Introduction

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have made employees dependent on capitalists. Inflation has made them lot poor and they find it difficult to maintain their standard of life. In such situation employee welfare facilities enable workers to live a richer and more satisfactory life.

Meaning of Employee Welfare

According to the Oxford dictionary employee welfare or labor welfare means “the efforts to make life worth living for workmen."

In the words of Arthur James Todd, "Labor welfare means anything done for the comfort and improvement, intellectual or social, of the employees over and above the wages paid which is not a necessity of the industry."

According to a I.L.O. report, "workers" welfare may be understood as including such services facilities and amenities which may be established in, or in the vicinity of undertakings to perform their work in healthy and congenial surroundings and to avail of facilities which improve their health and bring high morale."

The Committee on Labor Welfare (1969) defined it "such services, facilities and amenities as adequate canteen, rest and recreation facilities, sanitary and medical facilities, arrangements for travel to and from work and for the accommodation of workers employed at a distance from their homes, and such other services, amenities and facilities, including social security measures as contribute to improve the conditions under which workers are employed."

According to The Labor Investigation Committee (1946), employee welfare means “anything done for intellectional physical moral and economic betterment of the workers, whether by employers, by Government or by other agencies, over and above what is laid down by law, or what is normally expected on the part of the contracted benefits for which workers may have bargained."

On the basis of these definitions, the following features of employee welfare can be identified:

• Employee welfare is a comprehensive term including various services, facilities and amenities provided to employees for their betterment

• Employee welfare is a dynamic concept varying from country to country and from region to region within same country. It is a flexible and ever-changing concept as new welfare measures are added to the existing measures from time to time

• Welfare measures are in addition to regular wages and other economic benefits available to employees under legal provisions and collective bargaining

• Welfare measures may be provided not only by employers but by the government, trade unions and other agencies too

• The basic purpose of employee welfare is to improve the lot of the working class and thereby make a worker a good employee and a happy citizen

• Employee welfare is an essential part of social welfare. It involves adjustment of an employee's work life and family life to the community or social life.

• Welfare measures may be both voluntary and statutory. Voluntary measures are the result of paternalistic and philanthropic feelings of employer. These may also be provided due to customs or traditions in the particular industry or region. statutory measures are prescribed under labour laws

• Employee welfare measures are also known as fringe benefits and services.

Significance of Employee Welfare

Employee welfare is in the interest of the employee, the employer and the society as a whole. For the employee, welfare measures help to counteract the negative effects of the factory system. These measures enable the employee and his family to lead a good life. Welfare facilities like housing, medical and children's education, recreation, etc. help to improve the family life of employees. For the employer, welfare measures lead to higher morale and productivity of labor. Employee welfare is also in the interest of the larger society because the health, happiness and efficiency of each individual represent the general well-being of all. Well-housed, well-fed and well looked after, labor is not only an asset to the employer but serves to raise the standards of industry and labor in the country.

Thus, employee welfare provides the following benefits/objectives:

• It helps to improve recruitment. As the job becomes more attractive, more efficient employees can be recruited.

• Employee welfare improves the morale and loyalty of workers by making them happy and satisfied.

• It reduces labour turnover and absenteeism thereby building a stable workforce.

• It helps to increase employee productivity or efficiency by improving their physical and mental health. By supplementing wages, welfare measures free employees from the worries of daily life and thereby enable them to concentrate on their jobs.

• Improvement in material, intellectual and cultural conditions of life protects workers from social evils like drinking, gambling, prostitution, etc.

• Employee welfare helps to improve industrial relations and industrial peace. When the workers feel that the employer and the Government are interested in their happiness, they are less likely to indulge in militant trade unionism

• Welfare measures help to improve the goodwill and public image of the enterprise

• Voluntary efforts for the welfare of workers reduce the threat of further Government intervention.

Types of Welfare Services

Employee welfare services may be classified into two broad categories:

1. Intramural

These services are provided within the establishment. These include latrines and urinals, washing and bathing facilities, crèches, rest shelters, canteens, uniform, medical aid, library, recreation facilities, free or subsidized food, etc.

2. Extra-mural

These services are provided outside the establishment. These consist of housing accommodation, transport, maternity benefits, children's education, sports fields, family planning and child welfare, holiday homes, leave travel facilities, workers cooperative stores, fair price shops, credit societies, vocational guidance, interest free loans, etc.

