BENGALURU: The Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (KARWWB) is planning to set up a control room with a six-digit helpline number in the next 10 days for construction workers to call and get assistance in case of health issues, deaths on site, scholarship schemes for children, wedding allowances and other welfare schemes which they are not aware of.“Usually, when there is an accident or death on site, the workers approach the police and the process is long. The construction workers population is migratory in nature and they are not informed about the schemes made for them.
We give Rs 50,000 wedding allowances for them or for their children to get married ... also, Rs 2 lakh is given to the family if there is death on site and scholarships for their children from LKG all the way to PhD level,” said Rohini Sindhuri, KARWWB, secretary.
KARWWB is engaging with 700 trade unions registered with them and construction companies to let them know about the upcoming control room facility so they can spread the word to beneficiaries. The helpline number must be placed on a banner or board at construction sites for the workers to see. The number is yet to be made public.
Tenders have been invited and the agency to run the control room will be finalised soon. The control room will function from the office of KARWWB in Bannerghatta Road. Initially, 30 employees will be engaged to answer calls. This will be further scaled up later.The Labour Department is also in talks with the Education Department to disburse scholarships meant for children of construction workers.
“The data of children whose parents work in the construction sector will be collected from the Education Department and money will be deposited against their name, irrespective of which school they are attending (government or private). This way, they need not approach the Labour Department, to avail the benefits,” P Manivannan, Secretary, Labour Department, told TNIE.