A Study of Labour Asian-African Journal Welfare of Economics Measures and in the Econometrics, Corporate Sector Vol. 13, No. 2, 2013: 329-337
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A STUDY OF LABOUR WELFARE MEASURES IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR Meenakshi Yadav* and Anil Kumar**
ABSTRACT The paper examines the perceptions of workers towards labour welfare measures in the changing economic environment. A sample of 180 workers has been taken from the state of Haryana. Factor analytical model has been used to analyse the data. The analysis reveals that the factor analysis has clubbed various issues relating to labour welfare into nine factors. These are: loans and compensation facilities, education, housing, subsidized food, better working environment, stability of work force and provision of cooperative societies. The organizations should provide these facilities to workers. It has been observed that the workers do not need only monetary benefits but non-monetary also. It has been due to increase in awareness among workers. In order to maintain better industrial relations and stability in the organizations, these types of welfare facilities can go a long way in improving efficiency in the organizations. Keeping in view the perceptions of workers towards labour welfare measures the corporate sector should focus on these measures in an effective manner. Keywords: Welfare, Compensation facility, Cooperative societies, subsidized goods
1. INTRODUCTION Economic development of the country relies on industrialization. But industrialization also creates large number of socioeconomic problems like migration of labour from rural to urban areas, disintegration of joint family system, unhealthy working and living conditions, bickering about low wages, social security and personal problems. If all problems are not tackled properly, it will lead to sense of frustration, industrial conflicts, frequent labour absenteeism, inefficiency at work place and ultimately job dissatisfaction. To tackle these problems, the organizations need to handle its human resources in an effective manner. There is a need to provide various types of facilities such as adequate safety measures, canteen facility, better training facilities, medical facilities and adequate financial facilities at the time of need. These facilities in common language are termed as labour facilities. These facilities make the work place more comfortable for the workers. These facilities affect the labour productivity, industrial relations and economic growth of the industry in particular and economy in general. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the perceptions of workers towards labour welfare measures in the corporate sector. * **
JRF, Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar-125001 Professor, Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar125001, E-mail:
[email protected]
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2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE The literature cites the various studies relating to labour welfare. The following paragraphs highlight the various studies conducted in this period. Ghosh et al. (2007) have examined condition of work with reference to the importance of welfare and social security measures experienced by persons engaged in display board works. The study has observed that due to low income, workers involved in this occupation have no capacity to purchase insurance policies. The employers are also indifferent to their need for adequate social security coverage. The government and employers should accord top priority to the provision of labour welfare and social security coverage to the thousands of hoarding and billboard workers spread across the country. Michele, et al. (2007) has analyzed the welfare impact on employment protection by using data from 17 OECD countries. The study has shown that some range of increasing employment protection does indeed raise welfare. The optimal level of employment also depends on labour market features such as bargaining power and existence of wage rigidities like the minimum wages. Olufemi (2006) has examined the relevance and effectiveness of achieving justice in the work place in Nigeria through the use of code of conduct by MNCs. Voluntary codes require special importance because of general weakness of domestic laws. The paper suggested that flexible labour laws theory approach and the introduction of grievance procedures as effective measures of linking self-regulation and law. Marius (2006) has revealed in his study that social welfare depends on structure of union objectives, elasticity of labour demand. The study has also observed that under decentralized bargaining power, welfare can be maximized. Michel (2005) has used British National Sample Survey Data to analyse the cooperative unionism and employees’ welfare. The author has observed that union workplaces are found to have more employees’ welfare provisions than non-union workplace. Rawat (1988) attempted an investigatory and analytical study on the state policy on the subject of formulation of legislation relating to labour welfare and implementation of welfare measures and programmes in various industrial sector in industrial areas in the country. He concluded that there is a need in the country to establish more welfare funds for agriculture, unorganized labour, construction labour, handloom workers, etc., as has been done in case of coal, mica, iron ore and limestone and dolomite mine workers. No effort to improve the well- being of toiling workers can be successful so long as they lack legal literacy and remained ignorant of their rights, duties and welfare measures are imposed upon them from outside. Labour welfare is not a bounty gift, reward or premium, indeed it is workers’ right. Bhangoo (1995) examined industrial relations in Cotton Textile Industry. Attention has been paid on exploring the nature and extent of industrial disputes, settlement machinery working conditions and welfare facilities continue to be the most important factors responsible for poor industrial relations.