Welfare services may also be divided as voluntary and statutory. Many employers provide the following welfare facilities voluntarily:

a) Housing

In view of acute shortage of housing accommodation in cities industrial housing is an important part of employee welfare in India. An Industrial Housing Scheme was introduced in 1952. Under this scheme, the Central Government provides loans and subsidies for the construction of houses for industrial workers. Low Income Housing Scheme and a Special Housing Scheme for displaced persons have also been introduced. The committee on Labor Welfare stressed the need for State Governments acquiring land near industrial areas and renting houses at reasonable rates. The National Commission on Labor recommended that the Government should take the major responsibility for housing. Fiscal and monetary incentives should be provided.

b) Education

The Indian Industrial Commission (1918) and the Royal Commission on Labor (1931) stressed the need for workers' education. In 1957 the Government of India formulated an All India Scheme of Workers' Education. The Central Board of Workers' Education was constituted to administer the scheme. The programme of workers' education operates in three tiers:

• Education officers trained at the central place, who in turn

• Train worker teachers at regional level, and

• The worker teachers conduct classes in various industrial establishments.

The scheme of workers' education is designed to achieve the following objectives:

• To develop strong trade unions through trained officials and more enlightened members;

• To develop leadership from the rank and file and promote the growth of the democratic processes and traditions in trade union organisation and administration;

• To equip organized labor to take its due place in a democratic society and to fulfill its functions and responsibilities effectively; and

• To promote among workers a greater understanding of the problems of their economic environment and their privileges and obligations as union members and as citizens.

The National Commission on Labor and the Committee on Labor Welfare recommended that trade unions should take an active interest in educating workers and in running schools for the children of workers.

c)  Transportation

With the growth of industries, the distance between the workplace and residence of worker has increased considerably. It is, therefore, necessary to provide proper transport facilities to and from the factory. Such facilities will reduce strain and absenteeism. The Committee on Labor Welfare recommended the provision of adequate transport facilities to workers to enable them to reach their workplace without loss of much time and without fatigue.

Employers should also advance loans for purchase of bicycles, scooters, etc. by employees. In undertakings where transport services are not provided, some conveyance allowance mutually agreed upon between the employer and the employees should be paid.

d) Recreation

Recreation in the form of music, art, theatre, sports and games can play an important role in the physical and mental development of employees. The I.L.O. has urged upon the member countries to take appropriate steps to provide recreational facilities for the workers in or near the undertaking in which they are employed. Under the Plantation Labor Act, 1951, it is obligatory for employers to provide recreational facilities. The Committee on Labor Welfare recommended that State Governments and trade unions should take the initiative and combine their efforts to provide a minimum number of sports and recreation to keep the labor force fit and healthy. Excursions, youth clubs and holiday homes can be provided for employees.

e) Consumer Cooperative Stores

The National Cooperative Development Board set up a committee in 1961. The committee suggested that employers should introduce consumer cooperative stores in their labor welfare programmes. The Indian Labor Conference in 1963 adopted a scheme for setting up consumer cooperative stores in all industrial establishments including plantations and mines employing 300 or more workers. The employer was required to give assistance in the form of share capital, working capital, loan, free accommodation and other amenities. The Industrial Truce Resolution, 1962 aimed at keeping prices of essential commodities low through cooperative stores and fair prices shops for workers.

Statutory Provisions Concerning Employee Welfare

Employers are required to provide welfare facilities for workers under the following laws:

1. The Factories Act, 1948

The welfare facilities provided under this Act are as follows:

• Adequate, suitable and clean washing facilities separately for male and female workers.

• Facilities for storing and drying clothes.

• Sitting facilities for occasional rest for workers who are obliged to work in a standing position.

• First aid boxes or cupboards - one for every 150 workers, and ambulance facilities if there are more than 500 workers.

• Canteens, if more than 250 workers are employed.

• Shelters, rest rooms and lunch rooms if there are more than 150 workers.

• Creche where more than 30 women are employed.

• Welfare officer, wherever more than 500 workers are employed.

2. The Plantation Labour Act, 1951

Welfare measures prescribed under this law are as follows:

• A canteen wherever 150 or more workers are employed.

• A creche, if employing 50 or more women workers.

• Recreational facilities for the workers and their children.

• Educational arrangements in the estate if there are 25 children of workers between the age of 6 and 12.

eHousing facilities for every worker and his family residing in the plantation. (f) Medical aid to workers and their families.