UNIT III

LABOUR WELFARE

Labour Welfare:
Concept:
Welfare includes anything that is done for the
comfort and improvement of employees and is
provided over and above the wages.
Anything done for the intellectual, physical, moral
and economic betterment of the workers , whether
by employers, by government or by other agencies,
over and above what is laid down laid down by law
or what is normally expected of the contractual
benefits for which workers may have bargained.

IMPORTANCE:
1. Welfare helps in keeping the morale and
motivation of the employees high so as to retain
the employees for longer duration.
2. The welfare measures need not be in monetary
terms only but in any kind/forms.
3. Employee welfare includes monitoring of working
conditions, creation of industrial harmony through
infrastructure for health, industrial relations and
insurance against disease, accident and
unemployment for the workers or salaries.

Labor welfare has the following objectives:

1. To provide better life and health to the
workers
2. To make the workers happy and satisfied
3. To relieve workers from industrial fatigue and
to improve intellectual, cultural and material
conditions of living of the workers

The basic features of labor welfare measures are

as follows:
1. Labor welfare 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 everchanging. New welfare measures are added to the
existing ones from time to time.

4. Welfare measures may be introduced by the

employers, government, employees or by any social or
charitable agency.
5. The purpose of labor welfare is to bring about the
development of the whole personality of the workers
to make a better workforce. The very logic behind
providing welfare schemes is to create efficient,
healthy, loyal and satisfied labor force for the
organization. The purpose of providing such facilities
is to make their work life better and also to raise their
standard of living.
6. It may be noted that not only intra mural but
also extra mural.

The important benefits of welfare measures can

be summarized as follows:
1. They provide better physical and mental health
to workers and thus promote a healthy work
environment Facilities like housing schemes,
medical benefits, and education and recreation
facilities for workers families help in raising their
standards of living. This makes workers to pay
more attention towards work and thus increases
their productivity.
2. Employers get stable labor force by providing
welfare facilities. Workers take active interest in
their jobs and work with a feeling of involvement
and participation

3. Employee welfare measures increase the

productivity of organization and promote healthy
industrial relations thereby 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.
Organizations provide welfare facilities to their
employees to keep their motivation levels high.

Need arises from the very nature of

Industrial system, Characterized by two
basic factors:

Conditions under which work is carried on

are not congenial for health ( Long arm of
the job)
Labourer works in an entirely strange
atmosphere, creates problems of
adjustment( Social invasion of factory)

Labour investigation Committee :

The provision of canteens improves the

physique, entertainment reduces the
incidence of vices, medical aid and
maternity and child welfare services
improve the health of the workers and
bring down the rates of general, maternal
and infantile morality, education facilities
increase their mental efficiency and
economic productivity.

Royal Commission on labour:

Article 41: The state shall, within the limit

of its economic capacity and development
make effective provisions for securing the
right to work to education and to public
assistance in cases of unemployment, oldage, sickness, and disablement and in
other cases of undeserved want.
Article 42: The state shall make provision
for securing the just and humane
conditions of work and for maternity relief

Article 43: The state shall endeavour to

secure, by suitable legislation or economic
organisation or in any other way to all
workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise,
work, a wage. Conditions of work ensuring a
decent standard of life and full enjoyment of
leisure and social and cultural opportunities,
and in particular, the state shall endeavour
to promote cottage industries on an
individual or co-operative basis in rural areas

Approaches to Labour Welfare

The location , where these amenities are

provided within and outside the industrial
undertakings
The nature of amenities such as those
concerned with conditions of employment
( hours of work, wages, holidays with pay, rest
interval, sanitation etc)and living conditions of
work people( schemes of benefits as cooperative societies, legal and medical aid and
housing)
The welfare activities termed as statutory,
voluntary and mutual
The agency which provides these amenities

On the basis of location of welfare

activities, labour welfare work has
classified into two specific categories

Intramural: Compensation for accidents,

supply of drinking water, good layout of
machinery, PF, gratuity, maternity benefits,
sufficient lighting, fencing of machinery
etc.
Extramural: Housing accommodation,
indoor and outdoor recreation facilities,
amusement and sports, educational
facilities etc

Conditions of work environment

Workers health services
Labour welfare programme
Labours Economic welfare programme
General welfare work

