GOVT TO PAY 50% OF 3 MONTHS' WAGES TO UNEMPLOYED WORKERS; TO BENEFIT 40 LAKH WORKERS 

The Government has eased norms to offer 50 percent of salary for three months as unemployment allowance to lakhs of industrial workers especially who are members of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and lost their jobs amid pandemic. 

The allowance will be paid to those deserving people who lost their jobs between March 24 and December 31 2020 due to the pandemic. Also, this move will benefit 40 lakh nearly industrial workers.

As per a statement from the Government, the ESIC board has approved relaxation in eligibility criteria and enhancement in the payment of unemployment benefit under its Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana. It is implementing the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyna Yojna under which unemployment benefit is paid to the workers covered under ESI scheme.

Also, the ESIC has decided to extend the scheme for one more year up to June 30, 2021. The relief under the relaxed conditions will be payable during the period of March 24, 2020 to December 31, 2020. While, the scheme will be available with original eligibility condition during the period January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021, Times Now reported. 

"It has been decided to relax the existing conditions and the amount of relief for workers who have lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The review of these (relaxed) conditions will be done after December 31 this year depending upon the need and demand for such relaxed condition," the statement further read.  

For claiming the money, the ESIC menber can submit the unemployment claim directly to the ESIC branch office as the payment shall be made directly in the bank account of insured person. 

In that case, "the member should have insurable employment for a minimum period of 2 years before his/her employment and should have contributed for not less than 78 days in the contribution period immediately preceding to unemployment and minimum 78 days in one of the remaining 3 contribution periods in two years prior to unemployment," the statement also added.