The Central government’s proposed move to repeal 15 existing laws on social security, including the Building and Other Construction Workers Act of 1996, and replace them with a single Labour Code on Social Security and Welfare has led to much concern among construction workers.
Kerala was the first State to set up a welfare board for construction workers in 1989, a sort of model for the Central Act in 1996. The system has wide reach in the State with 20 lakh construction workers as members and regular disbursal of various benefits. Across the country, around 3.5 crore workers are registered under State-level boards.
The funds for running the welfare board are raised from 1% building cess levied during construction of buildings. The benefits provided include pension, accident insurance of ₹4 lakh, medical aid, scholarship for children and around 15 other benefits. In Kerala, the board runs an old-age home for 'retired' construction workers in Thiruvananthapuram. During COVID-19, ₹1,000 was released to all 20 lakh registered members, in addition to a monthly pension of ₹1,300 to 3.5 lakh members.
“Once the board stops to have an independent existence and is merged with other welfare funds, the workers stand to lose as it is one of the better managed when compared to other funds. The Centre will also get complete control over the funds and steps such as investment of these funds in the stock market could happen. The welfare fund is one of the biggest sources of support for existing and retired workers. We should only strengthen it, not weaken it,” said V. Sasikumar, secretary, Construction Workers Federation of India.
On Monday, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) organised nationwide protests with five workers in each centre against the move. Elamaram Kareem, a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, said: “This is part of the BJP government's plans to repeal all existing labour laws and merge them into four separate codes. One of the codes has already been passed in Parliament without referring to the labour standing committee. The remaining three are in front of the standing committee. Due to the pandemic, the discussions have been held up. Now, under the Centre's pressure, the meeting has been fixed on July 17, but many of us will be unable to make it to Delhi. The Speaker has also denied permission for an online meeting.”
