BANGALORE: Labour Minister B N Bache Gowda announced that New Pension Scheme (NPS) will now cover caterers and cooks. Speaking at a state-level meet organised by a union of caterers and cooks on Monday, he said they will be included in the hotel industry. “There are 3 crore workers in the unorganised sector in the state. No initiative has bee taken to help them even after 63 years of freedom. I want to declare that NPS will now cover caterers and cooks, “Bache Gowda said. Under the New Pension Scheme, Rs. 100 will be contributed everyday by the State Government, Union Government and the employees/workers. He further announced that a minimum daily wage of Rs. 150 for caterers and cooks will be made compulsory. Often categorised under the unorganised sector, personnel involved in catering and cooking went largely unrepresented due to the lack of an association or union. Now, however, the Karnataka State Cooks and Workers Welfare Union has lent them a voice and a number of demands were presented to Bache Gowda and Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda by the union’s president B S Satyanarayana.The chief minister, who arrived late for the programme, said that the State Government will do everything possible to secure the future of caterers and cooks. “I have received a list of ten demands from the union. I will sit with Bache Gowda and do whatever is possible. The focus will be on providing social security to the unorganised sector,” the chief minister said. Chikmagalur MLA C T Ravi, hotelier Vasudev Adiga and writer K S Nagaraj were present on the occasion. The demands of the union included financial support for their children’s education, a compensation of`Rs. 1 lakh to family members in case of accidental or natural death, licensing of roadside hotels etc.
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