Projecthero Releases Startling Statistics: 90% Of Labourers In India Are Still Uninsured, 87% Still Receive Below Minimum Wage

* Hyderabad is the highest-paying city for construction workers; Delhi is the lowest  

*  Maharashtra jobs see the highest number of applicants

India’s largest app for construction workers and contractors, projecthero, has released its app usage report ahead of India's 74th Republic Day. projecthero’s usage statistics for 2022 demonstrate a concerning picture: a large majority of contractors across major Indian cities are not paying labourers the government-mandated minimum wage. Delhi is the lowest paying among all cities, while Hyderabad is the highest. Moreover, less than 10% of jobs make contributions to the employee’s Provident Fund and provide Employee State Insurance coverage. This data has been collated from the jobs posted and application patterns on the projecthero app.

projecthero is a construction tech startup, aiming to help build India’s $160 billion construction market. In 2022, projecthero raised $ 3.2 Mn from Ankur Capital and Omidyar Network India.

projecthero lets construction workers create profiles, connect with other workers, and apply to high-paying jobs on its platform. At the same time, contractors can also create profiles and either hire workers on the platform or apply to open projects.

Commenting on the report, Satya Vyas, Founder and CEO of projecthero, said, “Due to poor technological penetration, the construction market has been operating in an opaque manner. This opacity has allowed people to get away with paying low wages, violating legal provisions, and demonstrating bad behaviour. Additionally, more than 50 Mn workers still have to find work through informal means, and more than 1 Mn contractors still rely on references to get business. There is no singular platform where every stakeholder is present and is incentivised to protect their reputation. Thus, at projecthero, we are building a network for the construction industry where people with good reputations will see more and more work coming to them, along with other benefits. Considering the scale at which we are operating and our deep tech capabilities, we felt that it was our responsibility to publish this data for everyone to see. We feel that in the next few years, projecthero will be able to move these numbers in the right direction while helping to build a strong nation. ”