By Abin Joseph and the Chalo team

Our previous issue on BOCW (Building and other Construction Workers Act, 1996) discussed the importance of the Act while highlighting its implementation challenges across Indian cities. 

In this edition, we bring you insights from Delhi, from the point of view of Rekha, a social worker who helps labourers from Hastsal, Vikaspuri and Budella, rural areas of Delhi, get their BOCW cards issued. She talks to us about the pain points she tries to bridge and discusses the reasons for the relative success of BOCW in Delhi. 

[ Refer to our previous issues on BOCW to understand its importance and the need to actively include migrant workers involved in the construction sector within its ambit ] 

The general process for a labour card requires the applicant to submit their Aadhaar card, proof of age, residence proof, bank account details and employer proof of work certificate for 90 days.

Seems simple, right? However, this is a challenging task for labourers as they usually lack the technical know-how to gather or update the required documents. This is where social workers like Rekha step in to help them:

“Pehle mai unse puchti hun ki jo Aadhaar card ya labour card unhe banwana hai uski sare documents unke pass hai ya nahi ….. Labour card banwane ke liye Aadhaar card /Pan Card, Passport size Photo aur Bank account ki jaroorat hoti hai par kayi baar ye documents updated nahi rehte hain.”

“I always make sure that they have the required documents for the application of Aadhaar or labour card…. If they want to get their labour card made, they need to produce an Aadhaar card/ Pan card, passport-size photo and bank account details, but there are times when some of these important documents are not updated.”

That is the first challenge - documentation.

The second challenge is the loss of daily wages and navigating through the middlemen puzzle. The process of applying for a Labour Card offline often requires 2-3 days of running around at the labour department office (mostly due to improper/incomplete submission of documents). This results in workers often missing out on their daily wages for those days. This still does not guarantee their card. Add to that transportation costs and being overcharged for certain services by agents and officials.

While the official cost for availing an online BOCW Card is Rs.25, some labourers in Delhi end up spending as much as Rs.600 while trying to get their labour cards verified offline. This is due to the high number of middlemen from brokers to union agents involved in the process. Overall, the slow application process has a huge impact on the livelihood of workers, the cost of which is disproportionately borne by them.

Rekha adds:

“Ye log poora din line me nahin khade reh sakte kyunki labour card ke chakkar mein poore din ki dhyadi chali jaati hai”

“These people can't stand in line for an entire day, because they end up losing their daily wages just to get a labour card”

The application for BOCW cards can also be filled online. However, labourers are generally not literate or digitally aware to follow the online process which leads them to frequent Common Service Centres (CSCs) or ask for help from social workers like Rekha.

Rekha travels to Government offices and CSCs with the workers. She ensures that the worker's BOCW application gets pushed through. Thereby, playing a vital role in saving workers from harassment and further exploitation at the hands of exploitative middlemen.

Rekha told us that workers in Delhi are highly aware of the benefits of the labour card. She does not have to put in a lot of effort to convince people to register for the same. They often know of the benefits through their networks and fellow workers, who have previously accessed the benefits of the scheme.

Public awareness is the key to the success of any scheme or policy launched by the government and welfare schemes under BOCW are not an exception to this. According to a CAG report as of March 2018, only 1.49 lakh workers were registered with the BOCW Welfare Board in Delhi. 

However, in 2022, this number increased to a whopping 11.1 lakhs in the national capital region. As the majority of registrations were done between 2019-2021, most of these can be attributed to the Majdur Sahayta scheme which was launched by the Delhi government in 2022 to help out labourers facing financial difficulties during the lockdown. The scheme also provided Rs. 5,000 to every construction worker in Delhi to help them get through successive Covid lockdowns.

In fact, the Delhi Government has launched welfare schemes that offer school admissions as part of BOCW.

Rekha also agrees with the fact that awareness among workers has increased due to educational welfare schemes. She says:

“Haan unko (workers) sabko pata hai kyunki school mai labour card mangte hain dakhile ke samay. Sarkari schools mai tokens chahiye hote hain dakhile ke liye, labour card jama karwaya jata hai fir shramikon ke naam mai paise aate hain sarkar se, phir dakhila hota hai un paison se. Covid ke samay aise kayi schemes se unhein (workers) madad mili thi isiliye unhonein ispe zyada dhyan dena shuru kiya. Unhein sab pata hai labour cards ke baare mein.”

“Yes, they all know what a labour card is as it's mandatory to submit these cards while admitting their wards into a school. Government schools have a token system for admission. Labour cards are usually collected and then admission is done based on the money that is provided to the school (for educational purposes) by the government, hence most of them know about it. Schemes like this helped numerous labourers throughout Covid so they started focussing more on getting their labour cards made.”

Rekha further adds that the educational financial scheme promoted by the Delhi Government for holders of BOCW cards also provides children of labourers with financial assistance for education, ranging from Rs 6000-Rs 1,20,000 per annum, depending on the level of their education.

Apart from Covid-related special schemes, holders of BOCW cards in Delhi can also avail of various other welfare schemes run by the state government that provide them:

1. Financial assistance of 35,000-51,000 Rs for marriage.

2. Financial assistance of 10,000 Rs in case of hospitalization for more than 5 days.

3. Pension benefit of Rs. 3,000/ per month after completion of 60 years.An increase of 300 Rs. for every completed year of membership beyond five years.

4. Disability pension of Rs. 3000/- per month. (Rule - 275) to permanently disabled members due to paralysis, leprosy, T.B and accidents etc.

5. Ex-gratia payment of Rs. 1,00,000/- in case of permanent disability. (Rule - 275)

While workers Rekha do their bit in bridging the gap in implementation, her story highlights the need for government assistance at different steps of the process to ensure the success of any welfare scheme.