No dearth of funds to help employees of closed Textile Mills:Vaghela

Mysore, Mar 27(UNI) Union Minister for Textile Shankar Singh Vaghela today announced that the his ministry would provide relief to the employees of the closed Textile Mills in Karnataka under Textile Workers Rehabilitation Fund Scheme (TWRFS).

Speaking after distributing Rs 6.40 crores relief under the Scheme to 1249 workers of the Sujata Textile Mill at Nanjangud, 16 km from here, which was since closed 10 years back, he said that the delay in extending the relief was an account of communication and co-ordination gap between workers union, Employees Provident Fund organisation and the state government.

He asked the various labour unions and state government to submit their report on textile mills which have closed in the state for the relief funds. The Ministry has enough funds for this purpose.

He requested the employees in the textiles mills who have been deprived of their balance amounts when the mills closed should approach the textile ministry, which has regional office in Bangalore. The union government has been concern on the working class and would settle the issues earliest.

He said that the UPA Government has increased the workers eligibility covered under the monthly wages limit to Rs 3500 from Rs 2500 for the relief under the TWRFS. Three category mills would come under this scheme--individual owners mills, state government run mills and National Textile Corporation owned mills. Few workers in various mills were found not eligible mainly because they had not completed five years of service in the mill and few because of wage exceeding Rs 3500.

Former Union Minister V Sreenivasa Prasad, speaking on the occasion urged the centre to remove the disparity in wage limits while settling the relief to the workers in the textile mills. He asked the workers who have received the relief funds should be utilised in proper manner for their future life.

UNI BSP MSP TS1833