Government mulling health insurance for domestic workers
July 27th, 2010 - 8:48 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, July 27 (IANS) The government is considering a slew of welfare schemes, including health insurance, for domestic workers in the country, Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge informed the Lok Sabha Tuesday.
The minister said the government was considering the recommendations made by the task force on domestic workers, which also includes a provision for providing health insurance to the workers under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
RSBY was started on April 1, 2008 to provide health insurance coverage to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. It provides hospitalization coverage of up to Rs.30,000 to its beneficiaries based on a system of smart cards.
Currently there are 17,280,964 RSBY smart card holders across the country.
Other recommendations of the task force include:
– Extension of the welfare schemes to the domestic workers including health care benefits.
- Smart cards to be used to provide welfare schemes rolled out for domestic workers.
- Domestic workers should be identified and registered by the State Labour Department.
- Domestic work to be included in the central list of scheduled employment under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
- State governments to fix minimum rates of wages for domestic workers.
- Registration of all placement agencies and individuals who provide placements to domestic workers.
- Formulation of a national policy for the domestic workers.
- Scaling up of the skill and re-skill training program initiated by International Labour Organization (ILO).
- Cashless health insurance for 4.75 mn domestic workers - Jun 23, 2011
- Over 14.5 million covered under social security programme - Nov 29, 2010
- Helpline for labourers in Delhi - May 01, 2011
- Government health insurance to cover beedi workers - Mar 15, 2012
- Now, workers in unorganised sector under health insurance scheme - Jan 12, 2012
- Meghalaya to introduce health insurance scheme - Aug 02, 2011
- Why no social security for unorganised workers, NAC asks government - Apr 30, 2012
- Himachal gives MNREGA workers, servants health cover - Dec 18, 2011
- National Social Security Fund to be set up for unorganized sector workers - Feb 26, 2010
- Max Bupa bids for state health insurance in three states - Oct 18, 2011
- Cabinet approves ILO guidelines for domestic workers - Sep 30, 2011
- 12th Five Year Plan to focus on health: PM - Aug 15, 2011
- India seeks accord to avoid dual social security taxation - Apr 23, 2010
- Sixth Kerala migration survey begins - Nov 30, 2010
- Unorganised labour unions in Bengal want minimum wages revised - Dec 08, 2011
Tags: beneficiaries, employment minister, health care benefits, health insurance, health insurance coverage, hospitalization coverage, ilo, international labour organization, labour department, Lok Sabha, minimum wages, placement agencies, placements, poverty line, skill training, slew, smart card, smart cards, state governments, welfare schemes