The government is likely to introduce a pan-India construction worker card and revamp the BOCW (building and other construction workers) scheme to expand social security coverage, including pensions, reported Economic Times citing a senior official.
The funds available under the BOCW scheme can be used to finance the social security of millions of unorganized workers but the current scheme does not allow portability between workers and benefits, according to the report.
An internal committee under the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been formed to plan the restructuring of the scheme to expand coverage and provide portability benefits to workers, especially migrant workers, the officials said.
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In the revamp, the ministry is considering removing the 90-day mandatory requirement to avail of the benefits. It also seeks to make registration, renewal and other processes easier so that all construction workers are brought under its cover, reported ET.
According to the Building and Construction Workers Act, of 1966, state governments through their state welfare bonds are required to make and implement schemes for the safety, health, and welfare of construction workers.
Currently, there are different eligibility requirements in each state for availing of benefits under the BOCW scheme, making enrolment virtually impossible for migrants in construction.
The BOCW fund consists of a 1 per cent cess levied by all states on the construction cost of all infrastructure projects by the government or private sector.
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According to the ET report, states have over Rs 40,000 crore in unused funds under the scheme. Under the BOCW cess scheme, the state governments have so far raised more than Rs 78,000 crore, of which around Rs 38,000 have been spent.
