Vijayawada: The coalition government is dedicated to improving the welfare of construction and unorganised sector workers and their families, said labour, factories, boilers, and medical insurance services minister Vasamsetti Subhash during a Labour Welfare Board meeting at the Andhra Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare here on Tuesday.

Subhash outlined several initiatives by the labour department to safeguard unorganised workers. He criticised the previous administration for its neglect, alleging severe mistreatment of workers, and emphasised that the current government has made their welfare a top priority.

To address the challenges faced by daily wage workers, the board plans to construct dedicated facilities for ‘adda coolie’ workers to eliminate the need for them to wait on streets for hours. As a pilot project, integrated labor buildings will be established in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati, with a long-term goal of building one in every constituency.

The minister also announced new programmes focused on skill development and workplace safety. Skill training initiatives will be offered to workers and their families to enhance employability, and safety officers will be appointed in every factory to minimize accidents. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with universities to support these efforts.

Since Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assumed office, investor confidence has surged, leading to the establishment of new industries and increased employment opportunities for workers across the state, he said.

Additionally, the government is working to register NREGA workers as construction workers, which could add approximately 15 lakh workers to the state’s registry. Subhash stressed the importance of boosting cess collections to fund worker welfare and protection programs.

Valavala Babji, chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, noted that welfare programmes stalled for the past two years are now being revived. ”We are prioritizing new registrations to ensure workers can fully access welfare scheme benefits,” he said.

Babji added that, under the leadership of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, efforts are underway to enhance cess collections. He criticised the previous government for neglecting worker welfare after 2019, in contrast to the robust programmes implemented between 2014 and 2019. The board plans to study welfare initiatives in other states to adopt best practices in Andhra Pradesh.