8. What is Labour welfare ???
Labour Welfare refers to anything that is done for the
comfort and improvement of employees and is
provided over and above the wages.
Why is labour Welfare important in a company ???
Welfare helps in keeping the morale and motivation
of the employees high so as to retain the employees
for longer duration.
11. Labour Welfare…
• need not be in monetary terms only
• It may be in any kind/forms also.
Employee welfare includes:
1. monitoring of working conditions.
2. creation of industrial harmony through
infrastructure for health.
3. insurance against disease, accident and
unemployment for the workers and their families.
12. What are the OBJECTIVES of Labour Welfare ???
1.
2.
3.
4.
better life and health to the workers
make the workers happy and satisfied
relieve workers from industrial fatigue.
improve intellectual, cultural and material
conditions of living of the workers.
13. Features of labor welfare measures :
1. includes various facilities, services and amenities
provided to workers for improving their
health, efficiency, economic betterment and social status.
2. Welfare measures are in addition to regular wages and
other economic benefits available to workers due to legal
provisions and collective bargaining.
3. Labor welfare schemes are flexible and ever-changing. New
welfare measures are added to the existing ones from time
to time.
14. 4. Welfare measures may be introduced by the
Employers (Voluntary)
Government (Statutory)
Employees
Social or charitable agency.
5. The purpose of providing such facilities is to make their work
life better and also to raise their standard of living.
15. Important Benefits of welfare measures:
To Employees:
• Facilities like housing schemes, medical benefits,
education and recreation facilities for workers’ families
help in raising their standards of living.
• Provides better physical and mental health to workers
and thus promote a healthy work environment·
• This makes workers to pay more attention towards
work and thus increases their productivity.
16. To Employer:
• Stable labor force by providing welfare facilities.
• Workers take active interest in their jobs and work with a
feeling of involvement and participation.
• Eg: Saurashtra Cement Ltd.
•
•
•
•
To Organization:
Employee welfare measures increase the productivity of
organization
promote healthy industrial relations
Helps to maintain maintaining industrial peace. The social
evils prevalent among the labors such as substance abuse, etc.
are reduced to a greater extent by the welfare policies.
Eg. CUMI – Murguppa group
17. Classification of Labour Welfare Activities
Labour Welfare
Activities
Statutory
Non - Statutory
Voluntary
Mutual
18. Classification of Labour Welfare Activities
Labour Welfare
Activites
INTRA-MURAL:
EXTRA-MURAL:
Within factory
premises
Outside factory
premises
19. Statutory Schemes
• The statutory schemes are those schemes that are
compulsory to be provided by an organization as
compliance to the laws governing from time to time.
• It is the product of coercive power of government.
20. STATUTORY WELFARE SCHEMES
• The statutory welfare schemes include the following
provisions:
1. Drinking Water: At all the working places safe hygienic
drinking water should be provided.
2. Facilities for sitting: In every organization, especially
factories, suitable seating arrangements are to be provided.
3. First aid appliance: First aid appliances are to be provided
and should be readily assessable so that in case of any minor
accident initial medication can be provided to the needed
employee.
21. 4. Latrines and Urinals: A sufficient number of
latrines and urinals are to be provided in the
office and factory premises and are also to be
maintained in a neat and clean condition.
5. Canteen facilities: Cafeteria or canteens are to be
provided by the employer so as to provide
hygienic and nutritious food to the employees.
6. Spittoons: In every work place, such as ware
houses, store places, in the dock area and office
premises spittoons are to be provided in
convenient places and same are to be maintained
in a hygienic condition.
22. 7. Lighting: Proper and sufficient lights are to be provided for
employees so that they can work safely during the night
shifts. (eg TCS)
8. Washing places: Adequate washing places such as
bathrooms, wash basins with tap and tap on the stand pipe
are provided in the port area in the vicinity of the work
places.
9. Changing rooms: Adequate changing rooms are to be
provided for workers to change their cloth in the factory
area and office premises. Adequate lockers are also
provided to the workers to keep their clothes and
belongings.
10. Rest rooms: Adequate numbers of restrooms are provided
to the workers with provisions of water supply, wash
basins, toilets, bathrooms, etc.
23. NON STATUTORY WELFARE SCHEMES
These are provided ‘Voluntarily’ or by ‘Agreeing Mutually’ with
the workers. The non statutory schemes differ from organization
to organization and from industry to industry.
Non statutory welfare schemes include the following schemes:
1. Personal Health Care (Regular medical check-ups): Some of the
companies provide the facility for extensive health check-up.
2. Flexi-time: The main objective of the flextime policy is to provide
opportunity to employees to work with flexible working schedules.
Flexible work schedules are initiated by employees and approved
by management to meet business commitments while supporting
employee personal life needs.
3.
Maternity & Adoption Leave – Employees can avail maternity or
adoption leaves. Paternity leave policies have also been introduced
by various companies.
