Construction workers form the backbone of India's rapidly developing infrastructure. Despite their crucial role, they struggle with limited awareness of their rights, exacerbated by low literacy rates. Socially, their transient nature of work, frequent migration, and social exclusion exacerbate their vulnerabilities. Moreover, they have limited access to essential services like healthcare and education.
Financially, workers face daunting challenges, including meagre wages, irregular payments, and job insecurity. Inadequate compensation for injuries or fatalities adds to their financial woes. Operationally, the inadequate implementation of welfare schemes, insufficient data collection, and poor record-keeping hinder effective support. Furthermore, workers lack access to efficient training and skill development programs, perpetuating their precarious situation.
These interconnected challenges underscore the need for comprehensive solutions addressing the social, financial, and operational aspects of construction workers' lives.
PANDEMIC LEARNINGS
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the construction sector's vulnerabilities, revealing its lack of organization and the nation's shortcomings in worker welfare. The pandemic and the resultant economic slowdown have led to significant changes in India’s labour laws. The labor codes established by the government saw several modifications due to the impact of the pandemic.
Key government takeaways from the pandemic include, implementing social security for migrant workers, emergency networks, enhanced healthcare infrastructure, and stricter labour laws. Lessons for real estate industry includes, prioritize worker safety, invest in training, offer flexible work arrangements, ensure timely wages, and collaborate with government agencies and NGOs.
NEW LABOUR CODES
It was in 2002 the new labour codes 2020 were originally suggested and it took around 18 years for them to see the light of the day. The latest labour codes expected to roll out by next year, aim to strike a balance between easing labour market restrictions and enhancing workers’ rights and welfare. The 44 labour-related laws have been consolidated into four comprehensive codes with the aim to simplify compli- ance requirements, decriminalising minor offenses, focus on skill development and to enhance dispute resolution.
Minimum Wage: The new codes ensure all workers have a statutory right to minimum wages and timely payment. Additionally, a uniform definition of ‘wages’ across all four codes has been introduced to prevent multiple interpretations and reduce litigation.
Health-Checkup & Formal Contracts: The codes also include provisions for annual health check-ups and medical facilities, which are expected to improve labour productivity. For the first time, a statutory requirement for employers to issue appointment letters to all employees has been introduced, formalising contracts and improving job security.
Social Security For Gig Workers: Creation of a Re-skill- ing Fund will support skill development and social security schemes for gig and platform workers, with contributions from both aggregators and government sources. The government may also extend benefits to unorganised, gig, and platform workers through the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation or the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization.
Other Benefits: Workers on Fixed Term Employment will now receive the same benefits as permanent employees and be eligible for gratuity after one year of service. Furthermore, workers will be entitled to annual leave with wages after 180 days of work, rather than the previous 240-day requirement, and will have the option to encash leave at the end of the calendar year. The applicability of the Employees' Provident Fund has also been expanded to cover all industries.
WELFARE INITIATIVES
The Indian government has launched The Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW) Management Information System (MIS) portal for construction workers to register and access various benefits from government schemes. About 57 million workers have registered with BoCW welfare boards across India with a cumulative cess amounting Rs 1.15 trillion.
The portal includes Centralized Data Management which helps Compiling and analysing data from state BoCW welfare boards. It helps worker registration that enables construction workers to register for benefits. It also has the feature of fund utilization tracking which monitors fund usage and updates from states/UTs. It covers insurance, health benefits, housing schemes, and more for the workers.
Additionally, the govt has introduced the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) a pension scheme for unorganized workers, including construction labourers. It ensures financial security during old age by providing a guaranteed monthly pension with an assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 after the age of 60.
IMPLEMENTATION & ENFORCEMENT
No doubt, the Central and state governments have introduced several policies aimed at improving the welfare of construction workers, but even today majority of the construction workers are deprived of the basic facilities. There are laws in place to help safeguard the construction workers, how much they are implemented effectively remains a challenge. For instance, despite regulations concerning construction and occupational safety, protective gear are still scarce at Indian con- struction sites. Not many of the labourers are even are aware of the schemes available for them, many others have no access or knowledge to register themselves online for the availing the benefits of those schemes.
India’s construction industry is predicted to employ close to 100 million workers by 2030. It’s imperative to prioritize the well-being of its backbone – the construction workers. Effective implementation of policies is crucial as neglecting workers' welfare may jeopardize the sector's very foundation.
