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A large share of the people who build and clean and staff the infrastructure of the National Capital Region came from somewhere else. They travelled for work, often from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal or Odisha, and they carry a specific vulnerability that has nothing to do with their skill: their entitlements are frequently tied to systems in a state they no longer live in, and their employment records are fragmented across employers who never knew each other.
This article is about fixing that. It covers the documents that matter, the registrations worth having, how to keep your record intact across employers and states, and what to do when something goes wrong far from home.
It is general information about worker protections in India. It is not a recruitment notice, it is not legal advice, and it is not issued by any employer or government body.
The core problem, stated plainly
Formal employment in India generates a record: a provident fund account, an insurance registration, payslips, an appointment letter, an experience letter. That record is what proves you worked, what you were paid, and what you are owed.
Migrant workers lose that record constantly, and usually not through carelessness. A contractor changes and a new provident fund number is created instead of the old one being used. Wages are paid in cash with no slip. An employer holds documents. A job ends abruptly and nobody issues an experience letter. Registration for a welfare benefit exists in the home state and is not transferred.
Five years later the worker has done five years of work and can prove almost none of it. Everything below is about preventing that.
The documents to have, and to keep yourself
Carry these, keep copies separately, and photograph everything on your phone.
Aadhaar and PAN. Required for almost everything, including a bank account and provident fund registration.
A bank account in your own name. Non-negotiable. Wages should reach you by transfer, not in cash, and not into someone else account.
Your Universal Account Number. This is the single most important number in your working life and most workers do not know theirs. It is your permanent provident fund identity, and it should follow you from employer to employer.
Your ESIC insurance number, where you are covered.
An appointment letter from every employer, on their letterhead, naming the company.
Every payslip. These are your evidence in any dispute, and they cannot be recreated afterwards.
An experience letter from every employer, stating your role and the period, obtained before you leave.
Education and trade certificates, kept as originals with you and provided as copies to employers.
The registrations worth having
Several exist specifically for this workforce, and they cost nothing.
e-Shram is a national database for unorganised sector workers, intended to link workers to welfare schemes. Registration is free and is done with your Aadhaar and a mobile number.
Building and other construction workers welfare board registration in the state where you work. These boards are funded by a cess on construction and provide benefits to registered construction workers. Registration is a state-level process, and it is one of the more concrete entitlements available to construction workers who take the trouble to register.
Provident fund and insurance, which are employer obligations rather than registrations you make yourself, but which you must check are actually happening.
Ration portability. India has implemented arrangements intended to allow ration entitlements to be accessed away from the home state, subject to the applicable rules. Check the current position and requirements rather than assuming either that it works automatically or that it does not exist.
The single most important habit
Keep one Universal Account Number, and check your provident fund passbook yourself.
When you join a new employer, give them your existing UAN. Do not allow a new one to be created. Multiple UANs are the most common and most damaging record problem for mobile workers, and merging them afterwards is slow and frustrating.
Then, once every three months, log into the provident fund member portal and look at your passbook. A deduction shown on a payslip and a contribution deposited in your account are two different events, and in poorly run establishments only the first happens. Five minutes a quarter is the only reliable way to know.
If deductions appear on your slips but not in your passbook, raise it in writing with your employer immediately and use the provident fund grievance channel if it is not corrected. Do not let it run for years, because recovering old contributions is far harder than fixing a recent gap.
What a fair engagement looks like
Before you accept work far from home, establish these.
The registered name of the company that will employ you, and an appointment letter on its letterhead. If your work is arranged through an intermediary, the employer is still a real company with a real name.
The wage, in writing, and how overtime is calculated. Check it against the notified minimum wage for your category and the state you are working in.
Payment by bank transfer with a payslip. Refuse cash-only arrangements.
Statutory contributions deducted and deposited under your own numbers.
Accommodation terms, if provided, including exactly what will be deducted.
Working hours, rest and weekly off.
