Welfare includes anything that is done for the comfort and improvement of employees and is provided over and above the wages. Welfare helps in keeping the morale and motivation of the employees high so as to retain the employees for a longer duration. 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 and their families.
Labor welfare has the following objectives:
- To provide a better life and health to the workers
- To make the workers happy and satisfied
- To relieve workers from industrial fatigue and to improve intellectual, cultural, and material conditions of living of the workers.
Features of Labour Welfare Measures
- Labor welfare includes various facilities, services and amenities provided to workers for improving their health, efficiency, economic betterment and social status.
- Welfare measures are in addition to regular wages and other economic benefits available to workers due to legal provisions and collective bargaining.
- Labor welfare schemes are flexible and ever-changing. New welfare measures are added to the existing ones from time to time.
- Welfare measures may be introduced by the employers, government, employees or by any social or charitable agency.
Employee Welfare Laws in India
- Factories Act, 1948
- Maternity Benefit Act,1961 (with latest amendments)
- Employee State Insurance Act, [ESI] 1948
- Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952.
- Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
Statuary welfare benefits
The statutory welfare benefits schemes include the following provisions:
- At all the working places safe hygienic drinking water should be provided.
- In every organization, especially factories, suitable seating arrangements are to be provided.
- First aid appliances are to be provided and should be readily assessable.
- A sufficient number of latrines and urinals are to be provided in the office and factory premises.
- In every workplace, such as warehouses, store places, in the dock area and office premises spittoons are to be provided.
- Lighting: Proper and sufficient lights are to be provided for employees so that they can work safely during the night shifts.
- Adequate changing rooms are to be provided for workers to change their cloth in the factory area and office premises.
- Employees can avail maternity or adoption leaves.
- Medi-claim Insurance Scheme for adequate insurance coverage of employees for expenses related to hospitalization due to illness, disease or injury or pregnancy.
- To protect an employee from harassments of any kind, guidelines are provided for proper action and also for protecting the aggrieved employee. For more information go through – Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013