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Goyal (1995) studied labour welfare and job satisfaction in Cotton Textile Industry in Punjab. The objective of this study was to find the relationship between labour welfare measures and job satisfaction. It has been concluded in the study that there exist the positive correlation between job satisfaction and labour welfare measures. The above have touched different areas relating to labour welfare. But none of the study seems to have touched the area like perceptions of workers towards labour welfare facilities in the industrial sector. The present study proposes to fill the gap in the existing literature. Thus, in this paper an attempt has been made to analyze perceptions of workers towards labour welfare facilities. 3. OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY In this study an attempt has been made to analyse the perception of workers towards various welfare measures in the corporate sector. A sample of 180 workers has been taken from the State of Haryana. To analyze the perception of workers towards various welfare measures Likert type five degree scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree has been developed. Factor analytical model has been used to analyse the data. A well designed questionnaire was prepared and administered to the workers. 20 statements were administered to workers of the sample. These are: X1 Training programmes help in increasing the skill of workers. X2 Better working environment motivates the workers X3 Health facilities improve the efficiency of the workers X4 Job satisfaction is essential for workers in the organization X5 Housing facilities help in motivating the workers in the organization X6 Accidental compensation facilities motivate the workers X7 Loans facilities are must for workers X8 Rest and recreational facilities should be provided to workers X9 Canteen facility is must for the workers X10 Industrial hygiene is essential for the workers X11 Uniform facility is necessary for the workers X12 Washing and bathing facilities increase the comfort of the workers X13 Seating facilities provide comfort to the workers X14 Crèche facilities is essential for the female workers X15 Education facility should be provided to the workers. X16 Consumer cooperative societies should be encouraged X17 Scope of labour facilities be increased.
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X18 There should be proper evaluation of labour welfare facilities X19 Labour welfare facilities help in reducing labour absenteeism X20 Labour welfare facilities help in reducing turnover 4. RESULTS AND DISCISSION The perception of workers towards welfare measures has been subject to factor analytical technique. Varimax rotated matrix have been used for extracting the factors. The general purpose in usage of this technique is to find a way to condense and summarise the information contained in a number of original variables into a smaller set of new composite factors with minimum loss of information. The factor analytical technique has been used to identify a set of latent dimensions that is not easily observed. Table 1 KMO and Bartlett’s Test Kieser-Meyer-Olin Measure of Sampling Adequacy
0.598
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity
Approx. Chi-Square
395.368
df
190
Sig.
.000
The Table 1 highlights the results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. The KMO test measure of sampling adequacy equal to 0.598 vividly reveals that data is fit for factor analysis. Bartlett’s test of sphericity (395.368) further corroborates our findings. Table 2 Varimax Rotated Matrix Label Statement X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6
Factor Factor Factor Factor 1 2 3 4
Training programmes help in increasing the skill of workers Better working environment motivates the workers Health facilities improve the efficiency of the workers Job satisfaction is essential for workers in the organization Housing facilities help in motivating the workers in the organization Accidental compensation facilities motivate the workers
Factor Factor Factor Factor Comm5 6 7 8 unalities
.134
-.050
.193
.538
.015
.211
.175
.426
.604
-.117
.198
-.022
.040
-.071
.739
-.044
.083
.614
.564
.203
-.374
.193
-.231
.010
.154
.044
.616
.248
-.094
.083
-.108
.289
.581
.220
-.099
.568
.086
-.070
.728
.047
.031
.034
.301
-.027
.638
.548
.208
-.025
-.171
.031
.155
-.175
-.034
.431
contd. table 2
A Study of Labour Welfare Measures in the Corporate Sector Label Statement X7 X8 X9 X10 X11 X12 X13 X14 X15 X16 X17 X18 X19 X20
Factor Factor Factor Factor 1 2 3 4
333 Factor Factor Factor Factor Comm5 6 7 8 unalities
Loans facilities are must .733 -.137 .045 .084 .073 -.041 .072 .097 for workers Rest and recreational facilities .450 .296 .441 .063 .135 -.043 -.142 .147 should be provided to workers Canteen facility is must for .079 .167 .055 .104 .758 .054 -.003 .002 the workers Industrial hygiene is essential -.138 .241 .680 .079 -.014 .037 -.085 -.115 for the workers Uniform facility is necessary .131 -.066 .157 .534 .542 .142 -.068 .082 for the workers Washing and bathing facilities .079 .120 .124 .773 .052 .024 .114 .084 increase the comfort of the workers Seating facilities provide -.039 .663 .059 .312 .078 .260 .000 -.030 comfort to the workers Crèche facilities is essential .020 .458 .023 .287 .097 -.2621 .272 .210 for the female workers Education facility should be .161 .730 .098 -.129 .054 .050 .001 -.001 provided to the workers. Consumer cooperative .066 .037 -.177 .105 .048 -.020 .112 .736 societies should be encouraged Scope of labour facilities -.078 -.077 -.222 .088 .089 .010 .532 -.521 be increased There should be proper .338 .288 .063 .083 .110 -.140 .033 -.328 evaluation of labour welfare facilities Labour welfare facilities help -.003 .091 .158 -.006 -.039 .052 .805 .141 in reducing labour absenteeism Labour welfare facilities help -.319 .067 -.266 -.220 .542 -.049 .087 -.168 in reducing turnover Eigen Values 2.701 1.733 1..517 1.297 1..201 1.169 1.108 1.098 Percentage of Variance 13.504 8.665 7.587 6.486 6.007 5.845 5.542 5.491 Cumulative Percentage 13.504 22.168 29.756 36.242 42.249 48.094 53.636 59.127 of Variance
.587 .551 .626 .568 .657 .657
.617 .490 .591 .605 .630 .349.