Labour welfare activities

Government
Employers
Workers organizations

Educational facilities
Medical facilities
Transport facilities
Recreational facilities
Housing facilities
Consumer Co-operative societies etc

Supply of free clothing to orphans in labour

colonies
Aid to family members of deceased workers
Consumer stores, credit and housing
facilities
Workers education and training programme
Blood donation camps, family welfare
camps
Providing scholarship etc

First five year plan(1951-56)- welfare of

urban workers
Second five year plan(1956-61)- Welfare of
workers and welfare funds
Third five year plan(1961-66)- Maternity
benefit act, Payment of Bonus act,
Apprentice act
Fourth five year plan(1969-74)- It includes
factories, shops etc. Contract labour act,
1970, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972,
Family pension scheme

Fifth five year plan(1974-79)- Beedi

workers welfare fund etc
Sixth five year plan(1980-85)Employee state insurance scheme
Seventh five year plan
Eight five year plan

The employee welfare schemes can be classified

into two categories viz. statutory and nonstatutory welfare schemes.
The statutory schemes are those schemes that
are compulsory to provide by an organization as
compliance to the laws governing employee
health and safety. These include provisions
provided in industrial acts like Factories Act
1948, Dock Workers Act (safety, health and
welfare) 1986, Mines Act 1962. The non
statutory schemes differ from organization to
organization and from industry to industry

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 appliances: 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.

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.

7. Lighting: Proper and sufficient lights are to be

provided for employees so that they can work safely
during the night shifts.
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.
NON STATUTORY SCHEMES:
Any non statutory welfare schemes may include
the following schemes:
1. Personal Health Care (Regular medical checkups): 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. 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.

4. Harassment Policy: To protect an employee from

harassments of any kind, guidelines are provided for
proper action and also for protecting the aggrieved
employee.
5. Maternity & Adoption Leave Employees can avail
maternity or adoption leaves. Paternity leave policies
have also been introduced by various companies.
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

Factories Act, 1948

Washing facilities
Facilities for storing and drying clothing
Facilities for occasional rest for workers
who obliged to work standing
First aid boxes or cupboards-one for every
150 workers and the ambulance for more
than 500 workers
Canteens, more than 250 workers
Shelters, rest-rooms, lunch rooms, over
150 workers are employed
Creche
Welfare officer, 500 workers are employed

Plantations Act, 1951

Canteen, 150 workers

Creche, 50 or more women workers
Recreational facilities
Educational arrangements on the estates
for the children of workers, if there are 25
workers children between age of 6 and 12
Housing facilites
Medical aid to workers and their families,
sickness and maternity allowance
Umbrellas, blankets, raincoats etc
Welfare officer, 300 workers employed

Mines Act, 1951

Shelters for taking food and rest if 50

workers employed
First aid boxes and first aid room(150
workers)
Canteen(250 workers)
Creche
Pit-head baths equipped with showers,
sanitary latrines
Welfare officer

Motor transport workers Act, 1961

First aid facilities in every transport vehicle

Medical facilities at operating and halting
centres
Canteen (100 workers)
Clean, ventilated, well-lighted and
comfortable rest-rooms at every place
workers required to halt at night
Uniforms, raincoats to drivers, conductors,
line checking staff
Prescribed amount of working allowance

Contract Labour Act, 1970

Canteen, (100 workers)

Rest rooms or other suitable alternative
accommodation where contract labour is
required to halt at night in connection with
the work of the establishment
Washing facilities
First aid boxes equipped with the
prescribed contents

LABOUR STATISTICS
The Labour Bureau is responsible for
collection, compilation and publication of
statistical and other information regarding
employment, wages, earnings, industrial
relations, working conditions, etc. It also
compiles and publishes the consumer price
index numbers for industrial and agricultural
workers.

The Bureau further renders necessary assistance to

the States for conducting training programmes in
Labour statistics of State/District/Unit
levels. Data compiled for periodic returns do not
meet all the information requirements for
planning and policy formulation in the field of
labour.
With a view to bridge the gap in the
availability of labour statistics, the Bureau conducts
several periodic/ad hoc surveys on
different aspects of labour such as:
New working class Family Income and
Expenditure Survey.

