Hyderabad: Negligence on the part of builders and not providing safety gear to workers at construction sites are the main reasons for workers dying in building collapses.
Industry experts say that lack of supervision from qualified engineers is also a prime cause for such incidents. More focus on skill development and other welfare measures should be implemented by the government, says CREDAI.
Except for a few projects executed by established firms, all other constructions are taken up by small contractors who hire labour from ‘labour joints’ or employ mestris who gather people from their circle and put them to work for low wages.
At such sites, since inexperienced labour is involved or no engineers are deployed to oversee the works, there are defects in placing scaffoldings, resulting in accidents and deaths. No safety gear is provided to the workers.
Though a few builders provide safety gear to workers, many do not employ structural engineers to monitor the works. A structural engineer’s job is to inspect the site before casting of concrete.
“But with the increase in construction sites in the recent past, structural engineers find it difficult to visit the sites his client is handling. In such a case, the owner of the site should employ a site engineer, who can coordinate with the structural engineer regularly and ensure safety at the site,” said the former president of CREDAI, Mr C. Shekar Reddy.
He added that the site engineer could be trained on risk factors, which would help in minimising accidents to a large extent. He said that big companies handling major government projects followed safety precautions and went through the safety checklist before works.
“But still there is a need to improve and the checklist should be followed strictly. Owners should also employ qualified contractors for their projects and be responsible for the safety and welfare of workers,” he added.
Meanwhile, the cess collected by the government from builders is accumulating with the government, and now amounts to hundreds of crores, which is being utilised to provide compensation to workers in case of accidents.
“But the fund created should be used to help workers not only during accidents but also cover the needs of their families like the education of kids, medical aid, employment for spouses etc. This fund can be used to develop workmen’s skills by regular on-site trainings and more exposure to risk factors,” he said, adding that the benefits could be extended.
No benefits for family members
Though the government is providing different schemes for workers in case of accidents, they do not get any benefits for their family members. All schemes cover only the injured person. The government should design schemes covering the education of the children of workers too, say labour unions.
To help workers in the unorganised sector, the government has formed the Workers’ Welfare Board and is collecting membership fees from them valid for five years. During this period, they will be eligible for all benefits, provided they submit documents. But since many of them, especially in the construction field, are illiterate, they fail to renew their memberships.
As per rules, construction sites valued at Rs 10 lakh or more should pay one per cent cess to the government, which is diverted to the welfare fund, but only companies doing government works pay this, as it is deducted by default.
“Firms doing private jobs avoid this tax. They skip this using unfair means like colluding with officers and showing forged balance sheets,” said Building and Construction Workers’ Union leader M. Krishna Swamy.
He added that the government or the labour department should ensure that every construction site paid dues irrespective of the nature of construction and regular drives should be conducted to book those evading this cess.
Schemes should be designed to extend the benefits to the worker’s family too, and special schemes should be designed for women workers, including providing basic amenities at sites. The funds of the board should not be diverted for any other schemes.
The government has agreed in principle to extend 50 per cent benefits to workers whose membership has expired, but this is pending.
The Telangana Buildings and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board stated that in addition to construction, the government has identified 53 more trades to cover. This includes unregistered workers. Out of more than 13 lakh workers in the state, around 9 lakh have registered with the Board.
"Illiteracy and migration are major reasons for not registering. We are conducting awareness camps and special drives at construction sites to enrol workers. We are also ensuring speedy release of compensation to workers,” said board secretary and CEO E. Hanumantha Rao.
