Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 11: Labour organizations are up in arms against the government because of the information that the construction workers welfare fund is being utilised to acquire anti Covid vaccines from private hospitals for vaccinating the construction workers. It is said that the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, through a work order issued on August 27 this year, had asked Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association to supply two lac doses of Covid vaccine at the rate of Rs 780 per dose (total Rs 15.6 crore).

The organizations want to know why the state government should pay the amount when the central government has been providing vaccines to everyone above the age of 18 free of cost. The workers organizations are unhappy at the fund meant for providing pension, loans, student scholarships etc to construction workers and their families being diverted to acquire the said vaccine.

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The said fund is created through cess levied on the builders. By way of clarification, labour minister Shivaram Hebbar, said that out of 29 lac workers, only 1.86 lac have been vaccinated so far, and that it was decided to use the fund to utilise the vaccines which remained unused with private hospitals to make good shortfall in supply. He said henceforth no more vaccines will be acquired as the supply position has improved. If there is a need, the work order also will be withdrawn, he said.