The insured workers, who lose employment after having contributed to the ESI scheme for five or more years, shall be entitled to an 'Unemployment Allowance' in cash, which would be equivalent to about 50 per cent of their wages, for a maximum period of six months, Labour Minister K Chandra Sekhar Rao informed the Lok Sabha.
This scheme--Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana-- will come into force from April 1 this year.
Insured persons covered by ESIC and losing employment after April 1, 2005 on account of closure of factories or establishments, retrenchment or permanent invalidity shall be covered under this scheme, he said.