By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 26: The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) organised an awareness camp in Shillong, focusing on educating workers and employers about the extensive social security benefits provided under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme. The event was attended by 108 workers and employer representatives, who engaged in discussions about the benefits and the scheme’s implementation in Meghalaya.
Deputy Director of the ESIC Regional Office in Ahmedabad, Gautam Kumar, led the session, offering detailed insights into the range of benefits that ESIC provides. He also addressed various queries from workers and industry representatives. Dr ED Suchiang Challam, Administrative Medical Officer at ESIS, Government of Meghalaya, also addressed the gathering, underscoring the importance of the ESI Scheme in safeguarding the well-being of workers.
The camp was coordinated by Sebabrata Das, Manager-cum-Social Security Officer of the Shillong Branch Office.
During his visit, ESIC Deputy Director Gautam Kumar also met Challienkhum Songate, IRS, to discuss the status of pending issues related to the implementation of the ESIC Act in the state. Songate assured the necessary support from the state government to expedite the implementation process.
The ESIC, established under the Employees’ State Insurance Act of 1948, provides a wide range of social security benefits, including protection against sickness, maternity, disability, and employment-related injuries. The scheme also offers medical care to insured persons and their families and includes reservation provisions for the wards of Insured Persons (IPs) in ESIC-affiliated medical, nursing, and paramedical colleges.
The ESI Scheme is applicable to factories and establishments employing ten or more people, with employees earning up to Rs 21,000 per month entitled to coverage. Following the visit of the Director General of ESIC to the region last month, there has been a renewed focus on extending the scheme’s coverage to the remaining districts in the Northeast.
Similar awareness camps are planned across other states in the region in the coming months, aiming to bring the long-awaited social security benefits to low-paid workers who have been awaiting this support for nearly 76 years.