February 23, 2002
‘21’
PRIME MINISTER REITERATES GOVERNMENT’S CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL SECURITY TO WORKERS
The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said that despite economic reforms, government’s commitment to social security of workers would continue. Inaugurating a seminar to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Employment State Insurance Scheme (ESI) here today, Shri Vajpayee called for change in the present situation where workers in the informal sector, constituting major part of the workforce, remain "today deprived of even a minimal social security support". He said social security cannot be state funded alone and added that we should strengthen and activate all non-State providers of social security. Shri Vajpayee said the State can contribute partly to various social schemes for the poorest of the poor, which may be run by government and private companies and social organisations. He said that wherever needed, the government can bring in necessary laws and regulations. At the same time, Shri Vajpayee called for voluntary compliance and self regulatio! n by social institutions with least government intervention. He expressed hope that the debate during the Golden Jubilee year would come out with practical suggestions and solutions for a National Policy on Social Security which the country direly needs.
Earlier, felicitating the ESIC Corporation on completing 50 years of its service to workers, the Labour Minister, Shri Sharad Yadav said that the ESI Scheme has the biggest health infrastructure at the Central level but it needs to be run more efficiently. He requested the Prime Minister to help in evolving a consensus among State Governments for transferring actual administration of medical care by them to the ESIC for improving the quality of medical care to the beneficiaries. Shri Yadav said a programme of having at least one model hospital in each state has been launched and eight states have already accepted the scheme. He said that it has been also decided to set up two super-speciality centres for cardiothorasic diseases at Pune & Delhi in collaboration with third-party service providers. He said we will have to meet the challenge of getting the workers in the unorganised sector into social security net.
Terming it as a proud moment for the ESIC, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shri Muni Lall said that the scheme has come a long way since its inception in 1952 and provides today social security and health care to 3.30 crore workers and their families.
The Prime Minister released a Special Postal Cover on completion of 50 years of ESI Scheme on the occasion. The Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology, Shri Tapan Sikdar said that the release of the Special Postal Cover is felicitation of the work done by ESIC in meeting social security needs of the workers.