The Central Government recently issued a directive to all states to take a call on self-declaration which would allow construction workers to self-register, in a bid to speed up the process and ensure maximum individuals are able to receive their benefits. According to the Building and Other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996, a 90-day work period is needed for a construction worker to become eligible for registration. The state of Maharashtra has approximately 14 lac active registered workers. However, the state has a back log of more than 40,000 pending applications to clear.
Majority of the construction workers and daily wage labourers in Maharashtra continue to remain unregistered due to lengthy delays. A substantial reason for the delays is owing to their over dependency on immediate supervisor and a lack of guidance on how to qualify. The Central Government recently issued a directive to all states to take a call on self-declaration which would allow construction workers to self-register, in a bid to speed up the process and ensure maximum individuals are able to receive their benefits.
According to the Building and Other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996, a 90-day work period is needed for a construction worker to become eligible for registration. The state of Maharashtra has approximately 14 lac active registered workers. However, the state has a back log of more than 40,000 pending applications to clear. On registration these workers become eligible for benefits under 27 schemes including pension payments, death benefits, maternity benefits, grants for purchase of tools or skill upgradation, and more.
Workers can register by paying a fee of Rs 1 along with submitting documents of age proof, residence proof, Aadhaar Card copy, Bank account details, details of dependents, fully filled nomination form and lastly a certificate of proof of having worked as a construction worker for 90 days from a current employer.
The Maharashtra State Labour department is contemplating this decision to allow self-registration amid concerns of ‘false registrations’ to avail benefits. The department has urged workers who work in multiple sites to note down the number of days worked at each site with the respective contractor to maintain proper work records. By doing so, it will be easier for government officials to validate their 90-day work period and approve pending registration applications.
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