Good morning, today’s topic is Employee
Welfare. Now, why is employee welfare important
when we talk of human resource management?
Because you remember we discussed, when the
employee joins the employer, isn’t it some
kind of a contract? That is a contract may
not be a legal contract, but a contract that
you come and do some work and in return you
get some consideration, some pay, may be perquisite.
So, why this question of welfare is the employer
bound to look after the welfare of the employees?
No, but then why are more why are many many
companies in the world over concerned that,
in managing your human resource you should
also look at the welfare, why is that?
For Stability of employees
Yes
To increase the productivity
To increase the efficiency
Yeah, any other
But, I thought if you give good pay, good
incentive, more you produce the more money
you will get, that will give enough motivation
to increase the productivity, no that will
not give? Up to certain limit yes, so after
that what happens? After that, the human being
requires something more, something beyond
the so called contract of selling your services
so to say or selling your labour and getting
some pay and perquisites in return. So, that
is where all right it is recognized today
that you must address each employee as a human
being also. Remember, we said, we have this
humanistic school which talks of human resource
as against the personnel management, personnel
management approach, which looked at only
the contract.
Today, we look at it as an individual employee
and earlier the concept was what? Pluralistic
concept we said, you look at as a collective
constituency, labour and employees they are
collective contract, they do work and they
get paid, today we are going beyond that.
We are saying it is that of course and something
more than that, within that collective entity
is individual human being, an individual human
being is motivated by things which are more
than just money and perquisites. They are
motivated by their own personal growth, their
self actualization, their surroundings, all
right their recognition that they get and
so on and so forth. So, total concept now
is look at the welfare of the employees also,
apart from only looking at it as a legal kind
of a contract, any questions? That is why
we say that, employee welfare is part and
parcel of the function of human resource management
today.
So, here we say welfare, refers to what? Physical,
of course physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual well-being of the employees, all
these dimensions it covers. And welfare for
the employee or the labour relates to taking
care of the well-being of the employees and
the workers by the employers, trade unions,
and governmental and non governmental agencies.
So, you see here, what it says here is not
only the employer, but also those who impact
the employees, after all doesn’t the government
impact individual employees also by force
of legislation, by force of enforcement of
those legislations they also impact. So, they
also have a role to play, sin seeing what
is the kind of welfare that is given to the
employees by the employers and so also the
trade unions, why do why should trade unions
look after welfare? What is the role of the
trade union? Collective welfare because they
are looking after this constituency all right,
in a type of collaborative effort, it can
be confrontative also, but more collaborative;
that is the employer and the trade union in
matters of welfare they collaborate, they
do not confront. Unless they have a feeling
that the employer is neglecting that, then
it is a role of the trade union to bring up
that dispute and demand that some welfare
is given, any questions? All right.
What about non governmental agencies? Where
do they come in? How are they involved in
the welfare? Do you know what Non-Governmental
NGO? Have you heard of NGO? Non- Governmental
organizations, they are essentially organizations
who are for welfare as you say, for doing
social activities, but essentially not for
profit, they are not doing the work to earn
profit, they are doing the work to fulfill
some mission; may be running an orphanage,
that may be a mission, to run that orphanage
not to make profit or to hold eye camps and
try and help people to have cataract operations
who cannot afford to do it and so on.
So, where is their role in this employee welfare?
After all the employees are working for organization,
so will they be confrontative with the employer
or collaborative, what sort of role do you
think will they have? Usually, these roles
are collaborative is it not, they can supplement
some of the work with the employers may not,
because after all for the employer, employee
welfare is only a part time activity, is it
not. For the normal employer which is a company
making profits with stake holders you know,
what is the main aim of the company the mission?
To engage in some business activity as per
the memorandum of association or the company
and to render profit and benefits to the main
stake holders, right. Employees are also one
of the stake holders, but the employee welfare
is not I am saying a primary function, it
is secondary, to that extent the NGOs they
can very well supplement the effort.
