While 1,800 persons were covered in the first phase, it has been planned to impart training to another 800 during the second phase, at the rate of 400 from in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts each, Deputy Director, ILO, Sub Region Office, New Delhi, Andre Bogui, said on Thursday.

The project, being implemented in co-ordination with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), has the twin aim of promoting opportunities for a decent vocation and ensuring freedom, security and human dignity for the Tsunami-affected persons, he said, inaugurating the three-day trainers’ training programme on ‘Mobilisation strategies and advocacy programmes’ of the ILO-ITUC-ICTU project.

Pointing out that the tsunami-hit people and unorganised labourers in the coastal region were not quite aware of their rights, it has been planned to sensitise coastal residents to the significance of labour rights and their entitlement to statutory social security.

In this context, campaigns would be launched to promote trade union movement in co-ordination with the Indian National Rural Labour Federation (INRLF), HMS, INTUC in these coastal belts.

Project Officer, ILO, Karthikeyan, said that the tsunami had deprived the coastal villages of major infrastructure. The timely intervention of the ILO-ITUC-ICTU revived the livelihood of the affected families. The residents of 34 villages would undergo the training at 10 centres. While the beneficiaries of 16 villages of Cuddalore district would be trained at four centres, those from 18 villages in Nagapattinam district, would undergo training develop vocational skill at six centres.