Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav today said that following the motto of “Mehnat Ko Samman, Adhikar Ek Saman”, the Government is focused on the welfare of workers through evidence-based policy making. The Union Minister flagging off the field work of the Area Frame Establishment Survey (AFES) at Shram Bureau Bhawan, Chandigarh today on the occasion of 101st Foundation Day of Labour Bureau.
During the event, he mentioned that data on all aspects of labour is crucial and scientifically collected data is bedrock for any evidence-based policy making. With the increasing importance of data in the time to come coupled with the fact that India is a labour abundant nation, a dedicated organization for labour and price statistics like the Labour Bureau merits strengthening and full support, said the minister.
The Minister also held discussions with the State Labour Ministers, Labour Secretaries & Commissioners of States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh & UTs of Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh regarding progress with respect to registration of unorganized workers under e-Shram portal and preparedness of States/UTs on implementation of various schemes and reforms.
The Minister also distributed e-Shram cards to unorganised workers and presented approval letters under ESIC Covid Relief Scheme to the dependents of the people who lost their lives due to the pandemic. On the occasion Shri Yadav also distributed letters under Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana to workers.
The Minister made a visit to special camp for registration of unorganised workers under “e-Shram” portal organised by Office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India. The Minister distributed e-Shram cards to unorganised workers and held an interaction with trade union leaders, employers & unorganised workers.
The e-Shram portal https://eshram.gov.in was inaugurated on 26th August, 2021. More than 2.5 crore registrations have been done so far on the portal. The portal is the first-ever national database of unorganised workers including migrant workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers.
Expressing happieness, Shri Yadav also informed that while the 4th week, since the launch of website, was marked by a galloping registration of unorganized workers, crossing over 1.71 crores, this (5th) week more than 2.51 crore workers in total are registered on this portal as on date
.An estimated 38 crore workers are engaged in the unorganized sector and employment (Economic Survey, 2019-20).