For instance, you can say there is a very
deadly lethal disease which is spreading all
across the planet. What is that HIV and AIDS,
is it not? We are reading about it and we
read that in India alone the rate of growth
has been very alarming, huge population, may
be more than three million are all ready affected
and so on. And each of these employers, each
of these companies in industrial areas for
instance, may have cases of this; now that
is where they can get a lot of help from the
NGOs, who are specializing in trying to stop
this spread of AIDS by various methods and
means and so on.
So, there is a complementary role, which the
NGOs can also play. And it is for the employer
really to make use of whatever sources are
available; there are also government departments
and agencies, which can give help to the employer
to run good welfare schemes. So, it is up
to the employer and it is the innovation of
the human resource department to tap all these
sources and see that, not only the efforts
of the employer, but also the efforts of others
are also harnessed to see that you give a
good welfare to the employees, any questions?
All right.
What sort of welfare do you think is given
in the organizations? We will come to that,
but before that, this is the ILO that is Asian
Regional Conference, defined labour welfare
as a term which is understood to include such
services, facilities and amenities as may
be established in or in the vicinity of the
undertakings or the companies, to enable the
persons employed in them, to perform their
work in the healthy and congenial place, so
as to provide them with the amenities conducive
to good health and high morale.
So, long definition, but what are the main
points? That, you should provide facilities
within the organization or nearby, all right
for instance a social club it may not be within
the company, but they can hire premises outside
the company and have some sports activities
which they will pay for or partly pay for.
To see that, after the shifts are over, after
the office hours are over, people have an
opportunity for engaging in sports which is
good for the health and other recreational
activities.
Another point it makes to enable persons employed
to perform their work in the healthy and congenial
place. So, often when we talk of welfare,
we have two other terms which go hand in hand
with this, employee welfare and what could
be the two other terms? Safety that goes hand
in hand with that and health; safety, health,
yet another term goes hand in hand with that,
what is that? Welfare I said, has got few
other terms associated with it welfare, health,
safety and environment that is what it says,
congenial place to provide them with the amenities
conducive to good health and high morale.
What is morale? Morale, is it same as moral
m o r a l? No, why, what is different? Morale
means yes, good confidence, self confidence,
good morale and moral is to do with something
which is good or bad. So, good morale good
morale means good team spirit, all right good
team work, people feel confident, they feel
positive, they have a positive attitude for
achieving the work that is good morale, any
questions here?
So, this is ILO is what? International Labour
Organization, it is a part of the UN United
Nations. So, this is recognized that, all
countries of the world, so far as the employees
are concerned and the labours you know, they
have certain rights and countries which are
part you know of the United Nations and all
are all right, they have to ensure that these
labour rights and employee rights are given
to the people, so this is why it is important
to follow this.
So, as we said there are some welfare measures
which we provide within the work place and
some which we provide outside the work place.
So, conditions of the work environment: neighborhood
safety and cleanliness, what does that mean?
Neighborhood safety, after all you got a factory
with walls round it and that is your property
inside the wall, but neighborhood is outside
your wall, so how is it your responsibility?
How does it affect, can you give an example?
Give an example.
Say IIT Kharagpur, we have a campus here with
wall around it, we have a neighborhood also,
is there anything in the neighborhood which
IIT can do to make sure that employees of
IIT and students of IIT and faculty, are their
health and safety is improved, what can it
do? They can build a fly over may be, is it?
Some good roads, so that pot holes are not
there, have you seen in many of these bigger
cities, metros and so on where you have large
companies, how they you know the road in which
the factory is located, how they look after
that on the pavements, they plant trees, gardens
isn’t it? What about say in Bombay, city
of Bombay, the municipal corporation they
approach the large companies and say why don’t
you look after some of these circles you know
like, let us say dada circle, you know look
after it, adopt it or you have got, look after
that garden.
Similarly, you see many of the companies they
even say that the road maintenance seeing
that pot holes are not there. So, employees
coming in two wheelers and all, they do not
fall and injure themselves. And apart from
the employees use the public road, then it
is a social service also, because other passes
by in that road, they also benefit from that.
