Themes > Current Issues
05.08.2009
The Plight of Construction Workers
Jayati
Ghosh
We
are not a society known for concern about the conditions of our workers.
Most of the men and women whose toil ensures our much-touted economic
growth are more or less invisible to the elites and middle classes,
even when they are directly produce essential goods and services right
under our noses. And so we are largely indifferent to changes in their
wages and working conditions and only intermittently concerned about
their basic safety.
Take the case of construction workers, whose numbers have recently multiplied in the capital city of Delhi because of the rush to complete a large number of new projects (at the various Games sites, for the expanding Delhi Metro, extensions to the airport, new hotels and malls and so on) before the Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010. The Delhi Human Development Report of 2006 suggested that there were around 2 to 3 lakh construction workers in Delhi, but there are recent estimates suggesting anywhere between 8 and 10 lakh workers.
It is hard to know how many there are for sure, because most of these workers are recent migrants brought in by contractors and the system of registration of such workers has been lax and ineffective. The Commonwealth Games projects alone are employing around 1 lakh workers, less than expected because construction technology is now much more capital-intensive.
It takes a major accident – such as the collapse of a concrete pillar being constructed for the metro at Zamrudpur in South Delhi on 12 July when six people died - to bring media attention to the inadequate safety procedures at the various construction sites. Yet the concern is still mainly for passers-by and local residents rather than the workers who are most at risk. In 2009 so far, at least 43 deaths and 96 injuries of workers at construction sites have been officially reported. The actual numbers are likely to be much larger because many accidents and casualties never get reported, and even workers are reluctant to talk about them.
After the unfortunate experience of exploitation of construction workers before the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982, some citizens of Delhi wanted to make sure this did not happen again this time round. A coalition of Citizens for Workers, Women and Children (CWG-CWC) was formed, to monitor conditions of construction workers before the Commonwealth Games and to mobilise for ensuring their rights. Despite constant efforts to highlight the inadequate safety provisions and poor working arrangements at the sites and the dire living conditions of the workers, the coalition generally meets with official resistance and public apathy.
This is despite the fact that, at least on paper, Delhi’s construction workers are supposedly well served. In 1996, after a prolonged struggle, two national laws were passed by Parliament: The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act 1996. In Delhi, this was finally notified six years later as the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2002.
This in turn required the formation of the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (with the unwieldy acronym DBOCWWB), which was also constituted in September 2002. This Board is supposed to ensure that the law is fully implemented, which involves among other things, the enforcement of rigorous safety norms, the registration of all construction workers and provision of social security benefits to them on the basis of a cess collected for that purpose.
Despite all this legal and administrative process, precious little has actually happened to benefit workers on the ground. The Board meets rarely and lacks the administrative staff to actually do any real work. However, if the Labour Commissioner takes the initiative, the Board can be activated and the pace of implementation can be accelerated. The post, however, has seen many occupants with an average tenure of 6-8 months, and has been vacant for the last one year. The Labour Minister is the Chairperson of the Board and its functioning actually depends on the willingness and ability of the Chairperson. It is worth noting that the previous Labour Minister for Delhi, Mangat Ram Singhal, whose last term was not marked by much activity, has again been given this portfolio.
As a result, thus far the results have been negligible. The Act specifically provides for various safety procedures that need to be followed at every site, with respect to safety equipment, training, inspection and inquiry. There are supposed to be safety committees with worker representation and qualified safety officers for every establishment employing 500 or more workers. But there are no monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure that these provisions are being followed, and it is likely that none of these provisions of the Act has actually been followed in any of the construction sites. Meanwhile, workers’ complaints about the quality and safety of the machinery and material they use have been regularly ignored, even after major accidents have exposed the truth of their arguments in any one site. In addition, the provision of basic facilities on site as mandated by the law (such as drinking water, toilets and crèches) has been completely inadequate.
