Ministry of Labour & Employment launches BoCW MIS portal

New Delhi [India], August 21 (ANI): The Ministry of Labour and Employment launched a Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW) Management Information System (MIS) portal on Wednesday to review the preparedness of states and union territories in the finalisation of draft rules under the four Labour Codes and progress of implementation of welfare schemes for BoCW.
The portal was launched at the 15th meeting of the BoCW Monitoring Committee held with all states and UTs under the chairpersonship of the Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Various issues related to BoCW data integration and utilisation of BoCW Cess Fund for welfare activities were discussed during the meeting. The meeting was attended by principal secretaries, secretaries, labour Commissioners/ and welfare commissioners of states and UTs, besides senior officers of the Ministry.
The BoCW Management Information System (MIS) Portal was launched by Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, in an initiative aimed at the welfare of the BoC workers and unorganised workers.
The portal will function as the centralised data management system for the compilation and analysis of the data obtained from the BoCW Welfare Boards of the States. This will in turn enable the States/UTs to make informed decisions and frame better welfare policies for BoCW workers.
The states and UTs were asked to register on the portal and update their details, including fund utilisation and onboarding of data on registration of the workers under various central and state schemes about social security benefits, insurance, health benefits, housing schemes, etc.
It was noted that presently there are around 5.7 crore workers registered with Building and Construction Workers Welfare Boards of various States & UTs across the country, as of June 30, 2024.
A cumulative cess amounting to around Rs 1.15 lakh crores has been collected by boards, out of which more than Rs 66,000 crores have been spent by the boards for providing benefits under various welfare schemes to these workers.
The Ministry is also working with the State BoCW Welfare Boards to extend the benefits of various central government schemes to BoC workers by utilising the BoCW cess fund. As a result, Ayushman Cards for health benefits have been approved for 1.3 crore BoCW workers under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) scheme.
More than 85000 workers have been covered with insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PM-JJBY) scheme, and another 1.24 lakh workers have been covered for protection against disability under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PM-SBY) scheme.
Many states, including Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, have undertaken the construction of schools through cess funds for wards of BoC workers. Other states were also urged to undertake similar initiatives.
The States and UTs were also requested to expedite the integration of BoC workers' data with the e-Shram portal of the Ministry to enable access to various schemes as a one-stop solution for unorganised sector workers.
Preparedness of States/UTs with respect to harmonisation and finalisation of draft rules under four Labour Codes was also reviewed during the meeting as a follow up to the earlier similar meeting held on June 20, 2024. The Ministry highlighted the gaps and divergences in the draft rules of states and UTs.
The States were requested to streamline their rules with the draft Central Rules to ensure consistency across the country. The States/UTs shared their views, suggestions and concerns during the meeting, which were duly clarified. The Secretary, the Ministry of Labour and Employees informed the participants that the collaboration amongst states, UTs and the Central Government towards labour reforms will be strengthened further. In this direction, the Ministry will be organising six regional meetings with the states and UTs over the next two months at different locations. (ANI)