The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, is hosting a two-day national conference on Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) in Mumbai on 11 and 12 September 2026. The conference, chaired by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, will bring together labour ministers, state officials and construction worker board representatives from across the country. The gathering will review progress on three major digital and service delivery programmes aimed at helping construction workers access employment and welfare support more easily.
What is being launched
Nine states and union territories—Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha—will unveil their State BOCW Digital Labour Chowk platforms during the conference. These platforms are designed to give construction workers better access to job-related services online.
Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal will also launch an Online BOCW Cess Collection Portal. This system aims to make the collection and tracking of construction worker welfare cess more transparent and efficient through digital methods.
Additionally, Bihar and West Bengal will inaugurate Labour Chowk-cum-Facilitation Centres. These physical centres will make it simpler for construction workers to find employment and access welfare benefits in one location.
All three initiatives were originally announced at a National Labour Conference held in New Delhi in November 2025. The Mumbai conference will assess how well these programmes are being rolled out across different states.
What this means for you
If you are a construction worker, these changes could make it easier to search for jobs and access welfare services without travelling to multiple offices or dealing with complex paperwork. The digital platforms and facilitation centres aim to reduce the time and effort needed to register, find work and claim benefits. States that successfully implement these systems may serve as models for other parts of India, potentially expanding access to streamlined services for construction workers nationwide over time.