CHENNAI: In a first for the state, Chief Minister MK Stalin, in his Independence Day address on Tuesday, announced that the government would form a welfare board for gig workers.
“The lives of these employees who work against the clock are important,” Stalin said while speaking at Fort St.George. Following the footsteps of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu will become the second state in India to form a welfare board for gig workers
“In metropolitan cities like Chennai and other towns, vehicles belonging to companies like Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato, etc are working with a motto to offer quick service to people. To safeguard their overall welfare, a separate welfare board will be set up,” Stalin said.
Welcoming the announcement, K Murali Raja, a bike taxi driver with Uber, told TNIE, “The rates we get for rides are not commensurate with our expenses. Even for incentives, we have to work without taking a day’s leave. Almost 40% of our earnings goes towards fuel expenses. To address this, we need standard rates that factor in fuel and vehicle maintenance expenses, work hours and leave. We are not able to take any loans from banks citing our job. If the welfare board is able to fulfil all these, it will truly be of great help to us.”
A welfare board is a welcome first step, but a lot needs to be done from there, said labour activist T Venkat. “Till date, gig workers are an invisible population. The board will collect data and ensure transparency in the system. Mandatory insurance and linkages to social security schemes for workers should be ensured through the board. Minimum wage and regularised employment are the larger goals. A separate cess has to be collected for delivery transactions,” he added.
Tamil Nadu Food Delivery Workers Association affiliated with CITU also welcomed the announcement. Association’s general secretary S Ramakrishnan told TNIE, “A committee was earlier formed by the labour department to deliberate on a welfare board for gig workers. We pressed on various aspects at the meetings. After years of struggle, we were able to register an association for gig workers only in 2022. The announcement on a board has come now.”
Following the announcement, a proposal will be sent to the State Labour Advisory Board. Gig workers and aggregators are often caught in a dispute over issues like proper wages, sudden revision in fares, etc. In May, gig workers struck work for a day in Chennai demanding better pay and working conditions. Gig workers activists and workers are pinning their hopes on the board to resolve their issues.
“Gig workers had to go on strike every time to draw attention to their plight. They don’t know whom to contact to register a complaint. A redressal mechanism should be ensured by the board,” Ramakrishnan
added.
50L women make use of free bus ride scheme daily’
The CM also announced a scheme to provide skill development training to 10,000 ex-servicemen at a cost of Rs 7 crore to help them get jobs and a monthly pension hike from Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,000 for freedom fighters and their families.
Stalin said 141 women have so far benefitted under Rs 1 lakh subsidy scheme for buying autorickshaws, and the scheme would be offered to 500 women, including transpersons, this year. Stalin recalled how freedom fighter Bhashyam alias Arya hoisted the Tricolour at Fort St George in 1930 by removing the British flag.
Referring to the welfare schemes being implemented by the DMK government after it assumed office on May 2021, the CM said two lakh girl students had received Rs 100 crore aid for pursuing higher education under the Pudhumai Penn scheme in 2022-23, and 2.11 lakh girl students would get Rs 350 crore in the current year.
On the free bus ride scheme for women, Stalin said 50 lakh women travel in government buses free of cost daily and so it would be renamed as ‘Vidiyal Payanam Scheme’. The free breakfast scheme would also be extended to all government schools from August 25 and Rs 404 crore has been allocated for this, the CM said.
Prisons dept releases 19 languishing in jails in state
CHENNAI: Following the special remission granted by the government on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day, Tamil Nadu Prisons and Correctional Department on Wednesday released 19 convicted prisoners, who had undergone 66% of their sentence, from various central prisons across the state.
Of the 19, 10 are from Puzhal, four are from Cuddalore, three are from Tiruchy and two are from Vellore. A source said the released prisoners were not involved in heinous crimes, and many of them were first-time offenders. The source said that the superintendents of the respective prisons had proposed the prisoners’ names to the state government.
National flag hoisted at offices of political parties
The national flag was hoisted at the offices of various political parties on Tuesday. On behalf of the ruling DMK, the party’s organising secretary RS Bharathi hoisted the tricolour at ‘Anna Arivalayam’ in the presence of elected representatives and cadre of the party.
At the CPI(M) office, state secretary K Balakrishnan hoisted the national flag while senior leader G Ramakrishnan hoisted the party’s flag. TMC(M) president GK Vasan hoisted the national flag at the party office and distributed sweets to participants. On behalf of Kamal Haasan’s MNM, party vice-president AG Mouriya hoisted the national flag at the party office in the presence of functionaries and cadre.