Delhi to set up camps, help construction workers register for welfare funds

Delhi government would set up camps in all 70 assembly segments in the national capital to help construction workers.

Delhi’s labour minister Gopal Rai on Sunday said that the government would set up camps in all 70 assembly segments in the national capital to help construction workers get registered for a state-run welfare fund. The facility would be available for 20 days, starting on Monday, he said.

Construction underway on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway project. (Sakib Ali /Hindustan Times)

“The process of registration was initiated at a time, when the lockdown restrictions were in place. So far, around 70,000 construction workers have registered. Most of them have taken help from employers or internet café owners. We have decided to intervene in the process and help them (the workers) out. Between August 24 and September 12, the government will set up camps to help the registration of workers from the realty sector,” announced Rai at a press conference on Sunday.

“At least one camp will be set up in each of the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi. They will operate from government schools. Their lists have been sent to the MLAs (members of the Delhi legislative assembly) concerned and the offices of the municipal corporations. The camps will function five days a week – from Monday to Friday,” he added,

The documents of workers, who approach such camps for registration, would be verified immediately, said Rai.

Construction workers, including plumbers and electricians employed in the construction sector, painters, tile workers, security guards at sites, who are aged between 18 and 60, are eligible for registration under the scheme. They must possess a photo identity card, a bank account number, a residential proof for Delhi and other documents that would prove that they have worked in the construction sector for at least 90 days in the past 12 months prior to the registration, said an official, who is in charge of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government’s initiative.

On May 21, the Delhi high court (HC) had directed the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which comes under the labour department of the Delhi government, to take steps to renew the membership of all the workers, in a bid to cushion lockdown-induced loss of earnings. The court had observed that over 500,000 construction workers in Delhi, who fell off the safety net under the watch of the city’s welfare board, cannot be deprived of benefits just because they were unable to renew their annual registration.

Every state has a welfare board, which runs an array of beneficial schemes, funded by the cess collected from projects under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996.

In Delhi, the board started disbursing ₹5,000 a month during the lockdown, which was imposed since end-March in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and triggered a mass job loss in the realty sector, to the bank accounts of the enrolled workers.

Rajesh Kumar, secretary, Indian Federation of Trade Union’s Delhi chapter, said that the move would bring relief to tens of thousands of workers engaged in the construction sector, who were taking help from internet cafes that were charging between ₹300 and ₹500 for each registration.

“The process involves filling up a 12-page form. It is a huge challenge for most workers who lack adequate education and knowledge about computers and the internet. All labour department offices in the city have help desks but they have not been very cooperative so far. The government should also work towards improving their attitude and work ethics,” said Kumar.

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