREGA) began their new year by wearing black badges and raising slogans against the

SAD-BJP state government during their stir held at the Children’s Park here today. The MGNREGA

workers have been protesting in favour of their long-pending demand pertaining to regularisation of

their jobs. Addressing the protesters, union leaders said around 1,200 MGNREGA workers had been

working on different posts in various departments in the state for the past seven years. They said

every year their contract was extended till March 31 only despite the fact that they were recruited

through a proper procedure of advertisement and then interviews for the posts. The leaders said while

they had been working in the Rural Development and Panchayat Department for the past several

years, the department was now, advertising for recruitment to fill posts lying vacant in the department

instead of regularising their jobs. They demanded that the department first regularise jobs of the

employees who were recruited under the MGNREGA and then advertise for fresh recruitment to fill

the posts that fall vacant after that. The union members alleged that the state government was not

keen on regularising their jobs since it was exploiting the employees by paying them meagre salaries

but making them shoulder many responsibilities. They threatened that in case the state government

and the Rural Development and Panchayat Department continued to ignore their demands, they

would intensify their stir, adding that other employee unions had also extended their support to the

stir. Sukhdeep Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Gursewak Singh and Buta Singh were among those others

present. (The Tribune 1/1/16)

2. Retrenched contract workers stage protest seeking reinstatement (14)

KALABURAGI: Workers serving on contract basis with the District Science Centre in Kalaburagi, and

were removed from service by the authority, staged a protest in front of the science centre here on

Friday demanding their reinstatement. The deprived workers along with district president of the All

India Trade Union Congress Prabhudev Yelsangi and district secretary of the Communist Party of

India Bheemashankar Madyal, in a complaint filed with the Brahmpur police station, said that 22

workers, including security guards and a gardener, were working on contract basis for more than six

years at the District Science Centre. Siddram M. Magi, a contract worker in the District Science

Centre, said that a petition has been filed in the Kalaburagi Bench of the High Court of Karnataka

demanding regularisation of contract workers. (The Hindu 2/1/16)

3. UPA flagship scheme MGNREGA back on track, job numbers hit five-year-high (14)

New Delhi: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the flagship

welfare programme of the previous UPA government, appears to be staging a revival of sorts. And

this turnaround is being attributed mainly to better monitoring by the Centre and timely release of

funds. The July-September quarter witnessed 45.82 crore person-days of employment generated

under MGNREGA. This was the highest for the quarter in the last five years. “It was more than even

the 42.40 crore person-days during July-September 2012, which also happened to be a not-so-good

monsoon year,” Rural Development Ministry officials told The Indian Express. According to officials,

the last quarter (October-December), too, posted a similar trend. “In October alone, we provided

14.09 crore person-days employment, a record for the month. The data for the entire quarter is still

being uploaded in our MIS (management information system) portal, but our expectation of the total

person-days of work during October-December is 47 crore. That will again be a five-year-high for the

quarter,” they said. The seeming revival over the last two quarters reverses the trend of declining

employment under MGNREGA seen during the first year of the Modi government. In 2014-15, the

programme — which provides 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a year to every rural

household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work — generated only 166.32

crore person-days employment, compared to 221.15 crore and 230.33 crore in the preceding two

fiscals and the peak 283.59 crore achieved in 2009-10 (a drought year). ngAlso, the average days of

employment provided per household dropped to 40.17 in 2014-15, from 45.98 in 2013-14, 46.19 in

2012-13 and 53.19 days in the best performance year of 2009-10. “This year, we have already done

37.5 days, which should cross 50 by March-end,” the officials claimed. They attributed the better

numbers this year mainly to better monitoring by the Centre and timely release of funds. “In 2014-15,

most states, including those implementing the programme well, ran out of funds by October. When

supply of funds dried up, leading to delayed payment of wages, there was less demand from the gram

panchayats as well to take up works even in a drought year,” the officials admitted. That has changed

this year, with the proportion of delayed payments — i.e. beyond 15 days after the closure of muster

rolls — falling to 53 per cent from 72 per cent in 2014-15. Development economists pointed out that

MGNREGA’s apparent turnaround in the last two quarters was a result of political and civil society

pressure, forcing the government to release funds. “The increased person-days employment numbers

dispels the myth of low demand for work. The truth is that MGNREGA had increasingly become

supply-driven, though it is in spirit and letter demand-driven. This was even more so after this

government took over, with everybody from Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to Nitin

Gadkari (the then Rural Development Minister) and Modi himself sending out signals of downsizing

MGNREGA”, said Reetika Khera, associate professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Incidentally, of the 137 crore person-days MGNREGA employment generated so far in 2015-16

(based on latest uploaded data), more than half has been accounted for by five states: Tamil Nadu

(24.9 crore), Andhra Pradesh (14.6 crore), Rajasthan (14.3 crore), West Bengal (13.6 crore) and Uttar

Pradesh (10.9 crore). On the other hand, the states worst affected by drought — Maharashtra (4.5

crore), Karnataka (2.5 crore) or even Madhya Pradesh (6.6 crore) and Chhattisgarh (3.7 crore) —

haven’t registered any significant uptake in MGNREGA works. “We have now moved to linking fund

releases to performance, measured in terms of both person-days generation and quality of asset

creation. The states doing well on these counts will get MGNREGA money, which will otherwise

simply be parked for earning interest,” officials said. (Indian Express 5/1/16)

4. Centre to issue U-WIN cards for unorganised sector workers (14)

Jamshedpur: The union government is working on issuing a unique identification number for the

workforce engaged in unorganised sector to facilitate them to access social schemes and benefits.

"We are working to issue a smart card 'Unorganised Workers Identification Number' (U-WIN card) for

the workforce engaged in unorganised sector soon in the country," P P Mitra, Principal Labour and

Employment Adviser, Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, told reporters here today. Mitra, who

was in the steel city to take part in a function, said 93 per cent of the workforce (approx 40 crore) were

engaged in the unorganised sector in the country. The software in this regard had been developed

and it would be sent to the state governments for its implementation soon, Mitra said. The benefits of

the Union government schemes such as pension scheme, old age scheme would be linked with the

U-WIN cards, he said. (Times of India 9/1/16)

5. Employment guarantee scheme (14)

Thiruvananthapuram: Rural Development Minister K.C. Joseph said here on Tuesday that wages

under the employment guarantee scheme would be issued only through the National Electronic Fund

Management System. The Centre has allocated Rs.365 crore to Kerala for the purpose, a press note

quoting him said. The amount will be utilised to clear the arrears, and efforts were made to ensure

prompt payment to the beneficiaries. Under the new system, the wages will be electronically credited

to the account of beneficiaries. (The Hindu 13/1/16)

6. No Policy to Control 450,000 Street Vendors (14)

NEW DELHI: If one takes a look at the city streets and roads, especially during peak hours, chaos

reigns supreme. While vendors do their best to sell their products, pedestrians scurry past them with a

straight face. The Delhi High Court recently summoned the Chief Secretary of Delhi Government K K

Sharma to warn the government over its lax attitude towards formalising a clear policy for street

vendors in the national capital. The reason behind congestion in the streets of Old Delhi and footpaths

of the national capital is that there is no government policy to control hawkers. “The footpaths are for

pedestrians,” said Sanjay Bhargav, General Secretary of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vypar Mandal. As

per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Delhi has 450,000 street vendors. The

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which is the government body to manage the number of

hawkers, has only 12,000 registered vendors with them. The rest are illegal and have encroached the

footpath of Delhi much to the discomfort of the commuters. Guided by the terms of the Street Vendors

(Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act passed by the parliament in May

2014, the authorities have decided to constitute Town Vending Committees (TVC). “We are

committed to make TVC, which are going to be autonomous bodies, a reality,” said MA Rehman,

Additional Deputy Commissioner, North MCD. (New Indian Express 17/1/16)

7. Over 100 migrant workers sent back to Odisha (14)

KARIMNAGAR: Migrant Odisha labourers along with their family members working in a brick kiln in

Rangapur village of Peddapalli mandal created a mild commotion in Karimnagar district by organising

a protest walk from the kiln to the Karimnagar district headquarters on the early hours of Friday. A

small tussle which erupted between Odisha tractor driver Sahadev and the brick kiln owner

Venkateshwara Rao over driving the vehicle in an inebriated condition created commotion in the kiln.

The migrant labourers alleged that Mr. Rao thrashed the driver, Sahadev, black and blue causing

serious injuries and that they too were scared of facing the same wrath. Expressing concern over the

alleged harassment of the brick owner, the migrant labourers along with their family members

launched the protest walk from the kiln site to Karimnagar town, traversing a distance of 42

kilometres. They started their protest walk on Thursday night and reached Karimnagar on Friday

morning. All along the route, the brick kiln owners and the police tried to pacify the agitators, but in

vain. Braving chilly weather, they came to the town and met Collector Neetu Prasad and poured out

their woes and urged her to send them back to their villages in Odisha. Promising them to send them

back, the Collector told them not to collect advance before coming to the kiln to work. Later, the

Labour Department, Revenue and Police officials provided them food and purchased train tickets and

shifted all the 146 migrant labourers, including their family members and children, to Odisha, from the

Ramagundam railway station. Deputy Labour Commissioner A. Gandhi said that they had recently

inspected the brick kiln and found all basic amenities for the labourers at the site - including toilets,

drinking water, proper accommodation etc. The official quoted the brick kiln owner as saying that the

labourers, who had collected advance, were making false allegations to avoid work. Mr. Gandhi said

that the labourers usually come to work after collecting advance through ‘sardars’ (middlemen) and

later try to avoid work. He said that the administration was planning to take measures to ensure that

the labourers come to work site armed with proper documents without collecting advance from the

owners. “We will ensure that they get minimum wages and their salaries are credited in the bank

accounts regularly by helping them open bank accounts,” he said. (The Hindu 17/1/16)

8. “Ensure minimum wages of Rs. 15,000” (14)

NAGERCOIL: The Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam and All

India Farm Workers’ Association affiliated to Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a

demonstration here on Monday, demanding the government to ensure minimum wages of Rs. 15,000

to all workers. Representatives of the forums said that the government must eradicate contract

system of employment in production and services sectors, increase working days to 250 days from

100 days and raise wages to Rs. 300 per day for beneficiaries of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme. The government must fix remunerative prices for agricultural

produce in accordance with recommendations of Swaminathan Commission, stop land acquisition for

industrialisation and give free house site pattas to workers in the unorganised sector and farm

labourers, they said. The demonstration was staged in remembrance of those who lost their lives in

police firing during a nationwide general strike in 1982. K. Chellappan, State vice-president, CITU, R.

