Labour Ministry has asked Aggregators to on-board themselves and their platform workers in the e-Shram portal, which is evolving into an one-stop solution to facilitate access of unorganised labour to various social security schemes.
A letter to this effect was sent by Labour Ministry to the aggregators on Monday. This will be followed up at a meeting with aggregators on Wednesday to be chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
“I will be meeting the aggregators on Wednesday and will sensitise and encourage them in this important initiative”, Mandaviya said here, while detailing the accomplishments of the Labour Ministry in the first hundred days of Modi 3.0 Government.
This registration in e-Shram portal is crucial to ensuring workers’ access to social welfare schemes, while aggregators will help develop an accurate registry of beneficiaries.
To help onboard gig and platform workers, a platform workers module has been developed (in these 100 days) on e-Shram portal to facilitate verification of platform workers registered on eShram through aggregators, Mandaviya said.
Testing of this module with selected aggregators has been successfully completed, he added. This will enable eShram to have precise data of Platform workers, activity-wise. It will also enable the Ministry to make schemes for Platform Workers.
By one estimate of NITI Aayog, India currently has over one crore people engaged in the occupation of gig worker or platform workers.
To guide the process of registration, the Labour Ministry has issued an advisory with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlining aggregator responsibilities, including registering workers and updating their data.
Upon registration, platform workers will receive a Universal Account Number (UAN), which will allow them access to key social security benefits.
Through the guidelines, the Aggregators have also been requested to regularly update workers’ details, including work engagement and payments. Any workers exit must be reported promptly to maintain accurate records.
To assist with the onboarding of workers and aggregators, a toll-free helpline (14434) has been set up to provide information, guide registration, and resolve any technical issues encountered during the process, Mandaviya said.
Meanwhile, Mandaviya said that data of ten schemes such as PMSVANidhi ( for street vendor), MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G), Ration Card, PMAY-U, PMJJBY( life insurance), PMSBY ( accident insurance), AB-PMJAY ( Ayushman Bharat), etc. have been mapped with e-Shram database in these 100 days alone.
In the past mapping was completed with Skill India Digital, NCS and PMSYM.
“In future, integration with other schemes like PM Matru Vandana Yojana, Shramik Suraksha Yojana of Postal Deptt, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National
Urban Livelihoods Mission etc will also be done”, Mandaviya said.
The portal will help in identifying registrants who have not yet received the benefits of various schemes so that such workers can be provided schemes’ benefit in a targeted manner based on their eligibility.
“Presently, integration of Phase-I is under progress and the One-Stop Solution is likely to be launched in one or two months”, Mandaviya added.