Treat labour in construction work as formal sector, says Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: In a bid to ensure relief to more than four crore construction workers, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to treat them as formal sector employees by bringing them within the ambit of social welfare laws and provide benefits like paid maternity leave, provident fund and minimum wage.

The court directed the Centre to frame a scheme to ensure workers receive proper education, health, social security, old age, disability pension and other benefits necessary to live a dignified life.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta expressed concern over the Centre and states not addressing the plight of construction workers despite Parliament framing Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act in 1996 for levy and collection of 1 percent cess on cost of construction.

Around Rs 37,400 crore have been collected from cess over the years but only about Rs 9,500 crore have been utilised and Rs 28,000 crore remain unutilised. The court noted workers were not being registered under the Act, with only 1.5 crore out of four crore covered.

“It is quite clear to us that insofar as the rights of construction workers are concerned, that vulnerable section of the society has been badly let down by the governance structure,” the bench said. “Unless there is effective and full compliance of the provisions ... thousands of beneficiaries will be denied what is constitutionally and statutorily due to them.”