Monday, 31 May 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Sunday announced additional benefits for workers through the ESIC and EPFO schemes to address their fear and anxiety about the well-being of their family members due to Covid-19-related deaths.
The Government has planned to provide enhanced social security to workers without any additional cost to the employers.
“Currently for the Insured Persons (IPs) under ESIC, after death or disablement of the IP due to employment injury a pension equivalent to 90 per cent of average daily wage drawn by the worker is available to the spouse and widowed mother for life and for children till they attain the age of 25 years. For the female child, the benefit is available till her marriage.
“To support the families of IPs under the ESIC scheme, it has been decided that, all dependent family members of IPs who have been registered on the online portal of the ESIC prior to their diagnosis of Covid disease and subsequent death due to the disease, will be entitled to receive the same benefits and in the same scale as received by the dependents of IPs who die as a result of employment injury,” said the Ministry in a statement.
As per the new order, the amount of maximum benefit has been increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh to the family members of deceased employees. There is restoration of the provision of minimum Rs 2.5 lakh compensation retrospectively from February 15, 2020, said the circular issued by the Labour Ministry.
