Kurnool: IFTU demands relief for construction workers

Kurnool: The leaders of Indian Federation of Trade Union (IFTU) staged a protest demanding the government to extend financial assistance of Rs 10,000 each to the workers of construction sector, in front of the office of Assistant Commissioner of Labour (ACL) at Nandyal on Monday

Addressing the gathering, district secretary N Shankar said that due to implementing new sand policy by the government the construction sector has come to stand still. For the six months, the workers in 33 sectors allied to construction have lost their livelihood.

As many as 45 construction workers lost their lives across the state. But Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is least concerned about their woes, he said.The state government has diverted Rs 450 crore from the building construction welfare board through government order (GO) No17, alleged Shankar.

Nandyal division secretary Choudappa said that after the announcement of lockdown the Central government has clearly instructed the state government to extend financial assistance to the workers of construction sector but the state has not implemented them. Till date neither financial assistance extended nor the woes of the construction sector were addressed by the Chief Minister, lamented Choudappa.

Other leaders urged immediate clearance of death claims which were pending for over two years besides maternity and marriage gifts. They demanded that every construction worker be covered under ESI scheme and a pension of Rs 10,000 per month. Later, the leaders gave a representation to the assistant commissioner of labour Chalapathi Rao.