Indian Construction Labourers Require Greater Protection and Social Benefits, According to Examination
In the heart of India's bustling construction sites, the children of construction workers often spend their days alongside their parents, a stark reminder of the need for essential facilities around these sites. M3M India, through its initiative iMpower, is striving to improve the lives of these workers and their families, aiming to provide safe, hygienic early learning spaces, nutritional support, and pre-school education.
The Indian real estate sector, contributing nearly 7% to the national GDP and generating millions of jobs, is a significant contributor to the economy. However, most construction labourers are interstate migrants, making them vulnerable to exploitation, wage theft, and exclusion from local welfare schemes.
Recognising this, the Narendra Modi government launched the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) social security scheme, aiming to ensure old age protection for unorganized workers, with a minimum assured pension of Rs 3000 monthly after the age of 60. The scheme also provides for the spouse to receive 50% of the pension in case of the beneficiary's death.
However, the implementation of the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Cess Act, which mandates the collection of a 1% cess on construction projects to fund welfare schemes for labourers, faces significant challenges. The Act, passed in 1996, requires State Governments to constitute welfare boards and register construction workers who have worked at least 90 days a year.
Despite these measures, the actual registration of workers has remained low in many states, leading to poor fund utilization for labourer welfare. Inefficiencies, administrative delays, and lack of transparency are common concerns. Some states face difficulties in cess recovery and fund management, while others, like Andhra Pradesh, have achieved income tax exemptions to bolster their finances.
The non-utilization or under-utilization of funds is widespread, indicating either bureaucratic inertia or poor governance at the state level. Furthermore, evolving policy changes and new levies add complexity to how cess funds are imposed and managed without clear guidelines on fund allocation.
Recent developments, such as reforms in Jammu & Kashmir and the national labor law landscape evolving with labor codes aimed at streamlining multiple laws to empower workers and simplify benefit access, offer hope for improved implementation in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in support for construction workers, with many stranded without income or assistance. Beyond providing basic needs, health camps, maternal counselling, and sanitary pad distribution should be implemented to support the health needs of women and families.
Pankaj Bansal, Director of M3M India, emphasizes the need for companies to work on strengthening the human foundations of development, focusing on migrant workers and their families. He believes that providing fresh meals to prevent hunger among construction workers is a step towards ensuring dignity.
As the construction sector continues to grow, it is crucial that realtors prove they are not just raising towers but raising futures by adopting worker-friendly policies. More and more realtors should come forward and adopt such policies to ensure a dignified living conditions and social protection for construction workers.
- The Indian real-estate sector, a significant contributor to the economy with nearly 7% GDP contribution, can also positively impact the lives of construction workers by adopting worker-friendly policies, ensuring they are not just building towers, but also raising futures.
- To provide a comprehensive approach towards the welfare of construction workers, investing in essential facilities such as health camps, maternal counselling, and sanitary pad distribution, in addition to ensuring safe, hygienic early learning spaces and pre-school education, is crucial alongside financial support schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM).
