Month: October 2020

Employee welfare means anything done for the comfort and (intellectual or social) improvement of the employees, over and above the wages paid.

In simple words, it means “the efforts to make life worth living for workmen.” It includes various services, facilities and amenities provided to employees for their betterment. These facilities may be provided voluntarily by progressive entrepreneurs, or statutory provisions may compel them to provide these amenities; or these may be undertaken by the government or trade unions, if they have the required funds.

According to ILO, “Employee welfare should be understood as such service, facilities and amenities which may be established in or in the vicinity of undertakings to enable the persons employed in them to perform their work in healthy and peaceful surroundings and to avail of facilities which improve their health and bring high morale”.

The objectives of employee welfare are to improve the life of the working class, to bring about holistic development of the worker’s personality and so on. Employee welfare is in the interest of employee, employer and the society as a whole. It enables workers to perform their work in healthy and favorable environment.

Hence, it improves efficiency of workers and keeps them content, thereby contributing to high employee morale. It also develops a sense of responsibility and dignity amongst the workers and thus makes them good citizens of the nation.

Apart from the wages and salary, anything done by the organization to improve the living standard of employees and keep them contented comes under the realm of employee welfare. All those services, benefits and facilities offered to employees by the employer to make his life worth living, are included in employee welfare.

According to ILO, “Employee welfare should be understood as such service, facilities and amenities which may be established in or in the vicinity of undertakings to enable the persons employed in them to perform their work in healthy and peaceful surroundings and to avail of facilities which improve their health and bring high morale”.

Employee welfare is for the betterment of the workers. It involves adjustment of an employee’s work life and family life to the community and social life. Welfare measures may be both voluntary and statutory (prescribed under labour laws).

The need and importance of employee welfare is being increasingly appreciated throughout the civi­lized world. The concept of welfare is a dynamic one and has different connotations in different countries and at different times in the same country, according to the prevailing value system, social institution, degree of industrialization, and the general level of social and economic development.

Some describe employee welfare or labour welfare as ‘an attitude of mind’ while others merely catalogue the schemes and measures which should be included in labour welfare. There are some who emphasize the voluntary nature of measures and include the measures that are undertaken by the employers beyond what is required by law. Some interpret labour/employee welfare measures to mean only measures which are legally obligatory.

International Labour Organization (ILO) defines welfare as:

According to the ILO, ’employees’ welfare should be understood to mean such services, facilities, and amenities which may be estab­lished in or in the vicinity of undertakings to enable the persons employed in them to perform their work in healthy and congenial surroundings, and provided with amenities conducive to the good health and morale.’

Welfare work is the task to be done by the employer voluntarily for the intellectual, physical, moral, and economic betterment of employees, over and above which is laid down by law, or what is expected as a part of contractual benefits for which the employee may have bargained.

Thus, under this definition we may include housing, medical and educational facilities, nutrition, facilities for rest and recreation, cooperative societies, day nurseries and creches, provision for sanitary, accommodation, holidays with pay, social insurance measures undertaken voluntarily by the employers, and would also include schemes like provident fund, gratuity, and pension etc. The term welfare is thus very flexible.

In India, which has embarked upon a vast programme of industrialization, the need for labour welfare is all the more important because it creates a healthy atmosphere in the work place, keeps the labour force stable and contended, and helps in maintaining industrial peace, thereby improving productive efficiency of the workers.

It is in recognition of this need that under successive five year plans, and also in the industrial policy statements, welfare measures had been accorded a due place. The agencies responsible for administering welfare measures are the Central Government, State Government, employers and their organizations, work­ers’ organizations, and Statutory Welfare Funds.

To supplement the efforts of the employees and the State Governments in providing welfare amenities to the workers, welfare funds have been set up in coal, mica, iron ore, manganese ore, limestone and dolomite mines, and in the beedi industry.

The principal activities financed out of the fund include general welfare such as medical facilities, water supply, education and recreation, and housing. The funds have been created by the levy of the cess on production or consumption or export of the minerals and, in the case of beedi, on the manufactured beedis.

Employee welfare concept

The terms ’employees’ welfare’ and ‘workers’ welfare’ are used interchangeably to denote various services provided by the employers to the employees in addition to wages. According to Arthur James Todd, “Employee welfare means anything done for the comfort and improvement, intellectual or social of the employees over and above the wages paid which is not a necessity of the industry”.

