Women construction labourers complete their training in masonry

Pune, June 13, 2019: ‘‘We used to lift and transport construction material, but now we can do plastering and all other things in masonry. Not only that, but we got to know about the safety measures to take while working on site. It’s the matter of so much happiness for us…’’ Newly trained in masonry, Rajeshri Bai and Chand Bai were speaking confidently on the stage.

In a 30-day training camp organized by CREDAI Pune Metro’s Women’s Wing and KUSHAL- CREDAI, the second batch of 26 women construction workers have completed skill training in masonry work. All these women were felicitated on Monday at the hands of Mayor Mukta Tilak with a certificated along with the tool kit. Some of these workers very confidently expressed their happiness by making a little speech on dais.

The training was given on the construction site of SJ Contracts Pvt. Ltd, situated in Amanora campus, Hadapsar. These 26 women have joined the first 100 women construction workers in India to have received recognized training.

Suhas Merchant, President, CREDAI Pune-Metro, J.P.Shroff, Chairman, KUSHAL- CREDAI, Archana Badera, Convener, CREDAI Maharashtra Women’s wing, Anirudhha Deshpande, Managing Director of City Corporation Ltd, Sameer Belvalkar, Milind Talathi and Parag Patil, Members of Labour Welfare Committee, Suhas and Bhargav Jangale of SJ Contracts, Dr. D. K. Abhyankar, Director General, CREDAI Pune Metro, Sapna Rathi, Anand Kumar Singh were present among the dignitaries.

Mukta Tilak expressed that this initiative is one of the best example of women’s empowerment as it  boosts women’s confidence and also helps increasing their daily income. She informed the workers about different schemes of the government like the pension plan for labourers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana and Ayushman Bharat.

Tilak said that construction workers are very important for this sector just as the engineers and architects. She said, ‘‘Women are no way lesser than men and now they will do the masonry work too along with men. This sure is the matter of pride. Now all these women should learn to read and write too and nobody should use the thumb impression as their signature.’’

Archana Badera told that there is a huge demand for skilled workers in construction industry and CREDAI Women’s Wing is making conscious efforts to empower women workers.

Suhas Merchant said that the workers should be curious about the work and eager to acquire new skills. It will help them to reach new heights.

J. P. Shroff said, “Some 25 years ago, male construction workers were not happy about women getting training in masonry and earning at par them. But a mindset change can be seen in last 2 to 3 years. I’m sure that under this initiative, more and more women will excel in masonry. ’’

Sameer Belvalkar expressed that in the past, the KUSHAL-CREDAI trained male workers have become building contractors and trainers and now women masons can also aim for that.