Staff Reporter
Dimapur, May 1
Coinciding with International Labor Day, Parliamentary Secretary for Labour and Employment S Chuba Longkumer on Friday launched the ‘Shram Shakti Pehchaan’ at the Deputy Commissioner office, Dimapur.
Shram Shakti Pehchaan is a programme purely focused at ensuring the welfare and wellbeing of workers in the unorganized sector. Addressing the gathering, the Parliamentary Secretary said that the estimated workers in the unorganized sector constitute more than 94% of the total employment in the country.
The scenario in the state of Nagaland cannot be isolated from such estimates, maintained Longkumer. Besides the workforce in the new urban towns, Nagaland being a rural state, most of the rural local population can be estimated among the unorganized workers, he added.
On account of their unorganized nature, workers and their families do not get adequate social security, pointed out the chief guest.
Welfare schemes and welfare programmes are being implemented by the central and state government for specific groups of unorganized sector, however, “despite all these efforts, there is a huge deficit in the coverage of the unorganized sector workers such as agriculture workers, construction workers, handloom workers etc in the matter of labour protection and social security measures,” said the chief guest.
While maintaining that people are aware of a number of programmes that are implemented by different departments, targeting specific group of beneficiaries, however, there is no defined common platform through which the beneficiaries can avail such benefits without going through complex formalities, said the parliamentary secretary.
Having realized the problems faced, the central government has come up with the Shram Shakti Pehchaan (SSP), which will enroll all unorganized worker, the chief guest added.
It may be mentioned here that the smart card so received will be linked to all benefits entitled for the beneficiary concerned, which also mean the smart card will act as a single window to all entitled benefits for the concerned beneficiary.
The district administration will be the authorized agency for identification and registration of unorganized workers.
The chief guest while expressing its faith in the district administration to achieve the desired goal said that lots of collaborative efforts will be required particularly between the district administration, the labour department and the IT & C department. He also assured all possible help from the department to make the programme successful in the shortest possible time.
The chief guest also said that the participation of NGOs, trade union and other mass based organizations cannot be overlooked and called upon such organizations to extend support in whatever way desired during the process of identification, registration and enrollment process.
The Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur, Kesonyu Yhome, also spoke at the program.
He said that the unorganized workers, comprising 94% of the total workforce of the country, play a pivotal role in the economy of the country.
The contribution of unorganized sector to GDP is about 50%, so for the country to maintain the growth rate, the problems of unorganized sectors have to be addressed, said Yhome.
While stating that they are socially and economically underprivileged, the deputy commissioner also hoped that the launching of the SSP will give a boost to the unorganized sector.
Programs marking the Laborers and Factory Workers Day were conducted across the state on Friday on May 1 as a nod to the contribution of workers in the unorganized sector to the economy. The District Election Office of Mokokchung observed the event at Imlong place in Mokokchung town, where a large number of migrant laborers and businesses’ workers attended.
Delivering a short speech, SDO(C) of Mokokchung, Lemlila Sangtam, told the gathering that, besides other forms of contribution and participation, the Indian laborers being equal citizens of India, they can actively participate in the electoral process of the state. While highlighting the various directives of Election Commission of India, she urged upon the laborers to step forward and get enroll with the District Election Office.
In Longleng district, Laborers’ Day was observed in the deputy commissioner’s conference Hall with Deputy Commissioner of Longleng Nikhashe Sema as the chief guest.
The chief guest emphasized on the importance of skill enhancement of the workers. The Assistant Labor Commissioner, Longritemjen Ao, gave a discourse about the significance of International Laborers’ Day. Assistant Election Officer, Renben Mozhui, spoke on the importance of awareness in enrollment of names in the electoral rolls and asked them to value their votes particularly those who have attained the age of 18 years, and above, by bringing certificates from their respective places.
The program was marked by a slogan competition. The winners were awarded prizes.
In Dimapur, Dimapur District Election Machiners organized a program about electoral education and electoral participation for laborers and factory workers, coinciding with International Laborers’ Day. Workers from Dimapur besides migrant workers from neighboring Assam attended the event.
Speaking during the occasion, Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur Kesonyu Yhome told the workers on the value of exercising voting rights.
He encouraged resident workers of Dimapur to get enrolled, and at the same time avoid multiple entries and remove the names of deceased people from the electoral roll by informing booth level officers when they visit their localities.
However, migrant daily-wage workers should not get themselves enrolled in the electoral roll as they would be penalized for violation of the People’s Representation Act.
Also, Chief Executive Officer of the Dimapur Municipal Council Atokhe Aye requested the deputy commissioner to give a one-time grant to the 90 plus laborers of the municipality as they were all employed on fixed pay ‘besides providing housing facility to them’.