According to a publication of ILO, Employee welfare should be understood as meaning with services, facilities and amenities which may be established in or in the vicinity of undertakings to enable the persons employed in them to perform their work in healthy and peaceful surroundings and to avail of facilities which improve their health and bring high morale”.

Employee welfare is a dynamic concept as new welfare measures are added to the existing ones along with social changes. It is also a comprehensive concept. The modern concept of employee welfare entails all those activities of the employers which are directed towards providing the employees with certain facilities and services in addition to wages or salaries.

These are not a form of employers’ goodwill or charity to the workers, but are facilitative services to build and maintain the morale of the workers to achieve the objectives of the organisation. It is not only in the interest of the employees to provide them with necessary medical benefits, recreation facilities, retirement benefits, etc., but also in the interest of the organisation itself.

The employees feel satisfied if they are provided with such services and they also feel committed to the organisation. Though welfare services are merely maintenance factors and not motivators, yet they are necessary for the health of the organisation since they bear close connection with the productivity of the employees.

The basic features of employees’ or labour welfare are as follows:

(i) Labour welfare includes various facilities, services and amenities provided to workers for improving their health, efficiency, economic betterment and social status.

(ii) Welfare measures are in addition to regular wages and other economic benefits available to workers due to legal provisions and collective bargaining.

(iii) Labour welfare measures are flexible and ever-changing. New welfare measures are added to the existing ones from time to time.

(iv) Welfare measures may be introduced by the employers, government, employees or by any social or charitable agency.

(v) The purpose of labour welfare is to bring about the development of the whole personality of the worker to make him a good worker and a good citizen.

Employee Welfare Objectives

The objectives of employee welfare are discussed below:

(i) To enhance the level of morale of employees.

(ii) To create a loyal, contented workforce in organization.

(iii) To develop a better image of the company in the minds of the employees.

(iv) To enable the workers to live comfortably and happily.

(v) To develop efficiency of the workers.

(vi) To reduce influence of trade unions over the workers.

(vii) To expose philanthropic and benevolent activities of the company.

(viii) To make the workers know that the company takes care of them.

(ix) To develop positive attitude towards job, company and management.

(x) To reduce tax burden.

(xi) To develop a feeling of satisfaction of employees with the company.

(xii) To develop a sense of belonging to the company.

(xiii) To retain skilled and talented workers.

(xiv) To develop better human relation.

(xv) To prevent social evils like drinking, gambling through improvement of working conditions, cultural activities and social conditions.

Employee welfare work assumes great importance because of the following reasons:

1. Lack of strong trade union movement: In the absence of strong trade unions and effective leaders, welfare work helps the workers in the industry to stand on their own feet, think properly and systematically of their interests, progress hand in hand and participate in the nation’s development.
2. Poverty: Poverty is one of the main reasons behind the provisions of labour welfare activities. Indian workers in majority are poor, and are, therefore, unable to provide a healthy living for their families and good education for their children.
3. Illiteracy: In India, the number of educated workers is low. Being illiterate, they are unable to receive advanced industrial training, understand the problems in industries, and understand their own interests and those of nations.
4. Low level of health and nutrition: Due to poverty and illiteracy, the Indian workers remain unhealthy and ill fed. This reduces their productivity and efficiency.
5. Lack of healthy recreation: Due to lack of healthy recreation, the workers indulge in crime and other wrong activities. The employer should provide means of healthy recreation in order to maintain their efficiency.
6. Lack of training: The number of trained workers in India is very low. Thus, it is necessary to have training facilities for such a vast workforce.

The Humanistic approach was advocated by Australian sociologist Elton Mayo. He finds that most important thing is to treat labour as a human element of production. Therefore, it became necessary to take a new, modern and sympathetic view of labour welfare measures. Humanistic approach comprises of human values and relationships, which was missing in the other approaches of labour welfare. The human factor was absent in management of the industrial units and Mayo found the significance of informal relations among groups of workers and stressed relief for man. This approach considers attitudes, human personality and feelings of workers, while introducing labour welfare. Therefore it is evident that the humanistic approach to labour, welfare takes a progressive view about labour welfare.

