Information Details

Basic Minimum Wages for Central Sphere Workers Revised

Minimum Wages to be Rs.350/- Per Day for Unskilled Non-Agricultural Workers for ‘C’ Category Areas

Shri Arun Jaitely, the Union Finance Minister, the Union Minister of State(IC) for Labour and Employment Shri Bandaru Dattatreya and Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy & Mines had a joint Press conference here today on charter of demands of the Central Trade Unions.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment (I/C) has held meetings with Central Trade Union leaders wherein detailed discussions were held in regard to their charter of demands. Thereafter, the issues were discussed by the Inter- Ministerial Committee headed by the Finance Minister. The following decisions have been taken by the Government:

The Bonus Amendment Act will be implemented strictly. The Central Government will pay Bonus for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16 based on revised norms. A government notification in this regard is being issued immediately.
The Central Government will take necessary steps to resolve the cases pending in High Courts/Supreme Court with regard to payment of Bonus.
It has been decided that, based on the deliberations in the meeting of the Minimum Wage Advisory Board under the Chairmanship of Minister for State for Labour and Employment (I/C) for revising the basic minimum wages for central sphere, the Government has decided to fix the minimum wages at Rs.350/- per day for unskilled non-agricultural workers for ‘C’ category areas keeping in view the modalities of fixing minimum wages.
The registration of the contract workers and their staffing agencies is mandatory as per law and states will be advised to strictly implement the same. Erring contractors will face appropriate action for any violation in this regard.
The issue of giving social security benefit to the unorganised sector (eg., Anganwadi, Mid-day meal, Asha volunteers etc.) will be examined by a committee which will give its report at the earliest.
Advisories will be issued to all the States Governments to ensure that registration of Trade Unions takes place within 45 days.
The Central government has reiterated its commitment towards tripartite consultation process.
Sector specific meetings will be held to resolve issues relating to respective industries.

Later interacting with media Shri Bandaru Dattatreya appealed to Trade Unions to reconsider their call for strike, in national interest. [Sources:pib]

Speed of Nine Railway Corridors to be Increased

The speed of nine railway corridors will be increased from the existing 110 and 130 kmph to 160 and 200 kmph respectively so that inter-metro journeys like Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai can be completed overnight. Announcing this while presenting the Railway Budget 2015-16 in Parliament today the Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhkar Prabhu said this will involve the upgradation of track including turnouts and rolling stock to higher standards as well as the adoption of improved methods of track recording, monitoring and maintenance.

He said the average speed of freight trains, both in empty and loaded conditions, will also be enhanced. A policy of attaining speeds of 100 kmph for empty freight trains and 75 kmph for loaded trains is being put in place. The Minister said that with the objective of maximizing loading in every train, the loading density on all major freight bearing routes of Indian Railways will be upgraded to 22.82 tonne axle loads.

24x7 Helpline Number 138 to Redress Problems of Passengers

The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has said that an all - India helpline number, 138, will become functional to attend to the problems of passengers on a real time basis. Presenting the Railway Budget 2015-16 in Parliament today Shri Prabhu said, passengers will be able to call up for complaints while on trains. A mobile application to redress Railway-related complaints is also being developed. He said, the Railways intends to start this facility on a pilot project basis on Northern Railway from 1st March 2015. Based on the experienced gained and the feedback received from passengers, this will be extended to all Railways soon thereafter. Further, keeping in mind the criticality of security related issues, the Railways has dedicated a toll-free number 182 for receiving security related complaints.

‘SMS Alert’ Service for Arrival/Departure Time of Trains

The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has said that it is proposed to introduce an “SMS Alert” service to inform passengers in advance the updated arrival/departure time of trains at starting or destination stations. Similarly SMS alert would be sent 15/30 minutes in advance of arrival of the train at the destination.

Presenting the Railway Budget 2015-16 in Parliament today Shri Prabhu said, a centrally managed Railway Display Network is expected to be introduced in over 2,000 stations over the next two years which will aid in providing information on train arrival/departure, reservations, general and emergency messages and also any other information of interest to citizens. This facility will promote “Digital India Campaign” and also unlock huge advertising revenue potential.