Other measures that are supposed to benefit workers have also not been implemented. The registration of construction workers has been tardy, partial and inadequate, and most workers are still not registered. Indeed, only a handful of workers have even heard about the Act or the benefits from registration. Only 18,000 workers in Delhi have registered with the Board and only around 10 per cent of them are ''live'' registrations. Even those who had registered earlier have not bothered to renew because there are no apparent benefits and the onus is on the worker not the employer to renew. Workers are forced to pay an amount every month simply to remain registered, but the benefits of registration – including temporary ration cards for use in Delhi, pensions and social security, access to health and life insurance, scholarships for children, and so on – are therefore simply not available.
To take just one example, in November 2007 the Chief Minister of Delhi distributed some temporary ration cards to newly registered construction workers amid much fanfare. But once the initial blaze of publicity had been achieved, the allocation of such ration cards completely dried up. In fact, temporary ration cards have still not been issued to the vast majority of registered workers, although this is essential for workers’ families to survive in the context of rapidly rising food prices.
Similarly, the promise of scholarships of Rs 100 per month to two school-going children of every registered construction worker was approved by the Board in February 2008. But finally less than 20 such scholarships were provided, and those also were given only after schools had closed for the summer vacations.
In the circumstances, with no apparent benefits of registration at all, construction workers feel much less inclined to bother to register at all. And that in turn means that the cess that has been collected is lying unused. More than Rs 300 crore has been collected, but less than Rs 10 lakh has been spent: on three crèches for 150 children; one accident compensation and life insurance premia for less than 100 workers. This fund is supposed to be used to ensure provision of maternity and medical benefits, pension for disabled and old workers and dependants, accident and death compensation, financial assistance for education of children, marriage assistance, and so on. Surely no one can argue that these are no longer necessary for the workers, yet the money is lying unspent.
But of course all that money lying around attracts other bees around this potential honey pot. So it is now proposed to be diverted, in a completely unacceptable manner, to other uses that are not sanctioned by the law and effectively subsidise the contractors and builders without providing any benefit to the workers themselves.
The major new idea that has been suggested by some officials to use up this money is an outlandish proposal to create ''holding areas'' to house migrant workers, in which temporary tenements in distant location, using panchayat lands, would be created to house migrant workers in separate hostels for men and women. It is proposed to spend about Rs 80 crore from the Cess Fund on such holding areas, in a cost-sharing arrangement in which the private parties have to cough up only a quarter of the total costs and money meant for the workers will account for half.
This proposal is absolutely amazing for several reasons. First, it completely absolves the contractors from any responsibility for housing the workers, even though such housing is a legal requirement of the contractors and is even built into the costs of all these construction projects. This is not only forgiving those contractors who have deliberately flouted the law, but effectively subsidising them further under the pretext of helping workers.
In any case, the number of intended beneficiaries is between 6000 and 9000, only a tiny fraction of the actual number of migrant construction workers who need housing. And they are proposed to be housed in three story barracks that flout all the building by-laws, because there will be no space for essential facilities like community kitchens, community toilets, crèches, etc. Workers will have to travel great distances to reach the construction sites. Meanwhile their families will be broken up, because men and women are to be accommodated separately!
So what is the point of moving workers to these tenements in far-flung locations at great inconvenience to themselves? It is hard not to smell something fishy in all this, because this essentially involves a change in the land use norms. The chances are very high that the holding areas will eventually be turned into slums without proper urban amenities, and pass into private hands. While this may benefit the building lobbies in the city, it is hard to think how it could possibly benefit the workers.
When this proposal came up before the Board, it was objected to and put on hold – but it is reliably suggested that officials are still going ahead with this completely unacceptable plan. And unless there is sufficient public outcry over this and over the denial of the basic legal rights of workers, it is likely to become a fait accompli.