Chellaswamy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, and Malaivilai Pasi, district

secretary, All India Farm Workers Association, took part in the demonstration. (The Hindu 19/1/16)

9. Dalit student suicide overshadows crucial labour reform bills (14)

New Delhi: The NDA government’s plan to push through crucial labour reforms legislations in the

budget session of Parliament is likely to hit a roadblock with daggers drawn between the ruling

alliance and opposition parties over the suicide of a Dalit scholar. With the ambitious land reforms and

GST bills also struck in Parliament due to continued stonewalling by the Congress-led opposition, the

fresh crisis could seriously dent the NDA government’s efforts to cut red tape and introduce more

industry-friendly rules for ease of doing business. Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya is at the

centre of the storm with opposition parties demanding his sacking for his alleged interference in the

University of Hyderabad affairs, which they say drove Rohith Vemalu to suicide. Some of the

proposed legislations the BJP is hopeful of passing in the budget session include the small factories

bill, code on industrial relations and child labour (prohibition and regulation) amendment bill, 2012.

While the small factories bill proposes to keep units employing less than 40 workers out of the

purview of 14 labour laws, including the Employees Provident Fund Act, the Employees State

Insurance Act and the Industrial Dispute Act, the code on industrial relations will make it easier for

companies to sack up to 300 employees without the government’s permission. The child labour bill,

on the other hand, proposes that children below fourteen years may only be allowed to work in

enterprises owned by their own families. These initiatives are, however, unlikely to see light of the day

in the budget session in the face of opposition fire. Congress leaders have already said that the party

will not let up the pressure until Dattatreya is sacked over the suicide by the 26-year-old research

scholar. With the government mounting a fierce defence of Dattatreya, it was unlikely that the axe will

fall on Dattatreya on this issue. And this stalemate could prove fatal for the government’s ambitious

Make in India programme, the foundations of which is expected to be built on the successful passage

of the labour reforms bills. The small factories bill aims to free the small scale manufacturing sector

from the cumbersome provisions of different labour laws, seen as major step towards easing the way

of doing business. It will also obviate the need for small units to keep cumbersome records and

submit to the regulators by allowing for online registration. Similarly, the code on industrial relations,

which seeks to combine three laws into a single code, will enable companies to fire its staff without

any official sanction if their staff strength is up to 300 and will also make it slightly tougher to form

workers’ unions. (Hindustan Times 21/1/16)

10. Wage seekers swell under MGNREGS this month (14)

HYDERABAD: An average of 9.5 lakh wage seekers worked under the Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) during the current month in Telangana.

According to an official press release, the average number of daily wage seekers has not crossed

even 1.5 lakh during the last nine years. A total of 967 crore person days were created during the

current financial year so far. Besides, a total of 1.77 lakh families had already availed over 100 days

wage work under the scheme. A total of Rs. 1,300 crore was paid to 40.7 lakh wage seekers from

23.25 lakh families who had availed the wage work so far. (The Hindu 24/1`/16)

11. Labour Min asks EPFO, ESIC not to inspect startups for 3 yrs (14)

New Delhi: The Labour Ministry has directed retirement fund body EPFO and health insurance

provider ESIC to exempt startups from inspection and filing returns for 3 years. In line with Prime

Minister Narendra Modi's vision to nurture startups, the ministry said in a set of directions last week

that the new age ventures should be allowed to self-certify their compliance with 9 labour laws.

Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal in a letter said startups should not be inspected or asked to file

returns for 3 years under 9 laws including Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions

Act and the Employees State Insurance Act. "Promoting startups would need special hand holding

and nurturing. Thus, such ventures may be allowed to self-certify compliance with the Labour Laws,"

he added. They will be exempted from inspection under the Building and other Construction Workers

(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation

of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, Payment of Gratuity Act and Contract Labour Act.

Startups will also be exempted from filing returns under the Industrial Disputes Act, Building and other

Construction Workers Act, Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, Contract Labour Act, EPF Act and ESI

Act. There will be a blanket exemption from inspection and filing returns for the first year and would be

asked to file an online self declaration form. They will also not be asked to file return or inspected for

the next two years, but will be inspected in case a "very credible and verifiable" complaint of violation

is filed in writing and the approval has been obtained from the Central Analysis and Intelligence Unit

(CAIU), Aggarwal said. Except the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act and the ESI Act, the

implementation of other seven laws lies in both central and state government's sphere. Labour

Ministry had directed its officials as well as the EPFO and ESIC to regulate inspection of startups,

under laws which lie in the centre's sphere. (Deccan Herald 25/1/16)

12. Soon, annual and quarterly reports to replace once-in-5-year job surveys (14)

New Delhi: The government could soon launch a first of its kind annual employment survey, with the

ability to generate quarterly reports on job market trends in certain segments like urban India. The

plan is to release such employment data soon after the surveys, unlike other official data, by using

modern technology so as to enable policymakers to react faster to labour market movements and

track job creation goals. An estimated million people are joining India’s workforce every month, thanks

to its demographic dividend of a high number of youth in the population. As of now, the only

employment data in India is available through quinquennial (once every five years) surveys by the

National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), a limited ad-hoc survey of employment in a few

sectors that was initiated by the Labour Bureau after the global financial crisis in 2008 and the Annual

Survey of Industries (which only captures the employees of the registered factories). By contrast,

developed markets have quarterly official data on employment, if not monthly reports, that help them

assess the state of the economy better. The NSSO has readied the design, modalities and

mechanisms for conducting the survey and could start as soon as the nod comes for the formal

proposal of the Statistics Ministry. “We are planning to move to a more regular survey, conducted

annually, with some reports coming out on a quarterly basis,” said TCA Anant, Secretary, Ministry of

Statistics. “A survey requires resources – both finance and people. We have worked out many

things… there are procedures to be followed before we can commit when we can start and in what

form, as they interact with each other. A proposal has been finalised for competent approval,” Mr.

Anant told The Hindu, stressing that though the Ministry is hopeful of starting the survey, it is still

under ‘administrative examination.’ While NSSO surveys are usually spread over a whole financial

year, the design plan for the employment survey includes a regular annual survey with certain

systems for urban areas that will enable generation of quarterly estimates, he explained. “For the

employment survey, we want to shift to a modern technology platform so that we can speed up the

process of capture of data from the field,” he said, pointing to similar, recent deployments of

technology to improve data collection for the consumer price index (CPI) and the Annual Survey of

Industries (ASI). “The ASI work is now done through a web portal. Our CPI collection is much more

robust as all the data is gathered through an IT network developed by the Department of Posts, which

we are piggybacking on to get data transmitted,” Mr. Anant said, adding a similar approach will be

used for capturing employment numbers. The National Statistics Commission had first called for a

periodic labour force survey in 2009 and a pilot survey was undertaken in 2012-13. The design of the

new annual employment survey has been finalised on the basis of a peer and stakeholder review of

the pilot survey’s outcomes. Asked about the segregation of employment between the formal and

informal sectors, Mr. Anant said, “Formal, informal or organised and disorganised sector definitions

have a certain measure of confusion in their understanding. You can, in principle, be in formal

employment in an unorganised sector, and in informal employment in the organised sector.” (The

Hindu 27/1/16)

13. Ten years of MGNREGA: Cong-BJP vie for ownership of rural job scheme (14)

BHOPAL: The Congress on Tuesday admitted it failed to reap political mileage of it's flagship scheme

MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) only because of poor

publicity management. BJP has dubbed Congress claim over MGNREGA as baseless saying, 'make

in India' and 'skill India' are far better schemes generating employment. Commemorating ten years of

MGNREGA, Congress organized a special programme for party workers asking them to step up vigil

on the implementation of the?? rural jobs??. It also claimed that MGNREGA is world's highest

employment generating scheme. BJP who termed MGNREGA as ?the 'living monument of

Congress's failures', is now claiming its ownership over it, calling as national pride'', senior Congress

leader Sandeep Dixit told reporters here. He said Congress had successfully done nuclear deal and

passed food security bill without any fuss. This came on the downside during parliamentary elections

and party could not convince the public'', he clarified. Dixit, who was member of central employment

guarantee council for planning MGNREGA, recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in the

Parliament that 'he would keep MGNREGA alive as reminder to people'. He said, PM Modi did keep

his words but changed his stance in the favour of the scheme. But it's good for the people that NDA

government adopted NAREGA as a government priority'', added Dixit. State Congress president Arun

Yadav, however, alleged the ?budgetary allocation for the rural job scheme is not sufficient for

effective implementation. As both Congress and BJP are competing to own the scheme, BJP has

rejected Congress claims. Congress it taking credit of 'digging pits' while BJP has successfully

implemented it in rural sector. Besides, BJP launched 'make in India' and 'skill India' as better job

options'', said BJP state spokesperson Rameshwar Sharma. While both the parties have their own

claims, none of them came to the safety of MGNREGA employees who were staging dharna at

Chhola ground demanding regularization of their jobs and were beaten blue and black by police on

Monday. (Times of India 2/1/16)

14. BJP now promoting MGNREGA with new names: Congress (14)

Bhopal: The BJP-led NDA government initially criticised the flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA but

now they are promoting it, and other UPA government's programme, by increasing the funds allocated

to them and with new names, a senior Congress leader said here on Tuesday. "After coming to

power, the Centre cut down budgets on schemes like MNREGA but now they realise their importance

and (are) enhancing funding to such flagship programmes launched during the UPA government,"

Congress Spokesman, Sandeep Dixit told reporters. He was speaking at the party office here on the

occasion of the 10th anniversary of the launch of MGNREGA. To a query, he admitted that the

Congress-led UPA government was unable to implement MNREGA properly in the last four years of

its second term. Besides, it also failed to publicise properly the food security scheme. However, the

Narendra Modi-led government is popularising these schemes with new names and by branding them

afresh in order to save its 'declining image', he said. Earlier, addressing a function here, Congress

general secretary and in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Prakash criticised the Modi-led

government saying it talks of Smart India, Digital India, Make In India, Start Up India but never speaks

of 'Village India'. State Congress president Arun Yadav also said that earlier Prime Minister Narendra

Modi had termed MGNREGA a 'living monument of INC failure', but he is now promoting it in a major

way. (Times of India 3/2/16)

15. Rahul Gandhi hits back at Modi (14)

“They have now decided to take revenge on people, on the poor workers for voting the Congress out

of power,” he claimed. “The country is not going to benefit from this politics of negativism and

obstructionism. There is only one family with such a thinking, which has brought this kind of

destruction. Leaders in the other Opposition parties are not like this.” Mr. Gandhi, who was in Delhi

addressing Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) while the Prime Minister was speaking in Assam, reacted

sharply to these words. “All that the Prime Minister has been doing for the last 18 months is to make

excuses for why the economy is not running, why the farmer is not getting his due, why the labourers

are not getting what they should get,” he said. “India did not choose Modiji to make excuses, they

chose a leader, and he should not make excuses.” Mr. Gandhi also said that he found it “surprising”

that “big industrialists” were complaining to him [Rahul Gandhi]. “Big industrialists are coming to us

and telling us that Modiji may be running the government for us, but he is not able to do our work.