And the rule that matters most in migrant employment specifically: never travel on a debt. An arrangement where an agent or employer pays for your travel and you work it off is the mechanism behind a great deal of serious exploitation in this country. Similarly, never surrender your original documents to an employer or agent, and never pay a commission to get work.
Safety, and the language problem
Migrant workers are over-represented in workplace injuries in construction, and one reason is entirely fixable.
Safety induction and briefings are sometimes delivered in a language the worker does not fully understand, and workers frequently do not say so. That is not a minor communication issue; it means someone is working near live electricity or a moving machine without understanding the rules that keep them alive.
Say so. Ask for the briefing in a language you actually understand, and ask someone to explain anything you did not follow. A responsible employer will arrange it. An employer that treats the request as an inconvenience has told you something important about how it operates.
Report every injury, however minor, and make sure it is recorded. An unrecorded injury is extremely difficult to claim for later, and construction injuries have a way of mattering years afterwards.
If something goes wrong far from home
Work through it in order, and keep everything in writing.
Raise the matter with your employer in writing, with specifics. Escalate to the principal contractor or principal employer, who generally carry compliance obligations for those working on their sites. Beyond that, the labour department of the state where you are working is the statutory authority for wages, hours and contract labour matters, provident fund non-deposit goes to the provident fund grievance channel, and the central public grievance portal is a starting point when you do not know which office applies.
Your evidence is your payslips, appointment letter and written communications. This is why the document section above is not filler.
If your documents have been taken, ask for them back in writing and keep the request. If you are being prevented from leaving, or being made to work against a debt, that is a serious matter and you should seek help rather than trying to manage it alone.
Building something out of the years
The difference between a decade of migrant work that leads somewhere and a decade that does not is largely documentation and certification.
Get a trade certification. Recognition of prior learning routes exist under India skilling framework for workers who acquired skills informally, and they convert years of practical ability into a recognised certificate. That certificate is what makes organised-sector employment, with proper benefits, possible.
Keep the record: projects worked on, roles held, plant operated, certifications obtained, experience letters from every employer. And keep continuous provident fund service by transferring rather than withdrawing.
Those habits do not make the work easier. They make it add up to something.
Frequently asked questions
Can I access my provident fund from another state? The provident fund system is national and operates through your UAN, which is why keeping a single UAN matters so much.
Should I withdraw my provident fund between jobs? Generally no. Transferring preserves continuous service, which matters for the pension component. Withdrawing resets it.
What if my employer refuses an experience letter? Ask in writing and keep the request. Your payslips and appointment letter remain evidence of employment.
Is registering on e-Shram useful? It is free and it exists to link unorganised workers to welfare schemes. There is no cost to registering.
Who do I trust for information? Government portals and the labour department of the state you work in. Not an agent, and not a forwarded message.
Registrations and protections for migrant workers
- e-Shram — Free registration for unorganised sector workers
- EPFO member portal — Keep one UAN and check your passbook
- ESIC — Medical cover for you and your dependants
- Ministry of Labour and Employment — Labour law and state departments
- Shram Suvidha Portal — Compliance and registrations
- CPGRAMS — Central public grievance redressal
The core advice
One bank account, one UAN, an appointment letter from every employer, every payslip kept, an experience letter before you leave, and a trade certification obtained somewhere along the way. Do those six things and a working life spent moving between employers and states still adds up to a record — which is the difference between being a worker and being an invisible one.
Disclaimer: This article is general career information only. It is not an official recruitment notice and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or authorised by any metro rail corporation, government department or contractor. Salary ranges shown in tags and elsewhere are indicative of what is commonly advertised for such roles and are not a quoted or guaranteed figure. Actual pay varies by organisation, city, post, grade and whether the role is direct or through a contractor, and only a signed offer letter or an official appointment order is binding. Always apply through the official website of the metro corporation concerned or a recognised government portal. This is not legal, financial or employment advice.
