Compensation Paid To Textile Workers Doubled In Case Of Death Or Disability

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Compensation Paid To Textile Workers Doubled In Case Of Death Or Disability

India has doubled the compensation for the death of power loom workers in its textile industry as part of a benefits scheme to weed out problems plaguing the labour-intensive sector, according to a senior textile ministry official. Insurance coverage of Rs 200,000 in the case of a natural death and Rs 400,000 for accidental death was rolled out recently, in addition to a disability compensation of Rs 200,000.

According to Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta, this initiative is part of the effort to develop the textile value chain and upgrade technology to be more competitive. She stated that such schemes are aimed at addressing drudgery, to better working conditions and modernise infrastructure, adding that so far about 20,000 workers have signed up for the scheme.

Jagdish Patel, a labour researcher at the Gujarat-based charity People's Training and Research Centre stated that if power loom units declare workers as employees, social benefits as required by the law would have to be extended to them. Meanwhile the local textile office at Surat has received more than 40 death compensation claims from families of power loom workers over the last two years.