JOIN USNo helping hand for toiling hands
Basappa toils for eight hours daily at a construction site in Kammanahalli, oblivious to his hurting thumb. While he brushes it off, saying it is just an injury he suffered while working, his wife Shanta retorts angrily. “He never takes care of his health.”
There’s reason for Shanta’s hurt and anger, for, despite being ill, Basappa has been at his job without let or rest. Quiz the couple about health benefits given by the government, all you get is a blank look.
Basappa is one of the four lakh workers at various construction sites in the City, unaware of the existence of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Central Union and Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board.
“Only 15 per cent of the construction workers are registered. The rest do not even know such a body exists,” says N P Samy, the Union president. He adds that there are about 18 lakh workers in the State and only 2.7 lakh of them are registered.
The Board takes a nominal registration fee of Rs 25 and a monthly fee of Rs 10 from each worker. Once registered, a worker is eligible for various benefits, including accident compensation, medical reimbursements, maternity assistance, education benefits for children and assistance for marriage of children.
But like Basappa, workers remain oblivious to these benefits. Jagan, a native of Tamil Nadu, works at a building construction site at Baiyappanahalli. His wife also works alongside. Every day, she takes their one-year-old son to the site, makes a cradle for him at a nearby tree and gets about her work. Had she registered with the Board, she would have received Rs 4,000 for the delivery of her child. “The Board provides for everything — from cradle to grave, it helps workers,” says Samy.
Ignorance
According to him, the most common reason for workers not registering is ignorance among contractors and builders. Though they are asked to educate the workers and get them registered, most ignore this. Chander, a contractor, confirms this.
Asked, why the workers are not registered, he says, “They are construction workers. They move from one place to another. We give them a place to stay and salary too. Why do they need to be registered?” Though the Union and the Board conduct regular awareness campaigns, Samy says convincing workers is tough.
“The builders and contractors do not support us and fail to follow up with the workers,” says Samy.