24. 4. Employee Assistance Programs: Various assistant programs are
arranged like external counseling service so that employees or
members of their immediate family can get counseling on various
matters. (Eg. SCL-Talk to ME)
5. Harassment Policy: To protect an employee from harassments of
any kind, guidelines are provided for proper action and also for
protecting the aggrieved employee. (E.g.: SCL- awareness posters)
6. Medi-claim Insurance Scheme: This insurance scheme provides
adequate insurance coverage of employees for expenses related
to hospitalization due to illness, disease or injury or pregnancy.
7. Employee Referral Scheme: In several companies employee
referral scheme is implemented to encourage employees to refer
friends and relatives for employment in the organization.
25. WELFARE PROGRAMMES FOR ORGANIZED
SECTORS
Sanitary and Hygiene:
• Includes toilets and water for drinking and washing.
• The factories Act requires that every factory must be kept clean and free from dirt.
• Separate latrine and urinals for male and female workers must be provided
• Spittoons must be kept in convenient places in clean and hygienic conditions
Rest Facilities:
• The factories Act provides that, for the purpose of rest, suitable sitting
arrangements have to be made and maintained for all workers who are obliged to
work standing and rest rooms and lunch rooms in a factory with more than 150
workers.
26. Canteen:
• The construction of canteens is compulsory as per the Factories Act
(1948), the Mines Act (1952), Motor Transport Workers Act (1961)
and the Plantation Labour Act (1951).
• Mess rooms are an elementary feeding facility with a sufficient
chairs tables where workers can sit and eat in comfort.
Health Care:
• This includes health and medical facilities inside and outside the
workers place of work, intra-mural health and medical amenities
cover first aid, ambulance rooms, industrial hygiene, occupational
health, and emergency medical care in case of accidents or sudden
illness inside factory premises.
Occupation and Health Services:
• These services include carrying out of periodical medical checks of
certain categories of workers to detect early signs of ill-health and
prevent the outbreak of serious health complaints.
• The Factories Act lays down that in any factory with more than 30
women workers, a crèche should be provided.
27. Housing:
• Housing is an integral part of worker’s welfare.
• Recommendation of the ILO states that housing should be a national policy. Both
the Industrial Commission (1918) and the Royal Commission (1i913) realized the
importance and necessity of improving housing conditions of industrial workers
and made recommendations for the purpose.
(Eg- Reliance , Bharuch; SCL – Porbandar)
Transport:
• Transport facilities to and from the place of work are given to workers as one of
the desirable welfare amenities. (Eg – SCL :Bus service is provided)
• This facility is gaining in popularity because of growing urbanization, location of
industries, transport loads and traffic congestion.
• The main purpose of this amenity is to enable workers reach their place of work
without undue delay or fatigue, reduces absenteeism.
Recreation:
• Recreation is a leisure time activity which is a healthy diversion and a spare-time
occupation.
• It refreshes an individual mentally. (eg – TCS: den rooms with coffee machine,
newspapers, computer)
28. Education:
•
•
Education improves the quality of the labour force, provides opportunities for
a proper training for the acquisition of skills and techniques which are
essential for workers in an industry and enable them to adjust themselves to
their particular way of life,
Yet, there is no statutory obligation with regard to education for worker’s
children in any industry except in plantations. (Eg – SCL – school for girls in
Porbandar)
Co-operative and Saving:
• The co-operative credit societies help the worker to save for unforeseen
domestic crises. By means of this service, workers are able to receive advice
and counsel on some of the personnel and sometimes also on the personal
problems inside and outside their place of work. A trained social worker is
usually appointed for this purpose.
• There are many non statutory welfare amenities available to industrial
workers. For eg. Ex-gratia payment, cash benefits paid in case of
death, injury, sickness, marriage or as a felicitation grant.
29. SOCIAL SECURITY IN INDIA
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923
Employee State Insurance Act, 1948
Employee Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
The Seaman’s Provident Fund Act, 1966 : Under this, worker’s contribution of 12
percent with an equal contribution from the employers are entitled to a full refund
on retirement or after 15 years of membership.
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951: The benefits statutorily provided under this Act
include the provision of drinking water and its conservancy, medical facilities,
canteen in the case of 150 or more workers, crèches in case of 50 or more women
workers, recreational facilities, umbrellas, blanket and rain coats. Cash benefits in
the case of sickness and maternity.
30. CONCLUSION
• Labour welfare services is an important personnel function in a business.
• Effective utilization of other factors of production depends on the
efficiency of human factor.
• The worker spends more than a quarter of his life in his working place.
Therefore, the worker has every right to demand that the condition under
which he works should be reasonable and provides proper safeguards for
life and health.
• The amount of dedication, quality of work, commitment to the
organization, morale etc. are all determined by the type and amount of
welfare a worker receives.
