BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will launch a scheme that offers free transport service for women garment workers next week, said Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik on Friday.
Naik told reporters that Labour Department officials will finalise the scheme by discussing with Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and representatives of garment units. Over 3 lakh women employees of various garment manufacturing units in and around the city will benefit from this, he added.
“BMTC authorities have come forward to provide 200 buses exclusively for women workers,” he said.
Stating that the Labour Department and BMTC have finalised the routes on which the buses would ply regularly, he said, “Garment units have agreed to bear the cost, which is about Rs.1,000 to 1,050 per employee.”
He added that the free bus service is being introduced considering the difficulties and problems faced by garment workers to commute.
Residential Schools on the Cards
Outlining the labour welfare programmes, he said the department has planned to open high-class residential schools in all city corporation limits.
“The schools would be modelled on institutions such as the Delhi Public School. The student strength from Class 5 to Class 12 would be of 20 to 25 children,” he said.
Apart from Bengaluru, the schools would come up in Mangaluru, Ballari, Mysuru, Davanagere, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Hubballi-Dharwad and Gulbarga City Corporations,” he said.
The department will also spend about Rs.8-10 crore to set up the schools, for which land has already been identified by the civic bodies, the Minister said.
The department has also planned to construct skill development centres in the headquarters of the four revenue divisions and Labour Bhavans in all district headquarters, he said.
Local Recruitment
Replying to a question, he said industries in the state have responded positively to a government order to provide data on recruitment of local people in their units. The final data is expected to be made available in a few weeks, he said.