Mumbai: The government will issue identity cards to nearly 40 crore workers in the unorganised sector to help them avail social security benefits, union labour minister Oscar Fernandes said.

The proposed umbrella welfare legislation will benefit workers in the unorganised sector who account for over 90 per cent of the country''s total workforce, he said.

"We have decided to issue identity cards to workers belonging to various sectors. These cards will be called `smart cards''. With this card, even if a worker moves from one place to another he can still make use of it," the minister said.

Besides providing for a number of welfare schemes for these workers, the legislation would also enable setting up of a national advisory board to design suitable schemes for different sections of these workers, he said.

Fernandes said the government has also decided to introduce a Rs550 crore scheme to develop skills of one million school dropouts and workers with no formal training over the next five years to improve their employability.

States and zilla parishads will be involved in the process of issuing these cards, he added.

The proposed legislation, which is in accordance with the promise made in the UPA government''s national common minimum programme for the unorganised sector, will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament.