The Uninhabitable Conditions of Habitat Builders

Internship Report by Anusha MatamHyderabad Urban Lab (HUL)

July, 2015

IntroductionThe construction industry is a major source of employment worldwide. Also it is noted that, in India, construction industry is the second largest employer after agriculture.

Also, informal/unorganized sector covers 92% of the total work force in India. About 50% of the construction industrial workers belong to informal/ unorganized sector.Construction workers are observed to be the most vulnerable and disadvantaged group of the construction industry, as they fall in the lower most order of the hierarchy of the industry.

Referring to these issues, the study has been initiated to understand the problems faced by workers in the construction industry.

Stakeholders in the Construction Industry

There are various stakeholders who are involved in this construction industry. They start from client, architect, engineer, project manager, builder, contractor, workers etc.

Client Builder Contractor Workers

Here, It is important to notice that direct employer-employee relationship that exists between the contractor/sub-contractor and the workers.

ContractorsA contractor is a person who is responsible for supplying material, labour, equipment, engineering vehicles, tools and services necessary for the construction of the project. Types of Contractors

Category A contractor: These are the contractors who undertake large projects i.e., above Rs. 100 crore. Such contractors comprise of both government recognized and unrecognized contractors.

Category B contractor: These are the contractors who undertake medium scale projects i.e., from Rs. 1 crore to Rs.100 crore. These contractors also comprise of both government recognized and unrecognized contractors.

Category C contractor: These are the contractors who have the least amount of experience and capacity to undertake projects. They are typically small and mid-sized contractors who employ group of 10-100 labours. They are usually the subcontractors who spin off from/ work under bigger contractors in categories A and B.

WorkersThey are categorized on two basis i.e., one, on the basis of type of work and the other, on the basis of time period of work –

Based on the Type of Work

Skilled Labour: These are the workers who have specialized training or a learned skill to perform a set of works. They are masons, painters, plasterers, electricians etc.Unskilled Labour: They are the labourers who do not have any special training or skills. They are typically involved in works like manually carrying heavy loads of brick, cement, stone etc. from an unloaded heap to main construction point.

Based on the time period of work

Casual Labour: Casual Labour are those who work on a day to day basis and receive wages on a daily basis. These casual labour visit the construction site on daily basis, and return to their respective housesContract Labour: Contract labour are those who are hired on contract basis for a specific period of time, generally until the completion of a project. They are completely dependent on a contractor for accommodation and other related basic facilities.

Problem StatementAmongst casual labours and contract labours, contract labours are more vulnerable in certain ways. They are mostly migrants, who are compelled to work until the completion of project and are completely dependent upon contractors/sub-contractors for all their basic needs.Though, both these kind of labours face equal problem in terms of receiving sufficient amount of wages and struggle for financial security, the contract labour face additional sets of problems in terms of receiving basic facilities and amenities.

Therefore, the main aim of the study is to - ‘Understand how to improve the living conditions

of contract labours in construction industry’.

Existing Scenario

According to the Law

i.The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970

The objective of this act is to act to regulate the employment of contract labour in certain establishments and to provide for its abolition in certain circumstances and for matters connected therewith. It is applicable to every establishment in which twenty or more workmen are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months as contract labour.This chapter includes, provision of canteens, restrooms, first aid facilities and explains the liability of principal employer in providing all these facilities. It also includes responsibility of payment of wages to the workers by the contractor.

ii. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules, 1971In exercise of the powers conferred by the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 the Central Government makes the following rules, the as required by each chapter. The standards provided for the facilities are rest rooms, canteens, latrine and urinals, washing facilities, and first – aid facilities.

iii. The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Cess Act, 1996.It is also referred as BOCW Act, 1996 which is a new act over the contract labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, that has been passed in the year 1996. BOCW Act, 1996 is the act which is being enforced currently. This act has two part -

The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation

and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996

The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare

Cess Act, 1996

iv. International Labour Organization (ILO)

ILO is a United Nation organization formed in the year 1919 which deals with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all. The main objective to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues. It is an organization consisting 186 states across the world. India is also a part of it.

Existing Living Conditions of Contract Labour i. Primary Survey

ii. Secondary Source‘Indian Journal of occupational and environmental medicine’ stating ‘Construction Industry: More needs to be done’. The article highlights that, “Construction workers are exposed to a wide variety of health hazards at work. The exposure differs from job to job. The work-related diseases form 5% to 20% of the work force. There also few Psycho-social hazards faced by these workers. There is no recreational facilities, lack of access to education for children, poor sanitary facilities and lack of safe drinking water. These features of construction work, as well as heavy workload, possibility of work place violence or community violence and limited social support are the factors associated with increase stress in the work force”.

An article published online on Deshkal Society about the construction workers living conditions highlights the following points – “Being part of unorganized sector of laborers, they lose in bargaining for fair wages. They are not paid minimum wages; even the agreed wages are not paid on time. Moreover, their working time and hours are not well regulated. They do not get overtime rates for excess work. Apart from these, there is no recreational facilities, no availability of drinking water, toilets, canteens etc.”

A qualitative research study had been conducted in Pune in 2006, on ‘Problems of Construction Labours’. 82 construction sites of Pune were visited and a detailed study about the worker’s living conditions living on-site had been conducted. The following were the findings: 66.7% of construction companies consist of 100-200 labourers. A majority percentage of labourers (66.0%) are living in self-

constructed temporary sheds nearby construction sites. 71.7% of temporary shelters do not have any electricity

provision. 73.8% of construction sites do not have any toilet facility or

toilets having substandard quality. Only 20.4 % of construction sites have provision of drinking

water facility. 72.2% of the companies do not pay medical cost incurred by the

labourers. 79.7% of construction companies are not making provision of

'Crèches' to the labourers' children. 74.2% of construction labourers' children are illiterate. They are

either at home or wandering here and there in the site when their family members engaged in work.

