BoCW labour Card

Why is the possession of a labor card from BoCW mandatory for construction workers?

In Karnataka, Possession of a labor card from the Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW) is mandatory for construction workers for several key reasons:

• Registering construction workers for welfare benefits.

• Providing financial aid for education, healthcare, maternity, disability, etc.

• Promoting skill development for better job prospects.

• Offering social security benefits like pensions and insurance.

• Implementing government schemes for worker welfare.

• Providing legal support for employment rights and benefits.

• Ensures quick identification and assistance for workers during emergencies. 

These reasons underscore the significance of labor cards in regulating and supporting the construction workforce, ensuring their rights, safety, and welfare, and promoting the efficient functioning of the construction industry. 

Critical Factors to Keep in Mind Prior to Applying for a Labor Card

1. Timeline for submission- Should have worked in B&OC for a minimum of 90 days in the current/ preceding year.

2. Category of worker- Exclusively construction laborers (excluding positions such as mason, plumber, electrician, etc.), with roles like those assigned to parking areas or gardening, are not considered as construction workers

3. Eligibility- Construction worker should aged between 18-55 

4. Documents required-

   1. 1. Employment certificate- to prove work in B&OC for 90 days in the preceding year (From one of these- employer, registered trade union, labour inspector and gram panchayat + PDO i.e. panchayati Development Officer) 

   2. Aadhaar Card (with linked mobile number)

   3. Ration card (now not mandatory, till 6 months ago was mandatory for renewal)

   4. Age proof (e.g., Voter ID or Aadhaar)

   5. Nominee and children's correct name and age details

5. Annual Renewal- Proof of employment in B&C works for 90 days in the preceding year (pay slip or copy of nominal muster roll) and card is renewed after three year

 Why do construction workers often fail to receive the benefits they are entitled to from various schemes?

Potential factors leading to exclusion from the benefits of schemes under BoCW at different phases

Lack of awareness-

• Workers who have been here for 20 years don't know about their entitlements.

•  Applicants are reluctant to share all docs/ information with CSOs. This is especially true for recent migrants.

Lack of resources-

• Lack of access to smart phones and in many cases a single phone number used by multiple members of the household. With a single phone number, if both father and son are laborers, only one gets the benefit albeit both have phone linked Aadhaar cards.

•  A lot of workers don’t have bank accounts, or they change phone numbers multiple times.

Eligibility conditions-

• Gardeners, parking area employees etc. roles not considered CW (trades like mason, plumber, electrician etc. are considered part of CW).

• Mainly with respect to pension, registration should be done before the age of 55.

• Labour should be registered as a laborer with the District Labour Office in his/her circle area.

Documents-

• Name, age and address don’t match in different documents.

• Requires dedicated bank account passbook; many workers lack a bank account and not carrying bank passbook.

Aadhar seeding-

• Aadhar-mobile link mandatory, but worker's frequent number changes cause repeated linking.

• Single mobile number for many individuals.

• No Android phone hampers remote Aadhar copy sharing, if cards at hometown.

• Weak network or on-site work delays OTP receipt.

• Hard labor affects accurate bio-metric fingerprints.

Registration process-

• Most laborers unaffiliated with CSOs, often resort to costly cyber-cafés; rejections lead to money loss, discouraging scheme registration.

• Cyber center also bribes officers to get work done.

• Workers don’t remember the login details which remain with CSO.

• Once application gets rejected there is no refund. So, workers are apprehensive of wasting money and go via agencies.

Annual Renewal-

• Muster roll or pay slip is required- not possible to obtain for ‘gig’ workers within CW. Trade unions can provide work certificate for 90 days but cannot provide muster rolls.  

• Dept is not accepting renewals w/o muster roll because many non-construction workers have enrolled. They are awaiting new format of muster rolls from the dept now. Workers with big builders don't have a problem.

• Physical verification of hands to figure out person is working with sand and cement.

• At the time of verification, worker may switch to another worksite hence not available on previous construction site when he applies.

• Labour card is to be renewed every year/ every 3 years- workers don't keep track and delay in renewal means they lose access to benefits.

Tech/ website related-

• BOCW website doesn’t stay up for more than 10 minutes at a stretch- it frequently takes them 5 hours to fill one application form.

• Technical glitches like photo size and space also pose an important challenge while uploading documents.