2. Rural labour Enquiries.

3. House Rent Surveys.
4. Occupational Wage Surveys.
WORKERS' EDUCATION
The Central Board of Workers Education through its
regional offices is striving to educate the workers to
help to avoid wasteful expenditure, adopting cost
effectiveness and by
enhancing productivity of qualitative nature. They
have been conducting the following
programmes:
Rural Awareness Programme.
Functional Adult Literacy Classes.

 Short-term programmes for the unorganised

sector to educate them on theirrights, ethics and
hygiene.
Participative Management.
Orientation Courses for Rural Educators.
Leadership Development Programme for Rural
Workers.

 Short-term programmes for the unorganised sector

to educate them on their rights, ethics and hygiene.
Participative Management.
Orientation Courses for Rural Educators.
Leadership Development Programme for Rural
Workers.

LABOUR RESEARCH AND TRAINING

V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, a fully funded
autonomous body of the Ministry of Labour, conducts
action-oriented research and provides training to
grass root level workers in the trade union movement,
both in the urban and rural areas, and also to
officers dealing with industrial relations, personal
management, labour welfare, etc. The
Institute completed the following research projects
during 1999-2000:
Dynamics of Labour Market: Kerala.
Women and labour Market.
Labour laws, contractual parameters and conditions
of construction workers.

Welfare Funds:
The scheme of Welfare Funds is outside the
framework of specific employer and employee
relationship in as much as the resources are raised
by the Government on a non-contributory basis and
delivery of welfare services is effected without
linkage to individual workers contribution. The
finances are raised by imposing on the commercial
activity of the target group. Towards this end,
separate legislations have been enacted by
Parliament to set up five Welfare Funds to be
administered by Ministry of Labour to provide
housing, medical care, social security, educational
and recreational facilities to workers employed in
beedi industry, certain non-coal mines and cine
workers.

The five legislations governing welfare funds are as

follows:
1. The Mica Mines Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1946
2. The Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labor Welfare
Fund Act, 1972
3. The Iron Ore, Manganese Ore and Chrome Ore
4. Mines Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1976
5. The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981

Schemes under welfare funds provide assistance with

respective to the following:
Public health and sanitation
Housing
Recreational (including standard of living)
Social security
Educational facilities
Transportation
Medical facilities (prevention of diseases)
Social security
Family welfare

The welfare funds are raised by government by

imposing cess on manufactured beedis, feature
films, export of mica, consumption of limestone &
dolomite and consumption and export of iron ore,
manganese ore & chrome ore. An explanation of the
cess levied under different legislations is given
below:
1. Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1976 provides
for levy of cess by way of excise duty on
manufactured beedis from Re.1/- to Rs.5/- per
thousand manufactured beedis. This is presently Rs
2 per 1000 beedis with effect from 28th June 2000

The Cine Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1981 provides

for duty of cess, at such rate not being less than one
thousand rupees and not exceeding twenty
thousand rupees, on every feature film submitted to
the Chairman, Central Board of Film Certification.
This is Rs 20000 per feature film of Hindi and
English and for regional films it is Rs 10000 per film
with effect from 20th April 2000.
The Iron Ore, Manganese Ore & Chrome Ore Mines
Labor Welfare Cess Act, 1976 provides for levy and
collection of cess on Iron Ore, Manganese Ore &
Chrome Ore between 50p to Re.1/-, Re.1/- to Rs.6/and Rs.3/- to Rs.6/- respectively

The Limestone and Mines Labor Welfare Fund Act,

1972 provides for the levy and collection of cess on
Limestone and Dolomite as a duty of excise at such
rate not exceeding one rupee per metric tone of
limestone & dolomite. The rate of cess on Limestone
and Dolomite is Re.1/- with effect from 27th
December 2000.
Mica Mines Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1946, provides
for levy and collection of cess on all mica exported as
duty of Customs not exceeding 6.25% ad valorem.
This is 4.5% ad valorem on export with effect from
1st November 1990.

The scope of workers education is much wider than that of

trade union education but is narrower than that of adult
education.
The workers education is designed to create trade union
consciousness among workers, besides making them good
citizens and training them to understand their status, rights and
responsibilities.
In workers education, the workers themselves prescribe the
curriculum and select the teachers who have full sympathy
with the working class.
The institutions providing workers education are owned,
financed and managed by the workers.

