A FAIR DEAL FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IN DELHI

The ever changing skyline of Delhi is an indication of the frenetic construction activity in the National Capital Territory. Major sporting events, such as the Asian Games of 1982, give an impetus to the construction activity, thanks to a massive investment in sports facilities and support infrastructure, as well as in new hotels, upgradation of transport networks, airport modernization and expansion of public utilities. In the run up to the Commonwealth Games slated for October 2010, Delhi will see an investment of Rs. 26,000 crore in such facilities over the next three years. Much has changed in the construction industry since the Asian Games of 1982. The use of pre-fabricated materials and capital intensive technology has shortened completion cycles and obviated the need for employing a large work force. The impact has been particularly severe on the jobs traditionally assigned to women and one sees far fewer women and children on building sites than in the past. The situation of the construction worker has, however, remained unchanged, as evidenced by the outbreak earlier this year of meningitis and cholera in some of the camps of construction workers at the Commonwealth Games Village.

Empathy with the construction workers has motivated a number of civil society organisations and social activists of Delhi, including Common Cause, to come together and form a coalition, ‘Commonwealth Games – Citizens for Workers, Women and Children (CWG – CWC)’, to focus attention on issues of entitlements of construction workers and the right to development for their children. The membership of the Coalition is as follows:

CWG-CWC MEMBERS

The CWG – CWC Coalition has been acting as a watchdog of the rights of construction workers and playing an active advocacy role to influence public policy in their favour and smoothen the implementation of various welfare measures intended for them. The following campaign initiatives taken up by the CWG-CWC deserve a particular mention:

• Continuing dialogue with the Labour Ministry, Delhi, NCR, for timely meetings of the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (DBOCWWB).
• Intervening on the ground for mobile ration cards and scholarship for workers’ children; crèches at CWG sites. • Reaching out to the media.
• Negotiation with the big builders and contractors at the CWG sites.
• Responding to crises such as the reported deaths at the CWG Village site in March 2008

An important part of the Coalition strategy has been to spur a somnolent Welfare Board into action. Constituted in the year 2002, the Board had not taken any initiative to reach out the to construction workers and deploy its enormous resources collected through the levy of a cess on construction projects for their welfare. The CWG – CWC has been trying to use the Building and Other Construction Workers Act , 1996, to ensure fair working conditions for workers, decent living conditions for their families and developmental opportunities for their children. Of the 6-8 lakh construction workers in Delhi, only 1,850 were registered with the DBOCWWB at the start of the campaign. Between August 2007 and April 2008, the number of registered workers increased from 1,850 to 8,500 and the amount accrued in the Workers Welfare Fund from Rs. 75 crore to Rs. 135 crore. At the last count, the number of registered workers had gone up to 18,500 and the accumulation in the Cess Fund to Rs 185 crore. Hardly any cash benefit has, however, accrued to any construction worker. As a result, the majority of registered workers has defaulted as regards the requirement of quarterly renewal of registration and payment of a membership fee Rs 20 per month.

• The CWG campaign has recommended the following:

• Ease of registration, through multiple mechanisms, and publicity about its benefits.

• Minimum packages of long term (for example, pension) and short term cash benefits (for example, scholarships).

• ‘Model practices’ at all CWG facility sites, minimum wage, safety, health crèches, etc.

• Decent living conditions, access to ICDS, PDS, schools/crèches in off-site labour settlements.

• Adequate staff and systems to ensure implementation.

At its February 2008 meeting, the DBOCWWB agreed to support, out of the Cess funds: (a) crèches at five locations; (b) scholarships for registered worker’s children; (c) and the mapping of construction workers in Delhi to estimate the numbers of workers and identify their locations. This was the first action by the Board in Delhi for workers’ welfare since its inception. While the decisions regarding establishment of crèches and commissioning of the exercise of mapping of construction workers have been implemented, the decision regarding grant of scholarship to workers’ children ran into an unexpected hurdle. The Finance Department of Delhi Administration, in its wisdom, decided to slash the modest scholarship amount of Rs. 100 per month to Rs. 120 per quarter. This unauthorised action was strongly contested by the Coalition and eventually, after the intervention of the Chief Minister, the decision of the Welfare Board could be restored.

The Coalition organized a successful rally of construction workers on November 11, 2008 to draw attention to their struggle for a fair deal. The plight of the construction workers was aptly summed up in the following slogan proposed by Common Cause for the rally:

“Buniyaadi suvidhaaon se nirmaan shramik hain vanchit. Mazdooron ke naam kaa paisaa raajkosh mein sanchit.”

[Construction workers are bereft of basic amenities, while the money collected in their name is hoarded in the state treasury.]

The struggle for construction workers’ rights would need the support of all the stakeholders in the all round development of the National Capital. It is hoped that the initiatives taken by the CWG-CWC Coalition will bring about a sea change in the attitude of its citizenry and the administration to the basic needs of construction workers and their aspiration for a dignified existence.