The AP Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board is taking up a month-long campaign to register more workers for its schemes and to improve renewals, according to Chairman S. Gopal.

He told reporters here on Wednesday that the board was in the first position in the country in collection of one per cent cess and had so far collected Rs 1,000 crore.

He said the board had set itself the target of registering 30 lakh workers and so far 16 lakh workers were registered and a pension scheme was being implemented on a pilot basis in one district in all the three regions of the State.

The pension fund is launched under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority’s “Swavalamban” scheme.

Under it, the board pays Rs 800, the worker Rs 200 and the PFRDA contributes Rs 1,000.

Gopal said depending upon the age at which the worker joined the occupation he would get pension ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 8,000 after the age of 60 years.

Conference

A State-level conference would be organised to improve registration. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana, Central and State ministers from the region would be invited.

All trade unions would be involved. The date for the conference would be finalised after seeking the acceptance of the Chief Minister.

He said the board was providing Rs 2 lakh as compensation for workers who met with accidental death or permanent handicap, Rs 1 lakh for grievous injuries and up to Rs 30,000 for natural death irrespective of whether the worker was registered with the board or not. Pregnant women workers are being given Rs 5,000 as maternal assistance and 15 days of wages. However, renewal was proving to be a problem with several of the workers being migrants, he added.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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