So, neighborhood safety and cleanliness, there
is a saying cleanliness is next to godliness;
that means, wherever you have gods and goddesses
you try to keep the place clean you know.
So, have you seen how this idea is being used
in some of the cities?
You know some of the cities you will have
various places, walls and all that, people
use it as public latrine. So, how are they
done? Innovative I think, they have painted
all the gods and goddesses on the wall, so
that the people would not go and use it as
a public latrine and it works, have you not
seen that, that is a good idea. So, cleanliness
is next to godliness, must keep the premises
clean and who is responsibility is it? At
least inside the factory or inside the office,
it is the responsibility of the management
you know and the employees, there is a term
I do not know if you have heard of it called
house-keeping. Have you heard that term house-keeping
as referred to a work place? Not referred
to a private home as a work place, good house-keeping
we say, good house-keeping.
House-keeping refers to this cleanliness,
orderliness, say you have good house-keeping
in the office, you enter the office of let
us say professor A, you will find all books,
papers, and journals you know lying in heap
all around. Next to him you enter the chamber
of professor B and you will find there are
nice racks, there everything is stored properly
docketed you know, proceedings are stored,
books are in almirah, reports are put in racks,
so who has got good house-keeping? Professor
B, is that important, in the work places is
it important, why?
Yeah. Firstly, in a factory setting it makes
for safety, because we have things lying around,
you know in a factory people can get injured,
it is a very real problem, safety. Second
is, time saving, the productivity increases,
you don’t have to navigate around various
obstacles lying there and third is, everyone
likes to stay in good surroundings is it not?
So, even the morale is better, now these are
things which are very evident, but is not
easy, you have to be conscious as an employer
all the time to see that good housekeeping
is done.
In fact, large factories they have nice little
competitions, you know they have a shield
or a cup and there is once a year the departments
gets the best house-keeping award. So, you
have these competitions to see that, house-keeping
is kept in good order, because it has a direct
relationship with safety, productivity and
morale. Workshop hall, sanitation and cleanliness;
temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting,
elimination of dust, fumes, gases and smoke,
now many of these items the employers does
not have a choice because they are under legislation,
there are legislation in all countries, ILO
has also got some conventions which are followed.
Now, in India we have got the factories act,
has anyone heard of this, factories act? That
is a very important legislation for those
employers who run factories and there is also
a shop and establishments act, where offices
you know they are subject to that. Now particularly
the factories act, it lays down minimum statutory
conditions, referring to ventilation, referring
to safety and so on, but the good employers,
they just do not limit themselves to what
is provided in the statutory act. They go
beyond that, it is just like quality, there
is ISI marking, which tells you that your
product has got acceptable quality, but most
of the employers, do they are they happy with
that? No, they want to give quality which
is well above that, isn’t it? So, any question
on this, this is within the workplace.
Now, you look at this, you have a responsibility
as we said earlier, outside the workplace
also. Look here, control and treatment of
effluents, what is effluent? Garbage, what
else? What is effluent? It is a kind of byproduct
after a process isn’t it? Say you have an
electro plating shop or in a chemical industry
you are processing, all right certain chemicals
all and byproduct is a waste and that waste
you cannot use, so you have to get rid of
it, what is the easiest way of getting rid
of it? Throw it into the drain or the sewer
or the river or whatever is there, but that
has got a long term deleterious effect, it
harms the environment, it harms the soil,
many of them have poisons you know, which
get into the soil.
So, there is legislation now to control that.
So, you have to have effluent treatment, if
you have some effluent which you are generating,
which has got poisons you know like lead or
mercury or cyanides, then you have to treat
them; that means, you have to spend money
as an employer, do some other chemical reactions,
treat them, neutralize them, only when it
is safe, then you throw it out into the neighborhood
into the environment. So, that is the responsibility
all right for the company.
