IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CONSTRUCTION WORKERS OF INDIA: ITS MEASURES TO WELFARE RESPONSES AND CHALLENGES

Author Name: Mrs. Sushree Sanghamitra

Volume/Issue: 02/10

Country: India

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/04.2022-76811469/UIJIR

Affiliation:

Phd Research Scholar, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (Formally known as North Orissa University), Takatpur, Baripada, Mayurbhanj, Odisha, India

ABSTRACT

This paper attempts to understand the effect of the COVID-19 shock on the labour market in India by examining the vulnerabilities of the workforce using data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (2018-19). As the role of the state construction welfare board has been crucial, some existing issues related to boards and challenges emerged during the crisis have also been discussed. With simply 24 % of the workforce engaged in regular wage salaried jobs offering a steady flow of income and a mere 2.2% in regular salaried jobs with a written job contract for a period of more than three years and access to all social security benefits, a disproportionately large share of the workforce is likely to face job and income losses as a consequence of the dual shock of the pandemic and lockdown. Direct benefit transfer has partially helped workers to overcome their financial distress, but 65% workers did not receive any benefit due to various issues related to registration and linking of bank accounts with Aadhar. Sluggish process of registration has been a major issue which is being addressed by different mechanisms, but results would be known later. Proper collection of cess and its utilisation is still an important issue and 61% of the cess collected in 2019 was not utilised. Majority of the states are running a number of welfare schemes, but the coverage is poor despite proper guidelines set under the Model Welfare Framework of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The objectives of Mission Mode Projects are appreciable, but the outcomes are not known even after the completion of deadlines. Above all, the emerging issues of maintaining health and hygiene at worksite and living place and getting vaccinated are major challenges for the sustainability of the construction sector. Hence, a collective effort of the government, employers, and workers’ organisations is the need of the hour.

Key words: Construction workers, Direct Benefit Transfer, Covid-19, Migrant Workers