NE NEWS SERVIE
AHMEDABAD, JUNE 9
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has announced, on Tuesday, additional and very special benefit for workers through “ESIC COVID-19 Relief Scheme” to address the fear and anxiety of workers about well-being of their family members due to increase in incidences of death due to COVID -19 pandemic, says a release issued by the Additional Commissioner & Regional Director, ESIC Regional Office, Gujarat.
Speaking with navjeevanexpress.com, Ratnesh Kumar Gautam, Additional Commissioner & Regional Director, ESIC Regional Office, Gujarat, said, “ESIC is committed to provide all possible help to its Insured Persons by providing them various medical and cash benefits. During COVID pandemic, ESIC has extended help to workers since the beginning of pandemic.
Earlier, Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) was introduced to give relief to Insured person who became unemployed due to COVID by giving 50% of average per day earning for a maximum 90 days. In Gujarat State, there are around 17 Lakhs Insured Persons who are being served by ESIC. ESIC Hospitals in Gujarat were declared as COVID dedicated hospitals to fight with this pandemic. Now, a major relief has been introduced in the form of “ESIC COVID-19 Relief Scheme” which will give guardian feel to the dependents of Insured Persons who died due to COVID. These benefits are provided to the workers without any additional cost to their employers,” Gautam added.
Enhanced social security is sought to be provided to the workers without any additional cost to the employer, it added.
Currently, for the insured persons (IPs) under the 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 long 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 in 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 insured persons who die as a result of employment injury, subject to two conditions, it explained.
First condition is that the IP must have been registered on the ESIC online portal at least three months prior to the diagnosis of COVID disease resulting in death.
Secondly, the IP must have been employed for wages and contributions for at least 70 days should have been paid or payable in respect of deceased IP during a period of one year immediately preceding the diagnosis of COVID disease resulting in death.
The IPs, who fulfil the eligibility conditions, and have died due to COVID disease, their dependants will be entitled to receive monthly payment at the rate of 90 per cent of average daily wages of the insured person during their life.
The scheme will be effective for a period of two years from March 24, 2020.
