Construction workers to get financial aid

Workers are the “real architects” of healthy economic growth and they hold a key to faster development, said Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday.

“You are the real architects of growth and development and your hands turn the decisions into reality,” said Omar.

He launched an initiative of providing financial assistance to the registered labour classes associated with building and other constructions.

The CM said decisions of launching projects and formulating schemes for infrastructure development will remain on paper unless the workforce convert these into reality.

Omar announced a package of incentives including enhancement of minimum wages, ex-gratia relief and pension for workforce with effect from January, 2013.

Recently, the CM had directed building and other construction workers board to register labourers and collect cess for distribution among them as a welfare measure. A total of 1,42,000 workers were registered and collected of Rs 185 crore worth cess.

Omar asked the state labour minister to move a proposal for bringing registration of workers and delivery of assistance to them under Public Service Guarantee Act.

‘Rise I-T exemption limit’

National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) on Sunday sought raising the income tax exemption limit from Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 5 lacs for salaried class and urged finance minister P Chidambaram to announce this in the 2013-14 Union budget.

NMC president Subash Shastri said that with price rise and inflation, every salaried class is facing a lot of economic hardships and raising the IT limit to Rs 5 lakh would be a genuine measure to provide some relief to them.

He also demanded early sanction of 20 per cent interim relief and merging of 50 per cent DA in to their basic pay and pension to offset the economic hardships of salaried class in view of steep hike in the prices of all essential commodities.