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Ahmedabad workshop seeks pension scheme, climate change insurance for construction workers

Counterview Desk 
Bandkam Shramik Sankalan Samiti comprising of three organizations -- Bandkam Mazdoor Sangathan, Majur Adhikar Manch and Bandhkam Mazdoor Vikas Sangh -- held a one day workshop titled, "Enhancing workers well-being: Impactful schemes and welfare board initiatives" in Ahmedabad on 21st November 2024. 
A total of 52 participants attended the workshop, including government labour officers, project managers of the Gujarat Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, contractors, construction workers, trade union members and civil society organization leaders.  
The workshop aimed at initiating a dialogue for the introduction of new welfare schemes for construction workers and further corrections in the existing welfare schemes. Recommendations based on the one-day workshop:
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1. Pension scheme: Immediately start a pension plan for construction workers who have been registered in the welfare board since last three years. As per the BOCW Act, section 22 subsection B, “The Board may make payment of pension to the beneficiaries who have completed the age of sixty years”. It means that the board needs to give priority of pension. Until now, thousands of construction workers who have reached 60 years of age have not received pension and have been deprived of pension. For example, As of 1st April 2021, 31st July 2024, 5136 construction workers retired (this data is received as a response to RTI query). We hereby recommend that pension should be given priority and workers should receive a pension Rs. 3000 per month. 
2. Climate change insurance: Due to climate change, workers are losing wages because of excessive heat and rainfall. Start a welfare scheme aimed at providing climate change insurance for workers. This insurance should ensure that it covers loss of wages in cases of excessive heat and rainfall in the state. 
3. Housing assistance in rural areas: Start a housing assistance scheme to rural construction workers. Currently Nanji Deshmukh Awas Yojana covers only urban areas.  Since the time of inception of Nanaji Deshmukh Yojan in 2014, only 224 construction workers have benefited and the housing has been provided in urban areas only. Until now, only 3.584 crores have been spent on housing scheme. Most of the construction workers come from rural areas and hence housing assistance in the rural areas should be provided. 
4. Educational assistance: Increase the amount in educational scholarship for children who are studying in Std. 1 to 10. The educational scholarship should aptly cover the cost of uniform, books and school fees. Construction workers have felt that the current amount is insufficient. Hence the amount in educational scholarships should be increased. 
5. Additional benefits: As advised by the Model welfare scheme under the heading Education, page no. 13, it states that, “The above benefits will be in addition to any other benefit received from any Government scheme in this regard”. The construction workers should allow workers to take welfare benefits from both the departments i.e. Department of Social Justice/Tribal welfare and the Board itself. The current rules of 
the board limit the workers to take welfare entitlement for some welfare schemes from one government department only. Thus, board should follow the guidelines of model welfare scheme and should give educational scholarship irrespective of whether they are receiving the benefit from any other government department.  
6. Maternity benefit: Remove the requirement of adding husband’s name in E-nirman card and Adhar Card. This is not required as women construction workers can continue with the old family name/father name in E-nirman card and Aadhar card. Many women construction workers have faced difficulties in accessing welfare schemes like maternity benefits because of the rigid requirements. Please kindly make the process smoother eliminating such requirements. The maternity benefit should be given not only for the first two child but any two children of the family.  
7. Accountability of Dhanwantri Aarogya Rath: It has been observed that labour councillors in Dhanwantri Aarogya Rath are not stepping down from the rath in the labour chowks/construction sites and not sensitizing workers about welfare schemes which they are entitled to apply. As a result, workers are still not aware about the different welfare schemes. Labour Councillors needs to step down of the van and generate awareness about the different welfare schemes which are being run by the welfare board. The Dhanwantri Aarogya rath should an LED screen which flashes the existing welfare schemes and the ways to apply for those schemes. 
The labour nakkas/chowk should have a board informing that the Dhanwantri Aarogya Rath will be coming to this chowk during this day of the week and this time. This will be helpful for construction workers to plan their registration process and avail different health facilities. 