The irony is that all this exploitation and misuse is being carried out in the name of finishing projects before the Commonwealth Games. Yet the official mandate of the Commonwealth Games Federation is ''Humanity, Equality, Destiny''. Sadly, the officials who are so anxious to ensure that the country presents a shining face to the world during these games do not seem to be aware that the process they have chosen is already making a travesty of its basic intent.
Take the case of construction workers, whose numbers have recently multiplied in the capital city of Delhi because of the rush to complete a large number of new projects (at the various Games sites, for the expanding Delhi Metro, extensions to the airport, new hotels and malls and so on) before the Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010. The Delhi Human Development Report of 2006 suggested that there were around 2 to 3 lakh construction workers in Delhi, but there are recent estimates suggesting anywhere between 8 and 10 lakh workers.
It is hard to know how many there are for sure, because most of these workers are recent migrants brought in by contractors and the system of registration of such workers has been lax and ineffective. The Commonwealth Games projects alone are employing around 1 lakh workers, less than expected because construction technology is now much more capital-intensive.
It takes a major accident – such as the collapse of a concrete pillar being constructed for the metro at Zamrudpur in South Delhi on 12 July when six people died - to bring media attention to the inadequate safety procedures at the various construction sites. Yet the concern is still mainly for passers-by and local residents rather than the workers who are most at risk. In 2009 so far, at least 43 deaths and 96 injuries of workers at construction sites have been officially reported. The actual numbers are likely to be much larger because many accidents and casualties never get reported, and even workers are reluctant to talk about them.
After the unfortunate experience of exploitation of construction workers before the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982, some citizens of Delhi wanted to make sure this did not happen again this time round. A coalition of Citizens for Workers, Women and Children (CWG-CWC) was formed, to monitor conditions of construction workers before the Commonwealth Games and to mobilise for ensuring their rights. Despite constant efforts to highlight the inadequate safety provisions and poor working arrangements at the sites and the dire living conditions of the workers, the coalition generally meets with official resistance and public apathy.
This is despite the fact that, at least on paper, Delhi’s construction workers are supposedly well served. In 1996, after a prolonged struggle, two national laws were passed by Parliament: The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act 1996. In Delhi, this was finally notified six years later as the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2002.
This in turn required the formation of the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (with the unwieldy acronym DBOCWWB), which was also constituted in September 2002. This Board is supposed to ensure that the law is fully implemented, which involves among other things, the enforcement of rigorous safety norms, the registration of all construction workers and provision of social security benefits to them on the basis of a cess collected for that purpose.
Despite all this legal and administrative process, precious little has actually happened to benefit workers on the ground. The Board meets rarely and lacks the administrative staff to actually do any real work. However, if the Labour Commissioner takes the initiative, the Board can be activated and the pace of implementation can be accelerated. The post, however, has seen many occupants with an average tenure of 6-8 months, and has been vacant for the last one year. The Labour Minister is the Chairperson of the Board and its functioning actually depends on the willingness and ability of the Chairperson. It is worth noting that the previous Labour Minister for Delhi, Mangat Ram Singhal, whose last term was not marked by much activity, has again been given this portfolio.
As a result, thus far the results have been negligible. The Act specifically provides for various safety procedures that need to be followed at every site, with respect to safety equipment, training, inspection and inquiry. There are supposed to be safety committees with worker representation and qualified safety officers for every establishment employing 500 or more workers. But there are no monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure that these provisions are being followed, and it is likely that none of these provisions of the Act has actually been followed in any of the construction sites. Meanwhile, workers’ complaints about the quality and safety of the machinery and material they use have been regularly ignored, even after major accidents have exposed the truth of their arguments in any one site. In addition, the provision of basic facilities on site as mandated by the law (such as drinking water, toilets and crèches) has been completely inadequate.
