Construction workers demand fairer pensions from TNCWWB
Official justifies Rs 1,200 pension saying TN has many welfare boards than other states
CHENNAI: With a corpus fund of over Rs 7,000 crore in its kitty, the Tamil Nadu Construction Workers Welfare Board (TNCWWB) is currently disbursing a meagre monthly pension of Rs 1,200 to construction workers aged 60 and above.
Despite repeated demands from registered members and labour activists to increase the pension to be on par with those of the welfare boards in Delhi and Punjab, their requests have fallen on deaf ears.
The registered members of the welfare board, along with their representatives, have pointed out that workers registered with the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Boards in Delhi, Punjab, and neighbouring Karnataka are better off, receiving pensions above Rs 3,000.
The system in Punjab, for example, is far better, as newly registered members are given Rs 2,000, with the pension increasing to Rs 3,800 after three years of registration. Workers over 60 years of age with at least 10 years of registration receive a monthly pension of Rs 8,000, said R Geetha of the Unorganised Workers Federation.
In Delhi, the registered members of the construction workers’ welfare board are entitled to a monthly pension of Rs 3,000, with an annual increment of Rs 300 as a service pension. By the time a worker reaches the age of 70, their monthly pension increases to Rs 6,000. Similarly, in Karnataka, the pension for registered members of the state's construction workers' welfare board is fixed at Rs 3,000.
"We have been urging the Tamil Nadu Welfare Board to implement an annual increment to increase the monthly pension for workers over 60, but our efforts have yielded no results so far, " said Geetha. She added that the authorities have cited the poor financial condition of other welfare boards as an excuse for not enhancing the pension for construction workers. Furthermore, the authorities have not introduced an increment scheme similar to that of the Delhi government
Chairperson of the Welfare Board Pon Kumar admitted that the current pension is relatively low compared to Delhi and a few other states. He, however, justified the Rs 1,200 pension by stating that TN, unlike other states, has a total of 18 welfare boards under the labour department.
"The Construction Workers' Welfare Board has a corpus fund of over Rs 7,000 crore, but this is not the case with other welfare boards in the state. Therefore, it is not feasible to enhance the pension scheme for members of just one welfare board. It will create unwanted friction with members of other welfare boards, " he said.
However, TN welfare board has launched an exclusive housing scheme for the registered members of the TNCWWB, which is not implemented in other states. "Every beneficiary of the housing scheme receives financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh. By implementing such a housing scheme, we extend welfare benefits to our members," he added.