Convenience and comfort during work, posture,
seating arrangements. If someone is going
to be in your factory for eight hours, then
it is your duty and also in your own interest
because you will get better productivity to
see that they are given proper work stations
with proper chairs. And then there are other
sciences, you have heard of ergonomics, yeah
all of you have heard of it; that means it
is a science which tells you, how to design
the work station or chair to see that it gives
you, the best support and the best comfort
for the health also the best health.
Distribution of work hours and provision for
rest hours, meal times and breaks; that means
if you have work there, you have to provide
time for people to eat, to have rest. You
know at the beginning of the industrial revolution,
most of these workshops, the mills, they used
to be like prisons, do you know that, there
was no regulation, people used to work for
ten hours, twelve hours, fourteen hours, children
used to work inside child labour. So, like
prisons there was no regulation to see that
at least a minimum level and decent amount
of comfort all right and cleanliness and regulation
of work timing was given to the employees,
but all that has changed now as the years
have passed.
Workmen’s safety measure, that is maintenance
of machines and tools fencing of machines,
providing guards what is providing guards?
Like security guards, what is this guard?
What are we saying guard?
Protection
Whenever there are rotating parts in machinery
like you have a fan, say a ceiling fan rotating,
what do you put? You put jally around it that
is called a guard, otherwise it is dangerous,
you have the rotating blade going, so that
is the guard we are talking about.
Then, personal protective equipment like helmets,
goggles, aprons, first aid boxes, safety shoes,
firefighting equipment for the personal safety,
it is like you have a grinder or someone who
is doing buffing, you are grinding wheel and
supportable, welding has been done and you
are grinding. In the process of grinding,
these metals, specks are thrown out, so unless
you have goggles protecting you not like this,
but fully protecting, you may get eye injury,
it is very common or gloves you are handling
hot equipment, so a proper glove, safety shoes,
what is safety shoes, do you know? Anyone
know what is a safety shoe? Gum boots, is
it same as gumboots?
Safety shoes are really shoes which are designed
in such a way that if anything heavy falls
on your feet you know and you are wearing
the shoes, you are not injured badly. Yeah,
usually there are metal plates, which are
below the leather on the toe cap and at the
sides. So, many of these employers now, they
give free safety shoes, some of them give
subsidized, that is they charge little and
ask the employee to and give the rest, the
employee pays for the rest.
Apron, again if you are a welder you have
to have an apron, usually it is a leather
apron, otherwise the sparks that come will
burn your clothes and burn you also. First
aid boxes, safety shoes, firefighting equipment,
any questions? Supply of necessary beverages
like tea, coffee and supply of limited medicines,
so all this is up to the employer to choose,
a certain statutory, there are some employers
who will give you free beverages up to a point,
others will say we would not give free, but
we will give it, you pay for it, some will
subsidize.
Limited medicines according to the factories
act, if you have more than so many workmen,
you have to provide a facility like a dispensary
all right or a first aid. Now, in the dispensaries
some SOS medicines, SOS means, which are emergency
required can be given, but there are some
other employers who give the medicine for
three days also. So, this is up to the employer,
what kind of welfare and what level of welfare
they want to provide.
Then provision of notice boards, posters,
pictures, slogans, information or circulars
for communications. Why is that part of welfare?
Helps in increasing productivity, for safety,
slogans, you know you make cartoon pictures
for instance and put it on the walls, then
cartoon pictures is something visual, it gives
the impact, there is someone who is walking
you know and something falls on his head.
If you have a poster that is to show you should
wear a hard hat, otherwise you are likely
to have injury.
But tell me, why notice boards passing information,
because when you are dealing with large number
of people, how do you communicate with them?
It is the simplest form of communication,
is it not and why do you need to communicate?
Because, you are treating people as human
beings, you like to communicate because the
first step in involving them in the affairs
of your organization and involvements brings
commitment, and if commitment is there, you
gain in productivity. So, it is a very logical
thing to do, to communicate as much as possible
with the employees, instead of them hearing
things about the company, from rumors or reading
about it from newspapers or hearing from other
friends, if they are working in the company,
the management should communicate with them.
