New Delhi, Apr 30 : Minister of State for Labour Oscar Fernandes today greeted workers ahead of International Labour Day.

In his message, Fernandes said that the Central Government has taken several important measures for improving the working conditions and welfare of the working class.

He said that the health insurance scheme for the poor, the Rasthtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) has recently become operational and the unorganized sector workers' social security bill has been introduced in the Parliament for providing social security measures to unorganized sector workers.

"In pursuance of the Government's commitment to eliminate child labour in hazardous areas, the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme has been extended to cover 250 districts. About 3.94 lakh children from special schools of NCLPs have been mainstreamed into the formal education system", he added.

He said that the focus is on creating public awareness and effecting the economic rehabilitation of the families of child labour by covering them under benefits of the schemes of various Ministries or Departments. Vocational training with a view to creating a world-class skilled labour force is being given maximum importance.

"Under Skill Development Initiatives (SDI) Scheme, short-term training courses based on Modular Employable Skills (MES) framework for skill development for the school drop-outs and existing workers especially in the informal sector have been developed," he added.

Fernandes further added that a number of amendments have been carried out in the central labour laws and the eligibility limit for the payment of bonus has been enhanced to benefit large number of workers. He expressed the resolve of his Government to continuously pursue the efforts to promote the welfare of workers. (ANI)