Addressing a national workshop on welfare of construction workers here, Kharge drew attention over low registration of construction workers, poor collection of cess and their improper utilisation.
He was referring to the provisions made under Building and Other Construction Workers Act and the Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act.
"There are three important issues on which I would like to draw attention of the state governments and Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Boards and impress upon them to put their focus on addressing these issues," he said.
As of now, only 88.10 lakh construction workers have been registered against the total strength of 4.46 crore workers, he said.
Similarly, the total collection of cess with the welfare boards amounts to Rs 7057 crore whereas around only Rs 1000 crore has been spent.
"While a few states have made considerable progress in this context, yet a majority of them have to make a start," Kharge said.
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The Union minister appreciated states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh for making "remarkable progress" in dealing with these issues.
Kharge said Andhra Pradesh has registered 11,64,369 workers with the board and collected a cess of Rs 625 crore but spent only Rs 34.73 crore.
Observing that the implementation of these Acts is not impressive even in some progressive states like Haryana and Punjab, Kharge said a question was raised in Parliament also about poor implementation of these laws.
He said the government is in the process of bringing out a legislation for the benefit of domestic workers.
Speaking on the occasion, an official of International Labour Organisation (ILO) said the new ILO recommendation adopted in June calls for social protection floor for all.
The Building and Other Construction Workers Act (BOCWA) and the Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act were enacted in 1996 to regulate wages, work condition, safety and health measures for construction workers.
The BOCWA applies to every establishment which employs 10 or more workers.
Under the Act, the states have been mandated to frame and notify rules, constitute advisory committees and expert committees and appoint various authorities for registration of workers, cess collection and inspection.