Intro And Conclusion.docx

EMPLOYEE WELFARE INTRODUCTION

Employee Welfare is an important facet of industrial relations, the extra dimension, giving satisfaction to the worker in a way which evens a good wage cannot. With the growth of industrialization and mechanization, 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 also realized the importance of their role in providing these extra amenities. And yet, they are not always able to fulfill workers demands however reasonable they might be. They are primarily concerned with the viability of the enterprise. Employee welfare, though it has been proved to contribute to efficiency in production, is expensive. Each employer depending on his priorities gives varying degrees of importance to labor welfare. It is because the government is not sure that all employers are progressive minded and will provide basic welfare measures that it introduces 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. No rare these facilities provided by employers alone. Governmental a nd 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 such generous fringe benefits the employer makes the life worth living for employees. The welfare amenities are extended in addition to normal wages and other economic rewards available to employees as per the legal provisions. Welfare measures may also

be

provided

by

the

government,

trade

unions

andn o n -

go v e r n m e n t a ge n c i e s i n a d di t i o n t o t h e e m p l o ye r . T h e b a s i c p u r p o s e o f e m pl o ye e welfare is to enrich the life of the employees and keep them happy and contended. Employee welfare today has become a very controversial topic. It covers a very broad field. To being with, let us briefly discuss the main concepts or, rather, the general, meaningful ideas which have been evolved about it so far.

The term welfare suggest many ideas, meanings and connotations, such as the state of wellbelling, health, happiness, prosperity and the development of human resources. The concept of welfare can be approached from various angles. Welfare has been described as a total concept. It is a desirable state of existence involving for certain components of welfare,s u c h a h e a l t h , f o o d , c l ot h i n g, a nd h o u s i n g, m e d i c a l a s s i s t a n c e , i n s u r a n c e , e d u c a t i o n , recreation, Job security and so on. The word employee means any productivity activity. In a broader sense, therefore, the phrase employee welfare means the adoption of measurestopromotethephysical,social, p s yc h o l o gi c a l a n d ge n e r a l w e l l b e i n g o f t h e w o r k i n g p o p u l a t i o n . W el f a r e w o r k i n a n yindustry

aims,

or

should

aim,

at

improving the working and living conditions of workers and their families. The concept of employee welfare originates in the desire for a humanitarian approach t o t h e s u f f e r i n gs o f t h e w o r k i n g c l a s s . La t e r , i t b e c o m e s a u t i l i t a r i a n p hi l os o ph y w h i c h worked as a motivating force for labor and for those who were interested in it. Employee welfare has been defined in various ways, though unfortunately no single definition has found universal acceptance.“ Efforts to make life worth living for worker”“The oxford dictionary” Concept of Employee welfare: The concept of labour welfare is flexible and elastic and differs widely with time, r e gi o n , i n d u s t r y, s o c i a l v a l u e s a n d c us t o m s , d e gr e e o f i n d us t r i a l i z a t i o n , t h e ge n e r a l s o c i o e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e nt o f t h e p e o p l e a n d t h e po l i t i c a l i d e ol o gi e s p r e v a i l i n g a t a particular time. It is also molded according to the age-groups, socio-cultural background, marital and economic status and educational level of the workers in various industries In its broad connotation, the term welfare refers to a state of living of an individual

or

group

in

ad e s i r a b l e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t o t a l e n v i r o n m e n t –

e c o l o g i c a l , e c o n o m i c , a n d s o c i a l . Conceptually as

well

as

operationally,

labour welfare is a part of social welfare which, in turn, is closely linked to the concept and the role of the State which is applicable in the plant. T h e c o n c e p t o f s o c i a l w e l f a r e , i n i t s n a r r o w c o n t ou r s , h a s b e e n e q u a t e d w i t h e c o n o m i c welfare. As these goals are not always be realized by individuals through their efforts alone, the government came into the picture and gradually began to take over the responsibility for the free and full

development of human personality of its population. Labour welfare is an extension of

the

term

Welfare

and

its

application

to

labour.

During

the

industrialization p r o c e s s , t h e st r e s s o n l ab o u r p r o d u c t i v i t y i n c r e a s e d ; a n d b r o u g h t a b o u t c h a n g e s i n t h e thinking on labour welfare. In its broad connotation, the term welfare refers to a state of living of an individual or group in desirable relationship with total environment – ecological, economic, and social. Concept dually as well as operationally, labour welfare is a part of social welfare which, in turn, is closely linked to the concept and the role of the State. The concept of social welfare, in its narrow contours, has been equated

with

economic

welfare.

Pigou

defined

it as

“that

parto f g e n e r a l w e l f a r e w h i c h c a n b e b r o ugh t d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y i n t o r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e measuring rod of money” (Pigou, 1962). According to Willensky and Labeaux, socialwelfarea l l u d e s t o “ t h o s e f o r m a l l y o r g a n i z e d a n d s o c i a l l y s p o n s o r e d i n s t i t u t i o n s , a ge n c i e s a n d programmes

which function

to maintain

or improve the

economic conditions, health or interpersonal competence of some parts or all of a population” (Willensky and Labeaux,1918). As these goals may not always be realized by individuals through their efforts alone, the government came into the picture and gradually began to take over the responsibility for the free and full development of human personality of its population. Labour welfare is an extension of the term Welfare and its application tolabour.Duringtheindustrialization p r o c e s s , t h e s t r e s s o n l a b o ur p r o d u c t i vi t y i n c r e a s e d ; a n d b r o u gh t a b o u t c h a n g e s i n t h e thinking on labour welfare. An early study under the UN observed as follows “in our opinion most underdeveloped countries are in the situation that investment in people is likely to prove as productive, in the purely material sense, as any investment in material resources and in many cases, investment in people would lead to a greater increase of the flow of goods and services than would follow upon any comparable

investment

in

material

capital”.

The

theory

that welfare expenditure, especially expenditure on health and education, is productiv einvestment has led to the view that workers could work more productively if they were given a fair deal both at the work place and in the community. The concept of labor welfare has received inspiration from the concepts of democracy and welfare state. Democracy does not simply denote a form of government; it is rather a way of life based on certain values such as equal rights and privileges for all. The operation of welfare services, in actual practice, brings to bear

on it different reflections representing the broad cultural and social conditions. In short, labour welfare is the voluntary efforts of the employers to establish, within the existing industrial system, working and sometimes living and cultural conditions of the employees beyond what is required by law, the custom of the industry and the conditions of the market. The constituents of labour welfare included working hours, working conditions, safety, industrial health insurance, workmen’s compensation, provident funds, gratuity, pensions, protection against indebtedness, industrial housing, restrooms, canteens, cr èches, wash places, toilet facilities, lunches, cinemas, theatres, music, reading rooms, holiday rooms, workers’ education, co-operative stores, excursions, playgrounds, and scholarships and other help for education of employees’ children.

CONCLUSION: Finally I conclude that, South Central Railway motivating the people by providing welfare activities and also it having great importance among the employees. On the whole it is clear that the South Central Railway providing excellent welfare measures to its employees under various statutory and also voluntarily. The employee welfare has also expressed their overall satisfaction on the welfare and social security measures undertaken by the South Central Railway for their wellbeing.