Therefore Modiji will certainly make excuses. This government acts only in the interest of three or four

of its crony capitalist friends,” he said. The sharp exchange of words between the Prime Minister and

the Congress vice-president has put a huge question mark on the functioning of the budget session.

Just a day earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu had held a meeting with

Opposition leaders to consult them on the dates for the session, and had hoped that contentious

legislation, like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill could be cleared. (The Hindu 6/2/16)

16. Govt to outlay 60% of expenditure under MGNREGA for agriculture, allied activities (14)

New Delhi: More than 64% of the works taken up under the programme are linked to agriculture and

allied activities, the government had noted. Reaching out to farmers, the government on Monday said

it has decided to mark 60% of expenditure under MGNREGA for agriculture and allied activities. "To

make NREGA useful for agriculture, we have decided that 60% of expenditure under the scheme

should be for agriculture and allied activities," Rural Development Minister Birender Singh said on

Twitter. The government has been maintaining from some time that employment under the scheme

would be provided only through works that are more productive, asset creating and substantially

linked to agriculture and allied activities. As MGNREGA completed ten years last week, Narendra

Modi government, which was earlier critical of the UPA's flagship rural job scheme, hailed the

measure saying the achievements of a decade are a "cause of "national pride and celebration".More

than 64% of the works taken up under the programme are linked to agriculture and allied activities,

the government had noted. A senior official in the government said the decision to fix a minimum bar

of 60% expenditure on agriculture and allied activities under the scheme was taken after the NDA

government came to power. "Earlier it used to be around 54 to 55%. After constant monitoring, it has

now gone up to 64%," the official said. Celebrating the completion of 10 years of the scheme, Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley had said the government was committed to strengthening MGNREGA and it has

allocated Rs 37,000 crore this fiscal, the highest ever budgetary support to the scheme. A Master

circular was also issued on February 2, which consolidated all key instructions from the central

government on the implementation of the Act. The 10th anniversary celebrations of MGNREGA on

February 2 had set off a political slugfest with the NDA government saying it has "transformed" UPA's

flagship rural jobs scheme by giving it record funds to boost economic growth, while Rahul Gandhi

mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue. (DNA 9/2/16)

17. SC Asks States to Respond Centre on MGNREGA (14)

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today asked all states to inform the Centre about the money spent

by them in the current financial year so far in implementing the national rural employment guarantee

scheme MGNREGA. The bench also asked the states to apprise the Centre about their further

financial needs to continue with the social welfare scheme to ensure that the benefits reached

drought-affected people. It also asked them to elaborate the current status of Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). A bench of Justices M B Lokur and R K

Agrawal asked the states to inform the concerned ministry whether they were following the Centre's

direction to provide minimum 150 days of employment under MGNREGA. "We direct the states to

respond to the Centre within three weeks," the court said, adding that central government will collect

data from all the concerned states. The bench further asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to see

whether the state governments were also complying with the provisions of the National Food Security

Act and the Drought Manual or not. The court's direction came on a PIL which alleged that the

scheme has not been implemented in majority of the states, specially in drought-affected areas. It

said parts of states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Chattisgarh have been hit by drought

and the concerned authorities were not providing adequate relief. Advocate Prashant Bhushan,

appearing for the petitioner, sought court's direction to appoint local commissioner in each of states,

to keep a watch whether the welfares schemes are implemented. The Solicitor General, who read out

part of the Centre's affidavit, submitted that the government has approved the "provision of additional

employment of 50 days in areas hit by drought and other natural calamities over and above 100 days

per household provided under MGNREGA under normal circumstances". He further told the bench

that the additional employment of 50 days under MGNREGA has been implemented in the notified

drought-affected areas of nine states -- Karnataka, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra

Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The court was also told that Bihar,

Haryana and Gujarat have not made any request for additional employment under the MGNREGA.

The Centre was responding to the PIL, filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan run by persons like psephologist

Yogendra Yadav, seeking implementation of the National Food Security Act which guarantees 5 kg of

food grain per person per month. It has also sought a direction to the authorities that affected families

be also given pulses and edible oils. The plea has said that school-going children be also given milk

and eggs under the mid-day meal scheme. It sought adequate and timely compensation for crop loss

and input subsidy for the next crop to the farmers affected by drought and subsidised cattle fodder for

animals. The plea alleged that the Centre and states "have been highly negligent in performing their

obligations, causing enormous damage to the lives of the people due to their inaction, which is in

contravention of the rights guaranteed under Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution of India". …

(New Indian Express 12/2/16)

18. Ministry rejects smart card plan for unorganised workers (14)

NEW DELHI: The government’s plan to provide social security smart cards to workers in the

unorganised sector has hit a roadblock for the second time with the Finance Ministry rejecting the

latest Labour Ministry proposal to issue one card per family as an impractical idea. The Unorganised

Workers’ Identification Number (U-WIN) scheme, first mooted in September 2014, proposed to

provide a smart card to the unorganised workers for entitled to benefits under various schemes such

as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) as well as the Atal

Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. There are

around 40 crore unorganised workers in the country, which accounts for around 89 per cent of the

total workforce, as per government estimates. The portable smart card would have details of bank

account, mobile numbers and benefits of social security schemes that can be availed by the

workers.The Labour Ministry had originally planned to give smart card directly to all the unorganised

workers, but the Finance Ministry had raised objections on the huge costs that would entail. Keeping

those budget constraints in mind, the labour ministry re-drafted the proposal to allocate one smart

card to the head of each family instead of all workers in a household. But the Finance Ministry hasn't

approved of this idea either. “The expenditure finance committee (which vets projects costing above

Rs.500 crore) have flagged some design related issues in the proposal. The idea to give one smart

card per family was not found feasible. We will send a revised proposal,” said a senior labour ministry

official on condition of anonymity. The Finance Ministry has asked for individual smart cards to the

unorganised workers “irrespective of the cost implications,” the official added. Earlier, the Labour

Ministry proposed to issue around 19 crore smart cards to families at an estimated cost of around

Rs.2,000 crore. Officials said the new proposal will shoot up the cost of issuing around 40 crore smart

cards to around Rs.5,000 crore. “The design, software and guidelines to issue individual smart cards

are ready. We will send the revised proposal soon,” said the Labour Ministry official, adding the

proposal will then be sent to the Union Cabinet for approval. Apart from the Finance Ministry's

reservations, the idea to issue smart cards to workers was also questioned by the Information

Technology Ministry which had earlier written to the Labour Ministry on the issue. The IT ministry had

said that issuing smart cards to unorganised workers may lead to duplication of work as the

government is already in discussions to link welfare schemes with the Aadhar card. “Theoretically, it

may look possible. However, it will not be possible to provide labour scheme benefits with Aadhar

cards. We have already conveyed to the IT Ministry that there will be a lot of connectivity issues in

doing that,” said another labour ministry official. Documents reviewed by The Hindu showed the

original proposal of the Labour Ministry had projected a total cost of Rs.15,000-Rs.20,000 crore in the

UWIN card project. While Rs.6,000 crore was estimated to be spent on the smart cards, between

Rs.7,000 crore and Rs.14,000 crore alone was estimated to be spent on setting up ‘Workers’

Facilitation Centres. (The Hindu 15/2/16)

19. IT employees highest paid in India: Report (14)

BENGALURU: IT employees continue to be the highest paid in India, according to a report from

online career and recruitment company Monster India. IT employees got median gross hourly salary

of Rs 346, which is 24% higher than the national median. BFSI (banking, financial services and

insurance) came in next at Rs 300 per hour and the manufacturing sector came in last with Rs 254,

as per the Monster Salary Index (MSI) sectorial reports for manufacturing, IT and BFSI sectors. But

were the highly paid employees happy with their salaries? No. Sanjay Modi, managing director of

Monster India, said that the IT and BFSI sectors have always been among the highly paid in India but

noted that surprisingly, more of the employees in these sectors are dissatisfied with their salaries than

those in manufacturing. Some 57% of the IT employees and 52% BFSI employees were satisfied with

their pay, compared to 60% in manufacturing. IT employees below 30 years earn Rs 236 per hour on

average compared to Rs 450 for employees between 30 and 40, who are essentially mid-level

managers. For those above 40, normally senior level managers, the average per hour earnings

shoots up to Rs 695. Overall, 95% of the respondents in the sector hold at least a three-year

bachelor's degree. While the earnings r hig the report also points out the stark gender pay gap in the

IT sector. Men earn a gross hourly wage of Rs 365 compared to only Rs 231 received by women, a

difference of about 37%. Foreign companies in the IT sector, which include Accenture, IBM and

Cisco, pay salaries that are more than two times higher than domestic firms such as Infosys and

Wipro, at the median. Workers with permanent contracts earn roughly 23% more than workers with

non-temporary contracts. (Times of India 16/2/16)

20. MGNREGA frauds worth 22 cr unearthed (14)

Mahbubnagar: A huge amount of irregularities worth Rs. 22 crore were unearthed in the

implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

programme, here on Wednesday. The scheme which is meant for providing 100 days of work to all

the poor people below poverty line has become a source of large-scale corruption in the district. As

per the social audit conducted by the audit wing of the District Water Management Agency (DWMA),

about 8383 people involved in various financial irregularities in the scheme in 2015-16. As per the

report obtained by The Hans India, up to 28 November 2015, an amount of Rs. 22.01 crore has been

deviated from the actual spending, of which Rs. 10.56 crore is so far determined to have been spent

misappropriated. During the social audits conducted in the mandals in 8 rounds for about 390 times,

there were about 31072 objections raised and the total worth of raised objections was Rs 22.01 crore.

