State construction workers left in lurch

The unorganised sector contributes more to the GDP but unfortunately, the workers engaged in this sector are getting less State benefits though our Constitution speaks of equality in status and opportunities. The workers’ rights are recognised in our policy and laws but the authorities in charge of its application are delaying the process of its implementation. Unorganised sector workers constitute about 95 per cent of the workforce but their social security is neglected in the country for a long time even after the enactment of the Unorganised Sector Social Security Act 2008. It is observed that the implementation of the provisions of the Act has been neglected, consequently depriving the workers of their rights and affecting employment and economic growth.

There are welfare schemes of the State and the Central Governments for unorganised sector workers but they are not implemented. The building and construction workers of Odisha have been facing such negligence because of carelessness and delay in spending of the cess amount collected for the purpose under the provision of the Building an Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act 1996. Though more than Rs 1,400 crore has been collected at 1 per cent on the cost of construction projects from builders, the benefits reached only to half of the workers. The scheme has created enthusiasm among labour rights activists for registration of all eligible workers in rural and urban areas but the slow progress in registration process and delay in release of benefits have been affected the interest of the workers who are also otherwise economically poor and struggle to meet the family needs.

The Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board and Labour officials at district level are ineffective without target to meet the purpose of benefit sharing with genuine workers. The district Labour officials are very often sharing about shortage of staff and work load from various fronts. It is also reported that there have been political motive, influence and interference by the ruling party workers and vested interest labour leaders in identifying beneficiaries which resulted in issue of cards to fake workers.

It is most important to identify genuine beneficiaries and maintain transparency in the identification process. Along with trade unions, the Panchayati Raj institutions and other concerned must be involved to bring more transparency to the process of worker identification so that the benefits can reach to the deserving workers for whom the cess is being collected. With growing building and construction work there have been demands for such workers in various skills and capacities. It is found that building and construction workers in urban and semi urban areas, mining and industrial towns and slums have been facing acute crisis in access to basic amenities such as drinking water, housing and toilet and other related facilities. They live in sub human condition without dignity and decent living condition. The women workers and children are in most unsafe condition in the slums and also in the work places.

There have been reports of sexual harassment at work place and the women workers have no safety and security as they are prone to all kinds of exploitation. There has been no child care centre for women workers who face lots of difficulties in managing family and work. The construction workers are mostly prone to accident and there have been reports of death due to collapse of construction sites, building and bridges due to lack of safety and security measures. There are hundreds of workers who face physical suffering and almost become invalid for rest of the life and their family pushed into vulnerability. In a number of cases, the accident benefits are left into the mercy of the contractors and Labour officials because our protection mechanism does not work its own without a formal legal intervention. A majority of construction workers are migrant workers who are facing many difficulties in availing identity cards because of their temporary stay in place of work.

Along with social security and accident benefits, the other major area of concern is the skill development of the construction workers. There is huge spending in the name of skill development but experience shows skill development is not effective. It is being observed that the number of skill workers in building and construction sector in not increasing and it is mostly skilled workers from outside the State who are being recruited with higher wage for skilled jobs. The State has not developed adequate skill development institutions at block level to trained people and also to upgrade the skill of existing workers.

The schemes for benefit of women and children of construction workers such as scholarship and maternity, Mamata Yojana, Madhubabu Pension Yojana, etc., are not timely reaching to the deserving beneficiaries.

The children of migrant workers are still deprived of primary education and care while their parents are migrating in search of work. The seasonal hostel for migrant worker children is not the solution. The charity and temporary disaster management approach of the State Government must change to more sustainable pragmatic approach via-a-vis the issues of migrant workers. The construction workers in rural areas must be provided land and housing so that migration of the whole family can be prevented. Similarly, the pension for construction workers above 60 years is not supportive to the pensioners. The pension amount must meet the basic need of a person and his dependents. The most vulnerable section is the sanitary workers of the cities.

In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court has ordered the Government to treat the construction workers as formal workers and to frame schemes of social security benefits at par with formal sector workers so that they can have a dignified life. The judgment came in the context of huge unspent cess funds collected by State Governments. With exception of Kerala, many States, including Odisha, have failed to meet the target of above 90 per cent spending of construction workers cess fund.

Odisha being a backward State has huge migrant workers. It is estimated that every year about three lakh labourers migrate to other States and a major section of the migrant workers is engaged in building and construction works in the towns and metropolis. It is the duty of the Government, especially the Construction Workers Welfare Board, to implement various provisions of the law for their protection.