Other measures that are supposed to benefit workers have also not been implemented. The registration of construction workers has been tardy, partial and inadequate, and most workers are still not registered. Indeed, only a handful of workers have even heard about the Act or the benefits from registration. Only 18,000 workers in Delhi have registered with the Board and only around 10 per cent of them are ''live'' registrations. Even those who had registered earlier have not bothered to renew because there are no apparent benefits and the onus is on the worker not the employer to renew. Workers are forced to pay an amount every month simply to remain registered, but the benefits of registration – including temporary ration cards for use in Delhi, pensions and social security, access to health and life insurance, scholarships for children, and so on – are therefore simply not available.
To take just one example, in November 2007 the Chief Minister of Delhi distributed some temporary ration cards to newly registered construction workers amid much fanfare. But once the initial blaze of publicity had been achieved, the allocation of such ration cards completely dried up. In fact, temporary ration cards have still not been issued to the vast majority of registered workers, although this is essential for workers’ families to survive in the context of rapidly rising food prices.
Similarly, the promise of scholarships of Rs 100 per month to two school-going children of every registered construction worker was approved by the Board in February 2008. But finally less than 20 such scholarships were provided, and those also were given only after schools had closed for the summer vacations.
In the circumstances, with no apparent benefits of registration at all, construction workers feel much less inclined to bother to register at all. And that in turn means that the cess that has been collected is lying unused. More than Rs 300 crore has been collected, but less than Rs 10 lakh has been spent: on three crèches for 150 children; one accident compensation and life insurance premia for less than 100 workers. This fund is supposed to be used to ensure provision of maternity and medical benefits, pension for disabled and old workers and dependants, accident and death compensation, financial assistance for education of children, marriage assistance, and so on. Surely no one can argue that these are no longer necessary for the workers, yet the money is lying unspent.
But of course all that money lying around attracts other bees around this potential honey pot. So it is now proposed to be diverted, in a completely unacceptable manner, to other uses that are not sanctioned by the law and effectively subsidise the contractors and builders without providing any benefit to the workers themselves.
The major new idea that has been suggested by some officials to use up this money is an outlandish proposal to create ''holding areas'' to house migrant workers, in which temporary tenements in distant location, using panchayat lands, would be created to house migrant workers in separate hostels for men and women. It is proposed to spend about Rs 80 crore from the Cess Fund on such holding areas, in a cost-sharing arrangement in which the private parties have to cough up only a quarter of the total costs and money meant for the workers will account for half.
This proposal is absolutely amazing for several reasons. First, it completely absolves the contractors from any responsibility for housing the workers, even though such housing is a legal requirement of the contractors and is even built into the costs of all these construction projects. This is not only forgiving those contractors who have deliberately flouted the law, but effectively subsidising them further under the pretext of helping workers.
In any case, the number of intended beneficiaries is between 6000 and 9000, only a tiny fraction of the actual number of migrant construction workers who need housing. And they are proposed to be housed in three story barracks that flout all the building by-laws, because there will be no space for essential facilities like community kitchens, community toilets, crèches, etc. Workers will have to travel great distances to reach the construction sites. Meanwhile their families will be broken up, because men and women are to be accommodated separately!
So what is the point of moving workers to these tenements in far-flung locations at great inconvenience to themselves? It is hard not to smell something fishy in all this, because this essentially involves a change in the land use norms. The chances are very high that the holding areas will eventually be turned into slums without proper urban amenities, and pass into private hands. While this may benefit the building lobbies in the city, it is hard to think how it could possibly benefit the workers.
When this proposal came up before the Board, it was objected to and put on hold – but it is reliably suggested that officials are still going ahead with this completely unacceptable plan. And unless there is sufficient public outcry over this and over the denial of the basic legal rights of workers, it is likely to become a fait accompli.
The irony is that all this exploitation and misuse is being carried out in the name of finishing projects before the Commonwealth Games. Yet the official mandate of the Commonwealth Games Federation is ''Humanity, Equality, Destiny''. Sadly, the officials who are so anxious to ensure that the country presents a shining face to the world during these games do not seem to be aware that the process they have chosen is already making a travesty of its basic intent.
© MACROSCAN 2009