Dont strike work: Kharge to labourers

HUBLI: Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Mallikarjun Kharge has appealed to all trade unions and workers not to participate in the general strike proposed on February 28.He was speaking after inaugurating the new building of ‘Bhavishyanidhi Bhavan’, at Navanagar in Hubli district  on Sunday.He made this earnest appeal citing heavy loss to the economy if all labourers halted work on the same day.He stated that the union government has been striving for the welfare of the un-organised sector and leaders of trade unions should go through the programmes meant for the poor before moving on with their proposed strike.“The Union government has spent a whopping Rs 1000 crore on Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for workers of the un-organised sector, domestic workers, construction workers and those under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA). More than Rs 40,000 crore has been spent under MNREGA for mid day meals introduced for children of labourers. Also, more than `4,000 crore has been spent on Employees State Insurance Corporation, Provident fund and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana,” he said.