The authorities have so far resolved 12366 cases and notified the concerned authorities to recover

Rs. 10.57 crore from the defaulters. The remaining 18700 financial objections pending account to

about Rs. 11.44 crore and this amount also needed to be recovered. Among the defaulters, there are

28 Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDOs), 104 Additional Project Officers and 31 Assistant

Executive Engineers being involved in the financial irregularities among the top officials. All these top

level officials have swindled about Rs. 97.38 lakh by not properly implementing the MGNREGA works

in their respective mandals. A major chunk of Rs. 5.65 crore has been found spent inappropriately

among the Field Assistants (FAs) and about an amount of Rs. 2.86 is being misappropriated by

Technical assistants (TAs). According to audit authorities, the investigation is a continuous process

and many more financial irregularities are yet to be found. “We are still continuing our investigation

and auditing each and every aspect pertaining to MGNREGA. Many TAs, FAs and the top officials

involved the financial mismanagement were suspended and even removed from their jobs. About Rs

3.9 crore has been recovered from the defaulters, while another Rs. 6.588 crore is still to be

recovered. As per the law, we have issued legal proceedings against the defaulters and action will be

taken against them as per the law,” said an official in the audit department at DWMA. (Hans India

18/2/16)

21. Joblessness highest among Christians, Muslims next (14)

NEW DELHI: Joblessness is highest among Christians in comparison with other religious groups,

reveals a government survey. The unemployment rate in the community stood at 4.5% in villages and

5.9% in cities and towns in 2011-12. Muslims come next with an unemployment rate of 3.9% in rural

and 2.6% in urban areas. Joblessness increased in villages across all religious communities, with the

unemployment rate increasing from 1.6% in 2004-05 to 1.7% in 2011-12, according to the National

Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). Many view the high unemployment rate among Christians as

also a reflection of the higher education levels of community members who are in job market.

Christians have the highest percentage of graduates. Though the unemployment rate in urban areas

came down across all religions from 4.5% in 2004-05 to 3.4% in 2011-12, it remained higher than in

rural areas. Unemployment rates were lowest for Sikhs in villages (1.3%) and Hindus in urban areas

(3.3%).The survey has raised serious questions regarding the former UPA government's policies for

inclusiveness, with some analysts arguing that the measures failed to generate enough jobs in

villages. Majority of workers in rural areas were self-employed. The proportion of self-employment

among males was the highest for Christians (56.6%); among females the share of self-employment

was the highest among Sikhs (79%).In rural areas, a significant proportion of workers (about 35%) —

both males and females were engaged as casual labour. Among males, share of casual labour was

the highest for Muslims (37.3%) and lowest among Christians (27.4%) while among females, share of

casual labour was the highest among Hindus (36.6%) and lowest among Sikhs (14.8%).Among rural

males and females, proportion of regular wage or salaried employment was the highest for Christians

(16.1% for males and 14% for females). In urban India, the share of self-employed and salaried

employees were almost the same. In cities, highest selfemployment was among Muslims and Sikhs

male (52.8%) and for females it was the highest for Muslims (61.3%).The proportion of salaried

employment was highest for Christians (49.4%for males and 64.7% for females). (Times of India

21/2/6)

22. Govt. may penalise higher PF savings (14)

New Delhi: Budget 2016-17 could penalise voluntary investments over Rs 1.5 lakh into Employees'

PF and General PF accounts, in a bid to prod people into investing their savings in other alternatives

such as the National Pension System. While investments into tax-saving small saving schemes like

the Public Provident Fund are restricted to Rs 1.5 lakh a year, it is possible for employees to top up

their EPF and GPF contributions beyond that limit. Though such investments don't lower an

individual’s taxable income beyond the Rs 1,50,000 allowed annually under Section 80 C of the

Income Tax Act, the interest earned on them remains tax-free. The GPF is offered to government

employees, while EPF benefits are mandatory for all organisations with 20 or more employees

earning upto Rs 15,000 a month. Those earning over the Rs 15,000 ceiling can contribute to EPF on

a voluntary basis. “The revenue department in the finance ministry is keen on introducing penalties of

some sort on such investments this time,” said a top government official aware of the deliberations on

the matter in the run up to the Union Budget. “One alternative being considered is to offer a lower

interest rate on investments over Rs 1.5 lakh,” he said. This is part of a fresh attempt by the finance

ministry to change people’s investment preferences and nudge them towards the relatively new

National Pension System (NPS) administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development

Authority (PFRDA). The PFRDA currently has assets of Rs 1.10 lakh crore under its watch and

reports to the finance ministry, while the Employees’ PF Organisation works under the labour ministry

and has over Rs 10 lakh crore under its administrative control. “The finance ministry is trying to

promote the NPS and downgrade EPF. In the last Budget, it introduced an additional Rs 50,000 tax

deduction for investments into NPS, after exhausting the Rs 1.5 lakh limit under section 80 C,” the

official pointed out. However, experts said that penalising people for investing more in EPF or GPF is

not a good idea and it would be unfair to deprive an investor of the income that accrued on his

investments. EPF savings are pooled and deployed in various instruments, including government

debt. “The returns on EPF savings involve no largesse from the government. They pay out what they

earn on their portfolio,” said a senior EPF official who stressed that the EPFO’s trust has a fiduciary

responsibility towards its members, as defined in the Indian Trusts Act. “In last year’s Budget, the

government said it will use Rs 6,000 crore of unclaimed deposits lying in EPF accounts to subsidize

new social security schemes for senior citizens. This hasn’t been implemented, precisely because it is

not legally tenable to forfeit an employee’s savings just because he hasn’t turned up to claim it,” the

official pointed out. Since 2011, the government stopped paying interest on EPF accounts that were

idle for three years. The money parked in these accounts continues to earn income, but it hasn’t been

used to raise the EPF rate payouts for other members owing to similar considerations about whether

this would be legally permissible. “This is not a good idea. In a country where pensions mean different

things to different people, policy shouldn't play favourite between instruments of social security. The

Government should not have an instrument bias, especially when asset allocation of these options is

going through a period of convergence,” said Amit Gopal, senior vice president at India Life Capital. A

part of EPF savings are invested into the stock market since August 2015, just like the NPS has been

offering to its investors. Mr Gopal said it would be imprudent and impractical to offer differential rates

for EPF savings upto Rs 1.5 lakh and those beyond. PFRDA chairman Hemant Contractor said that

some of the growth in NPS accounts, which grew from 87 lakh in March 2015 to 1.15 crore by this

month, could be attributed to this tax sop that takes the tax-deductible investments under NPS to Rs 2

lakh a year. Mr Contractor also welcomed any move by the government to improve the tax treatment

for NPS investments that are currently taxable at the time of retirement as opposed to EPF savings

that are tax-free. (The Hindu 21/2/16)

23. Likelihood of severe summer worries wage-seekers (14)

The likelihood of an extremely hot summer this year has become the cause of grave concern within

the toiling class, especially the wage seekers under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Adilabad district. As the day temperatures have started rising sharply

about a month in advance this season, the labourers are shuddering at the prospect of working in

March, April and May. The workers cannot hide their fear when they recall their experience of working

under extreme hot conditions during the last few years. The summer in 2013 and 2015 were

unsparing and accounted for 43 and 25 sunstroke deaths respectively, though the District Water

Management Agency, the agency which oversees MGNREGA works, accepts only nine as

dehydration deaths last year. The total number of deaths which occurred in the district since the

inception of MGNREGA in 2006 is 122. The nine who died last year, were paid a compensation of Rs.

50,000 by the DWMA. “We need whatever protection the government can give us to enable us to

work even in April and May," demanded Syed Tajuddin, a MGNREGS wage seeker from Jhari in

Kerameri mandal. He was talking of creating a shady place and organising drinking water supply

besides first aid for the labourers by the DWMA. The highest temperature recorded so far this month

is 39 degree C on February 24 which is about 7 degree C higher than the normal. This should be

taken as a pointer towards the extent to which the maximum temperature can shoot up to in April and

May, observed Sk. Abdul Rahman, another wage seeker from the same group. Last year, the

maximum temperatures recorded in May was about 46 degree C and the general dryness owing to a

failed monsoon added to the woes of the general public. The same weather was prevalen in 2013

also which had resulted in heavy loss of human life. Doctors working in rural areas point out the

inadequacy of the primary health centres in treating patients down with severe dehydration. “We do

not have even wet cloth sponging which is essential to keep the body temperature at normal for a

patient who has had sunstroke,” pointed out a doctor working in a PHC in tribal area. “Yes, neither we

nor the PHCs are equipped to deal with the problem,” conceded an official in DWMA. “These aspects

will be taken care of before the works get into full swing mode,” he however, assured. Of the 5.25 lakh

active wage seekers under the MGNREGA in Adilabad only 1.4 lakh have reported for work so far

which, in turn has a decreased number of labourers exposed to hot weather. The attendance will pick

up in all probability in the coming weeks. (The Hindu 26/2/16)

24. Spike in MNREGA allocation good news for Bijnor’s women (8)

BIJNOR: The increase in allocation for schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) will come as good news for women in Bijnor district, which

this year saw involvement by them in these schemes increase by 5%. This year, the involvement of

women in the scheme has risen by 5%.Of the total MNREGA work done in the district in the last

financial year, share of work done by women has risen to 29%. While some women say they feel

"safe" with the scheme, they have not been getting enough work. With the budget for MNREGA being

hiked to Rs 38,500 crore nationally, the highest amount allocated to it since its inception, women hope

they will get more and better work. In the financial year 2015-16, UP was allocated Rs 2,160 crore

under MNREGA, of which Rs 629 crore was spent on women. In Bijnor district, Rs 26 crore was the

total allocation for the scheme and Rs 7.5 crore was spent for women. This year, the figure is likely to

increase. Among the major reasons behind the rise in women's participation is that women are often

made to work in large groups, which makes them less apprehensive about leaving home for work and

placing themselves at risk of crime. In the last two years, the number of women workers under

MNREGA has gone up by 7%."The government also wants increased participation of women in

MNREGA projects, and their participation has been increasing steadily, which is good. However, this

needs to keep increasing and the administration is working on it," said Bijnor district development

officer Indramani Tripathi, talking to TOI. "By being a part of MNREGA, women can increase their

income and therefore improve their standard of living. With the expansion of the scheme, more

women will soon be able to assert their economic independence. In July, close to 12 lakh trees will be

planted in the district. The state government has decided to give preference to women in the

reforestation programme," Tripathi added. "I prefer working under MNREGA because we get

employment within the village itself. However, we don't get work often enough. We hope that the

problem is solved with an increase in the MNREGA budget," said Rahmani, a 65-year-old woman

resident of Madhusudanpur village here. (Times of India 1/3/16)

25. 52 mn Indians may have to depend on rural job plan for 20 years (14)

With a 14-percent rise in funding for the programme run under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the 2016-17 Budget, the world's largest state-run jobs

plan, after a decade of operation, continues to be India's top poverty alleviation programme.

MGNREGA, which guarantees 100 days of work to unskilled labourers in villages of India, will employ

at least 52 million people and provide livelihoods to their families. That means about 260 million

(considering an average family of five) will depend on it over the next 20 years, according to an

IndiaSpend analysis. NREGA funding has risen 18 percent over three years. Unlike last year, though,

when the programme exhausted its money by December, it is unclear what might happen this year

when -- which is more likely than if -- the money runs out. In 2015-16, there was a buffer of Rs.5,000

crore in case the ministry finished its money, but New Delhi released only Rs.2,000 crore of that

money, according to Aruna Nikhil Roy of the People's Action for Employment Guarantee, a Delhi-

based NGO. More Indians are still poor than population of Indonesia. The absolute number of poor as

well as the proportion of poor below the poverty line (according to the Tendulkar poverty line) has

been declining over two decades, as we reported. But about 270 million are still below the poverty

line, more than the population of Indonesia (255 million), the world's fifth-most populated country. The

poverty line is the ability to spend Rs.47 per day per person in urban areas and Rs 32 in rural areas.