.706
.723
Extraction method : Principal component analysis. Rotation Method : Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. Rotation Converged in 11 iterations.
Table 2 shows the varimax rotated factor matrix results for all workers in our study. Eight factors have been extracted which altogether account for 59.127 per cent of variance. It shows that 59.127 per cent of total variance is explained by information contained in varimax rotated matrix. The communalities have been shown at the right side of the Table 2, which explains the amount of variance in the variable that is accounted by two factors taken together. Large communalities indicate that a large amount of variance in a variable has been extracted by factor solution. A factor loading represents the correlation between an original variable and its factors. Factor loading is nothing but coefficient of correlation. Only the factors having eigen
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values greater than 1.00 have been considered significant. All factors with eigen values less than 1.00 are considered in significant and therefore disregarded. The name of factors, statements label and factor loading are summarized in Table 3. Table 3 Naming of Factors Factors Name of Factors F1
F2
F3 F4
F5
F6
F7 F8
Label Statements
Loan and compensation facilities X3 Health facilities improve the efficiency of the workers. X6 Accidental compensation facilities motivate the workers X7 Loans facilities are must for workers X8 Rest and recreational facilities should be provided to workers X18 There should be proper evaluation of labour welfare facilities Comfortable stay at the X13Seating facilities provide comfort to the workers work place X14Crèche facilities is essential for the female workers. X15Education facility should be provided to the workers Housing facilities X5Housing facilities help in motivating the workers in the organization X10Industrial hygiene is essential for the workers Training facilities X1 Training programmes help in increasing the skill of workers X12Washing and bathing facilities increase the comfort of the workers Subsidized goods X9Canteen facility is must for the workers. X11Uniform facility is necessary for the workers X20Labour welfare facilities help in reducing turnover Working environment X2Better working environment motivates the workers. X4Job satisfaction is essential for workers in the organization Stability of workforce X17Scope of labour facilities be increased. X19 Labour welfare facilities help in reducing labour absenteeism Cooperative societies X16Consumer cooperative societies should be encouraged
Factor Loadings .564 .548 .733 .450 .338 .663 .458 .730 .728 .680 .538 .773 .758 .542 .542 .793 .581 .532 .805 .736
The explanation of these nine factors has been discussed below. 4.1. Loan and Compensation Facilities (F1) It is an important factor which accounts for maximum percentage of variance equal to 13.504. Five variables have been loaded on this factor. The loading of five variables indicates that loan and compensation facilities are important variables in the area of labour welfare. These five
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variables have eigen value 2.701. The eigen value more than two further shows that these variables carry a lot of significance. The statements included in this factor are the health facilities, accidental compensation and loan facility, provision of rest room facilities and evaluation of labour welfare facilities. Under the new economic order and increase in requirements of workers, it becomes essential for the corporate sector to provide all these facilities to their workers. Moreover, the overwhelming proportions of workers are residing far away from their workplace and need these facilities more intensively. Medical and compensation facilities should be provided to workers. The corporate sector through there human resource policies keep adequate resources for these facilities. The workers also desire that there should be frequent evaluation of welfare measures so that shortcoming if any, may be corrected. 4.2. Comfortable Stay at the Work Place (F2) The second factor, which accounts for 8.665 per cent of variance consist of three variables and has been designated as comfortable stay at the work place. The eigen value for these three variables is 1.733. Eigen value more than one further highlights that these variables in this factor are important. The statements included are provision of seating facilities, crèche facilities and education facilities to their workers. Seating arrangement should be made for those workers who can perform their jobs in more effective manner in seating position. The workers want their overall development while working the organizations. There is need to increase the education facilities to workers in order to enhance their competencies. 