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).

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

LackOnce of cooperation

• Applicants are reluctant to share all docs/ information with CSOs. This is especially true for recent migrants.
• Oncethe application gets rejected there is no refund. So, workers are apprehensive of wasting money and go via agencies.
• Some

• 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
  
• At

• 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.
• Once

At getsthe rejected there is no refund. So, workers are apprehensivetime of wastingverification, moneyworker andmay goswitch viato agencies.another rephraseworksite 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 docsdocs.
• 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.

Documents-

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