MGNREGA is being lauded for its achievements in the past decade. There are 277.9 million

registered workers under the scheme, and 98.3 million of them are active workers. The programme

covers all adults from rural households who seek employment. The "work" under MGNREGA covers

"unskilled manual labour", providing an opportunity to every person who needs employment. Without

skills, young Indians in rural areas will need MGNREGA. To calculate how many Indians will need

employment in the coming years, IndiaSpend looked at the illiterate rural population, according to the

2011 census. There are 51.7 million illiterate people aged 16 to 30. Since they will not benefit from the

Right to Education, which guarantees free and compulsory elementary education till age 14, this

population will not be a part of India's skilled labour force… (New Kerala 2/3/16)

26. 548 migrant bonded labourers rescued (14)

Tiruvallur: They are woken up at 3 a.m. every day and forced to work for hours together under the hot

sun making bricks. They can’t even cite pain as a reason to stop work as a person claiming to be a

doctor residing permanently at the brick kiln would administer pain killers to keep them at it, with paltry

wages. At least 548 migrant labourers, including women and children from various districts of Odisha

and Chhattisgarh, rescued on Wednesday by government officials, have been victims of oppression

and exploitation from day one since they arrived here. Based on a tip-off from NGO International

Justice Mission (IJM), a team of officials led by Revenue Divisional Officer of Ponneri M. Narayanan

conducted a raid on Sri Lakshmi Ganapathi brick kiln at Ponthavakkam village here – the second

such raid in the last four years. The documents, including the pay roll, shown by one of the supervisor

does not add up to reflect the actual number of workers in the kiln. While the permission sought from

the government shows a total of 455 workers in two units of the kiln, the pay rolls have only 324 of

them. “They pay Rs. 400 a family per week and we have to manage everything with that. Since Malik

saab does not give us food, we fight it out in nearby ration shops to get rice at Rs. 5 a kilo,” says

Savitri, who was cleaning fish for lunch, which she had caught from the stream flowing nearby. The

labourer from Samalpur village in Odisha, in his late 20s, who doesn’t want to be identified, was

apparently waiting for the right opportunity to expose the owner of the brick kiln. “The owner even

made a pregnant woman to work. You should catch hold of him,” he says through a translator. After

an enquiry with some of the labourers and ‘supervisors’, Mr. Narayanan accepts a case of bonded

labour is made out. “The workers have been forced to work for meagre pay. They have not been

allowed to go home. Even if they were, only one in the family of four was allowed to go. In one case,

when the husband died while on his trip to his native, the owner had not allowed wife to for his

funeral.” Six persons have been detained in connection with the case and the investigation is on. (The

Hindu 3/3/16)

27. National conference for welfare of construction workers today (14)

NEW DELHI: A national conference on construction workers will be held here on Friday to discuss the

welfare policies and best practices adopted by various states and union territories for workers’ benefit.

“Secretaries of construction boards of all states/UTs along with workers’ representatives have been

invited for this national conference to share their experiences and also difficulties faced by them, with

possible solutions,” Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai announced on Thursday. Rai said the conference

will be inaugurated by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and it will be followed by an

introduction by Secretary-cum-Labour Commissioner of Delhi, after which Rai will deliver a key note

address. “The second session will be regarding detailed working of Delhi Construction Board focusing

on new schemes and initiatives by the AAP govt for the welfare of construction workers. In this

session the state governments will also give their presentation and share best practices,” Rai said.

“Discussions will be held among various state secretaries and worker representatives. This will be

solicited through a small pre-drafted questioner for exchange of ideas,” Rai concluded. (Deccan

Herald 4/3/16)

28. MGNREGA protest: ‘Don’t care of hike in budget, want pending dues’ (14)

Ludhiana: Demanding that they be paid their pending dues, hundreds of workers of the Mahatma

Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme marched from Chattar Singh Park towards the

DC office in Ludhiana. This comes only a few days after the NDA government hiked the budget

allocation in the programme. Tarsem Jodhan, a former MLA who was leading this protest said,”The

workers are least bothered about the hike in budget for MGNREGA. In fact they want their pending

salaries and in case they have not been given minimum 100 days job, they need to be given

unemployment allowance for those days.” “Here workers are feeling cheated as a number of them

have been wages as per bank record, but actually not a Rupee was deposited,” said Jaswinder Singh,

a worker. (Financial Express 5/3/16)

29. Rs 115.9 crore to be spent under MGNREGA scheme (14)

Bathinda: Farmers in the district may get some sigh of relief in future in case they face the unfortunate

event of crop failure due to inclement weather, natural disaster or some crop disease. A whopping

sum of Rs 115.94 crore will be spent under the MGNREGA scheme as part of the Bathinda Zila

Parishad budget for the financial year 2016-17. Apart from paying the salaries of the employees and

workers under the scheme, the amount will also be used to provide free labour to the farmers who

face crop failure, under the MGNREGA. The amount set aside under MGNREGA in 2015-16 was Rs

24.98 crore. The budget was discussed by ADC (D) Sheena Aggarwal, Zila Parishad chairman

Gurpreet Singh Maluka and members of the Zila Parishad during a meeting. The budget projected the

total income at Rs 144.20 crore and total expenditure at Rs 144.11 crore. Another major addition to

the Zila Parishad’s budget for the year is setting aside of Rs 25 lakh for the work of drug de-addiction

programmes, organising drug-de addiction, education, social welfare and awareness camps against

social ills in the rural areas, distribution of sewing machines to needy women to help them contribute

to the earnings of the family, providing books and other stationery items to female students. The Zila

Parishad aims to earn Rs 4.27 crore from its assets such as rent from marriage palaces, schools and

banks and also from sale of forms, recovery of loans, interest on loans and tax on sale of liquor, sale

of scrap on Zila Prishad premises, interest free amount received from the state government for the

construction of new building, miscellaneous rent and other means. The Zila Parishad is also expected

to receive a grant of Rs 115.94 crore under the MGNREGA scheme and Rs 16 crore under the 14th

Finance Commission. It plans to spend Rs 70 lakh on the salaries and allowances of its employees,

Rs 20 lakh on the contingency expenditures, Rs 15 lakh on the maintenance and repair work being

carried out in the Zila Parishad complex, Rs 3 lakh each on legal services and audit fee, Rs 5 lakh for

buying furniture for the office, Rs 30 lakh for the digital mapping of panchayat samitis and village

panchayats. (The Tribune 12/3/16)

30. Labour dept to recognize union (14)

The state labour department has also begun the process to recognize the union. M S Patel, assistant

labour commissioner said, "We have begun the process and soon police verification of the office

bearers of the proposed union will be done. We expect the process to be over in 30 days."Rajkumar

Beniwal, district collector, hoped that the issue of strike will be solved shortly. "It is an internal matter

of company and workers. Both have shown positive signs towards reconciliation and are coming on

same platform. I hope that this will be resolved soon." After garnering support from 22 trade unions,

the agitating workers on Monday held demonstration before collectors' office. Many of them were

detained by the police."We met the collector and he told us that process for union formation has

begun," added Ashim Roy, national vice-president, NTUI and advisor to Sanand workers' union. Tata

Motors maintained its earlier stand on the issue of forming union. "As per Tata Motors policy, the

company has always recognized the right of its workmen to form a Union." (Times of India 15/3/16)

31. MGNREGA to the rescue of labourers (14)

Kalaburagi,: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has

come as a saviour for the landless agricultural labourers and small and marginal farmers.In the

drought-hit Kalaburagi district, the landless labourers and others who seek employment under

MGNREGA are entitled to get 150 days of work mandatorily, instead of 100 days as is usual in areas

not declared drought-hit. Nearly 1,000 labourers are involved in different works in and around

Hagargundagi and Farhatabad villages in Kalaburagi taluk, according to Sadashiva Haralayya, the

Kshetra Sahayaka who helps those in need of employment to get work under the MGNGREA and

functions as a bridge between workers and officials. According to Mr. Haralayya, in villages like

Tilagol near Honna Kiranagi, the agricultural labourers are getting employment opportunities for the

first time in five years. Nearly 120 workers, including women, are employed in Tilagol village to clear

the silt from Tilagol stream. Similarly, another 260 are clearing the silt in Hagargundagi tank. A

contingent of 400 workers, the most in Kalaburagi taluk, are working in Honna Kiranagi laying roads

under the Namma Hola, Namma Dari scheme, while another 250 are working in Baspet village on soil

conservation. (The Hindu 18/3/16)

32. Political, public outcry as PPF, NSS and saving scheme rates cut (Roundup) (14)

New Delhi: In a decision that evoked immediate uproar by the salaried and self-employed class, the

government on Friday slashed the interest rates on public provident fund (PPF) from 8.7 percent to

8.1 percent, soon after retracting the unpopular proposal to partially tax withdrawals. In the process,

the interest rate for the national savings scheme was also reduced sharply from 8.5 percent to 8.1

percent, for Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) from 8.7 percent to 7.8 percent and for five-year recurring

deposit to 7.4 percent from 8.4 percent. Even the girl child scheme Sukanya Samridhhi Account

(SSA) was not spared. The cut: From 9.2 percent to 8.6 percent. "The new rates will be effective from

next fiscal (April 1, 2016). The interest will be calculated on quarterly basis," A.K. Chauhan, joint

director in National Savings Institute (NSI), told IANS. According to him, the main reason for the

downward revision was the two year yield on government securities (G-Sec) had gone down. The

interest rates for various small savings schemes were recalculated with reference to the G-Sec yields

of equivalent maturity for the period December 2015-February 2016, and based on it, rates on various

schemes for 2016-17's first quarter have been notified. According to the government, the quarterly

revision of interest rates will ensure that the interest rates under small savings schemes are more

dynamically related to current market rates, thereby enabling the banks to move their interest rates in

line with current money market rates. Chauhan said the total corpus of all small savings scheme was

around Rs.300,000 crore. The net accretion this year was around Rs.65,000 crore till January 31. The

SSA has around 85 lakh accounts with a deposit of around Rs.3,500 crore, while the KVP corpus is

over Rs.21,000 crore, Chauhan said. Earlier, the government had proposed a tax on 60 percent of the

PPF corpus on maturity if it was not invested in annuities - that is schemes that fetch periodic returns.

