Govt plans new cess for transport workers' welfare

The cess is proposed to be levied at the time of registration of vehicles

In a bid to woo workers in the private transport sector, the B S Yediyurappa administration has drafted a law that proposes to introduce a new cess that will be used for their welfare.

The cess, which is proposed to be levied at the time of registration of vehicles, will go towards a pool of funds for social security measures for transport workers.

Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar told DH that the government will finalize this within a month's time.

Be it auto-rickshaws, cabs or private buses, a certain percentage of the vehicle registration fee will go towards the creation of this cess. Although the government is mulling fixing the cess at 1% of the registration fee, the amount is yet to be finalized.

The draft Karnataka State Motor Transport and other Workers Social Security and Welfare Cess Bill, which Hebbar's department is piloting, is awaiting the Finance department's approval.

The Labour Department is also in talks with the Transport Department for this. A separate transport workers' welfare board will be created, on similar lines of the construction workers' welfare board, the minister said.

"Drivers lead an extremely difficult life. In the case of exigencies, their families have to get justice. We have studied similar legislation in Tamil Nadu, which seeks to protect its workers," Hebbar said.

The move comes in the wake of last year's Covid-19 lockdown during which the government promised financial aid to various sections of society, but struggled to deliver on the promise. Even though the government had assured Rs 5,000 cash benefit for construction workers, barbers and washermen, many beneficiaries have had to wait for more than a year to get this amount.

"At present drivers, conductors, cleaners get a compensation of Rs 5 lakh in case of accidental death and Rs 2 lakh in case of injuries. The state government used to give grants for this. However, the grants have reduced over the years, especially in the post-Covid period," a Labour Department official said.

Creating a separate pool of funds for the workers' welfare will benefit them in crisis, the official said.

The department is also discussing whether this should apply only for drivers or if it should include cleaners, conductors and other workers too.