Bihar will set up Labour Service Facilitation Centres in Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruppur within the next two months to help migrant workers access grievance redressal, welfare support, workplace rights and government schemes, the state’s Labour Resource and Migrant Workers Welfare department has said.
The centres, called Shram Seva Suvidha Kendra, are intended to support workers from Bihar who travel to other states and countries for employment. Additional chief secretary of the department, K Senthil Kumar, said the initiative would also help Bihar create a database of workers leaving the state for jobs and understand their livelihood needs.
“We have more than 3 crore Biharis going out to work interstate and internationally across various industries. So, the idea of the centre is to create a database on how many workers leave the state for work to help them with their livelihoods in every possible way,” Kumar said.
The centres will address issues linked to language and cultural differences, workplace conditions, social security schemes, education for workers’ children, health insurance, accident compensation and death compensation. They will also help eligible workers access government schemes, according to the department.
Tamil Nadu is among 12 states covered by the department’s survey and planned network of 12 centres. Other states identified for the initiative include Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Kerala, Punjab and Maharashtra. The department has already begun the initiative in Karnataka.
Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruppur were selected because they are described as major destinations for workers from Bihar. Kumar said close to 2-3 lakh Biharis work in Tiruppur. The survey will assess workers’ socio-economic conditions and identify government schemes that may be suitable for them.
The announcement places the three Tamil Nadu cities within a wider inter-state labour administration effort. The proposed centres are expected to function as access points for workers dealing with welfare, rights and official services while living and working away from their home state. The department has not announced the exact locations, staffing pattern or operating procedures for the centres.
Kumar also said the Bihar government was working to create more employment opportunities within the state and was setting up a cement factory and a sugar factory. The facilitation centres in Tamil Nadu are scheduled to be established within two months, according to the department.
