The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

Maternity benefit: 

Maternity benefit consists of periodical cash payments in case of confinement or miscarriage or sickness arising out of pregnancy, confinement, premature birth of child or miscarriage, to an insured woman as certified by a duly appointed medical officer or mid wife. 

Over the decades, factors like education, economic development and others have contributed to the progress of the society by positively changing its attitude. Owing to this, women today have become more independent and liberal than their counterparts of earlier times. It has also led to an increase in the female work force. This is true for both the organized and the unorganized sector. Under our Constitutional edifice, multiple rights and benefits are guaranteed to women. Article 42 of the Constitution of India also directs the State to make provisions for maternity relief besides securing just and humane conditions of work for women.

Philosophy and Perceptive of Labour Welfare Activities

In an industrial society labor welfare activities, not only effects on the far-reaching work force but it also effects on various aspects of human resources. All such activities which are not only secure existential necessities but also ensures improved spiritual and emotional quotient, including in labor welfare. The short and long term vision to build a humane society is centered in labor welfare activities. 

The theories of Labor welfare activities firmly believe in that, behind any machine, the man is only responsible for achieving the organization's mission. With complete satisfaction and be committed on any cause, a person may act in its best. Various welfare facilities are provided by the organization keep not only employees motivated and committed even their family members also.

A few employers took the initiative in welfare measures for the betterment of their workers. TISCO, in Jamshedpur is one of the pioneers in this aspect. What are the significant welfare measures, the company can adopt keeping in mind the state’s educational, cultural and other problems in mind.

Welfare includes anything that is done for the comfort and improvement of employees and is provided over and above the wages. Welfare helps in keeping the morale and motivation of the employees high so as to retain the employees for longer duration. The welfare measures need not be in monetary terms only but in any kind/forms. Employee welfare includes monitoring of working conditions, creation of industrial harmony through infrastructure for health, industrial relations and insurance against disease, accident and unemployment for the workers and their families.

Labour welfare entails all those activities of employer which are directed towards providing the employees with certain facilities and services in addition to wages or salaries. 

Labour welfare has the following objectives: 

1.    To provide better life and health to the workers 

2.    To make the workers happy and satisfied 

3.    To relieve workers from industrial fatigue and to improve intellectual, cultural and material conditions of living of the workers. 

As you are aware that there are so many welfare scheme & welfare laws exist today in the interest of industrial workers in India. Write a synopsis on any one of them, which you feel are more welfare oriented and also suggest any new measures scheme you would like to introduce.

India: Manpower, Employment Policy and Labour Welfare 

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. 

Note: Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 (India)

Employees' Pension Scheme-95 came into effect from 16.11.95. The Employees' Pension Scheme-95 has been conceived as a Benefit defined Social Insurance Scheme formulated following actuarial principles for ensuring long term financial sustenance. The new Employees’ Pension Scheme-95 repealed and replaced the erstwhile Family Pension Scheme, 1971. The assets and liabilities of the erstwhile Pension Fund were transferred and merged with the new Pension Fund.  The benefits and entitlements to the members under the old scheme remain protected and continued under the new Employees’ Pension Scheme-95.

has been conceived as a Benefit defined Social Insurance Scheme formulated following actuarial principles for ensuring long term financial sustenance. The new Employees’ Pension Scheme-95 repealed and replaced the erstwhile Family Pension Scheme, 1971. The assets and liabilities of the erstwhile Pension Fund were transferred and merged with the new Pension Fund.  The benefits and entitlements to the members under the old scheme remain protected and continued under the new Employees’ Pension Scheme-95.

Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (India) [12th December, 1961]

INTRODUCTION

The object of maternity leave and benefit is to protect the dignity of motherhood by providing for the full and healthy maintenance of women and her child when she is not working. With the advent of modern age, as the number of women employees is growing, the maternity leave and other maternity benefits are becoming increasingly common. But there was no beneficial piece of legislation in the horizon which is intended to achieve the object of doing social justice to women workers employed in factories, mines and plantation.

ACT 53 OF 1961

With the object of providing maternity leave and benefit to women employee the Maternity Benefit Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and subsequently it received the assent of President on 12th December, 1961 to become an Act under short title and numbers "THE MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT, 1961 (53 OF 1961)".

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (India)

The Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 is a social security enactment. It is derived from the word ‘gratuitous’, which means ‘gift’ or ‘present’. However, having being enacted as a social security form, it ceases to retain the concept of a gift but it has to be seen as a social obligation by an employer towards his employee.