This approach says that every individual should be left as free as he can attain his own best interest if they are left free. Therefore, it was opposed by the state as welfare promoting activities undertaken by the government or any social or public agency contradict with this approach. This approach emphasis that scope of labour welfare activities should be as small as possible. This hypothesis is based on following important principles:

• Society in its natural environment form is comprised of individuals. They are highly unorganized and uncoordinated group. Under such an environment every individual is self-cantered and motivated by self- interest.
• That kind of person will always act in a calculated manner. An individual person always looking for a secure life. This kind of individual person mostly engaged and motivated by activities of self- interest. Therefore, he will act in a manner that leads to maximisation of his self-interest.
• Each and every individual person supposed to act throughout the life which will promote his self-interest. He is always trying to achieve the goal with best of his ability.

The Atomistic approach was established on the independence, individualistic and rationality concept of the early 19th century. This approach did draw strong criticism in the 19^th century mainly due to extreme atomistic views has almost disappeared now. This approach led to perception that there is need of increasingly more liberal and progressive view of welfare activities for labour.

According to an ILO Manual in 1960, the Collective Bargaining is defined as:

“Negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer, a group of employees or one or more employers organization on the other, with a view to reaching an agreement.”

It is also asserted that “the terms of agreement serve as a code defining the rights and obligations of each party in their employment relations with one another, if fixes large number of detailed conditions of employees and during its validity none of the matters it deals with, internal circumstances give grounds for a dispute counselling and individual workers”.

The collective bargaining reached has been of three types:

(1) Agreement arrived at after voluntary direct negotiations between the parties concerned. Its implementation is purely voluntary;

(2) Agreements between the two parties, though voluntary in nature, are compulsory when registered as settlement before a conciliator; and

(3) Agreement which have legal status negotiated after successful discussion between the parties when the matter of dispute is under reference to industrial tribunal/courts.

The Collective Bargaining is the process wherein the unions (representatives of employees or workers), and the employer (or their representative) meet to discuss the issues related to wage, the number of working hours, work environment and the other terms of the employment.

• Conjunctive or Distributive Bargaining: In this form of collective bargaining, both the parties viz. The employee and the employer try to maximize their respective gains. It is based on the principle, “my gain is your loss, and your gain is my loss” i.e. one party wins over the other.

The economic issues such as wages, bonus, other benefits are discussed, where the employee wishes to have an increased wage or bonus for his work done, whereas the employer wishes to increase the workload and reduce the wages.

• Co-operative or Integrative Bargaining: Both the employee and the employer sit together and try to resolve the problems of their common interest and reach to an amicable solution. In the case of economic crisis, such as recession, which is beyond the control of either party, may enter into a mutual agreement with respect to the working terms.

    For example, the workers may agree for the low wages or the management may agree to adopt the modernized methods, so as to have an increased production.

• Productivity Bargaining: This type of bargaining is done by the management, where the workers are given the incentives or the bonus for the increased productivity. The workers get encouraged and work very hard to reach beyond the standard level of productivity to gain the additional benefits.

    Through this form of collective bargaining, both the employer and the employee enjoy the benefits in the form of increased production and the increased pay respectively.

• Composite Bargaining: In this type of collective bargaining, along with the demand for increased wages the workers also express their concern over the working conditions, recruitment and training policies, environmental issues, mergers and amalgamations with other firms, pricing policies, etc. with the intention to safeguard their interest and protect the dilution of their powers.

Thus, the purpose of the Collective Bargaining is to reach a mutual agreement between the employee and the employer with respect to the employment terms and enjoy a long term relationship with each other.

Need:

The basic need of collective bargaining is to arrive at an agreement between the management and the employees determining mutually beneficial terms and conditions of employment.

1. To foster and maintain cordial and harmonious relations between the employer/management and the employees.
2. To protect the interests of both the employer and the employees.
3. To keep the outside, i.e., the government interventions at bay.
4. To promote industrial democracy.

Importance:

The need for and importance of collective bargaining is felt due to the advantages it offers to an organisation.

The chief ones are as follows:

1. Collective bargaining develops better understanding between the employer and the employ­ees:

It provides a platform to the management and the employees to be at par on negotiation table. As such, while the management gains a better and deep insight into the problems and the aspirations of die employees, on the one hand, die employees do also become better informed about the organisational problems and limitations, on the other. This, in turn, develops better understanding between the two parties.

2. It promotes industrial democracy:

Both the employer and the employees who best know their problems, participate in the negotiation process. Such participation breeds the democratic process in the organisation.

3. It benefits the both-employer and employees:

The negotiation arrived at is acceptable to both parties the employer and the employees.

4. It is adjustable to the changing conditions:

A dynamic environment leads to changes in employment conditions. This requires changes in organisational processes to match with the changed conditions. Among other alternatives available, collective bargaining is found as a better approach to bring changes more amicably.

