The Citu unit in West Burdwan’s Durgapur began a weeklong camp from Sunday to help out workers in the unorganised sector for online registration to the Centre’s e-Shram portal.

The portal was launched by the Union government in August 2021 to create a centralised database of workers of the unorganised sector across the country.

The workers, between 16 years and 59 years of age, who enroll in e-Shram, will get a monthly pension after the age of 60, medical insurance, accidental death benefit and other benefits from the Centre.

Citu workers said over 300 workers registered their names on Sunday.

The camp at the Citu affiliated transport workers’ union office near Durgapur railway station will continue between 10.30am and 3pm every day till coming Sunday.

Citu West Burdwan general secretary Bansagopal Chowdhury said they will go door to door after completing the weeklong camp.

“Those can’t come to enrol their names for e-Shram during this time will be reached on their doorstep. More camps will also be held across the district,” he said.

Citu leaders in Durgapur said that they will assist the workers irrespective of their affiliation to any trade unions of their choice.

“It is not that we want to help out only those workers who are Citu members. Although the Citu unit has organised the camp, there is no political bar (to taking the Citu’s help),” said Pankaj Roy Sarkar, a Citu state committee member from Durgapur.

He said the initiative went beyond politics.

“We are politically against both the central and state governments but we are responsible and sensible. We felt that we should support any scheme taken up by either the Centre or state governments for the welfare of the working class or the common people,” added Roy Sarkar.

He said it was unfortunate that no other trade unions or the administration in this industrial town had taken up such an organised initiative to help workers of the unorganised sector yet.

“Hence, we are offering help to all,” he said.

Earlier this year, the CPM workers had also held camps to assist women in filling up forms of Lakshmir Bhandar, a brainchild of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Before the Bengal polls, though, the CPM had called Trinamul’s promise of the scheme a “poll gimmick”.

A CPM leader in Durgapur said the results of the Assembly election revealed that people had accepted the promises of the beneficial schemes made by the chief minister.

“If we now continue to oppose (the welfare schemes), we will become more ‘irrelevant’,” he said.

“The CPM doesn’t deserve any reaction from us as the people have rejected them.. Our chief minister is doing her best for the working classes of the state,” said Uttam Mukherjee, Trinamul leader in Durgapur.