Step 1: Getting the labour card

A BoCW labor card is an official identification card issued to construction workers who are eligible under the BoCW Act. This is the first basic document required to avail entitlements under the BoCW Act.

The card requires renewal: annually or once in 3 years. 

Click here for labour card registration webpage

Click here for labour card renewal webpage

• Employment certificate- proof of having engaged in building and other construction (B&OC) work for a minimum of 90 days in the previous year. 

Click here to download the 90-day work certificate template

The employment certificate is validated by a labor inspector and employer/ registered labor union/ gram panchayat.

• Age- between 18 and 55 years
• Age proof- Voter ID or Aadhaar card
• Aadhaar card- linked to a mobile number
• Bank passbook copy
• Ration card

With a recent change in guidelines ration card is not mandatory now; till 6 months back this was a required document for labour card renewal.

• Nominee's bank pass book copy
• Nominee and children's correct name and age details

If nominee and children's details are not provided at this time or are incorrect, it will lead to difficulty in availing benefits under various schemes. 

• In extreme cases, workers who have been in this occupation for 20 years don't know about their entitlements.

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

Applicants, especially recent migrants, are hesitant to disclose all documents and information to CSOs (Civil Society Organizations).

• Many times workers leave their necessary documents at native place when they come for work, especially migrants from UP & Bihar
• Having a bank account with an Aadhar-linked mobile phone is a prerequisite, and many workers either do not have an account and/ or Aadhar card or the account is not linked with their Aadhar.
• Names, age and address don’t match in different documents

Petty laborers often face challenges in obtaining the seal or signature of contractors for work certificates since they work irregularly at various sites.

• 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.

• In certain instances, workers' essential documents are kept in their hometowns, and their families there do not possess smartphones to send images of necessary documents, such as Aadhar cards, ration cards, PAN cards, and bank passbooks.
  

Workers often change their phone numbers frequently, and their Aadhar numbers may not be linked to their current phone numbers.

• Some CSOs charge a fee to applicants for assisting in the application process for cards or schemes.

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

• Migrants often require a local address to benefit from various schemes, but they are reluctant to change their address due to concerns about missing out on opportunities in their home states or to preserve important documents and proofs.

• 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 labourer with the District Labour Office in his/her circle area.
• Petty labourers don’t get the seal/ sign of contractors as they work irregularly at different site
• Physical verification of hands to figure out person is working with sand and cement
  

• Another example: a person drives a vehicle supplying water on construction sites. When the labour inspector calls for verification, he says I am a driver. So, the application gets rejected.

At the time of verification, worker may switch to another worksite hence not available on previous construction site where he applied from.

• 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 challenges while uploading docs.
• Workers don’t remember the login details which remain with CSOs, so trust building takes time.
  

For all Aadhaar linkage work, OTP comes to the applicant’s phone but they refuse to cooperate because they are at work or don’t see phones for a long time. So this application process needs to be repeated multiple times as OTP has time-bound validity.

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

• Single mobile number for many individuals.

Hard labor affects accurate bio-metric fingerprints.

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

• Some CSOs take money from applicants to apply for cards/ schemes

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

Cyber centers often bribe officers to get work done.

• Muster roll or pay slip is required for renewal. It is not possible to obtain for muster roll for ‘gig’ workers within this occupation.

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.

The labor card requires renewal either annually or every three years. Workers, often failing to keep track, experience delays in renewal, leading to a loss of access to benefits.