The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on Friday announced the extension of unemployment benefits for industrial workers by another year
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on Friday announced the extension of unemployment benefits for industrial workers by another year, till June 30, 2022. The ESIC unemployment benefits, which are aimed at offering financial aid to workers who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, had expired on June 30 this year.
The decision to extend the unemployment in a board meeting and board member Amarjeet Kaur said that it will benefit ESIC subscribers who have lost jobs. He said, “But there is a strong belief that the number of workers getting retrenched during the covid-19 period is not being reported transparently and the ESIC need to step up here,” quoted Livemint.
ESIC subscribers who lost their jobs during the pandemic will get an unemployment allowance of 50 percent of their salary of three months, said Union labour and employment minister Bhupendra Yadav.
The insured person can directly submit a claim to an ESIC branch and they will not have to visit their previous organisation.
More than 50,000 workers have received unemployment benefits under the scheme since the outbreak of the pandemic in India.
The ESIC board has also expressed that they are willing to cover nearly six million gig and platform workers under the benefits, including OPD service to tertiary care health benefits.
ESIC subscribers and their families receive healthcare benefits from primary to tertiary care and unemployment benefits. The corporation receives nearly Rs 16,745 crore a year from the statutory deduction.