8. Reduction of documentation process: Across different welfare schemes, construction workers have felt that the documents required for claiming welfare benefits should be reduced. Currently, intensive documentation requirement is stopping workers from claiming welfare benefits. Hence the process of claiming welfare in all the schemes should be made smoother. There should be single clearance window for giving welfare benefits. 
9. Creche facilities: Currently very few sites are providing creche facilities for children of construction sites across Ahmedabad and other major cities of Gujarat. The board needs to immediately start services which provide creche facilities of children of construction workers where multiple construction sites are functioning in an area. A day care centre for children of construction workers should be run near such construction sites. The board can facilitate a bus/van whereby to pick up and drop these children. Such a model day care centre can be started in Ahmedabad city. 
10. Removing errors in registration & stopping fake registration : During registration process, construction workers often register with their old mobile numbers and forget about it. When they apply to register again, the portal shows that they have been already registered with an old phone number and on many occasions the OTP goes in old mobile number. Kindly create a mechanism where the portal allows to remove such errors and even if the construction workers has registered with an old mobile number, they can still proceed in the portal and apply for welfare schemes. Kindly stop the registration process of fake construction workers. Kindly create a robust mechanism for ensuring that all the workers who get E-nirman are real construction workers. In order to stop fake registration, real workers should not be left behind. This should be taken care of very seriously. The community service centres are aggressively applying for E-nirman card. The board needs to keep a mechanism to cross-check that community service centres are registering authentic workers. Under the Contract Labour Act , 1970  there should be a condition that the contractor’s license will get renewed only when the contractor has registered all the workers working in  a particular site under the BOCW board and all the workers should have E- Nirman card. The contractor should also submit a list of such workers who were registered under the BOCW board in that respective year. 
11. Accidental death Benefit: If a worker dies in road accident while going to work or coming back to work, then the worker should benefit from accidental death benefit scheme.  If a worker is injured or becomes permanent/partial disabled due to the workplace accident and if such a worker does not have E-nirman card, then still he/she should be eligible for accidental assistance scheme/Occupational diseases schemes. Injured workers who do not have E-nirman card should also benefit from accidental assistance/occupational diseases scheme.  
12. Review of Sampoorna Tabibi Sahay Yojana: If a registered worker wants to do a full body check, then the Board can reimburse that amount based on the worker’s application. The current design of Sampoorna Tabibi Sahay Yojana is not fruitful for improving workers health as it is only generating data on workers’ health and not mitigating the disease, if suffered. The different tests being done in Sampoorna Tabibi Sahay needs to be re-examined and duplication of tests must be avoided. Overall, the scheme needs complete restructuring which increases accountability and not only detects the diseases but mitigates them. 
13. Timeline of Application: There should be a strict limit in completing the application of a welfare schemes and should be declared. This will ensure there is no backlog of schemes and workers get their money/entitlements in due time. It has been observed that for example on many occasions the money is received very late in maternity benefit scheme.  The Board should create citizens charter which mentions stipulated time under which any welfare scheme should be completed. 
14. Residential hostel for children of migrant construction workers: If the children of migrant construction workers are studying in a private hostel, then the board should reimburse the entire amount of child’s education and living expense to the worker. Workers can present the receipt of the hostel bill/expenses to board and they can reimburse it. 
15. Grievance redressal: Kindly create a district level grievance redressal mechanism. There should be a grievance redressal mechanism which ensures any queries/error related to registration /welfare schemes can be solved in timely basis.  
16. Training: The Board can provide training services/sensitization to trade unions and civil society organizations regarding the changes in the requirement in different welfare schemes. This would be helpful to bridge the gap the board and construction workers. 
17. Loan for equipments: Provide loan to workers which can facilitate them to buy important equipment which are necessary in their profession. 
18. CESS: Kindly create a robust mechanism for cross-checking that the real amount of CESS is being collected ever year by the Board. 
19. Disclosure of Information: The Board should disclose and update important data related to welfare schemes and expenditure on the public domain i.e. Board’s website.  

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