Bengal Guv sends recommendations to MHA for welfare of Bengali migrant workers facing harassment

Kolkata, Aug 19 (IANS) Governor CV Ananda Bose has sent an eight-page recommendation to the Union Home Ministry for the benefit of Bengali migrant workers, who are facing harassment across the country and returning to the state.

Sources in Raj Bhavan said the report has been forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.

The move from West Bengal Governor came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a new rehabilitation scheme, ‘Shramashree’, for Bengali migrant workers who are facing harassment in BJP-ruled states.

According to Raj Bhavan sources, the Governor has made several recommendations to address the challenges of migrant workers in West Bengal and ensure their socio-economic justice. One of the recommendations is opening up a registration portal for migrant workers, regular communication with the concerned labour department, provision of low-cost hotels, creating a working environment and etc.

According to the source, Governor Bose recommended the implementation of the West Bengal Migrant Worker Registration Portal. A multilingual digital portal must be launched quickly, and the portal will be linked to Aadhaar for the identification of the worker. After registration, a special digital Migrant Workers Card needs to be issued, which will act as a portable identity card.

The Governor also recommended signing MoUs with major destination states of migrant workers (such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi). The MoUs should identify the responsibilities of implementing minimum wages, adhering to workplace safety standards and establishing expeditious mechanisms for redressal of grievances of West Bengal workers within their jurisdiction.

He further recommended appointment of Labour Welfare Officers (LWOs) in major migrant centres like Kochi (Kerala), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Delhi.

In another recommendation, the Governor stressed on construction of affordable migrant hostels in all the states or areas where migrant workers are in large numbers.

In addition, the 'One Family One Ration Card' scheme should be replaced with 'One Citizen One Ration Card', so that such workers can get their subsidised food grains from any Public Distribution System (PDS) shop in the country.

"A 24x7 multilingual helpline should be created where migrant workers can report wage theft, physical or verbal abuse, contractual disputes or emergencies. Besides implementation of strict monitoring and regulation of placement agencies involved in the recruitment of Bengali women for domestic work needs to be done," said the source.

On Monday, Mamata Banerjee announced her government's new scheme, which is aimed at bringing back workers who wish to return and help them rebuild livelihoods in Bengal.

Under ‘Shramashree’, each returning worker will receive one-time travel aid of Rs 5,000 and monthly rehabilitation aid of Rs 5,000 for up to 12 months until employment is arranged.

--IANS

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