5. It facilitates the speedy implementation of decisions arrived at collective negotiation:

The direct participation of both parties the employer and the employees in collective decision making process provides an in-built mechanism for speedy implementation of decisions arrived at collective bargaining.

1. Favourable Political and Social Climate:

That existence of a favourable political and social climate is a necessary condition for effective collective bargaining, is well confirmed by the his­tory of collective bargaining worldwide. Collective bargaining has made headways in settling industrial disputes in the countries where it has been duly supported by the government and favoured by the public. From this point of view, the political climate has not been much favourable for collective bargaining in India.

The reason is not far to seek. There has been a multiplicity of trade unions in the country sponsored by different political parties. These trade unions favour employees not based on the merit of issues involved in disputes but based on their differing political considerations. Added to these is a plethora of legal laws also creating unfavourable climate for collective bargaining in the country.

2. Trade Unions:

Like in a democratic country like ours, employees should have fundamental rights to form trade unions for protecting their interests. More the stronger the trade union f lie effective collective bargaining and vice versa. The employer should also recognize a trade union and its representatives.

3. Problem Solving Attitude:

Both the parties while negotiating should adopt a problem solving, or say compromising attitude to reach an agreement. Neither party should adopt an adamant or fighting aide. The negotiating teams should follow give and take approach. It means that one party may win concessions over the other depending upon their relative strengths.

4. Availability of Data:

Data and information serve as inputs for decision-making. Hence, the availability of required data serves as a pre-requisite tor successful collective bargaining. While the employer Ike available data required for collective discussion, their union representatives also must accept and trust on data supplied by the employer.

5. Continuous Dialogue:

Collective bargaining sometimes may not reach to an agreement. In- stead, there may be deadlock, or say bargaining impasse. In such case, dialogue must not end but continue with problem solving approach. Keeping the controversial issues aside for the time being may help narrow down disagreement and continue the dialogue. Possibility for agreement may increase with continuation of dialogue.

The definition of employee relations refers to an organization’s efforts to create and maintain a positive relationship with its employees. By maintaining positive, constructive employee relations, organizations hope to keep employees loyal and more engaged in their work. Typically, an organization’s human resources department manages employee relations efforts; however, some organizations may have a dedicated employee relations manager role. Typical responsibilities of an employee relations manager include acting as a liaison or intermediary between employees and managers, and either creating or advising on the creation of policies around employee issues like fair compensation, useful benefits, proper work-life balance, reasonable working hours, and others. When it comes to employee relations, an HR department has two primary functions. First, HR helps prevent and resolve problems or disputes between employees and management. Second, they assist in creating and enforcing policies that are fair and consistent for everyone in the workplace.

To maintain positive employee relations, an organization must first view employees as stakeholders and contributors in the company rather than simply as paid laborers. This perspective encourages those in management and executive roles to seek employee feedback, to value their input more highly, and to consider the employee experience when making decisions that affect the entire company.

The term ’employee relations’ refers to a company’s efforts to manage relationships between employers and employees. An organization with a good employee relations program provides fair and consistent treatment to all employees so they will be committed to their jobs and loyal to the company. Such programs also aim to prevent and resolve problems arising from situations at work

Employee relations has become one of the most delicate and complex problems of modern industrial society. Industrial progress is impossible without labour management cooperation and industrial harmony. Therefore, it is in the interest of all to create and maintain good relations between employers and employees.

Employer-employee relations mean the relationships between employers and employees in industrial organizations. According to Dale Yoder, the term employer-employee relations refers to the whole field of relationship among people, human relationship that exist because of the necessary collaboration of men and women in the employment process of modern industry.