Then convenience, toilets with all facilities,
waste paper baskets, provision of drinking
water, coolers; canteen services: full meals,
snacks, mobile canteen; cloak rooms, rest
rooms, reading room and library, are you familiar
with all these terms? If not you ask me, what
is a cloak room? Yes, to keep the luggage
that is the cloak room, rest room taking rest
like beds and all are provided, is it like
a retiring room? Sometimes yes, for instance
drivers if you have a company which has buses
and it has drivers, then the drivers they
are to stay within the company’s premises
longer than the statutory hours, which is
eight hours. So, they call it the spread that
is you work for eight hours, but within say
eleven hour period actually, the rest three
hours you have to stay within, you cannot
go home, but you are not working, so you have
to provide with rest room.
Sometimes restrooms are called even toilets
are called rest rooms in some places, particularly
say in America you know, they will say rest
room, what we call toilets in India they call
rest rooms. Reading room and library see these
are going one step above, the act does not
say that you have to keep a library or a reading
room, but the company may decide, particularly
if the company which is more in the knowledge
kind of area, you know where the workmen are
trained workmen, the skill levels are high,
highly skilled education levels, they may
think that it is better to provide some sort
of a library or reading room because that
will be a good recreation and it would be
appreciated by the workmen.
Then workers health services, so all these
are coming under the welfare, some are statutory,
but many are more than statutory means, there
is no law what employers are giving. Health
center of the factory, dispensary, ambulance,
emergency aids, medical examination, health
education, health research, family planning
services, if you do not know anything about
it, please ask me. What is health research?
How it is important as welfare measure? Statistical
data how is it that we have only one representative
of the class, who is answering, have you chosen
him to answer all questions or it is just
spontaneous.
None of you has got any experience in industry?
None of you, except you.
Five are there, see let us hear the other
four also. You see here it says health education
is there, that is teaching will help health
education will count, but health research.
What is said is statistical data about the
health of the employees, many of the companies
they keep that, like for example, say you
have 1000 workmen and employees in the factory
right from managers to unskilled labour workmen.
Periodically, you have free check for diabetes
or blood pressure all right and then you keep
a record over the years and you see if there
is any pattern, that if the diabetic incidents
in your company is higher than in the industry
or is higher than national average or is lower.
If it is higher, all right is it correlated
to cardiac disease also, so you also keep
a record of cardiac disease all right and
then you try and trace it, how to reduce it.
So, one level may be in the canteen the food
which is being cooked in the oil, there is
too much oil or some measures can be taken
to minimize the quantity of oil, the kind
of diet which is being given in the canteen.
All right, what the workmen want and what
the managers and the unions want and management
has agreed also, that may not be very good
for health, but if you want to give less oil,
the union may say you are trying to save because
of food is not tasty if the oil is low; in
which case as a management you can say here
is a research we have done, you want cardiac
disease, high blood pressure we don’t mind
giving this oil, but it is in your interest
and certainly we are our managers are not
going to give food with all this oil. So,
that is why it is important in the interest
of your own employee that is the welfare.
Do you think that all the employees they know,
what is good food and good diet? I do not
think so, for instance, many of the employees
may think that you know full fat milk and
ghee you know a lot of it is very good, do
not you think so? Many of the workmen who
come from villages they cannot afford it,
but they see if they could afford it or to
eat meat every day is it good? We know as
employers is not good, medical research has
shown, but then it is the welfare measure,
therefore to see that as an employer, you
disseminate this information and that is why
we say, it is a health education.
Usually, you have a medical in large companies
you have a medical department also. Medical
department they run periodic seminars on various
topics, which are common for middle-aged people,
you have the safety and health department.
