The Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra, is organizing a two-day National Conference on Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) in Mumbai on September 11-12, 2026. The conference is under the chairmanship of Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, and will be attended by Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, along with Labour Ministers and senior officials from States/UTs, Chairpersons and Secretaries of BOCW Welfare Boards, and senior officers from Central and State governments.
The conference will review progress on three major initiatives launched at the National Labour Conference held in New Delhi in November 2025: State BOCW Digital Labour Chowk, Labour Chowk-cum-Facilitation Centres, and Online BOCW Cess Collection Portal. These initiatives aim to strengthen employment facilitation, provide more dignified and accessible worker-centric services, and improve transparency and efficiency in cess collection and monitoring.
Nine states/UTs - Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha - will be launching their respective State BOCW Digital Labour Chowk initiatives during the conference, providing construction workers with better access to employment-related services. Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal will inaugurate their Online BOCW Cess Collection Portal to streamline cess collection and monitoring through digital processes. Additionally, Bihar and West Bengal will launch Labour Chowk-cum-Facilitation Centres designed to make it easier for construction workers to access employment and welfare services.
The conference aims to build stronger coordination between the Centre, States/UTs and BOCW Welfare Boards, identify implementation gaps, and establish priority actions for more effective delivery of social security, welfare and employment opportunities to construction workers. The state-wise progress reflects efforts to translate national initiatives into ground implementation, with experiences providing opportunities for mutual learning and sharing successful practices across states.