Nature of Employee Relation

1. Employer-employee relations are the outcome of the employment relationship in industry. These relations cannot exist without the two parties employer and employees.” It is the industry which provides the setting for employer-employee relations.
2. Employer-employee relations include both individual relations as well as collective relations. Individual relations imply relations between employer and employees. Collective relations mean, relations between employers’ associations and trade unions as well as the role of the State in regulating these relations.
3. The concept of employer-employee relations is complex and multi-dimensional. The concept is not limited to relations between trade unions and employer but also extends to the general web of relationships between employers, employees and the Government. It covers regulated as well as unregulated, institutionalized as well as individual relations. These multi-pronged relationships may be in organized or unorganized sector.
4. Employer-employee relations is a dynamic and developing concept. It undergoes change with changing structure and environment of industry. It is not a static concept. It flourishes or stagnates or decays along with the economic and social institutions that exist in a society. The institutional forces give content and shape to employer-employee relations in a country.
5. Strictly speaking a distinction can be made between human resource management and employer-employee relations. Human resource management deals mainly with executive policies and activities regarding the human resource aspects to the enterprise while employer-employee relations are mainly concerned with employer-employee relationship. Human resource management refers to that part of employment relations which is concerned with employees as individuals, collective or group relationship of employees and employers constitute the subject matter of employer-employee relations.
6. Employer-employee relations do not function in a vacuum. These are rather the composite result of the attitudes and approaches of employers and employees towards each other. Employer-employee relations are an integral part of social relations. According to Dr. Singh (Climate for Industrial Relations, 1968) the employer-employee relations system in a country is conditioned by economic and institutional factors. Economic factors include economic organizations (capitalist, socialist, individual ownership, company ownership, and Government ownership), capital structure and technology, nature and composition of labour force, demand and supply of labour. Institutional factors refer to state policy, labour legislation, employers’ organizations, trade unions, social institutions (community, caste, joint family, and religions), attitudes to work, power and status systems, motivation and influence, etc.
7. Several parties are involved in the employer-employee relations system. The main parties are employers and their associations, employees and their unions, and the Government. These three groups interact within the economic and social environment to shape the employer-employee relations system.
8. The main purpose of employer-employee relations is to maintain harmonious relationships between management and labour. The focus in these relationships is on accommodation. The parties involved develop skills and methods of adjusting to or cooperating with each other. They also attempt to solve their problems through collective bargaining. Every employer-employee relations system creates a complex set of rules, regulations and procedures to govern the workplace.

Scope

(a) Relationship among employees, between employees and their superiors or managers.

(b) Collective relations between trade unions and management. It is called union-management relations.

(c) Collective relations among trade unions, employers’ associations and government.

Scott, Clothier and Spiegel remarked that industrial relations has to attain the maximum individual development, desirable working relationships between management and employees and effective moulding of human resources. They have also asserted that either industrial relations or personnel administration is primarily concerned with all functions relating man effectively to his environment.

Some of them are as under:

(i) Administration of policies and programmes of industrial relations

(ii) Public Relations

(iii) Labour Relations

(iv) Recruitment, selection and placement of labourers

(v) Formulation of rules relating to law and order situation within the organisation and their explanation

(vi) Provision of recruitment test, intelligence test, ability test, skill test, etc.

(vii) Provision of training and education programme

(viii) Preparing report on performance evaluation and ability evaluation,

(ix) To provide medical and health services

(x) To advise in the solution of problems relating to education, trade, health and conduct of the employees

(xi) To conduct survey on the attitude of the employees

(xii) To complete record of employment of the employees

(xiii) To conduct research on employees

(xiv) To enforce labour legislations

(xv) To provide for redressal of employee’s grievances

(xvi) To provide for collective bargaining and dialogue to minimize labour disputes

(xvii) To provide for retirement and pension programme

(xviii) To prepare and enforce plan regarding compensation and evaluation of individual work performance, etc.

But under industrial relations following aspects can be included:

(a) Promotion of development of healthy industrial relations at plant and industry level.

(b) Maintenance of industrial peace and avoidance of disputes.

(c) Promotion of industrial democracy through participation schemes.

(d) Group relations, i.e., relations between various groups of workmen.

(e) Community relations, i.e., relations between industry and society.

(f) Promotions and development of healthy labour-managements relations.

(g) Prevention of industrial disputes and maintenance of industrial peace and harmony.

There is no clear-cut boundary of each aspect; the areas of these are overlapping to a good extent.

Industrial Relations Nature

Industrial relations are always a mixture of cooperation and conflict. However, much cooperation may be sought as an organizational objective, some conflict will always remain.

There are, at least, three reasons for this:

1. Both the groups (labour and management) develop different orientations and perceptions of their interests. They also develop generally negative images about each other.
2. There are no mutually accepted yardsticks or norms to tell to the two groups how far they should go in the pursuit of their objectives. In the absence of norms, both groups claim complete rationality for their demands.
3. There is no neutral field for the groups to meet on. This means that whenever the two groups meet each other for negotiations, they bring with them, some carryover from the post, besides their inherent distrust and suspicion for each other.