WHAT IS LABOUR WELFARE ?

Labour Welfare refers to anything that is done for the

comfort and improvement of employees and is
provided over and above the wages.

Why is labour Welfare important in a company ???

Welfare helps in keeping the morale and motivation of

the employees high so as to retain the employees for
longer duration.
LABOUR WELFARE
Labour Welfare:
 Need not be in monetary terms only
 It may be in any kind/forms also.
• Employee Welfare Includes:
- Monitoring of working conditions.
- Creation of industrial harmony through infrastructure for health.
- Insurance against disease, accident and unemployment for the workers and
their families.
Objectives of Labor Welfare ???
- Better life and health to the workers
- Make the workers happy and satisfied
- Relieve workers from industrial fatigue.
- Improve intellectual, cultural and material conditions of living of the
workers.
LABOR LEGISLATION
Labor Legislation: The term ‘Labor Legislation’ is
used to cover all the laws which have been enacted to
deal with employment and non-employment, wages,
working conditions, industrial relations, social security
and welfare of persons employed in industries.
Thus ‘Labor Legislation’ refers to all laws of the
government to provide social and economic security to
the workers. These acts are aimed at reduction of
production losses due to industrial disputes and to
ensure timely payment wages and other minimum
amenities to workers.
NEED FOR LABOR LEGISLATION
Weak Labor Organizations
Occupational Insecurity
Hazardous Working Conditions
Law and Order
Achieving Socio – Economic Progress
OBJECTIVES OF LABOR LEGISLATION
To protect the workers from profit seeking exploiters.
To ensure that the service conditions should be clearly spelt out by the
employer to the employee.
To improve and regulate the working conditions of workers employed in
different factories and establishments.
To make statutory provision for the regular trainings of a certain number of
apprentices indifferent trades.
To ensure that the employees are paid their wages on fixed dates and there
should be no deduction made from the wages.
To promote industrial relations and industrial peace between employers and
employees.
To preserve the health, safety and welfare of workers.
To protect the interests of women and children working in the factories.
To maintain the dignity of employees in the organizations.
IMPORTANT LEGISLATIONS
Some of the other important legislations are:
The Factories Act, 1881
The Mines Act,1901.
The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.
The Employees State insurance Act, 1948
The Employees Provident Funds Act, 1952 and
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Laws were also made to regulate the labor management relations. Some of them are:
The Industrial Disputes Act, 19473.
The Trade Unions Act, 1926,
The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders ) Act, 1946.
Labor legislations ensuring labor welfare and minimum standards were also enacted.
Some of them are:
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
The Payment of Wages Act, 1936,
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
 EMPLOYEE HEALTH & SAFETY
 Health and safety Laws in India:
 The Factories Act, 1881
 The Mines Act,1901.
 The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.
 Safety:
The act of protecting the physical well-being of an employee
Protecting employees from injuries caused by work-related accidents
Every accident at work has a cost associated with it and that is why it is important
to manage safety on the job.
 Health :
o A state of complete mental & physical well-being
o Basic objective: Prevention of disease & injury
o Involves a program of health conservation & prevention of occupational diseases.
o Occupational disease: health problem caused by exposure to a workplace health
hazard. Eg: Lung diseases (asbestosis), Skin diseases,(Cancer).
 BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE HEALTH
AND SAFETY
Benefits of a Safe and Healthy Workforce:
Higher productivity
Increased efficiency and quality
Reduced medical and insurance costs
Lower workers’ compensation rates and payments
Improved reputation as an employer of choice
 CONSEQUENCES OF AN UNSAFE AND
UNHEALTHYWORK ENVIRONMENT
Injury and Disease:
- Back injuries are most prevalent
- Exposure to Chemicals
 Undetected effects, possible long-term risk