An article published by Hindu on May 5th, 2012 says that, ‘Construction Workers are unaware of their Rights’. It says that, “Five years since the board has been set up, just 10,082 labourers availed the welfare benefits while 14.89 lakh workers were registered. This, while Rs. 789 crore is lying with the Welfare Board for their benefit”.According to a review conducted by International Labour Organization in 2001, in many developing countries, where the supply of labour (particularly unskilled labour) is far in excess of the number of jobs, earnings for the majority of construction workers are around the level of the minimum wage or below.

Lack of good Housing, physical infrastructure & social benefits

Low wages and lack of financial security,

Lack of strong vigilance & enforcement of law and

Lack of awareness amongst workers about their rights.

Learnings

Approach to the Problem

‘Lack of good Housing, physical infrastructure &

social infrastructure’The delivery mechanisms

of facilities

Identifying delivery mechanisms for providing – “Housing, Physical infrastructure and social

infrastructure”, that are already present in the market,

Delivery Mechanisms – Housing, Physical

Infrastructure and Social Infrastructure

InterviewsTo identify the delivery mechanism of each facility provided to the contract labourers, interviews have been conducted with the higher order stakeholders of the construction industry (majorly contractors and builders). A total of 7 interviews have been conducted, in which 2 are builders, 4 are contractors and 1 is a civil engineer. All these individuals take up projects mostly in and around Hyderabad district.

Delivery Mechanisms

Housingi. Building construction in the City

On-site: • The construction workers first build temporary shelters

around the construction site and then, once the ground floor of the building is ready, they make shelter under the building. Materials used are Plastic yellow/blue colored sheets and Bamboo sticks.

• Sometimes, permanent structures are built as shelter to the workers, and once the project comes to end, these structures are dismantled. The materials used are, corrugated GI sheets for roof, brick and cement for walls, and cement flooring.Off-site:

Generally, when the contractor/sub-contractor owns a nearby building or sometimes takes the building on rent, and provides shelter for the workers there.

ii. Service projects in the City

These projects are basically construction of roads, flyovers, laying of pipelines, sewage lines etc. in the city. In these cases, shelter for workers is generally provided off-site. A residential colony is chosen and workers reside in those colonies until the completion of project.

Since the off-site housing is far from the construction site, workers are provided with transportation facility to reach the construction site. Generally a DCM vehicle or a small truck/lorry is provided for workers to reach the site in the morning and are returned to the shelter in similar away in the evening after the completion of work for the day.

iii. Construction project outside the cityConstruction projects outside the city are generally irrigation projects, construction of dams, canals etc. In projects like these, housing for workers is provided on-site itself. • Materials used for shelter are generally plastic blue/yellow

sheets and bamboo sticks to hold the structure. • Sometimes, permanent structures are built and are later

dismantled after the completion of project. Materials used in these are – brick & cement walls, GI sheets or palm leaves roof, and mud flooring.

• Also, in recent times, a new material called plastic fiber is in the market for temporary shelters. They are easily assembled and dis-mantled based on the requirement.

Sanitation FacilityIt is observed that, most of the construction sites lack the facility of sanitation for workers, irrespective of construction site’s location, or type of project, etc.

However, one mechanism has been identified for on-site construction sites – Permanent toilet structures are built and are later dis-mantled after the completion of project.

Whereas, for off-site construction sites, sanitation facilities are sometimes provided in the buildings themselves.

Drinking Water Facility

Water from bore well/bore pump that is dug for construction purpose, is used for drinking water purpose. However, if the water is found to be not potable, water cans from the market are brought and are provided for drinking water for the workers.

Electricity FacilityThe electricity connection from the site is extended to the shelters and a separate meter is set up for electricity used by the construction workers.Cooking Facility/Food FacilityIt depends on the status of the worker and the location of the construction site

i. Building construction in the City • In case, the worker is living with their family, food is cooked by

themselves and they are not dependent on the contractor/sub-contractor.

• Whereas, if the worker is not living with their family, meals are provided by the contractor/sub-contractor. These are counted in wages and are paid comparatively less than the worker who lives with their family.

ii. Construction Project outside the cityIn these cases, a cook is hired by the contractor for cooking all the meals in a day for the labourers.

Recreational FacilitiesThere is no special provision of recreational facilities for the workers. However, Sunday is compulsorily a holiday for relaxation from work and sometimes, in few cases, a Television is provided as a recreational facility to the workers.

Creches/Educational Facilities It is noted that, amongst all the interviews conducted, none of the construction company provides any crèche facility or educational facilities to the worker’s children.

Health Facilities

Also, when the construction site is outside the city, the doctor from the nearby village/town/city is called to visit the construction site at regular intervals for medical check-up of all the construction workers.

The contractor generally takes responsibility of workers health issues only when any injury takes place or only when health is affected, during the process of working in the construction site. They are provided with Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) cards, which provides medical aid to the workers.

Way ForwardThis study mainly aims at improving the living conditions of contract labourers of construction industry. Focusing on this aim, an attempt has been made to identify all the existing delivery mechanisms that are present in the market to deliver the basic facilities to the contract labourers when working in a construction project. There are few delivery mechanisms that have been identified. However, further study needs to be conducted in identifying various other delivery mechanisms.Along with this identification, it is important to understand how it is practically functioning, for which, on-ground study by visiting the construction site is to be done. The study should be conducted involving contract workers asking about their opinion on these delivery mechanisms. On the basis of common consent between marketer/contractor/facility provider and facility receiver/worker, few suitable alternatives can be worked out. Apart from these, in the later stage of study, the other three broad problems should also be studied, as all these are interlinked and inter-dependent.

Thank You