Labour welfare

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 longer
duration. The welfare measures need not be in monetary terms only but in any
kind/forms. 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.
Labour welfare entails all those activities of employer which are directed towards
providing the employees with certain facilities and services in addition to wages or
salaries.
Labour 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 labour welfare measures are as follows:
1. Labour 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. Labour welfare schemes are flexible and ever-changing. 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.

Labour Welfare in India

"During the pre-independence period, industrial relations policy of the British
Government was one of laissez faire and also of selective intervention. There were
hardly any labour welfare schemes. After independence, labour legislations have
formed the basis for industrial relations and social security. These legislations have
also provided machinery for bipartite and tripartite consultations for settlement of
disputes.
In the early 1990s, the process of economic reforms was set in motion when the
government introduced a series of measures to reduce control on industries,
particularly large industries. The workers have opposed economic liberalization policy
for fear of unemployment while entrepreneurs have welcomed it in the hope of new
opportunities to improve Indian industries. The new economic policy has directly
affected industrial relations in the country, because the government has to play a dual
role, one of protecting the interest of the workers, and second to allow a free interplay
of the market forces. Economic reforms, by removing barriers to entry, have created
competitive markets. Fiscal stabilization has resulted in drastic reduction in budgetary
support to the public sector commercial enterprises while exposing these enterprises to
increased competition from private sector.

Many researches has been done in the following themes, such as

1. Manpower: trends and magnitude.
2. Employment policies and programmed.
3. Labour welfare: legal framework and initiatives.
4. Women workers: legislations and empowerment.
5. Industrial relations and labour laws.
6. Restructuring of labour laws: the great debate.
7. Labour laws and welfare: India and ILO.

8. Labour reforms: India and WTO. II. India's Five Year Plans at a glance. III. Edited
extracts from India's Five Year Plans on employment and labour related matters.
Labour Welfare in UK
It is up to the firm to take steps to benefit employees. If employees do not believe that
their organization values them and adopts benefits for them, such as employee welfare
programs, they will not be as invested in their jobs as they might be. They will find a
place to work where they can feel committed and happy with their jobs and receive a
satisfactory level of benefits.
Definition
o An employee welfare program is a benefit that will cost the employer
money, be provided by another source or be free. What is important is that
the employee welfare program adds to the employee's personal and
professional life. Also, at least some employees must assign value to the
employer's welfare programs, or these programs will not really relate to
their individual welfare.
Financial Security Programs
o It is difficult to imagine what is meant by this broad term. You might
think of programs such as compensating employees and offering group
health benefits. Some programs contribute to an employee's financial
security by providing monetary support when there is a change in an
employee's work status, and these may be required by law. Employees
who become involuntarily unemployed can apply for unemployment
benefits in the U.S. In each state, workers who are injured or become sick
at work might be entitled to medical benefits and other compensation
through a workers' compensation program. Their families could be
entitled to benefits when workers are killed on the job.
Professional Development
o These programs help employees believe they are valued by the
organization. An organization provides some benefits directly to
employees, such as extra training, mentoring and workplace programs
that help employees build skills and abilities. Employers can also pay for

professional development for employees outside the organization, either

upfront or through employee reimbursement.
Labour Welfare in South African
South African Employee Assistance Programmed (EAPs) have lacked participation by
labour unions. The main reason for the lack of labour commitment and contribution
may be the result of South African unions' primary focus on the political promotion of
equality for the discriminated majority of South African citizens, mainly Black and
Colored. The assumption can be made that labour's limited awareness of the
potential role of EAPs may also contribute to a labourmanagement imbalance in the
workplace affecting support for the expansion of employee and member assistance
programmed.

Labour Welfare in China

Guangzhou municipal government has earmarked 60 million yuan1 over three years to
entice students back to the city from overseas. Each returnee will be granted 100,000
yuan1 with which to 'start up or invest in special enterprises'. China Daily, 18 May
2000.
I maintain a very strict budget of five Yuan for our daily meals. We use our wages first
to buy staple food. It doesn't matter whether there is meat or not. If I borrow this
month, then next month I will have to be even more stringent. Lay off worker, Beijing,
11 July 1999.
For example, many workers salaries even if they receive their wages on time do
not adequately support their families. They do not enjoy the lowest, most basic
standard of living.
It is impossible for migrant workers, for example, to afford urban housing even if they
make the payments in installments. Official statistics indicate most migrant workers do
not receive medical and unemployment insurance. As a result, migrant workers leave
their villages, in spring, in search of work. They generally return home in winter.
Although Chinas economy has grown more than 9 per cent on average annually in
each of the past 20 years, the number of Chinese farmers fell by less than 40 million
from 800 million in 1982 to 768 million last year.

Labour Welfare in USA

Development of scientific management and social awakening in the west at the end of
19th century were the main causes o the growth of personnel management the term
'Personnel management, which originated in U.S.A. Gained a wide popularity
throughout the industrial world and is now taken as synonymous with other terms like
labour welfare, labour management relations, Industrial relations, human relation in
industry etc.
The development of personnel management in India is quite different from the
development of personnel management in England and America. In U.K. And U.S.A
the business houses provide better labour welfare facilities voluntarily whereas in India
labour management relations were developed mainly due to the unsatisfactory
recruitment systems, more and more labour agitations and statutory provision of the
various acts to improve the wording conditions of labour in industries.