Mental Health
- Psychological symptoms can affect productivity and
life away from work
 Deaths and Violence
Economic Costs
 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
Disease-Causing Hazards:
 Coal dust, cotton dust
 Lead, radiation, vinyl chloride
 Workers most likely to be exposed:
 Chemical and oil refinery workers, miners, textile workers
 Steelworkers, lead smelters
 Medical technicians, painters, shoemakers, plastics industry
workers 
 DISEASES LINKED TO WORKPLACE
HAZARDS
Cancer
 Liver, lung, brain, kidney
 Lung Disease
 Central nervous system damage
 Reproductive Disorders
 Skin Diseases 
 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
Industrial accidents
Occurrence in an industrial establishments
Causes bodily injury to a person
Makes him unfit to resume his duties in the next 48hrs or
more.
Unexpected event, neither anticipated nor designed.
Causes of accidents:
 Chance occurrences
 Unsafe conditions
 Unsafe Acts
 CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS
1. Chance Occurrences: Beyond management’s control
2. Unsafe conditions :
 Improperly guarded equipments
 Defective equipment
 Unsafe storage
 Improper Illumination
 Improper ventilation
3. Unsafe acts: are the results of lack of knowledge.
o Operating without authority
o Throwing materials on the floor carelessly
o Operating or working at unsafe levels
o Unsafe procedures for loading, mixing, placing
o Taking unsafe positions under suspended loads
o Lifting improperly
o Distraction
o Drugs/alcohol/emotional problem
ACCIDENTAL COSTS -DIRECT
To Employee To Employer
Lost wages and overtime Sick pay
Physical pain and Worker compensation

suffering claims including legal costs

Insurance premiums
Mental anguish
Equipment, tools, plant,
Lost time with family
products or property
and friends damage requiring
Loss of productivity on repair/replacement
and off the job Overtime pay for other
works to catch up
 ACCIDENTS COSTS:
INDIRECT
Loss of a valued employee
 Production delays
Failure to fill orders and meet deadlines
Lost time on accident investigations by management
Replacing the lost worker leading to subsequent
hiring/training costs
Loss of business reputation
 Prevention & Protection
ACCIDENTS PREVENTION:
 1. Reducing unsafe conditions
 2. Reducing unsafe act

1. Reducing unsafe conditions

- Design jobs to remove physical hazards
- Use computerized tool to design safe jobs
- Hazard analysis
- Risk assessment
- Identifying safety options
- Choosing the most appropriate safety control device.
Eg: PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
- Administrative controls
 Prevention & Protection
2. Reducing unsafe acts:
- Selection & Placements
- Training
- Employee Participation
- Motivation
- Incentive Programs
- Safety Posters
 WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
ISSUES
1. Sick building syndrome - ill health linked to building design.
2. Workplace stress - can be costly to both the individual employee and the
employer. Ex. Harassment
3. Workplace violence – for many front-line employees, violence from
customers, clients, patients and passengers, for example, is a critical safety
issue. Research suggests that much workplace violence goes unrecorded.
4. Workplace bullying – is described as the ‘silent epidemic’. The
definitions of workplace bullying incorporate several inappropriate and
dysfunctional behaviours.
5. Alcohol (and drug) abuse - is both a health and safety problem and a job
performance problem. The mandatory testing of employees has
implications for employee relations and human rights.
6. Smoking - Many work organizations have introduced policies prohibiting
smoking in the workplace to avoid legal action due to secondary smoke
 Employee Health
Cleanliness ( sewerage and sanitation)
Air ventilation and temperature (maximum 25 – 30 degree
Celsius)
 Cross ventilation, required no of fans and exhaust fans
 Thermometer kept in visible place
 Dust Sucker, Mask
 Lighting
 Safe drinking water
 Minimum 4 ltr per day
 Min 6 mtr away from toilets
 Water cooler ( 250 employees and more)
 3 ltr saline water if needed
 Toilets one / 25 (female) up to first 500 one / 40 (male) up to first 500
 EMPLOYEE SAFETY
Safety of building equipment and other infrastructure
Fire fighting and safety ( emergency door, emergency
staircase)
Fire fighting equipment
Safety against electrical wearing and connections
Crane and lift etc