Also proposed was a limit on monetary contributions of employers in provident fund to Rs.150,000 per

annum for tax sops.The government also cut interest rates on other small savings term deposit

schemes. The small savings interest rates are perceived to limit the banking sector's ability to lower

deposit rates in response to the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy, the government said last

month. Interestingly the rate of interest on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is 8.8 percent. "The

self-employed are hit by this move. For them the PPF is the one safe mode of investment. Now the

return has come down," N.Varadarajan, a self-employed person, told IANS. Meanwhile the decision

led to a big public outcry on microblogging site Twitter. "Bleed the ones who pay tax! This #ppf rate

cut by #Modi government is so not on, Anti national!," tweeted Vijaita Singh. Sharing similar

sentiments, another net-savvy citizen Sudhanshu S. Singh tweeted: "What's this? Interest rate on

PPF has been cut to 8.1%. Where should common people invest for safe earning."… (Business

Standard 19/3/16)

33. Centre amends Atal Pension Yojana (14)

New Delhi, Mar. 22 : Following the feedback received from various quarters, the Government has

decided to give an option to the spouse of the subscriber to continue contributing to the Atal Pension

Yojana account of the subscriber, for the remaining vesting period. The contribution can continue till

the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 years instead of present provision of

handing-over lump-sum amount to spouse on the premature death (death before 60 years of age) of

the subscriber. The feedback received from various quarters indicated that the present provision APY

of handing-over lump sum amount to spouse on premature death of the subscriber is not preferred by

many subscribers. It has also highlighted the fact that there is growing demand to give an option to

the spouse to continue contribution after the death of subscriber to enable him / her to draw pension

when the deceased subscriber would have turned 60 years of age. The spouse of the subscriber shall

be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the spouse.

After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled

to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age of 60 years of the subscriber. Earlier, to

address the longevity risks among the workers in unorganised sector and to encourage the workers in

unorganised sector to voluntarily save for their retirement, the Government had launched a new

initiative called Atal Pension Yojana with effect from 1st June, 2015. Under APY, each subscriber, on

completion of 60 years of age, will get the guaranteed minimum monthly pension, or higher monthly

pension, if the investment returns are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed

pension, over the period of contribution. After the subscriber's death, the spouse of the subscriber

shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the

spouse. After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be

entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age of 60 years of the subscriber. In

exceptional circumstances, that is, in the event of the death of beneficiary or specified illness, as

mentioned in the PFRDA (Exit and withdrawals under the National Pension System) Regulations,

2015, before the age of 60 years, the accumulated pension wealth till date would be given to the

nominee or the subscriber as the case may be. (New Kerala 22/3/16)

34. Low wages, staff crunch affects MGNREGA implementation (14)

Udupi: Low wages and shortage of workers are among the major deterrents in the implementation of

the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Act (MNREGA) scheme in Udupi

district. According to the information provided by the zilla panchayat here, the district ranks 16th in the

State in the implementation of the scheme, which began in the year 2008-09. The expenditure under

the scheme in the district was Rs. 87.98 lakh in 2008-09, Rs. 7.62 crore in 2009-10, Rs. 2.54 crore in

2010-11, Rs. 2.62 crore in 2011-12, Rs. 2.94 crore in 2012-13, Rs. 4.26 crore in 2013-14, Rs. 5.2

crore in 2014-15 and Rs. 5.43 crore in 2015-16 (till March 22). There are about 51,000 job card

holders under the scheme in the district. According to Birti Rajesh Shetty, member of Varamballi gram

panchayat, the wage given per day under the Scheme was Rs. 214. “But men workers get over Rs.

450 per day and free food and snacks if they worked elsewhere. This is the major reason why people

do not work under the scheme,” he said. Since most men in villages work in Mumbai, Bengaluru and

other places, there is a shortage of workers. According to Mr. Shetty, only the job-card holders can be

given employment under the scheme. “We are motivating women for the community works as they

get lesser wages than men,” Priyanka Mary Francis, CEO of the zilla panchayat, said. (The Hindu

28/3/16)

35. “No mechanism to implement worker welfare schemes” (14)

JAMMU: Accusing the central government of “desperately” trying to undermine the rights of workers,

the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the CPI(M) on Sunday said a proper mechanism was lacking for

implementation of welfare schemes for them in the State. “Even the unorganized Workers Social

Security Act, 2008 is not being implemented and the constitution of Social Security Board is still

awaited both at the centre and the state,” CPI(M) leader and MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said.

He said complexities have been created in the implementation of the Building and Other Construction

Workers Welfare Act at various stages, especially in the registration process. “The delay is creating

room for corruption which is against the interests of the workforce,” he said. No advisory council has

been put in place to guide and supplement the functioning of Building and Other Construction

Workers Welfare Board, besides, the Board was devoid of representation from the unions of the

working class, the MLA said. He alleged the Central government was trying to undermine the rights of

the workers and disintegrating their strength through divisive politics. “The working class shall have to

unite and withstand this onslaught and safeguard the rights guaranteed to them. “There is nothing

substantial coming from this dispensation except tall claims, long promises and rhetoric to offer to this

deprived and neglected section of our population,” Mr Tarigami said. The condition of the workforce

especially in unorganized sector like these engaged in construction projects, roads and buildings was

“pitiable” as they were being deprived of social security benefits, he added. – PTI (The Hindu 28/3/16)

36. Starving MGNREGA (14)

As India faces the onslaught of another severe drought, and water, food, and employment dry up, the

government will claim that it is doing its best to cope with the adversity. But, given the facts, that will

be a patently false statement. The cynical attitude towards the MGNREGA is an example of how

policymakers are deliberately and knowingly — by squeezing funds and subverting the legal mandate

of the law — causing immeasurable misery and suffering to people. Through the fund squeeze, the

government has consciously crippled the MGNREGA’s ability to help people facing drought. Officially,

the drought has affected over a third of the country — nine out of the 29 states, 248 out of 660

districts, 2,327 out of 6,800 blocks, and 96,954 out of 2,57,000 panchayats. Unlike natural disasters,

such as floods and earthquakes, which destroy ecosystems in a few moments, droughts take hold

slowly and provide clear warnings to policymakers, thus giving them a chance to plan and execute

effective drought management strategy. Yet, once it settles in, a mismanaged drought can wipe out

economic progress made over decades, pushing an entire generation back into abject poverty. The

MGNREGA was inspired by the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, passed in 1977, wherein

policymakers found wage employment as the best way to empower people against drought. The

funding for the state scheme came from four taxes, imposed on those less affected by the drought.

The money so received went into a fund dedicated to the scheme. However, the MGNREGA hasn’t

been as fortunate. Despite its proven success, the scheme is itself facing a monetary drought. Some

facts: A whopping Rs 10,588 crore is currently pending in payment delays. In other words, nine crore

workers in 25 states are facing illegal delays in wage payments. More than half of this amount is in

drought-affected states. The saddest part is that notwithstanding the government’s grand

announcement — increasing the number of workdays to 150 in the nine drought-affected states — all

these states have a negative cash balance. It’s hardly surprising then that only 5 per cent households

have completed 150 days of work. This is conclusive proof that the government is ignoring the two

most important legal requirements of the MGNREGA — work on demand, and full and timely payment

of wages. .. (Indian Express 30/3/16)

37. Increase in minimum wages of workers, Delhi govt hikes DA (14)

New Delhi, Apr 4 () Delhi government has raised the dearness allowance adjusting it with the increase

in prices of goods and services. The minimum wages for unskilled workers such as security guards,

peons will rise to Rs 9,568 from Rs 9,178 per month, which translates to Rs 368 per day. In case of

semi-skilled workers like welders, the post-hike wage will be Rs 10,140 per month, Rs 407 a day. It

was Rs 10,140 till March. Skilled workers like masons or drivers will be now entitled to Rs 11,622 per

month as opposed to Rs 11,154 earlier. Rs 447 will be the per day rate. "These rates will be

applicable in respect of unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled categories in all scheduled employments

except employment in the establishments where the workers are given facilities of meals or lodging or

both by the employees," the government order said. Rates were also hiked for clerical and

supervisory staffs in all scheduled employments including non-matric, matric and graduates. Non-

matric staff will now get Rs 10,582 amounting to Rs 407 a day. Matric but non-graduates stand to

earn a minimum of Rs 447 per day or Rs 11,622 per month while for graduates the rate is Rs 12,662

per month, or Rs 487 a day. "The government after adjustment of the average consumer price index

of the period from July 2015 to December 2015 which is 266.83, an increase of 10.83 points, hereby

declares the following DA which shall be payable for all categories from April 1," the order said. The

DA for employments, who are given lodging and meals twice a day or both, would be Rs 390, Rs 442

and Rs 468 respectively. The government had passed the Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill,

2015 during the winter session of the Assembly, which stipulates stringent punishment like higher

fines and imprisonment for violation of labour norms. Under the proposed amendments to the Act,

companies will have to upload the data of their employees on website or web portal in the manner as

may be prescribed by Delhi government. (Times of India 4/4/16)

38. Unpaid salary bill of over Rs 8,000 crore set to hit MGNREGA (14)

New Delhi: Rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA reported over Rs 8,000 crore in unpaid wages

for the 2015-16 fiscal that ended on Thursday, the highest in recent years.Civil society activists said

the huge liability will eat into the budgetary allocation of Rs 38,500 crore for the current fiscal, thus

painting grim prospects for the UPA-era scheme that guarantees 100 days of work to people in rural

areas. Other than unpaid wages of Rs 8,261 crore, government records show another Rs 3,686 crore

as amount not paid for material used in 2015-16. “The combined total of Rs 12,000 crore as liability

means the states will spend a large sum of the current allocation in paying dues for last year and after

doing so they will be left with only Rs 26,500 crore for the entire year,” said Nikhil Dey of the Majdoor

Kisan Shakti Sangathan, an NGO. West Bengal tops the list of states that has wage dues, with a Rs

2,400 crore burden. Uttar Pradesh with Rs 663 crore is a distant second, followed by Assam’s Rs 487

crore, Madhya Pradesh’s Rs 480 crore and Bihar’s Rs 454 crore. The job scheme, designed as a

safety net to reduce migration of the rural poor by providing them with work and wages close to their

homes, could be starved of funds when a lingering drought in several states might trigger a spurt in

demand for work in the countryside, Dey said. He and other rural welfare campaigners had demanded

a minimum of Rs 50,000 crore for the current financial year to meet the demand for work, which they

predicted would be higher than 2015-16. In the previous fiscal, Rs 34,699 crore was allocated and it

proved inadequate to meet the demand. As many as 12 states exhausted their funds by December,

three months before the financial year closed. But the government could possibly take heart from

predictions of a normal monsoon this June-September season as the country’s rain-driven agrarian

economy may look up after a string of drought-like years. The National Rural Employment Guarantee

Act (NREGA), rechristened after Mahatma Gandhi, completed a decade this year since its launch at

Bandlapalli village in Andhra Pradesh in 2006. (Hindustan Times 4/4/16)

39. Government to simplify labour inspection norms (14)

New Delhi: Government is simplifying the labour inspection process and will come out with a unified

portal for online registration of units and reporting of inspections, Minister for Labour and Employment

Bandaru Dattatreya said on April 5. "With an objective of simplifying business regulations and for

bringing in transparency and accountability in labour inspections, the Ministry of Labour and

Employment is revising the inspection scheme," he said at an event here. The ministry is also

developing a single unified portal for online registration of units, reporting of inspections, submissions

of annual returns and redressal of grievances, he added. Besides, it is developing a webinar centre to

increase reach to all stakeholders for imparting training and providing information pertaining to

occupational safety and health, Dattatreya said. "The Ministry is also finalising the modalities for

effective implementation of Building and Other Construction Workers' Act, 1996 and Building and

Other Construction Worker' Welfare Cess Act, 1996," he added. The Factories Act is also being

amended and the Factories (amendment) Bill has been placed before Parliament approval, he said.

