TN Govt mulling to bring welfare boards under Labour Dept

Chennai, Apr 25 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the Government will consider bringing all the unorganised workers welfare boards under the purview of Labour Department, if the trade unions gave an undertaking that there would not be any duplication of membership in these boards.

The Chief Minister, responding to Mr C Govindasamy's (CPI-M) suggestion that the Labour Department should have adequate manpower to look after the boards, said this could not be done overnight and till the Government appointed the required employees, the Left parties should suspend all their agitations.

He said the Left and other Opposition parties should suspend their agitations and give time to the Government to think over the matter and take suitable steps. The Left parties should not forget the fact that there was a lot of duplication in the membership of Welfare boards, constituted for workers in the unorganised sector.

In some of the boards, people working in foreign countries had enrolled themselves as members in lakhs, Mr Karunanidhi said, adding that the Government was not economically sound to provide benefits to such members. This would also defeat the very purpose for which the Welfare Boards were constituted, he added.

He said the Government would take a suitable decision after consulting the officials, trade unions and leaders of all parties.

Welcoming this, Mr Govindasamy, participating in the debate on the demand for grants for the Labour Department, said the Left parties and trade unions were willing to cooperate with the Government in streamlining the boards.

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