BUILDING AND OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS'(REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) ACT, 1996

An Act to regulate the employment and conditions of service of building and other construction workers and to provide for their safety, health and welfare measures and for other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-seventh year of the Republic of India as follows:

PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application

• This Act may be called the Building and Other Construction Workers' (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
• It extends to the whole of India.
• It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of March, 1996.
• It applies to every establishment which employs, or had employed on any day of the preceding twelve months, ten or more building workers in any building or other construction work.

Explanation :For the purposes of this sub-section, the building workers employed in different relays in a day either by the employer or the contractor shall be taken into account in computing the number of building workers employed in the establishment.


2. Definitions (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires--

• "appropriate Government" means:
• In relation to an establishment (which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor) in respect of which the appropriate Government under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), is the Central Government, the Central Government;
• In relation to any such establishment, being a public sector undertaking, as the Central Government may, by notification, specify which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor, the Central Government;
Explanation : For the purposes of sub-clause (ii), "public sector undertaking" means any corporation established by or under any Central, State or Provincial Act or a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), which is owned, controlled or managed by the Central Government;
• in relation to any other establishment which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor, the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situate;
• "beneficiary" means a building worker registered under section 12;
• "Board" means a Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board constituted under sub-section (1) of section 18;
• "building or other construction work" means the construction, alteration, repairs, maintenance or demolition, of or, in relation to, buildings, streets, roads, railways, tramways, airfields, irrigation, drainage, embankment and navigation works, flood control works (including storm water drainage works), generation, transmission and distribution of power, water works (including channels for distribution of water), oil and gas installations, electric lines, wireless, radio, television, telephone, telegraph and overseas communications, dams, canals, reservoirs, watercourses, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, aquaducts, pipelines, towers, cooling towers, transmission towers and such other work as may be specified in this behalf by the appropriate Government, by notification but does not include any building or other construction work to which the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), or the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952), apply;
• "building worker" means a person who is employed to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be expressed or implied, in connection with any building or other construction work but does not include any such person--
• who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or
• Who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws wages exceeding one thousand six hundred rupees per mensem or exercises, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature;
• "Chief Inspector" means the Chief Inspector of Inspection of Building and Construction appointed under sub-section (2) of section 42;
• "contractor" means a person who undertakes to produce a given result for any establishment, other than a mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture, by the employment of building workers or who supplies building workers for any work of the establishment, and includes a sub-contractor;
• "Director-General" means the Director-General of Inspection appointed under sub-section (1) of section 42;
• "employer" in relation to an establishment, means the owner thereof, and includes--
• in relation to a building or other construction work carried on by or under the authority of any department of the Government, directly without any contractor, the authority specified in this behalf, or where no authority is specified, the head of the department;
• in relation to a building or other construction work carried on by or on behalf of a local authority or other establishment, directly without any contractor, the chief executive officer of that authority or establishment;
• in relation to a building or other construction work carried on by or through a contractor, or by the employment of building workers supplied by a contractor, the contractor;
• "establishment" means any establishment belonging to, or under the control of, Government, any body corporate or firm, an individual or association or other body of individuals which or who employs building workers in any building or other construction work; and includes an establishment belonging to a contractor, but does not include an individual who employs such workers in any building or contraction work in relation to his own residence the total cost of such construction not being more than rupees ten lakhs;
• "Fund" means the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Fund of a Board constituted under sub-section (1) of section 24;
• "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
• "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government;
• "wages" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (vi) of section 2 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936).

(2) Any reference in this Act to any law which is not in force in any area shall, in relation to that area, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that area.


COMMENTS


"appropriate government" means--

• in relation to an establishment which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is the Central Government;
• in relation to a public sector establishment is the Central Government which is owned, controlled or managed by the Central Government;
• in relation to any other establishment, the Govt. of the State in which that other establishment is situate.

BUILDING AND OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS'(REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) ACT, 1996

CHAPTER II
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND EXPERT COMMITTEES 3. Central Advisory Committee

• The Central Government shall, as soon as may be, constitute a Committee to be called the Central Building and Other Construction Workers' Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Central Advisory Committee) to advise the Central Government on such matters arising out of the administration of this Act as may be referred to it.
• The Central Advisory Committee shall consist of--
• A Chairperson to be appointed by the Central Government;
• Three Members of Parliament of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and one by the Council of States--members;
• The Director-General--member, ex officio;
• Such number of other members, not exceeding thirteen but not less than nine, as the Central Government may nominate to represent the employers, building workers, associations of architects, engineers, accident insurance institutions and any other interests which, in the opinion of the Central Government, ought to be represented on the Central Advisory Committee.
• The number of persons to be appointed as members from each of the categories specified in clause (d) of sub-section (2), the term of office and other conditions of service of, the procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions by, and the manner of filling vacancies among, the members of the Central Advisory Committee shall be such as may be prescribed:


PROVIDED that the members nominated to represent the building workers shall not be less than the number of members nominated to represent the employers.
• It is hereby declared that the office of member of the Central Advisory Committee shall not disqualify its holder for being chosen as, or for being, a Member of either House of Parliament.

COMMENTS

The Central Govt. has power to constitute the Central Building and Other Construction Workers' Advisory Committee. The Central Advisory Committee shall consist of a chairperson, three members of Parliament--two from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha, the Director-General of Inspection, not more than 13 but not less than 9 persons nominated by the govt. to represent the employers, building workers, association of architects, engineers, accident insurance institutions and any other interests.

4. State Advisory Committee

• The State Government shall constitute a committee to be called the State Building and Other Construction Workers' Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as the State Advisory Committee) to advise the State Government on such matters arising out of the administration of this Act as may be referred to it.
• The State Advisory Committee shall consist of--
• a Chairperson to be appointed by the State Government;
• Two members of the State Legislature to be elected from the State Legislature--members;
• a member to be nominated by the Central Government;
• the Chief Inspector--member, ex officio;
• such number of other members, not exceeding eleven, but not less than seven, as the State Government may nominate to represent the employers, building workers, associations of architects, engineers, accident insurance institutions and any other interests which, in the opinion of the State Government, ought to be represented on the State Advisory Committee.
• The number of persons to be appointed as members from each of the categories specified in clause (e) of sub-section (2), the term of office and other conditions of service of, the procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions by, and the manner of filling vacancies among, the members of State Advisory Committee shall be such as may be prescribed:



PROVIDED that the number of members nominated to represent the building workers shall not be less than the number of members nominated to represent the employers.


COMMENTS

The State Govt. has power to constitute the State Building and Other Construction Workers' Advisory Committee for the State. The State Advisory Committee shall consist of a chairperson, two members of the State Legislature, one member to be nominated by the Central Government, the Chief Inspector of Inspection, not more than eleven (11) but not less than seven (7) persons nominated by the State Government to represent the employers, building workers, association of architects, engineers, accidents insurance institutions and any other interests.

• Expert Committees
• The appropriate Government may constitute one or more expert committees consisting of persons specially qualified in building or other construction work for advising that Government for making rules under this Act.
• The members of the expert committee shall be paid such fees and allowances for attending the meetings of the committee as may be prescribed:

PROVIDED that no fee or allowances shall be payable to a member who is an officer of Government or of any body corporate established by or under any law for the time being in force.