The

Constitution of India has guaranteed

some fundamental rights to the citizens
and has also laid down certain directive
principles of state policy for the
achievement of a social order based on
justice, liberty, equality and fraternity

The

Constitution amply provides for the

upliftment of labour by guaranteeing
certain fundamental rights to all

Labour

welfare refers to all such services,

amenities and facilities to the employees
that improves their working conditions as
well as standard of living. The term labour
welfare bears a different interpretation
from country to country and from time to
time, and even in the same country,
according to its value system, social
institution, degree of industrialisation and
general level of social and economic
development. Generally, the labour welfare
services are divided into two groups:-

 Welfare

within the precincts of an establishment It includes medical aid, creches, canteens, supply
of clean drinking water, health services, uniforms
and protective clothing, rest shelters, etc. It is the
employer's responsibility to provide these facilities
to his/ her employees and several legislations
have been enacted to set certain minimum
standards for provision of these facilities.

Welfare

outside the establishment - It includes

social insurance measures like gratuity,pension
fund, provident fund,etc; educational facilities;
housing facilities; recreational facilities; workers'
cooperatives; vocational training, etc.

Article

14 lays down that the State shall

not deny to any person equality before the
law or the equal protection of laws

Article

39 accentuates the basic

philosophy of idealistic socialism, which is
enshrined in the Preamble of the
Constitution. It provides a motivation force
to the directive principles by laying down
that the State shall direct its policy towards
equal pay for both men and women

Article

41 lays down that the State shall,

within the limits of its economic capacity
and development, make effective revision
for securing the right to work, to education
and to public assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age, sickness and
disablement, and in other cases of
undeserved want
Article 42 enjoins the State government to
make provision for securing just and
humane conditions of work and for
maternity relief

 Article

43 makes it obligatory for the State to

secure by suitable legislation or economic
organization or in any other manner to all workers,
agricultural, industrial, or otherwise, work, a living
wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent
standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and
social and cultural opportunities

Article

43-A makes it obligatory on the State to

take steps by suitable legislation or otherwise to
secure the participation of workers in the
management of undertakings and industrial
establishments

 Social

security is guaranteed in our Constitution

under Articles 39, 41 and 43
The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 is
a pioneering piece of legislation in the field of
social insurance
The Employees Provident Funds and
Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 aimed at
providing substantial security and timely
monetary assistance to industrial employees and
their families
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is primarily
designed to provide maternity leave with full
wages and security of employment

The

Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 is

to provide a scheme for the payment of
gratuity to employees employed in
factories, mines, oil fields, plantations,
ports, railways, shops and establishments

Calculation

of Gratuity

50% of last drawn salary x No. of

years of completed service or
Rs.10,00,000, whichever it lower

 Besides

social security benefits, efforts have also

been made to provide ample opportunities for
employment and for workers education
The Apprentices Act, 1961 was enacted to
supplement the programme of Institutional
training by on-the-job training and to regulate the
training arrangements in industry
The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory
Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1969 has
made it obligatory on the employers to notify
vacancies occurring in their establishments to the
prescribed employment exchanges before they
are filled

 The

Factories Act, 1948 provides for health,

safety, welfare, employment of young persons
and women, hours of work for adults and
children, holidays and leave with wages

The

Contract Labour (Regulation and

Abolition) Act of 1970, a piece of social
legislation, provides for the abolition of contract
labour wherever possible and to regulate the
conditions of contract labour in establishments or
employments where the abolition of contract
labour system is not considered feasible for the
time being

 Article

43 of the Constitution provides for a

living wage

The

Minimum Wages Act, 1948 was enacted to

provide social justice to the unorganized labour
and to prevent exploitation

It provides for the fixation of minimum rates of

wages by the central or state governments within
a specified period for workers employed in certain
scheduled employments

The

minimum wage in any event must be paid

irrespective of the capacity of the industry to pay

The

voluntary workers education

scheme was launched in our country in
1958 to educate the workers in trade union
philosophy and methods, and to promote
awareness about problems, privileges and
obligations as workers and citizen
Labour welfare funds have been set-up
to provide welfare facilities to the workers
employed in different mines such as coal,
mica, iron ore and limestone

 In

order to extend a measure of social assistance

to workers in the unorganised sector, the
concept of 'Labour Welfare Fund' was evolved

Accordingly,

five welfare funds have been set up

under the Ministry of Labour and Employment to
provide housing, medical care, educational and
recreational facilities to workers employed in
beedi industry, certain non-coal mines and cine
workers. These funds are financed out of the
proceeds of cess levied under respective
Cess/Fund Acts

The

Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1

946
- was enacted to provide for constitution of
a fund for financing the activities which
promote welfare of labour employed in the
mica mining industry.

The Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour W

elfare Fund Act, 1972
- was enacted to provide for the levy and
collection of a cess on limestone and
dolomite for financing the activities which
promote the welfare of persons employed

The

Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines

& Chrome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Fund
Act, 1976
- was enacted to provide for financing the
activities which promote the welfare of
persons employed in the iron ore mines,
manganese ore mines and chrome ore
mines.

The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976

- was enacted to provide for financing the
measures which promote the welfare of

The

Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981was enacted to provide for financing the
activities which promote the welfare of
certain cine-workers

The

above Acts provide that the fund may

be provided by the Central Government to
meet the expenditure incurred in
connection with measures and facilities
which are necessary to provide the welfare
of the respective workers

 The

Labour Welfare Organization administers

these funds and is headed by a Director General
(Labour Welfare) / Joint Secretary
He is assisted by the Welfare Commissioner
(Headquarters) of Director rank, who supervises
nine Regional Welfare Commissioners for the
purpose of administration of these funds in the
States
These offices of regional Commissioners are
located at Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhilwara,
Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jabalpur,
Karma (Jharkhand) and Nagpur

The scheme of Welfare Funds is outside the framework of

specific employer and employee relationship, in as much as
the resources are raised by the Government on a
non-contributory basis and delivery of welfare services
affected without linkage to individual workers contribution

To advise the Central Government on matters related to

administration of the above Funds, Tripartite Central
Advisory Committees have been set up under the
respective Welfare Fund Acts. These Committees are
headed by Union Labour & Employment Minister

Funds are provided for the welfare facilities to the workers

employed in mica, limestone and dolomite, iron ore,
manganese and chrome ore mines and in the beedi
and cinema industries