SC trashes contributory pension scheme for construction workers

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Centre’s plea that it would seek 50 <g data-gr-id="29">per cent</g> contribution from construction workers for according them the benefit of <g data-gr-id="83">pension</g> scheme, saying such a moAve will keep them away.

“Don’t make the beneficiaries (of the pension scheme) <g data-gr-id="34">to contribute</g> to the scheme. The moment you do it, they are dissuaded <g data-gr-id="33">to keep away from the scheme</g>,” the social justice bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit said.

“Our idea is that a worker is not made to contribute to the pension scheme. That (government’s move) is the easiest way to dissuade the worker to keep away from the scheme”, it said.

The court, on September 4, had expressed dissatisfaction over government’s reply on the proposed use of a whopping Rs 21,000 crore meant for welfare of construction workers and had summoned the Labour Secretary to appear in person on Friday.

The proposal to award contributory scheme to workers under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 was mooted on Friday by the Centre, which also admitted that nothing substantial has been done in the past. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the Centre, admitted that there was a “complete failure” on the part of the government in utilising the fund collected for the welfare of the construction workers as mandated under the 1996 law and said somewhere a “beginning” has to be made.

Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal, who appeared on court summon, told the bench that one of the impediments in the implementation of the provision of the 1996 law was that construction workers did not have an identity card.