The safety department run seminars and training
programmers throughout the year for unsafe
working methods, unsafe conditions, use of
personal protective equipment, firefighting,
all this programmes are run and the health
on the other side, about good eating habits,
good diets, exercise, yoga, all these things
are managed by them, some of them have got
gymnasium with yoga so that you can do physical
exercise, aerobic exercise, and also do meditation
and many of the employers now, let me tell
you they allow this to be done within the
company premises and they provide the facilities
free of cost, of course usually not in the
companies time; that is, they have to that
will be after the shift hours or after office
hours all this is provided. And this is not
only in the brick and motor industry, this
is also in the software industry and IT, you
have gymnasiums, swimming pools, have you
seen, anyone of you has seen some of these,
you know these technology parks Wipro, Infosys,
the kind of facilities they have put up. It
is fabulous facilities, it is like a small
city where all these, cafeteria is there,
good food, meditation, yoga, swimming pool,
gymnasium, sports, you know tennis all these
is provided.
So that they work long hours no doubt, but
there employer is trying to bring in this
welfare benefit to see two things; one is,
the employees are healthy, the morale is high,
productivity is high and also, that the company
also gains isn’t it, in the whole process.
So, all these are done not only because of
the minimum laid down by the statutes, but
because the HR function recognizes today,
that it is very good for the company in the
long run.
Women and child welfare: Antenatal and postnatal
care, maternity aid, crèche and child care.
What is this antenatal and postnatal? That
means, before child birth and after, ante
means before A N T E, post means after care.
Particularly, when we have at the workmen
level etcetera the knowledge is not there.
So, the employer all right has knowledge dissemination,
the wives of the workmen they come and little
classes are given or some education is given
in the local language to tell them how to
care. Because many of the people coming from
the farming stock, they may think it is enough
to put black two spots here, you know one
black spot here and one black spot. So, the
evil eye does not come, they do not know genuinely
that you should have inoculation, you know?
The government is doing lot of publicity,
but still these cultural things they handed
down from generation to generations.
The employer also has a role to play that
you must have the child inoculated, because
this you can keep the black spot is all right,
but that is not enough, have to have inoculation.
So, all this is then, about the feeding of
the child and so on. What is crèche by the
way? C R E C H E right, say the mothers are
working then, where will they keep the child
because they cannot afford and there nobody
at home. So, a nice playground with toys etcetera
is provided within the company and the children
are there and there are attendants there also.
So, while the mother is there she is not worried,
she knows that the child is there looked after,
after the office hours then when the shift
is over, then the child goes, some little
education is given to the child also, so like
that of pre-primary kind of thing.
Women’s general education and separate facilities
for women workers like, lunch rooms, toilets,
recreation room, and etcetera and workers
recreation is number five. So, we are at health,
now we come to recreation, indoor games, sports
club, we mentioned activities, drivers’
rest room we have mentioned. Another welfare,
class of welfare is economic services, cooperative
societies, loans housing daughter’s wedding
etcetera. Anyone has an idea of what is this
cooperative society? It is like a cooperative
bank basically and what is cooperative bank?
Is owned by people who form the cooperative
and the objects of the cooperative bank is
what it says here, for matrimonial loans,
house building etcetera. Not for any and everything
they would not give you a loan if you want
to go to Singapore for one week holiday and
come back, but they have got their own objects
of the society, they will give the loan from
that and of course, you have to pay in monthly
all right.
Unemployment and health insurance, transport
services, cooperative stores, what is cooperative
stores? Again formed by employees usually
the employer, he also has a role in it. In
the sense he gives he gives some kind of subsidy
as there some management expertise he gives
how to manage it. Of course, the premises
are given, computerized systems are given
by the employer, but it is run independently,
you will have a election of society and amongst
the workmen and the employees, they will elect
president vice or chairman, vice chairman,
executive committee, but the employer may
give the auditing services. So, they do not
have to hire auditor and pay money for that
and cooperative store is the same concept.
So, they try and give you the goods of daily
use you know like, toiletries, grains, cloth,
clothes, and medicines and so on at a price
which is, where the profit margin is much
lower.