Application

The Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 applies to the whole of India and so far as it relates to ports and plantations it does not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It applies to:

(a)  Every factory, mine, oilfield, plantation, port and Railway Company.

(b)  Every shop or establishment within the meaning of any law for the time being in force in relation to shops and establishment in a State, in which 10 or more persons are or were employed on any day in the preceding 12 months.

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is the discount rate that generates a zero net present value for a series of future cash flows.....This essentially means that IRR is the rate of return that makes the sum of present value of future cash flows and the final market value of a project (or an investment) equal its current market value.

Internal Rate of Return provides a simple ‘hurdle rate’, whereby any project should be avoided if the cost of capital exceeds this rate. Usually a financial calculator has to be used to calculate this IRR, though it can also be mathematically calculated using the following formula: 

Explain the important aspects of Factory Act 1948 i.e. scope, objects with special reference to safety.

Objectives and Applicability of Factory Act:

The Factories Act regulates the conditions of work (health, safety, etc) in factories. It safeguards the interests of the workers and it is for the welfare of the factory workers. The act received the assent of Governor General of India on September 23, 1948 and came into force on April 1, 1949. This act was further amended many times. The act is applicable to any factory in which ten or more than ten workers are working. The act has a provision in respect of:

a)   Employee health and safety,

b)   Hours of work,

c)   Sanitary conditions and wholesome work environments,

d)   Employee welfare,

e)   Leave with wages, etc.

Enumerate the basic principles which have to be kept in mind for the successful implementation of welfare programs.

PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF WELFARE ACTIVITIES

The success of welfare activities depends on the approach which has been taken into account in providing such activities to the employees. Welfare policy should be guided by idealistic morale and human value. Every effort should be made to give workers / employees some voice in the choice of welfare activities so long as it does not amount to dictation from workers.

There are employers who consider all labour welfare activities as distasteful legal liability. There are workers who look upon welfare activities in terms of their inherent right. Both parties have to accept welfare as activities of mutual concern. Constructive and lasting Progress in the matter of social justice can be achieved only if welfare activities are accepted as essential factors in the progress of the business organization.

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 (India)

The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 is one of the important social security legislations. It aims at providing financial protection to workmen and their dependents in case of accidental injury by means of payment of compensation by the employers.

This Act makes it obligatory for the employers brought within the ambit of the Act to furnish to the State Governments / Union Territory Administrations annual returns containing statistics relating to the average number of workers covered under the Act, number of compensated accidents and the amount of compensation paid.

The important terms in the Workmen Compensation Act 1923 are as below:

a)    Dependents Dependent means

Social Security System

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines Social Security as "the security that society furnishes through appropriate organisation against certain risks to which its members are perennially exposed. These risks are essentially contingencies against which an individual of small means cannot effectively provide by his own ability or foresight alone or even in private combination with his fellows.

The mechanics of social security therefore consists in counteracting the blind injustice of nature and economic activities by rational planned justice with a touch of benevolence to temper it." This definition of ILO clears and centres on provision of support to an individual or to his/her family to protecting them falling into contingent poverty which is that the individual is not otherwise poor but for the contingency. These contingencies as per ILO are sickness, medical care for the worker, maternity, unemployment, work injury, death of worker, invalidity and widowhood.

There are some theories which constitutes the conceptual frame framework of the labour welfare, describe these theories

The philosophy of labour welfare activities is based on the theory that success of industrial development depends upon harmonious relations and co-operation between labour and management (employer). The labour has a fund of knowledge and experience at his jobs. If rightly directed and fully used, it would make a good contribution to the prosperity of the organisation this can be achieved only through the satisfaction of the labour.

Efficiency in the matter of running an organisation and maintenance of productivity at rising rate and higher level, call for good labour relations throughout the process of production. It enables all those engaged in the organization to make their maximum personal contribution to its effective working.

What do you understand by term labour welfare? What is it all about?

Classical economics and all micro-economics labour is one of four factors of production, the others being land, capital and enterprise. It is a measure of the work done by human beings. There are macro-economic system theories which have created a concept called human capital (referring to the skills that workers possess, not necessarily their actual work), although there are  also counterpoising macro-economic system theories that think human capital is a contradiction in terms.

The term welfare suggests the state of well being and implies wholesomeness of the human being. It is a desirable state of existence involving the mental, physical, moral and emotional factor of a person Adequate levels of earnings, safe and humane conditions of work and access to some minimum social security benefits are the major qualitative dimensions of employment which enhance quality of life of workers and their productivity. Institutional mechanisms exist for ensuring these to workers in the organized sector of the economy.