Labour Welfare Organisation

Labour Welfare Organisations 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. 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 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The Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1946 and the Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972 were repealed in 2018.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Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976 and the Iron Ore, Manganese Ore and Crome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1976 were repealed in 2019.
The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981 is proposed to be repealed once the The Code on [Social Security, 2020|Code on Social Security, 2020] is implemented.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 is as follows

LWO Regions

There are 18 Labour Welfare Organisations.

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).

Sl. No.	Name of Hospital	Region	Bed Strength
1	Central Hospital, Barajamda	Ranchi	50
2	Central Hospital, Joda	Bhubaneswar	50
3	Central Hospital, Balaghat	Jabalpur	50
4	Central Hospital, Mysore	Bangalore	50
5	Central Hospital, Gursahaiganj	Lucknow	10
6	Central Hospital, Dhuliyan	Kolkata	65
7	Central Hospital, Sagar	Jabalpur	30
8	Central Hospital, Mukkudal	Hyderabad	30
9	Central Hospital, Bihar Sharif	Patna	30
10	Central Hospital, Yadgir	Bangalore	15

Types of Dispensaries (Modern Medicine">Medicine">Modern Medicine/Ayurvedic">Ayurveda">Ayurvedic)

Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Dispensary
Cine Workers Welfare Fund Dispensary
Limestone & Dolomite Mine Workers Welfare Fund Dispensary
Iron Ore, Manganese Ore & Chrome Ore Mine Workers Welfare Fund Dispensary

These Dispensaries could be static or mobile.

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, 2016. This scheme no longer administered by LWO and is converged with Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) now.