The State government will set up a training centre in all districts to train hotel cooks and other workers, Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik has said.

Speaking after inaugurating the second state-level conference of hotel cooks and workers here on Friday, the minister said that there was a need for these workers to improve their skills just like employees in any other sector.

“The State government has decided to set up skill training centres for hotel cooks and other workers to boost their skills. A sum of Rs three crore has been earmarked for each centre. In the first phase, a training centre will be set up in Kolar. The district administration has been asked to provide 1.5 acre of land for the purpose,” the minister said.

He said that the government would provide requisite monetary assistance, equipment, building and other facilities for the training. On successful completion, the workers would be given a skill training certificate also.

Cooking courses have been started at industrial training institutes in Bengaluru, Hubballi and Mysuru. The hotel workers will be provided health services under Rasthriya Swasth Bima Yojana. As many as 17.52 lakh people have been registered under the Yojana during the period from April 2009 to 2013. In the last one and half years, as many as 68 lakh poor families have been brought under the scheme, the minister said.

Other benefits

Naik said that Karnataka has four lakh workers in the unorganised sector and Rs 10 crore had been sanctioned in the present year’s budget to provide them identity cards and other benefits. As many as 100 industrial training institutes were set up at various parts of the district last year and more such colleges would be set up in Kolar district also.

The previous Union government had granted permission to set up employees’ state insurance (ESI) hospitals at Narasapura in Kolar, Shivamogga and Bidadi industrial area.

But, the present government at the Centre is not enthusiastic about the proposal. The Union government has been appealed to set up hospitals at these places.

The Union government has introduced “You Win” project with the objective of providing ESI, provident fund and medical facilities to workers of unorganised sector, under a common roof.

Steps would be taken to ensure that workers in the unorganised sector get all the benefits under this programme, Naik said.

The Labour minister said that the workers were under trouble and the labour organisations play vital role in conveying their concerns to the government. Hence, workers should always stand united, he added.