Worker's Welfare

7/31/2019 Worker's Welfare

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Introduction

Emp loyee We l fa re i s an impor tan t face t o f i ndus t r i a l re la t i ons ,

t he ex t ra dimension, giving satisfaction to the worker in a way which

evens a good wage cannot. With the growth of industrialization andmechanization, it has acquired added importance. The workers in

industry cannot cope with the pace of modern life with minimum sustenance

amenities. He needs an added stimulus to keep body and soul together.

Employers have a lso realized the impor tance of their role in providing these

extra amenities. And yet, they are not always able to fulfil workers demands however

reasonable they might be. They are primarily concerned with the v i a b i l i t y o f

t h e e n t e r p r i s e . E m p l o y e e w e l f a r e , t h o u g h i t h a s b e e np r o v e d t o contribute to efficiency in production, is expensive. Each employer

depending on his priorities gives varying degrees of importance to labour welfare. It

is because the government is not sure that all employers are p rog ress i ve

minded and w i l l p rov ide bas ic we l fa re measu res tha t i t

i n t ro du ce s statutory legislation from time to time to bring about some measures of

uniformity in the basic amenities available to industrial workers. After employees

have been hired, trained and remunerated, they need to be retained and

maintained to serve the organization better. Welfare facilities are

designed to take care of the wellbeing of the employees; they do not

generally result in any monetary benefit to the employees. Nor are these

facilities provided by employers alone. Governmental and non-

governmental agencies and trade unions too, contribute towards employee

welfare.

Employee welfare is a comprehensive term including various services,

benefits and facilities offered to employees by the employer. Through

s u c h g e n e r o u s f r i n g e b e n e f i t s t h e e m p l o y e r m a k e s t h e l i f e

worth l iv ing for employees. The welfare amenit ies are extended in

addition to normal wages and other economic rewards available to employees

as per the legal provisions. Welfare m e a s u r e s m a y a l s o b e p r o v i d e d

b y t h e g o ve r n m e n t , t r a d e u n i o n s a n d n o n - government agencies in

addition to the employer. The basic purpose of employee welfare is to enrich the life

of the employees and keep them happy and contended.


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MEANING AND DEFINITION

Welfare means faring or doing well. It refers to the physical, mental, mora l andemot iona l we l l -be ing o f an ind iv idua l . Fu r the r , the te rm we l fa re

is a relative concept, relative in time and space. It, therefore, varies

from time to time, from region to region and from country to country. Em p lo yee

we l fa re , a l so re fe r red to as be t te rmen t work fo r emp loyees ,

relates to taking care of the well-being of workers by employers, trade

unions and government and non-governmental agencies. It is rather

di ff icul t to define the te rm labour welfare precisely because of the relatively ofthe concept. The Oxford dictionary defines employee welfare as efforts to

make life worth living for workmen. It is however, difficult to precisely

define the scope of these efforts. Different writers have defined it in

different ways. Some writers say that only voluntary efforts on the part of

employers to improve the conditions of employment in their factories

from the scope of employee welfare efforts. Some others say that it

includes not only voluntary efforts of the employer but also the minimum

standards of hygiene and safely laid down in general legislation. Here are some of

the definitions given by some of the experts

THEORIES OF LABOUR WELFARE

The form of labour welfare activities is flexible, elastic and differs from

time to time, region to region, industry to industry and country to country

depending u p o n t h e v a l u e s y s t e m , l e v e l o f e d u c a t i o n , s o c i a l

c u s t o m s , a n d d e g r e e o f industrialization and general standard of the

socio-economic development of the nation. Seven theories constituting the

conceptual frame work of labour welfare activities are the following:-

The Police Theory:

This is based on the contention that a minimum standard of we l fa re i s

necessa ry fo r l abou re rs . He re the assumpt ion i s tha t


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wi thou t po l i c ing , tha t i s , w i thou t compu ls ion , emp loye r s do no t

pr ov id e ev en th e minimum facil i ties for workers. Apparently, this theory

assumes that man is selfish and self cantered and always tries to achieve his own

ends, even at the even at the cost of others .According to this theory, owners andmanagers of industrial undertakings get many opportunities for exploitation of labour.

Hence, the state has to intervene to provide minimum standard of welfare to the

working class.

The Religious Theory:

This is based on the concept that man is essentially "are l eg io ns an i ma l . "

Even today , many ac ts o f man a re re la ted to re l i g iouss e n t i m e n t s a n d b e l i e f s . T h e s e r e l i g i o u s f e e l i n g s

s o m e t i m e s p r o m p t a n e m p l o y e r t o t a k e u p w e l f a r e

a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e e x p e c t a t i o n o f f u t u r e emancipation

either in this life or after it.

The Philanthropic Theory:

This theory is based on man's love for mankind. Philanthropy means "Loving

mankind." Man is believed to have an instinctive urge by which he strives to

remove the suffering of others and promote their

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Worker's Welfare