So, in the hands of the consumers, who are
the employees it is cheaper, that is the whole
idea. Worker’s compensation for injury,
now this is statutory, there is a workmen’s
compensation act, there is a legislation where
you have to give the minimum amount what is
extension, but many companies as I said, they
give more than minimum, they do not limit,
why? Because again, it is question of keeping
a high morale, is it not? Isn’t that, what
is the principle, for instance those who are
in the army or navy or air force don’t they
get free medical and compensation if you die
by, because the work is such that it is the
morale has to be high, but it is dangerous
also. So, one way to do it is to give free,
even if you die, education of your children,
your wife will continue to draw the salary
that you have been drawing, all these benefits
are given there, because it is a high risk
kind of job.
Family assistance in times of need, so any
questions on this? Next, those were economic.
Now, employment follow up, progress of the
worker in work performance. Adjustment problems
relating to machines, work load, supervisors
and colleagues and industrial counseling.
Do you see how this is a welfare measure also
or you do not see? Right, if there is one
employee who somehow cannot fit into the department
you know, so he is also not happy, others
are also not happy. So, here the role of the
employer come in, to see that the employee
is inducted and fitted in properly or maybe
transferred to some other department, may
be why he is unhappy is not because of the
surrounding, but because of the inability
to cope with this work which is given, so
may be the answer is training him. So, this
is itself a welfare now do you see that, you
have to keep watch on the employees, so it
is called employment follow up.
Then, workers education courses, workers education,
what does this mean? It means, general education,
most of the workers who have come they have
come after vocational training right; they
have not had the benefit of having a liberal
arts or science or a commerce course. So,
they may not know even about you know how
our country, there are parliament and you
have got state legislatures, what is the system
of governance and so on, which every citizen
needs to know, matters of hygiene, safety,
health etcetera.
So, the workers education it is supported
by the government, every state government
has got that, but employers are suppose to
run these classes and who takes the classes
from among the workmen itself, sometimes trade
union leaders, you train them as teachers
to take their classes or other employees,
from among the employees you train them as
teachers to take the workers education class.
And then, these classes are held throughout
the year and they have examination also and
grades and then they pass get a certificates,
which is from the state government the certificate.
And they have educational tours, so they have
a chance which otherwise they would not have
had to visit other factories, may be in the
same industry, so this is workers education
class.
And what is this trying to do? Why is it a
welfare benefit? Because, it is addressing
the individual isn’t it, for his self growth,
instead of working for 30 years and rising
getting three four promotions, from unskilled
workmen to let us say skilled workmen and
knowing nothing else, here is an opportunity
for him or her to know something more about
the country, more about more things, than
the narrow vision of his work only, broadening
the individual.
Reading room and library, adult education,
labour management participation: Serving on
various committees, research bureau. So, how
is this a welfare, labour management participation,
what does that mean? That means, you are asking
the labour to participate in the management,
is it not? And in order for you to participate
in managing anything, you have to have certain
knowledge, which you have to give to the workmen
by educating them, you have to have some skills
one of the skills is, how to talk and conduct
yourself in a meeting itself isn’t it, instead
of doing [FL] and shouting, there is a subject,
there is an agenda, you have to discuss as
per the agenda, you have to come to some conclusion,
minutes have to be made. All right, when you
serve on various committees, worker is put
on a committee and he serves on that committee.
Does he not learn by participation in that
committee, it is a great learning process?
In fact, even managers when you train managers
for higher positions, you them to committees,
first within the organization and later on
outside the organization.
Because then, they have the learning of how
industry functions, you have many industry
associations, you have the Bengal chamber
here, Bombay chamber, confideration of Indian
industry, so they have got various committees
and sub committees. And executives and managers
from the companies are send to these and they
participate, may be a productivity committee,
may be a labour legislation committee, may
be export committee, various committees are
there, so people are sent to participate in
that. So, this in a way is the personal development
of the employee and this is important part
of welfare.
Now, what about the outside the work place?
