Labour Welfare Organisations (LWOs) are subordinate offices of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E), Government of India. The organisation is headed by the Director General of Labour Welfare (Joint Secretary, MoL&E). This organisation implements welfare schemes for unorganised workers such as beedi-workers, non-coal mine-workers and cine-workers.
There are 18 LWO Regions, each headed by a Welfare Commissioner, an officer of the Central Labour Service (CLS).
History
The welfare schemes administered by the Labour Welfare Organisations (LWO) are formulated based on provisions in the following acts of the parliament
Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1946 Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972 Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976 Iron Ore, Manganese Ore and Crome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1976 Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981
Earlier these schemes were funded through collection of cess. But currently these cess are abolished and the schemes are funded by grants from the Government.
The Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1946 and the Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972 were repealed in 2018. The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976 and the Iron Ore, Manganese Ore and Crome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1976 were repealed in 2019.
The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981 is proposed to be repealed once the Code on Social Security, 2020 is implemented.
In 2024, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development recommended that the ceiling for reimbursement in health scheme should be considered for revision and the possibility of including more health conditions under the health scheme should be explored. The same committee in 2025, recommended that the income ceiling of ₹10,000 per month for eligibility to avail scholarships should be considered for revision as it has not been revised since 2003.
Organogram The organisational structure of the Labour Welfare Organisation (LWO) is as follows
LWO Regions There are 18 Labour Welfare Organisations. +Sl. No.LWORegion coveredNumber of HospitalsNumber of Dispensaries1AhmedabadGujarat122AjmerRajasthan233LucknowUttar Pradesh1244BangaluruKarnataka2285BhubaneswarOdisha1246ChandigarhPunjab, Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana7ChennaiTamil Nadu, Puducherry228DehradunUttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh19GuwahatiAssam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram210HyderabadAndhra Pradesh, Telangana12511JabalpurMadhya Pradesh23612ThiruvananthapuramKerala, Lakshadweep713KolkataWest Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar islands,Sikkim12314NagpurMaharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu1815PatnaBihar11716RanchiJharkhand1717RaipurChhattisgarh1018SrinagarJammu and KashmirTotal10279
LWO Hospitals and Dispensaries There are a total of 10 Hospitals and 279 Dispensaries under Labour Welfare Organisations located throughout India. These medical institutions are headed by Officers of the Central Health Service (CHS). +LIST OF LWO HOSPITALSSl. No.Name of HospitalRegionBed Strength1Central Hospital, BarajamdaRanchi502Central Hospital, JodaBhubaneswar503Central Hospital, BalaghatJabalpur504Central Hospital, MysoreBangalore505Central Hospital, GursahaiganjLucknow106Central Hospital, DhuliyanKolkata657Central Hospital, SagarJabalpur308Central Hospital, MukkudalHyderabad309Central Hospital, Bihar SharifPatna3010Central Hospital, YadgirBangalore15
Types of Dispensaries (Modern Medicine/Ayurvedic)
Beedi Workers Welfare Fund (BWWF) Dispensary Cine Workers Welfare Fund (CWWF) Dispensary Limestone & Dolomite Mine Workers Welfare Fund (LSDMWWF) Dispensary Iron Ore, Manganese Ore & Chrome Ore Mine Workers Welfare Fund (IOMCWWF) Dispensary These Dispensaries could be static or mobile (delivering services at the place of work).
Welfare Schemes Health Scheme
The beneficiaries receive primary healthcare and medicines free of cost from the Dispensaries and Hospitals under Labour Welfare Organisation. Also reimbursement is provided for treatment availed for certain health conditions such as Heart diseases, Kidney transplantation, Cancer, etc.
Education Scheme
Financial assistance is provided to children of the beneficiaries. The scholarship amount ranges from ₹1000 to ₹25,000 per year. Applications are processed through National Scholarship Portal.
Housing Scheme Subsidy of ₹1,50,000 was provided through Revised Integrated Housing Scheme (RIHS), 2016. This scheme no longer administered by LWO and is converged with Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) now.https://socialwelfare.vikaspedia.in/viewcontent/social-welfare/unorganised-sector-1/schemes-unorganised-sector/revised-integrated-housing-scheme-for-workers?lgn=en
See also
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E) Central Labour Service (CLS) Central Health Service (CHS)
References