BANGALORE: The Union Government proposes to levy a "training and education cess" on all construction projects in the country to help fund training and imparting new skills to the construction workers.

The levy of the "training and education cess" has been outlined in the draft National Housing and Habitat Policy-2005 circulated by the Union Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation.

The draft policy has not spelt out the quantum of levy and this is expected to be announced in the next Union Budget, Ministry officials said.

The building sector provides employment to 16 per cent of the workforce and is growing at the rate of 7 per cent. Out of this, the housing sector alone accounts for 85.5 lakh workers.

Skill upgrading

"However, nearly 55 per cent of them are in the unskilled category. Skill upgrading will result in higher income for the workers," says the draft policy adding that workers also need to be trained to keep up with the technological advancement in the sector.

"There are several schemes of the Government for imparting training and enhancing skills. These schemes could be converged to integrate efforts in this direction," it said.

Women workers

Significantly, the draft policy underlines the fact that the building industry is the biggest employer of women workers and is also "perhaps their biggest exploiter in terms of disparity in wages."

Supervisory position

"The solution lies in skill upgrading and induction of women at supervisory levels and also encouraging women as contractors. Public agencies should take the lead in this and training institutions must enrol women on a preferential basis," the draft paper said.

Child labour

Besides, adequate provisions for the safety and health of women engaged in construction activity that was hazardous in nature would be made by the authorities executing the project, it said.

In line with the national policy on prohibition of child labour, the exploitation of children in the construction sector would be strictly banned, the draft paper pointed out.

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