Government to launch Pan-India Construction Worker Card

28 Jun 2023 CW Team

The government plans to reform the BOCW (building and other construction workers) scheme and develop a pan-India construction worker card in order to increase social security coverage, including pensions.

According to the report, the monies available under the BOCW plan may be utilized to pay for the social security of millions of unorganized workers, but the current system does not permit portability of workers' benefits.

According to the officials, a group inside the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been established to plan the reform of the program in order to increase coverage and give workers, particularly foreign workers, portability benefits.

The government is considering deleting the 90-day required threshold to get the benefits as part of the redesign. It also attempts to simplify registration, renewal, and other processes in order to bring all construction employees under its protection.

The Building and Construction employees Act of 1966 requires state governments to develop and implement systems for the safety, health, and welfare of construction employees through their state welfare bonds.

Currently, each state has distinct qualifying standards for receiving benefits under the BOCW scheme, making enrolment in construction almost impossible for migrants.

The BOCW fund is made up of a 1% cess collected by all states on the construction costs of all infrastructure projects undertaken by the government or the private sector.

Under the plan, states have around Rs 400 billion in wasted cash. The state governments have so far raised more than Rs 780 billion through the BOCW cess system, of which around Rs 380 billion has been spent.

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