Latest news with #ESI
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Business
- NDTV
Women In Delhi Can Now Work Night Shifts In Shops, Commercial Establishments
New Delhi: Women in Delhi can now legally work night shifts in shops and commercial establishments, with the government easing long-standing restrictions under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the decision on Tuesday, saying that the policy will boost women workforce participation and expand the city's potential as a 24x7 economy. The government plans to amend Sections 14, 15, and 16 of the 1954 Act, which currently prohibit women from working night hours, defined as between 9 pm and 7 am in summer and 8 pm to 8 am in winter. Once the change is in effect, these restrictions will no longer apply, allowing businesses to employ women in round-the-clock operations, provided they follow strict safety and workplace requirements. "This is a step toward increasing women's participation in the workforce while ensuring their safety and dignity at the workplace," Chief Minister Gupta said. "We are not just changing a rule, we're also creating a framework where women feel secure and supported during night hours," she added. Safety Protocols Mandatory The new policy comes with non-negotiable conditions for employers. Written consent from women employees will be required before assigning night shifts. The establishments must provide secure transportation for night duty, round-the-clock CCTV coverage, an adequate number of female security personnel, and an Internal Complaints Committee under the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act, restrooms, lockers, and break rooms and wages must be paid via bank or ECS, and all legal benefits like ESI, Provident Fund, bonuses, weekly offs, and overtime pay will be mandatory. Policy Awaiting Lt Governor's Approval The proposal will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor for final approval. Similar policies are already in place in states like Haryana, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Delhi's move follows months of internal discussions and demands from industry bodies looking to expand night-time operations. "This will help establish Delhi as a 24x7 business hub and also contribute to improving the capital's Ease of Doing Business rankings," the Chief Minister said.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Health
- Hans India
ESI Hospital ready for inauguration
Rajamahendravaram: A state-of-the-art Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Hospital, constructed at a cost of Rs 56 crore in Rajamahendravaram, is ready for inauguration. Built to match the standards of corporate hospitals, the facility is expected to significantly enhance healthcare services for insured workers across the region. The Central government approved funding for the hospital project on August 19, 2020. Built on 5.83 acres, the construction was delayed and completed on December 30, 2024, with the hospital handed over to the Andhra Pradesh government in June 2025. Originally a 50-bed facility established in 1987 during the TDP regime, the hospital has been expanded to 100 beds, though formal approval for this upgrade is still pending. A report detailing necessary medical equipment, human resources, and operational funds has been submitted to the state government. Former MP Maganti Murali Mohan initiated the project in 2018, and the foundation was laid then. Minister Vasamsetty Subhash visited twice for progress reviews, but essential medical equipment is still awaited. The upgraded hospital includes 32 outpatient (OP) rooms, a casualty unit, minor operating theatre, pharmacy, and emergency ward on the ground floor, while the second floor is dedicated to mother and child healthcare, featuring an ICU, PICU, and third floor has six wards, a library, and administrative offices. Equipped with four lifts, centralized air conditioning, 50 CCTV cameras, and Braille signage, every bed has oxygen and ventilator facilities. Currently, the old 50-bed hospital operates with 30 staff members, but the new facility will require at least 300 personnel, including 100 doctors. The hospital plans to offer 26 types of medical services, including general medicine and surgery, although details on super-specialty services remain unclear. Officials are optimistic that once fully equipped, it will be a vital secondary care facility for the region's workforce.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
GCC to privatise solid waste management in Tondiarpet, Anna Nagar
