J&K govt to send skilled labourers abroad: Minister

The Jammu and Kashmir government has said it will send 500 skilled labourers abroad through its Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), as part of its efforts to explore employment avenues both within and outside the country.

"Nearly 500 skilled labourers will be sent abroad through the OEC in near future," minister for labour and employment Abdul Gani Malik said at a joint meeting of leaders of the labour union and officers of the Labour and Fund Organisation in Srinagar last evening.

The OEC was created as part of the Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Police for Youth (SKEWPY) announced by the state government last year in December.

Malik said the government is fully aware of the general demands and problems being faced by the labour community in the state and is taking effective steps to mitigate them.

Registration work of labourers is going on in the state, he said.

"After registration, all the labourers who were deprived in every sphere of life would be provided their due rights for future," the minister said.

The labour commissioner has been directed to organise district level awareness camps, launch welfare schemes, and fix priorities to ensure timely financial support at the door step of labourers, he said.