UP makes comprehensive plan to provide training, employment to 32 lakh skilled and unskilled workers

Due to the coronavirus crisis, the return of migrant workers stranded in other parts of the country back home was the biggest challenge for the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. Under the supervision of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, about 32 lakh migrant workers have so far returned to safely to their home state.

LUCKNOW: Due to the coronavirus crisis, the return of migrant workers stranded in other parts of the country back home was the biggest challenge for the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. Under the supervision of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, about 32 lakh migrant workers have so far returned to their home state safely.

But, after their arrival back home, providing employment to the migrant workers at the local level has now become a big challenge for the Yogi government. In this regard, the state government has prepared a comprehensive action plan to tackle this problem. 

The government has decided to give employment to those who are skilled and, those who are unskilled, will be imparted training to improve their skills. This will benefit the migrant workers in the long-term.

Such workers, who need some special training, will be trained through the Skill Development Mission launched by the state government. If they did not get training under the mission, then these unskilled migrant workers will be trained under various other training programs (One District One Product, Vishwakarma Shram Samman etc) run by the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

However, if there is no provision of training in the government-run training program according to the skill of the concerned worker, then the Deputy Commissioner, Industry and Enterprise Promotion Bureau, will arrange for their training in the same industry under the apprenticeship programs initiated by the Skill Development Mission.

If there is no system of training in any scheme, then the government will arrange for it. A formal proposal will be required to be sent to the government for such training. Besides, the government also plans to provide insurance cover to every worker. If a labourer goes to work in some other district, then the government will also make residential arrangements for him.

As of now, about 32 lakh workers have returned to Uttar Pradesh from other states. Out of these, the skill mapping of about 24 lakh workers has been done. Out of these, more than 22 lakh people are from the construction sector. The rest had been working in other states like carpenters, drivers, tailors, cooks, plumbers, electricians, barbers, beauty parlours, washermen, gardeners housekeeping, auto repairing and sales and marketing etc.

About 17 lakh of them are unskilled laborers. The Chief Minister has reiterated his commitment to provide employment at the local level to every labourer coming from other states and to improve their skills through training as per the need.

On May 29, the Uttar Pradesh government signed agreements with various industry bodies to help in providing 11 lakh jobs to migrant labourers who have returned to the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of this 11 lakh employment opportunities, the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Indian Industries Association (IIA) accounted for three lakh jobs each, while realtors’ body NARDECO and the Laghu Udyog Bharati attend to 2.5 lakh jobs each for migrant labourers, state MSME Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said.

All memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose promise to provide jobs to migrants returning to the state was fulfilled by the MSME department of the UP government.

Sharing more information, State’s Principal Secretary (MSME) Navneet Sehgal said, “Yogi government is prepared to guarantee social security along with employment to all workers and workers in the state itself. All these will be given work at the local level according to their efficiency through the Workers-Labor (Employment and Employment) Welfare Commission.”