CHENNAI: Even as conservancy workers staged a human chain protest on Wednesday opposing the privatisation of solid waste management (SWM) in the city, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) floated tenders to appoint private agencies for garbage collection and transportation in Tondiarpet and Anna Nagar -- the two zones where waste management was handled directly by the civic body. With this, solid waste management in all 14 zones in the city will be privatised, leaving only around 12 divisions in Ambattur zone under the oversee of GCC. It may be noted that last month the corporation handed over solid waste collection and transportation operations in Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones to Delhi MSW Solutions Limited. The sanitary workers on Wednesday led by CITU from at least 10 zones joined the protest at 6:30 am, which continued for nearly an hour across multiple locations before workers resumed their duties. Protesters raised concerns about poor wages and discriminatory employment practices in the privatised system. "Contract workers under private agencies receive only around `570 per day, compared to Rs 753 paid to regular corporation workers," said P Srinivasalu, general secretary of CITU. "Private contractors also hesitate to hire anyone above 45 years of age unless with some conditions without PF and ESI benefits." They demanded the implementation of the DMK government's election promise to abolish the contract system in government departments and provide permanent employment to sanitary workers. Despite these protests, the corporation has initiated the bidding process to privatise solid waste operations in Tondiarpet and Anna Nagar zones, which together span 50.85 sq km and are home to an estimated 21.39 lakh people and 5.34 lakh households as per 2025 projections.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Latest Eastbridge report examines market potential for voluntary sales
Large percentage of employees in many highly populated states lack voluntary coverage AVON, Conn., July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Large states already generating high voluntary benefits sales may still offer strong market opportunities, according to Eastbridge Consulting Group's new "U.S. State ESI and EPI Data for 2024"report. The report shows many states producing some of the country's highest sales and in-force premium are still relatively under-penetrated due to the large number of workers in those states. "Some of the largest, most highly populated states can still offer some of the greatest potential to voluntary carriers," said Danielle Lehman, Eastbridge senior consultant. "For example, California and New York were in the top five in the country in new sales premium last year, but still rank relatively low compared to the number of people employed in those states." The "U.S. State ESI and EPI Data for 2024"report uses state-by-state data on sales and in-force premium reported by voluntary carriers that participate in Eastbridge's survey for its annual "U.S. Voluntary/Worksite Sales Report." The latest version includes state sales data for 42 carriers representing 88% of all voluntary sales last year, and two indexes: Eastbridge Sales Index (ESI) — A state-by-state measure of sales coverage that offers a useful picture of relative sales penetration in contrast to raw sales numbers. Eastbridge Premium Index (EPI) — An overall penetration measure based on in-force premium per employed person by state. The report also includes data by product and employer size. Carriers can use this information to compare their own sales and in-force results to the industry and help identify potential opportunities for growth. The "U.S. State ESI and EPI Data for 2024"report is offered at no charge to all companies that provide annual results by state. All carriers involved in the voluntary/worksite industry are eligible to participate. More information is available on Eastbridge's website or by contacting Eastbridge at info@ About Eastbridge Consulting GroupEastbridge Consulting Group, part of NMG Consulting, specializes in research, consulting and insights for companies in the voluntary/worksite benefits market in the United States and Canada. Follow Eastbridge on LinkedIn at NMG is a consulting firm providing strategic insights and analytics across insurance, wealth management and asset management. It operates internationally offering expertise in business strategy, performance benchmarking and distribution strategies. CONTACT: Ginger BatesEMAIL: gbates@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Eastbridge Consulting Group Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Deccan Herald
22-07-2025
- Deccan Herald
The missing safeguards in India's workplaces
Three recent events symbolise workers' plight due to a lack of safety at India's workplaces. On June 30, in Telangana's worst industrial mishap, 46 people died, eight are still in hospital, and another eight are still missing, some possibly charred beyond recognition. This human tragedy in an industrial area was caused by the explosion of a reactor in a chemical plant, heard several kilometres away. To call it an accident absolves the management of the neglect of proper maintenance or not adhering to safety protocols. In the same Sangareddy district, 25 workers died within four months in 2024. The cases of injuries or near-fatal cases that have not been reported can only be guessed. But Sangareddy is just an illustrative case, not an isolated one, across the June 7, in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area near Pirangut on the outskirts of Pune city, 