"In India we have adopted humane laws regarding working conditions, health, and safety as part of of

our plans of development," Dattatreya said. On government's 'Make in India' campaign, he said the

purpose of the initiative is to enhance job creation, boost the economy and convert India to a self

reliant country. "Our government has declared its vision to make India a global manufacturing hub by

increasing the share of the manufacturing sector in GDP from the present 15 per cent to 25 per cent

in next few years. The 'Make in India' campaign would facilitate this quantum jump in the

manufacturing sector," Dattatreya said. To facilitate growth, infrastructure is also being developed in

the form of highways, expressways, rail corridors, airports and seaports, he added. "It would be our

prime responsibility to ensure just and humane condition of work from providing training to develop

required skill and competence in our workforce. We cannot prosper in this dynamic complex business

environment without caring for safety and health," he said. (Asian Age 5/4/16)

40. “Implement GOs on construction workers’ welfare” (14)

VISAKHAPATNAM: The orders raising ex gratia for accidental death from Rs.2 lakh to Rs.5 lakh, for

natural death from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 6,0000, raising funeral expenses from Rs.10,000 to Rs. 20,000

and for medical treatment for minor problems from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,000 should be implemented

immediately, the A. P. Building and Construction Workers’ Union has demanded. Union State working

president Padala Ramana said here on Thursday that the Chandrababu Naidu government was

resorting to a big publicity campaign stating that these schemes were being implemented. He alleged

Rs.2 crore was diverted from the welfare fund for the purpose. Though the A.P. Building and Other

Construction Workers’ Welfare Board had hundreds of crores as corpus the welfare benefits were not

on par with those offered in Karnataka and Rajasthan, Mr. Ramana said. In those states, workers

disabled due to accidents were being paid monthly pension ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000 and

Rs.1,000 to workers. Scholarships to aid education were being given from primary to PG level. He

demanded that the registration be continued without any age limit, renewal restrictions be lifted and a

pension of Rs.3,000 be paid to workers who crossed 60 years of age. District president Kota

Sattibabu was present. (The Hindu 8/4/16)

41. EPFO settles 118 lakh claims in FY16, 96% in 20 days (14)

New Delhi, Apr 12 () Retirement fund body EPFO has settled 118 lakh claims including PF

withdrawals last fiscal ended March 31, of which 96 per cent were settled within the mandated period

of 20 days. "At the end of the financial year 2015-16, EPFO settled 118 lakh claims out of which 39

per cent were settled within 3 days, 79 per cent within 10 days and 96 per cent within 20 days," the

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said in a statement. It redressed 22,925 grievances

during the month settling 95 per cent of the grievances, leaving 1,280 grievances pending at the end

of the financial year 2015-16. About 72 per cent of the grievances are pending disposal for less than 7

days. A total of 2,21,624 grievances were redressed in 2015-16. In order to widen the social security

net, the government took a major decision to bring all banks under the ambit of EPF and MP Act,

1952 employing 20 or more persons, for those employees who are not entitled to the benefits of

Contributory PF or old age pension in accordance with any scheme or rule framed by the Central or

the state government or by the respective banks established under the Banking Regulations Act,

1949. EPFO said that all such banks shall be covered under the Act with effect from February 10,

2016. The issue of coverage of contract workers has been an area of top concern and priority for

EPFO. Therefore, to streamline and facilitate the work of field offices, a software has been developed

for the purpose. It will help EPFO to verify whether the particular contractor establishments are

already registered or not and its compliance position. To bring more and more construction workers

under the ambit of the Act, the month of April, May and June 2016 shall be observed as "Compliance

for Construction Workers" months. (Times of India 12/4/16)

42. Death of woman at NREGA work site leads protests (14)

BELAGAVI: A woman from Kadoli village near Belagavi died on 10th April on the work site of national

rural employment guarantee act (NREGA). After the death, an attitude of panchayat officials,

members and police to wrap-up the case in hurry has come on the target of various pro-labour

organizations and NGOs. Condemning the anti-labour attitude, members of Belagavi District Building

and Other Construction Workers Organization (BDBOCWO) led by advocate NR Latur staged protest

in the premises of DC office. Organization claims death of Laxmibai Ramu Balagaonkar (54)

happened due to over heavy work while police concluded the case calling it the death by scorching

heat taking suo-motto complaint. Interestingly, police came to the hurried conclusion even before

arrival of post mortem report. However, Bandu Belagaonkar, son of victim has registered separate

complaint in the police station, saying the death of his mother took place because of heavy and

stressful work. Now the complainant is being pressurized by the members of gram panchayat and

PDO to withdraw it. "GP president and PDO are asking me to withdraw police complaint immediately.

They are saying why I am falling in such police cases which take long time to resolve. They have

promised me of paying Rs 1 lakh by different means as compensation", complainant Bandu told to the

TOI.Death of Laxmibai occurred when she was engaged in de-silting work of Markandeya river.

Initially she experienced chest pain. She was died before shifting to the hospital. The work she

engaged was lifting the soil in a skep from around 15-20 ft steep. Laxmibai doing NREGA work since

past two years and she was completely fit. But the work allotted at the work site to women was heavy

one. Besides, according to NREGA manual, implementing agency must arrange safe drinking water

and first aid box at the work site which was not on this particular site. Incident has occurred due to

lack of first aid facilities and heavy and stressful work but not by scorching heat, claimed advocate NR

Latur. He urged the government and Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare

Board to sanction appropriate compensation to victim's family according to Workmen Compensation

Act. P Sushila, secretary of Spandana, NGO, works for solving the issues of NREGA workers said

implementation agency has to take responsibility of the incident. Generally in such situation,

everybody try to pass the buck or wrap-up the issue in hurry. Concerned agencies do everything like

putting pressure on family members of victims using money or muscle power. They do it because

lapses in work implementation are highlighted if enquiry is conducted. District administration has to

take this case seriously and give justice to victim's family, she urged. When asked district project

director on the scheme and deputy secretary (development) in zilla panchayat, said as the death has

occurred on worksite, the process for the compensation will be carried out once the post mortem

report comes. "I will check into the matter that if any lapses were there at the worksite", he said.

(Times of India 15/4/16)

43. MGNREGS workers stage protest (14)

NAMAKKAL: Stating that wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Scheme (MGNREGS) was not paid to them for the past three months, over 100 women workers

picketed the union office in Elachipalayam near Tiruchengode here on Saturday. Workers said that

over 300 women are involved in the work under the scheme in Molipalli Panchayat. They said that the

promised wage of Rs. 150 per day was not given to them in the past three months and also 100 days

of work was not allotted to them. Workers said that Rs. 150 wage was paid to all the workers in

nearby panchayats before 20 days, but workers in Molipalli Panchayat were paid only Rs. 110 per

day. “Even that is pending for three months now,” they added. Workers said that when they inquired

with officials, they were informed that only after elections they would be paid their wages. “In the

absence of agricultural activities, we depend only on the daily wage. But denying it is posing hardship

to us,” they added. Officials held talks with them. (The Hindu 17/4/16)

44. Min wage for contract workers to be Rs 10K, order soon (14)

HYDERABAD: The Centre will issue an executive order to ensure contract workers get a minimum

wage of Rs 10,000 per month, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru

Dattatreya said today. "It is the endeavour of the Central government to make reforms in labour laws

and to proceed from minimum wage to universal wage. Because the Opposition is not cooperating in

the Parliament, we will do it through an executive order," Dattatreya told reporters here. "Because the

Parliament is not functioning properly, we don't want to wait and we want to go ahead with some

executive orders for the welfare of the workers," he said.He said the government has decided to make

changes to rule 25 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules and every contract

worker will be entitled to get Rs 10,000 per month. "We have framed this rule and sent to the Law

Ministry (for approval) and shortly a notification will come and after this all the state governments will

implement this decision," he said. Dattatreya said the Supreme Court had given a direction, keeping

in view of Consumer Price Index and variation DA, to increase the minimum wage. "In view of the

apex court order, we are enhancing it first to Rs 10,000 and then we want to go for universal minimum

wage," the minister said. All contractors must register with the Labour Ministry, he said, adding in

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over one lakh sanitation workers (those who get Rs 8,500 per month)

will benefit, besides crores of workers elsewhere, by the minimum wage rule. (Times of India 18/3/16)

45. Despite nationwide ban, 10 manual scavengers died in city since 2010 (14)

Chennai: Although manual scavenging has been banned in the country, Metrowater continues to flout

the law by sending workers down manholes and sewage pits, sometimes to their deaths, in a bid to

cut costs or make up for lack of equipment. As many as ten manual scavengers, including six contract

workers, employed by Metrowater died at work in Chennai since 2010, an RTI application reveals. In

response to the application filed by OnlineRTI.com, Metrowater, which is responsible for cleaning

sewerage lines in the city, said three people died in sewers while doing this job during 2011-12, one in

2012-13, two in 2013-14, three in 2014-15 and one in 2015-16 (till February). The reply said

Metrowater spent Rs 1 crore over the last five years as compensation to the families of the victims.

The RTI request also disclosed that Metrowater has just 142 jet rodding machines against the

required 200. This shortage could be the reason for its dependence on humans to clean sewerage

lines. However, the actual number of deaths of manual scavengers in the city could be more as the

RTI reply is only related to manual scavengers employed by Metrowater. Activists say other

government agencies including Greater Chennai Corporation, individuals and private firms also

employ manual scavengers. For instance, four men, including three members of a family, died of

asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank at a restaurant in Thoraipakkam on OMR on January 20 this

year. Manual scavenging was banned in the country under the Employment of Manual Scavengers

and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition Act), 1993. The law was extended in 2003 to cover

people working in sewer lines and septic tanks. Further, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual

Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, states that no person, local authority or any agency

shall engage or employ, either directly or indirectly, any person for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a

septic tank. According to government records, there are only 458 manual scavengers in the state

including 252 in Chennai. But the actual number could be more, say activists. Bezwada Wilson,

national convenor of the NGO Safai Karmachari Andolan, says, "This is a blatant violation of the Act.

