Wages for MGNREGA Mates prioritised

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• Recently, there have been regular complaints from Mates (site supervisors) that their wages under the MGNREGA are delayed for which the Union Rural Development Ministry has devised a protocol which would prioritise payment to Mates.  

About 

• Who are Mates?
  • They are the frontline supervisors of the programmes.
  • They are listed as semi-skilled workers because of the specialist nature of their job.
• Payments under MGNREGA:
  • Wages of unskilled workers are to be paid within 15 days and if there is a delay in payment then the Centre has to compensate them.
• What is the main issue?
  • Wages of Mates come from the material component of which 60% is paid by the Union government.
  • This component is now being released erratically, caught up in bureaucratic delays and chronic fund crunch.
  • Due to this, Mates have started listing themselves as unskilled workers to get the wages on time.
  • The difference in wages as compared to the unskilled workers is usually minor and they can beat the delay in the payments for semi-skilled workers which can go up to a year.
• Steps to resolve this issue:
  • The ministry has streamlined the process by which the attendance and wages of the Mates are recorded.
  • The muster roll for Mates must be issued soon after generating muster roll for unskilled workers.
    • A muster roll register is a register that contains the names of all the employees or workers working in a particular unit. 
  • Reports on day-wise pendency in payment to Mates may be generated.
  • States will have to clear the payments for the Mates, before they can distribute the funds to the vendor.
  • Eventually, Mates wages should be completely delinked with the material component.

Source: TH