Conducting health camp and distributing kits is not labour welfare, says Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje

Union Minister of State for Labour, Employment and MSME Shobha Karandlaje alleged that the State Labor Department was not functioning properly.

Speaking to the media in Hubballi on Friday, May 1, Ms. Karandlaje alleged that the welfare fund for construction workers was not being used properly in all the states ruled by the Opposition party. “Especially in Karnataka, every year, ₹15,000 crore is collected as share from construction, which is not utilized properly. For them, worker welfare means organizing health camps and distributing kits, thereby siphoning off money. Our proposal is to use this fund to provide pension and ESI and EPF facilities to construction workers. A few states have already accepted this proposal, but the Karnataka government is yet to do so,” he noted.