Mohali MSMEs urge Labour Minister to make ESIC scheme optional

Mohali, June 24 (KNN) In a letter to the Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Mohali Industries Association (MIA) has requested to make Employee State Insurance (ESI) scheme optional and introduce some more attractive and beneficial schemes for industrial workers at the earliest possible.

The industrialists complained that the industrial workers of Mohali are not getting proper medical facilities from ESI hospital phase-7, Mohali and dispensaries in and around Mohali. The industrial workers covered under ESI scheme have to wait for years to to receive payment of their medical reimbursement bills.

Jasbeer Singh, Chairman-Labour Laws & ESI Committee, said that there is shortage of doctors and supporting staff with no ambulance facility, no proper food arrangement for indoor patients, no proper arrangements for receiving reimbursement bills from the workers and shortage of medicines.

“More than 2000 medical reimbursement bills of insured persons are pending in ESI dispensary Mohali and Kharar since last one year,” he said in a letter.

Singh further explained that in the ESIC Scheme, the Government of India has made provisions for cashless medical facilities for workers and their families, so directions may kindly be issued to refer the workers for cashless treatment in empanelled hospitals instead of referring the patients to government hospitals, where they have to pay charges from their own pocket, which is very difficult for the poor workers.  

As per the figures provided by MIA, approximately Rs 10 crore per month is being contributed as ESI contribution from Mohali but there is no dispensary in Kurali, Morinda, Sailba Majri, Banmajra and phase-9/sector-82 Mohali. The ESI contribution is deducted @ 6.5% of the wages of the workers even then they are deprived of primary medical benefits.

“It is requested that ESIC Chandigarh may be directed to provide cashless medical facilities to Insured Persons,” he demanded. (KNN/ AR)