It is unfortunate that a government agency, which is supposed to enforce the ban, continues to force

workers to enter sewer lines without any safety precautions.".. (Times of India 17/4/16)

46. Use MGNREGA money for water harvesting: Modi (14)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said money allocated for MGNREGA should

be used for "water harvesting" to battle drought. Speaking at the 10th Civil Services Day awards

ceremony, Modi also called for a "spirit of healthy competition" among district administrations to foster

an atmosphere conducive for positive change. "Everyone wants to change life in the villages. So

much of money is being spent on MGNREGA," the prime minister said, referring to the Mahatma

Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act. "I know about the drought situation in the country. There is

a shortage of water. But it is also true that a good monsoon is predicted. "Why can't we use the

MGNREGA money to run a campaign for harvesting water in the months of April, May and June?

"Why can't we do desilting, dig new ponds and clean canals and use these for water harvesting? This

will help in making ends meet even if there is no rain," Modi said. "Initiatives have succeeded when

'Jan Bhagidari' is embraced. Engaging with civil society is very important," he added. The government

on Tuesday conceded in the Supreme Court that 256 districts with a population of about 33 crore

spread over 12 states were affected by drought. Modi also said: "There should be healthy competition

among the district administrations in the country in the discharge of duties. "If their districts lag behind

and don't get noticed for good work, then those heading them must ask themselves why." The prime

minister said the district administrations must try to win the trust of the people and be proactive. "Only

being an administrator and controller is not enough. Everybody at every level has to become an agent

of change. Let us create an atmosphere where everyone can contribute. The energy of 125 crore

Indians will take the nation ahead," he said. The prime minister urged people to view every hurdle as

an opportunity. "Only those people will be able to prosper in life who don't get worn out and take every

hurdle as an opportunity," said Modi. (Business Standard 21/4/16)

47. Rapport with locals helped quell PF violence in some places: Report (14)

Bengaluru: The city police top brass has identified factors that led to violence on April 18 in Peenya,

Jalahalli and Yeshwantpur and submitted their findings to Home Minister G Parameshwara on

Thursday. The minister directed the police to deal sternly with anti-social elements and ensure basic

policing in these areas. It was basically lack of a proper rapport between the local police and the

residents in these Northern parts of the city, lack of action against anti-social elements and failure in

identifying a large number of slum dwellers and workers in the unorganised sector that triggered the

violence. For the last few years, there were hardly any efforts to keep track of the movements of anti-

social elements and slum-dwellers. A large number of unskilled workers who were not related with the

garment factory workers and their demands joined the protest and created violence. The police had

no clues as they never had a data of such groups. The situation was peaceful in Bommanahalli,

Singasandra, Mangammanapalya, Electronics City and surrounding areas, when Peenya, Jalahalli

and Yeshwantpur were boiling. This is because the South East, North East and East Division police

conducted area domination operations over the last few months and kept track of slum dwellers and

anti-social elements.  They even had ensured better rapport with them, which helped them completely

control the situation on April 19, when violence broke out in Hebbagodi and Jalahalli. The locals and

slum-dwellers did not join the garment factory workers, a majority of them from the City outskirts,

when the protest was staged on April 18. Hence, no major violence broke out, except stone-throwing,

the cops informed Parameshwara. Additional Commissioner of Police (East) P Harishekharan,

DCP (Southeast) Dr Boralingaiah and DCP (East) N Satish Kumar rushed to Hebbagodi in Bengaluru

Rural and controlled the situation within a couple of hours. The angry mob would have burnt alive a

few cops, including senior officers, had the City police not arrived in time, the cops said.

Parameshwara has directed the Bengaluru Rural police to keep a watch on anti-social elements and

take action against those spreading violence. He suggested the Bengaluru City and Bengaluru Rural

police to conduct area domination operations and rowdy parades regularly, develop a database of

such groups and control their activities. DG&IGP Omprakash, ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Mohan,

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner N S Megharik, Additional Commissioners Charan Reddy and

P Harishekharan attended the meeting. (Deccan Herald 22/4/16)

48. Tiruvallur: Haunted by Shadow of Bonded Labour (14)

CHENNAI: The same Cooum River that flows through Chennai snakes into Tiruvallur too along its 72-

km journey. But unlike in Chennai, where Cooum is filthy, in Tiruvallur, it’s what outside the river that’s

filthier – the shadow of bonded labour. The blight obliterates generations with back-breaking labour at

rice mills or unending toil in the searing heat of brick kilns. Before bureaucracy spread its tentacles

here, there was a time when Tiruvallur was a theatre of war – a part of the Carnatic war was fought

here. Now, a battle still wages on here, a rather humanitarian one. According to a State government

reply to an RTI filed by International Justice Mission, this is the district from where the most number of

bonded labourers were rescued – 1,250 (from 2005-2014). In 2013-14, 24 per cent of those rescued

belonged to Tiruvallur, a district known for its industry, and ironically, its educational institutions.

Though the district boasts of 23 engineering colleges, the literacy rate among the most vulnerable

section – the Scheduled Tribes – stands at a paltry 46 per cent, according to the 2011 census.

However, things have picked up a tad, with the rescued labourers realising that education is one of

the ways in which the community can break free of the shackles of bonded labour. “My father was

born in a brick kiln. So was I, and so were my wife and kids. Now, I’m educating all my children. My

daughter has finished her diploma in computer science,” says Raman, a rice mill labourer from the

district who was rescued in 2004. Spending the first 35 years of his life breaking his back and working

16 hours a day for a measly daily wage of `5, Raman now knows his life equations perfectly, but he

has learnt it the hard way. “What every vulnerable member of the community needs is at least one

acre of land, so that they can grow something – spinach, tomatoes, anything. This way, people

wouldn’t borrow money and get bonded for generations,” he adds. The power of education is not lost

on Kasthuri, a rehabilitated rice mill worker, who says, “Education is our ticket out of misery and the

rice mill owners know this. My former owner used to push a broom into my son’s hand as soon as he

came from school. They wanted to keep our children illiterate, they weren’t allowed to study.” Malliga,

another rice mill worker rescued in 2005, complains that some of them are yet to receive their

community certificates and pattas. “We are the most easily evicted, and keeping our land is difficult

even when we have all our papers. ….. ( New Indian Express 28/4/16)

49. As jobs dry up, migration on the rise in Marathwada (14)

Mumbai: Even while reports of migration from drought-hit areas of Maharashtra continue to pour in,

the latest data of preparatory works under the rural job guarantee scheme shows that, on paper, the

government has many jobs to offer to its distressed population. Labour activists have rebuked the

numbers put out by the government at the end of March as ‘fake’, claiming that lakhs of people are

migrating from the State in the absence of farm jobs. The Maharashtra government claims it has

4,14,624 ‘shelf’ jobs, as of now, to be handed out in distressed areas, with drought-hit Marathwada

alone accounting for 1,10,634 available jobs — the highest — under the Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). While those on the ground claim no work is

reaching them in the villages, officials say jobs under the employment guarantee scheme is demand

driven, and people are possibly not coming forward to claim work. Activists, however, say gram

sevaks are not able to reach priority areas, while tehsildars are delaying sanctioning of work. Under

the EGS, the gram sabha is assigned the task of recommending works with priorities to the gram

panchayat to prepare an annual shelf of works. It makes agencies responsible for approving work in a

time-bound manner. “The statistics are clearly fake, these (shelf works) are just useless works that do

not serve any purpose and have been kept aside by marking just the survey numbers. This past year

alone, nearly 50,00,000 people have migrated from the State but this government has not reached out

to provide any jobs,” said Rajan Kshirsagar of the Bhartiya Khet Majdoor Union. According to the data

available, of the 4,14,624 works available, the highest are in Marathwada, and the lowest (53,249) in

the Konkan region. While senior officials admitted that the government’s outreach programme may be

falling short, there was no way to record migration. Local activists blame the tehsildars who are

refusing to sanction work. “Villagers are desperate for work. But the tehsildar is just not sanctioning it,”

said Jayaji Suryawanshi, activist from Aurangabad. (The Hindu 28/4/16)

50. Declare 36 labourers were forced to work in 2014: NHRC (14)

BAREILLY: After receiving a complaint in 2014 relating to bonded labourers engaged in brick kiln of

Bareilly, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed Bareilly district magistrate (DM) to

declare them bonded labourers and release certificates in their favour. The commission has also

asked Bareilly DM to inform his counterpart in Aligarh district from where the labourers hail from as it

is necessary as per the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Bareilly DM

has been asked to submit a report on the action taken in this connection within six weeks. A Lucknow-

based human rights worker, Rashmi Gupta, had filed a complaint with NHRC in December 2014. She

said, "As NHRC has asked DM to issue release certificate, it will make each labourer eligible to

receive Rs 20,000 under Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Under this Act, the labourers

having a release certificate are entitled to Rs 20,000 for rehabilitation with both Centre and state

government giving Rs 10,000 each. Besides, these labourers will get priority in getting work in their

home district under various government schemes." In December 2014, Gupta had lodged a complaint

with NHRC on the basis of a local newspaper report that owners of certain brick kiln in Faridpur tehsil

were forcing these labourers work without pay. "The news report indicated that local police, with the

help of labour department officials, had settled the issue of unpaid wages. Police authorities,

thereafter, also stated that there were no cases of bonded labour. I sought the intervention of NHRC

after this," said Gupta. However, the inquiry report conducted by district authorities, denied allegations

of bonded labour. In his report, the deputy labour commissioner stated that 36 labourers, including 23

men and 13 women, were paid wages on a weekly basis in conformity with the minimum wages fixed

by the government. The report claimed that no outstanding wages of any labourer was pending with

the owner. However, the report also stated that all the labourers were present at the local police

station where the owner of the brick kiln and his cashier prepared the required records relating to the

payment of wages and the unpaid wages were disbursed among the labourers at the police station

itself. However, the NHRC observed a discrepancy in the report submitted by district authorities in this

connection. "If the labourers had been paid their wages weekly in conformity with the Minimum

Wages Act and the labourers had already been paid all their wages without any outstanding against

the owner then why and how the labourers gathered at the local police station where the required

records of the wages were prepared and the labourers were paid their unpaid wages. It shows that

the labourers were being subjected to forced labour," the NHRC observed and ordered the DM to

declare that labourers in the complaint were bonded labourers. (Times of India 28/4/16)