Labour Deptt Kashmir checks on the Placement Agencies deploying workers for domestic purposes

Srinagar : The Labour Department, Kashmir on Thursday started a campaign in all the districts to have checks on the Placement Agencies, who usually get their workers from other states and deploy them for the domestic purposes at various residential homes of the Kashmir Valley.
The aim of this campaign is only to ensure that these workers are formally brought from the other states with their consent and are not Bonded Labours. Further, it is also to ensure that these workers/domestic helpers are insured under various schemes of the department so that during any untoward incident the house owner, the worker and the establishment owner remain secured, so far as the health or any accident is concerned.
Accordingly, it was found that 40 number of Placement Agencies are registered with the Labour Department of Kashmir who have been deploying 2000 (approx.) number of workers as domestic helpers to the various sites.
Forty Placement Agencies were on Thursday inspected in the districts of Kashmir Division in which compulsory registrations of the Labour Department were obtained from the establishment owners, the details of the workers was also obtained from the establishment owners in which first of all it was ensured that no worker was below the age of 14 years deployed for this purpose.
Secondly, it was also ensured that every worker has come with his consent and payment is made in the bank accounts of the respective worker.
The workers were personally interacted by the teams at various offices of these Placement Agencies and confirmed from them the living conditions, wages, their age and other necessary help provided to them during their stay and transport from their homes to the final destinations.
During the inspections each and every Placement Agency was informed to have each worker registered under Employees State Insurance Scheme so that everybody in the chain remains secured, particularly the labourer and the house owner.
It is also requested of the general public to ascertain the ESIC registration of these workers before getting them for any kind of help so that in case of any untoward incident, with this helper, both the helper and the owner remain secured.
The campaign was launched under the guidance of Deputy Labour Commissioner, Kashmir who along with Assistant Labour Commissioner, Srinagar and other Labour Officers/Labour Inspectors inspected various placement agencies of Srinagar District.