Srinagar, Jun 28 (KNO): As part of her two-day visit to Srinagar, Vice Chairperson, National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Anjna Panwar Friday chaired a special meeting convened by the J&K Bank (Convener UTLBC) to discuss the welfare of sanitation/cleaning personnel working in the banks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Held at the Bank’s corporate headquarter, the meeting was attended by MD (J&K Women’s Development Corporation) Ulfat Jabeen, Bank’s General Manager (Convener UTLBC) Syed Rais Maqbool, DGM Manju Gupta, DGM Rafi Ahmed Mir representatives of all the banks operating in J&K, senior government officers, Safai Karamcharis and other Bank officials.
Stressing upon the need to be more responsive to the concerns of Safai Karamcharis, Vice Chairperson (NCSK) Anjna Panwar said, “Organizations as principal employers need to be more sympathetic towards the well-being of Safai Karamcharis/Cleaning Workers besides taking responsibility to monitor their conditions to ensure that they are not exploited by the outsourcing agencies.”
On behalf of the participants, while congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the third term in office, she recollected that the Prime Minister had started his first term with Swachh Bharat Mission, which cannot be achieved without Safai Karamcharis.
"Our prime minister has felicitated Safai Karamcharis many times. His actions are a message to all the citizens that Safai Karamcharis must be recognised and respected for their noble work of keeping our environs clean", she said.
While advocating for engagement of sanitation/cleaning workers on recomendatory basis, she said the banks need to see whether their wages are sufficient to feed their families, educate their kith and kin besides meeting their medical requirements.
She further said, “Being sensitive to the basic needs of such section of our society is the first step that we all need to take to create a healthy and more inclusive society.”
General Manager Syed Rais Maqbool thanked the visiting dignitary for the visit saying that her visit had helped to sharpen the focus on sanitation/cleaning workers and has triggered a process that will go a long way in improving work conditions and their lives.
While asserting that J&K Bank was taking good care of all the Safai Karamcharis working with the Bank, he said, “Working closely with the outsourcing agency, we are ensuring that they get government prescribed working wages besides basic tools required to fulfil their duties in the Bank.”
On the occasion, he also pitched some ideas like getting all these sanitation/cleaning workers enrolled under different social security schemes, providing customized loan schemes to them besides few creative ways to extend some facilities to them, which he said, will go a long way to improve their working and life conditions.
Present on the occasion, many Safai Karamcharis expressed themselves by raising few practical issues faced by them in day today affairs which were duly taken note of and were promised to be resolved in consultation with the member banks in due course of time.
Notably, the visit of the Vice Chairperson of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis signifies the government’s concern and focus on ensuring the welfare and empowerment of Safai Karamcharis, and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts towards building a cleaner and more inclusive society—(KNO)