Housing very important, many company gives
schemes and there are many innovative ways
of giving, some give a scheme where a normal
interest if you took a loan from HDFC, HDFC
H D F C is a big company you have heard of
HDFC they give loans for houses. So, if they
charge 10 percent, then the company may say
all right we will pay 4 percent out of it,
so that only 6 percent is paid by you, so
they subsidize the interest all right, so
there are many ways. So, housing-water, sanitation,
waste disposal, now all this outside the work
place, do not dirty the neighborhood we talked
of effluent, we talked of maintaining the
roads.
Roads, lighting parks, recreation and playgrounds,
schools and colleges, markets, cooperatives,
consumer and credit societies, banks, transportations,
police out posts, post office, if you have
questions ask me. In IIT we are provided police
out posts, is not it a benefit?, say there
was no police out posts then it would be difficult
to go all the way to Kharagpur, we have got
bank extension counter, railway extension
counter, these are all benefits you know to
all of us employees. Similarly, in big companies
they have this, you have ATM facilities, banks
are there, transportation. Does not IIT give
a shuttle service to Kharagpur railway station
you know that or you do not know, they give
a shuttle service three or four times a day,
early in the morning, the busses run IIT busses.
If you are an employee you have an ID card,
you are student you can use that bus, salwa
you see the salwa busses running, that is
that salwa air-force station, they have this
transportation services.
Stadium, swimming pool, gymnasium, community
leadership development, family sports, health
and cultural programmes, village adoption
and community development, AIDS, HIV counseling
and treatment, there are host of activities.
And some of the good company’s progressive
and large companies, they have a whole department
you know of employee welfare with counselors,
medical counselors, doctors, some of them
have the medical and the employee welfare
together as a one big department, they even
adopt villages some of these companies. Say,
cement industry those who are in, the cement
is a resource based you have to locate your
plant, where the raw material is; so, it is
out of the way, in the backwoods they have
their own colony and you have villages round
about, they adopt the villages and they give
the welfare not only to them, employees inside
the organization, but outside to the villages,
so these are all under the outside.
So, to sum up statutory and non statutory
as we have said, welfare activities are also
specified by laws like the factories act,
the mines act, the motor transport act, the
central labour act, the merchant shipping
act, each industry wise the dock workers.
All right then the inter-state migrant workers
and so on, their plethora of legislation addressing
all these and they set down the minimum, but
many companies they do not just stick to the
minimum, they go beyond that.
So, approaches to employee welfare, one is
policing theory, state regulation to ensure
fair treatment and stop exploitation, one
approach. Second religion theory: Good Karma
will reap its reward, that is you earn [FL]
in your life, say you are a sage, you set
up a factory, put a mandir there and you believe
that if you do well, good welfare all right
is good for you. Third philanthropic theory:
affection for mankind, for your fellow human
beings and the other is, paternalistic theory,
trusteeship theory, that what you feel like
Gandhi use to feel, they are all that, if
you are a managing director let us say, that
all this company etcetera position that, I
am I am a trustee do not mind, it belongs
to someone else, my role is to do my best
to see that whatever work and responsibility
has been given to me is fulfilled to the best
of my ability.
So to that extent, employee welfare is part
of my duty as a trustee, these are the four
kinds of theories. Also, placating theory
which means appeasement, appeasement is what?
You want something I am giving it to you.
Appeasement, child wants chocolate all right
in the airport I saw today when I came or
yesterday, mother says no, child screams and
all, mother is walking on child lies down
on the ground and scream; so mother comes,
all right get up gives one chocolate appeasement
placating.
Public relations theory: Good welfare measures,
good image of the company amongst the workmen
and outside society and is good for the company.
Efficiency, we say productivity, good morale
better profit. Social theory: The Company
is morally bound to improve the conditions
of the community and the society. So, how
many of you? Which theory do would you belong
to when you are managing director, there is
some amount of combination, you know between,
let us say moral theory, is it not? And the
trusteeship theory. There is some amount of
balance, think about it which you which theory
you would subscribe to, thank you very much.