 It is aimed at increasing the bargaining power of trade

unions and making the working class sensible and
cooperative.
It differs from vocational and professional education, for
its main aim is to train a worker for his group advancement
and increasing individual creativity, whereas vocational
and professional education aims at individual development.
The approach in workers education is psychological and
philosophical.
It includes general education, vocational education,
technical education, social education and training in trade
unionism.

To foster workers loyalty towards the union and

imparting the necessary training to them for
intelligent and efficient participation in union
activities. Besides teaching them trade union
dynamics, history etc., which they need to know as
trade union members.
To develop the worker for good and respectable civic
life.
To promote among workers a greater understanding
of the problem of the countrys economic
environment and their privileges, rights and
obligations as union members and citizens.

 To develop trade union leadership from among the rank and

file there by keeping the union away from the clutches of
politicians, leading to democratization of trade union
administration.
To familiarize the workers with the capitalist culture and
philosophy which is the soul of modern industrial system.
To inculcate among workers a better understanding of their
duties responsibilities and intricacies of work, so that they can
effectively carry out their jobs.
To enable the workers to realize the purpose of human life
and raise him to the height of achievement.
To equip organized labor to take its place in a democratic
society so that it plays a dominant role in the process of
economic development and fulfills effectively its social and

General lectures, delivered in simple, direct and

unambiguous language.
Discussions on the topics\issues involved.
Organization of study groups and
Correspondence course

Inculcating among all sections of workers a sense of patriotism,

national integrity, secularism and pride in being an Indian.
Equipping them for their intelligent participation in social and
economic development.
Developing among them the Nation First approach and
Instilling in them greater understanding of the problem of their
social and economic environment, their rights and obligations as
citizen, as workers in industry and responsibility towards family
members. The board also aims at developing among workers a
sense of responsibility so that they can shoulder responsibility of
trade union leadership.

1. The National level:

It is the top most level of workers education. At this level, education
officers are trained. The participants for the programme are selected
by C.B.W.E. and are trained at central place by the board officials.
2.

The Regional Level:

The regional level programmes are aimed at imparting necessary
training to selected workers. The workers so educated are known as
workers teachers.

3. The Unit/Village Level:

This is the final stage of the programme.
The workers teachers on completion of
their training return to their work place
and conduct programme for rank and
file of workers at their respective units.

Trade Union Development

Leadership Development
Trade Unionism and Industrial Relations
Industrial Health Safety and Environment
Education for Rural and Unorganized Sector
Workers
New Economic Policy, Total Quality Approach,
ISO-9000, and new Trend in Productivity
Movement.
Problem of Women and Child Labour
Education Officers Training Course

Worker-Teacher Training
Refresher course for Worker Teacher
and Trainers
Leadership Development
Joint Educational Programmes
Programmes for self generation of
funds
Need based seminar

Unit level class

Need based special programmes
Joint Education Programmes

Functional Adult Literacy

Education of unorganized workers
Training of weaker sections
Training of Rural workers and rural educators
Personality Development
Seminars for women and child workers
Programme on Quality of life for workers and their
spouses
Seminars for SC/ST workers
Seminar for Parents of child labour
Rural awareness class

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

(5)

Programme for Women Labour

Programme for Unorganized Labour
Programme for Rural Workers
Training for workers of weaker
sections
Leadership Development Courses.

To build up the career of young persons and to supply

a constant stream of trained personnel to
industries, the Director-General of Employment
and Training (DGET) has designed a number of
training programmes.
A few important programmes are:
(1) Craftsmens Training Programme.
(2) Craft Instructors Training
(3) Advanced Vocational Training
(4) Foremans Training
(5) Apprenticeship Training Scheme
(6) Part-Time Training for Industrial Workers, and
(7) Vocational Training Programme for Women.

The study group of the National Commission on Labour

has made many observations on the working of the
various training schemes for workers. Some of the
important ones are:

Substantial training capacities have remained

unutilized.

No new trades have been added.

The training programmes do not take into account

local and regional needs.

Three has not been adequate expansion in some

trades in which there has been persistent
shortages.

The selection of trainees is ,made by

inexperienced and non-technical persons
and considerations other than the suitability
of the candidates become important.
Many instructors do not have any
experience of working conditions and
production techniques in industry.
The quality of training is poor, which may
be due to lack of counselling arrangements.
The training provided does not conform to
the needs of industries and the rapid
expansion of the training programme.