18 workers were charred to death, 15 being women, in a deadly fire in a chemical factory. An investigation by some intrepid labour activists revealed that the workers were not even aware they were handling hazardous chemicals. They were marked by codes masking the true name of the chemicals. It was revealed that the women workers were paid less than minimum wage. The vulnerable are exploited, have job insecurity, and face the most unsafe and risky conditions. This company has been in operation since 2012, but got registered only in 2020. It also managed to obtain an ISO 9001 certification for quality management. No inspector ever visited the factory till this 'accident' happened. This cannot be attributed to the ease of doing business. While EODB has shifted the onus to self-certification on the owners and managers of factories, it surely does not mean complete abdication of inspection, especially of worker safety in hazardous industries. It is made worse by the management's greed and corner-cutting, like disabling safety sensors or running the presses at higher speeds to achieve sales third event is the launch of a report called 'Crushed'. This is India's only long-running, evidence-based report published by Safe In India (SII), an NGO dedicated to improving worker safety in India's manufacturing sector, particularly the automotive and auto-component industry, which accounts for one-third of the manufacturing sector's GDP. SII's work has increased worker awareness about the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) scheme and the ESIC role. Over the past seven years, SII has helped 10,000 workers access ESIC benefits, but this still represents only 40 per cent of the victims. In the last few years, the vendors to the top ten auto brands accounted for the crushed fingers of 2,333 workers. This work breaks the silence around injuries, showing its true scale with official statistics. It also throws up laughable instance, the source of data could be from two arms of the government, the labour ministry and the insurance corporation. In Haryana, routinely, the ministry reports the number of injuries around 40 to 50 per year for several years. But the ESIC claims benefits are going to nearly a thousand workers. And this is with only 40 per cent awareness among workers. It is clear that thousands of workers are getting killed or maimed across the automotive sector, and the official silence must be the Economic Survey of this year has highlighted the issue of workplace safety. It says that Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) regulations are not to be seen as burdensome expenses but as a strategic investment. The SII estimates that the country loses up to 4 per cent of GDP due to neglect of safety. India ranks a low 133 in global labour productivity, and this rank is directly correlated with inadequate OSH standards and poor working conditions. India's rank is significantly below China, Vietnam, and Mexico. Investment in safety and OSH protocols not only improves the life of the worker and her family but raises productivity and morale, and improves the trust between workers and management. For the factories, it reduces absenteeism, medical expenses, and penalties for and lesson from neighbouring Bangladesh is telling. In 2013, an eight-storey building housing garment factories collapsed in the Rana Plaza, killing 1,134 people. This shocking incident led to drastic changes, including the putting in place of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which led to the training of 1.4 million workers. It was certainly a factor that increased Bangladesh's garment sector competitiveness, and its exports outpaced even India and Vietnam. Even Chile and Costa Rica experienced strong labour productivity growth due to improved OSH standards and reduced occupational most ironic thing about the provision of workplace injury and death benefits or compensation is this. The ESI scheme was established by the ESI Act of 1948, the same year as the setting up of the National Health Scheme of the United Kingdom. Both aim to provide universal social security and healthcare (in the case of India, to workers, and in the UK, to all citizens). The present reality is that almost all UK citizens have access, and get benefits from the NHS, whereas for the ESI, many workers are not even aware of their rights and benefits. In design, the ESI is one of the world's finest schemes, but in implementation, it falls well way forward is clear. There should be complete transparency in data reporting on accidents and fatalities, making it consistent across ESIC and the Labour Department. Compliance to safety and OSH protocols must be incentive-based. There should be a Public Private Partnership (through NGOs if necessary) to increase worker awareness about rights and safety. Top brands must be made accountable for practices in their vendors, across the supply let us note that worker safety does not merely have an instrumental value but is ultimately a moral and ethical commitment too..(The writer is an economist; Syndicate: The Billion Press)