4.3. Housing Facilities (F3) The next factor in terms of importance consists of two variables and has been termed as housing facilities. These factors account for 7.587 per cent of variance. The eigen value for these two variables is 1.517. This factor consists of two statements. The loading of these variables states that the housing facilities are the main motivator factors for the workers. It has become more important due to increase in the cost of living of the workers. Moreover, the workers will be able to live in more congenial environment at low cost. 4.4. Training Facilities (F4) The fourth factor, which accounts for 6.486 per cent of variance consist of two variables and has been designated as training facilities. The eigen value for these two variables is 1.297. Eigen value more than one further highlights the significance of this factor. These include the provision of bathing and washing facilities and training facilities. The workers on account of the poor living conditions, lack these facilities at living place. They require these facilities at work place in order to overcome this problem. The training programmes improve the workers skill and knowledge. Moreover, training programmes fulfill the workers urge to remain updated in the area of their specialization. It will help them in bring improvement in their efficiency. 4.5. Subsidized Goods (F5) The fifth factor, which accounts for 6.007 per cent of variance consists of three variables and has been designated as subsidized goods. The eigen value for these three variables is 1.201.
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These include the provision of canteen facility and uniform facility. The workers on account of low earning capacity require basic food and other facilities at subsidized rates. Moreover, workers on account of migratory in nature require these facilities more urgently. The organizations must provide these facilities to motivate the workers. 4.6. Working Environment (F6) The sixth factor, which accounts for 5.845 per cent of variance consist of only two variables and has been named as working environment. The eigen value for these two variables is 1.169. The statements included are the provision of better working environment and job satisfaction related variables. The results indicated that better working environment is essential to motivate the workers to work effectively in the organization. It will ultimately lead to job satisfaction among workers in the organizations. 4.7. Stability of Workforce (F7) The seventh factor, which accounts for 5.542 per cent of variance consist of two variables and has been designated as stability of workforce. The eigen value for this variable is 1.108. The statements included are the scope of welfare facilities and the reduction in labour absenteeism in the organization. The welfare facilities help in reducing the labour absenteeism in the organization. In order to reduce the labour absenteeism, which is the main challenge faced by the organizations, labour welfare work be undertaken keeping in view the requirement of the workers. 4.8. Cooperative Societies (F8) The eighth factor, which accounts for 5.491 per cent of variance consist of only one variable and has been named as provision of cooperative societies. . The eigen value of this one variable is 1.098. The provision of this facility well inculcates the habit of savings among workers and their dependence on informal sources of finance will reduce. The workers through cooperative societies will be able to get various items of their daily requirements at low price. The cooperative societies will prevent the exploitation of workers to large extent. The corporate sector should encourage the formation of these societies. The corporate sector should undertake all these measures to motivate the workers to work in an effective manner. 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The foregoing analysis reveals that the perceptions of workers towards the welfare measures in the corporate sector. The factor analysis model has clubbed various issues relating to labour welfare into eight factors. These are: loans and compensation facilities, education, housing, subsidized food, better working environment, stability of work force and provision of cooperative societies. In order to maintain better industrial relations and stability in the organizations, these types of welfare facilities can go a long way in improving efficiency in the organizations. The corporate sector should formulate suitable policies for the provision of welfare measures for the workers.
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References Michele et al. (2007), “Welfare-improving Employment Protection”, Economia, Vol. 74 (2) 381-391. Micheal R. W. (2005), “Cooperative Unionism Welfare”, Industrial Relation Journal, Vol. 36 (5), 348-366. Marius D. (2006), “Welfare Effects on Union Bargaining Centralisation on a Two Sector Economy”, Dresdan University of Technology. Bhangoo K. S. (1995), Dynamics of Industrial Relations, Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi. Goyal P. (1995), Labour Welfare and Job Satisfaction, Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi. Olufemi O. A. (2006), International Academy of Cooperative Code of Conduct: Workers Welfare and Multinational Corporations in Nigeria, African Business, 7th Annual Conference Proceeding. Ghosh et al. (2007), “Conditions of Work and Status of Social Security: The Case of Workers in Display Board Work”, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 50 (4), 847-852. Rawat B. D. (1988), Labour Welfarism in India: Problems and Prospects. RBSA Publishers, Jaipur.
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