Labour Welfare in India

Labour welfare in India

Dr.N.C.Martin, Ph.D

Lecturer – HOD

Department of Social Work

Shree Chandra Prabhu Jain College

Minjur, Chennai.

Introduction

"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.

    Soon after independence, the government at a tripartite conference in December 1947 adopted the industrial truce resolution. Several legislations, including the following, were enacted to maintain industrial peace and harmony: Factories Act, 1948, Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 and Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The payment of bonus act was passed in 1965.

    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 liberalisation 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 stabilisation has resulted in drastic reduction in budgetary support to the public sector commercial enterprises while exposing these enterprises to increased competition from private sector.

Labour and Labour Welfare sub-sector consists of six main programmes viz. Labour Administration, Rehabilitation of bonded labour, Assistance to Labour Cooperatives, Craftsmen training programme, Apprenticeship training programme, Employment Services and Sanjay Gandhi Swavalamban Yojana.

Manpower, employment policy and labour welfare in India: post-independence developments:

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

1. Manpower: trends and magnitude.

2. Employment policies and programmes.

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 (I plan to X plan including mid-term appraisal of the X Plan).

Strengthening of Medical wing of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health

There are different types of industries in Maharashtra like heavy and light engineering, heavy and light chemical industries, petrochemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, textile and Electronic Industries. All these pose their own potential hazards, which may cause acute and chronic side effects on the health of the workers. In Maharashtra, the chemical factories which include heavy chemical complexes or small chemical factories which may produce acute effects on the health of the workers to such an extent that it may result in death. Pesticides spilled on the body of the workers are equally dangerous.

Improvement of communications, mobility of Factory Inspectors

For the quick transmission of messages relating to factory accidents, gas leaks, fires and disasters in the area a broad network of office/ residential telephones is an essential-requisite for the Factory Inspector, the concerned Dy.Chief Inspector of Factories, the Chief Inspector and from C.I.F.to higher authorities. Quick transmission of such messages to the area Factory Inspector and others not only facilitates a prompt inquiry into the mishap and its causes but also enables the concerned authorities to bring into action the various control measures in the case of disaster. An outlay for Tenth Five Year Plan 2002-2007 is Rs.150.00 lakh. Out of that an outlay Rs.5.00 lakh is provided for Annual Plan 2002-2003.

Tribal sub-plan area

Labour and labour welfare

Labour sector addresses multi-dimensional socio-economic aspects affecting labour welfare, productivity, living standards of labour force and social security. To raise living standards of the work force and achieve higher productivity, skill up gradation through suitable training is of utmost importance. Manpower development to provide adequate labour force of appropriate skills and quality to different sectors is essential for rapid socioeconomic development. Employment generation in all the productive sectors is one of the basic objectives. In this context, efforts are being made for providing the environment for self-employment both in urban and rural areas. During the Ninth Plan period, elimination of undesirable practices such as child labour, bonded labour, and aspects such as ensuring workers’ safety and social security, looking after labour welfare and providing of the necessary support measures for sorting out problems relating to employment of both men and women workers in different sectors has received priority attention.

The Central Board of Workers Education through its regional offices is striving to educate the workers to help to avoid wasteful expenditure, adopting cost effectiveness and by enhancing productivity of qualitative nature. They have been conducting the following programmes:

• Rural Awareness Programme.


• Functional Adult Literacy Classes.


• Short-term programmes for the unorganised sector to educate them on their rights, ethics and hygiene.


• Participative Management.


• ??Orientation Courses for Rural Educators.


• Leadership Development Programme for Rural Workers.

Labour research and training

V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, a fully funded autonomous body of the Ministry of Labour, conducts action-oriented research and provides training to grass root level workers in the trade union movement, both in the urban and rural areas, and also to officers dealing with industrial relations, personal management, labour welfare, etc. The Institute completed the following research projects during 1999-2000:

??Dynamics of Labour Market: Kerala.

??Women and labour Market.

??Labour laws, contractual parameters and conditions of construction workers.

??Adverse sex ratio and female labour force participation.

??Wage determination in rural labour force markets.

??Information on requirements for rural labour.

The following study was however of utmost significance??“Study on payment of wages wholly in kind and perceptions regarding Mode of payment: A study in selected States". This Study was undertaken in pursuance of directions of the Committee of Secretaries at a meeting held on1.4.99 for the purpose of amendment to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The study was completed in four states, viz. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar and Punjab.

Conclusion and Main Thrust Areas

(i) Modernisation of Existing Trades,

(ii) Maximum utilisation of Existing Infrastructure,

(iii) Creating facilities for Training of Instructors,

(iv) Creation of Post of Training and Placement Officer to facilitate placement of ITI pass-outs and to promote better interaction with industries.

(v) Implementation of Government decision to established ITIs at each Taluka and promotes women’s Participation in C.T.S. training.

(vi) Creation of additional Training facilities in the popular trades under Apprentice ship Act, 1961.

(vii) Creation of INTERNET facilities to develop better MIS.

Reference:

India: Manpower, Employment Policy and Labour Welfare: 1947 to 2007/edited by K. Narindar Jetli. New Delhi, New Century, 2006, xxvi, 508 p., tables, ISBN 81-7708-112-8.

Courtesy: Planning commission of India

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