Beedi workers demand hike in welfare fund

A delegation of Akhil Bharatiya Beedi Mazdoor Mahasangh, an industrial unit of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), submitted a memorandum to the Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya seeking his intervention to save beedi workers from loss of jobs. “In Telangana, there are 10 lakh beedi workers.

Loss of employment in beedi sector would be the highest in comparison with cigarette and gutka in the event of ban on tobacco consumption. Hence, imposing a ban on manufacture of beedis should not be insisted,” the association stated.

“Presently, only Rs 55 crore of welfare fund is allotted to beedi workers in Telangana State, even though the contribution to the fund from state is very much high, in comparison with other states. This is quite insufficient to the 10 lakhs beedi workers. We demand an allotment of Rs 150 crore to Telangana State,” the association members demanded.

“Presently the statutory warning occupies 40 per cent of space on beedi bundles, leaving insufficient space for name of the manufacturer and brand mark of standard manufacturers. In these circumstances, unscrupulous and antisocial elements have come into beedi production with fake names and brands as the customers are not able to identify the correct manufacturer. The production of beedi by standard manufacturers has come down. This has resulted in loss of standard employment,” the representation to the minister stated.