A STUDY ON EMPLOYEE WELFARE IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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1 International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Volume 8, Issue 10, October 2017, pp , Article ID: IJCIET_08_10_002 Available online at ISSN Print: and ISSN Online: IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed A STUDY ON EMPLOYEE WELFARE IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY G. Gopalakrishnan Research Scholar in Management studies, Bharath University, Chennai, India Dr. G. Brindha Research Supervisor, Professor, & Head, Depart of Management Studies, Dr. MGR Educational & Research Institute, University. Chennai, India ABSTRACT Welfare is anything done by the employer to his employees for the well-being or to improve their standard of living, it may be statutory or voluntary. But as far as India concerned, the welfare benefit whether it be statutory or voluntary is available only to the workers employed in formal sector, who are hardly 10%. 90% of the workers, who are more than 40 crore in number, and employed in unorganised / informal sector like construction, agriculture industry are either deprived their rights. On 29 th May, 2017 the Labour Minister Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya said that workers from unorganised sector will be covered under social security schemes such as ESI, EPF. According to him, the government is committed to ensure wages, jobs and social security for all workers including the unorganized sector. It is crystal clear that workers in unorganised sector are living their life below the minimum standard. There are number of labour laws for the safety and security of the formal sector workers but not applied for the workers in unorganised sector. Keywords: Construction Employees Welfare, Construction industry Welfare, Unorganized Sector Employees Welfare Cite this Article: G. Gopalakrishnan and Dr. G. Brindha, A Study on Employee Welfare in Construction Industry, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(10), 2017, pp INTRODUCTION: The concept of un-organised or informal sector has received worldwide attention in early 1970 when the ILO initiated series of efforts to identify and study the area through its (WEP) World Employment Program Missions in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Columbia and Philippines. The word informal was coined by British Economist Mr. Keith Hart in According to a survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in , ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, the total number of employed persons 7 editor@iaeme.com

2 G. Gopalakrishnan and Dr. G. Brindha were estimated to be around crore, out of which only 17.3% of the persons were employed in organized sector and 82.7 % i.e crore persons of workforce was employed in unorganized sector, in particular 4.5 crores (more than 10%) of persons were employed in construction and its related work. Government has enacted the legislations for the construction workers like The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, Further, to provide social security to unorganised workers the Government has also enacted the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, Welfare means anything, other than statutory done by the employer to their employees for the comfort and improvement of employees, which are over and above wage. Welfare measures helps to keep the morale of the employees high so as to improve the productivity and retain them for a longer period. Welfare measures need not be only in terms of monetary benefit, it may include creating congenial working conditions, ensuring industrial harmony by setting up health benefits, extending medical benefit to employees and their family members etc. the reason behind providing such welfare benefits is to create an efficient, healthy, loyal and motivated workforce for the organisation. Extending such welfare benefits will ensure better living condition of the workers and certainly will raise their standard of living. According to International Labour Organisation, the work in construction industry is laborious, the construction work involves maximum of manual or the physical work. The work in construction industry is much hazardous and dirty. Good welfare measures helps to maintain their health thereby enhance their efficiency. Unlike other manufacturing industry, the work place in construction industry is not stable or in covered place. The workers need to work in open space under hot sun and the site also keeps changing. Welfare facilities required for construction workers are different than organized formal workers. Welfare facilities like wholesome drinking water, Washing and bathing facility, sanitary and changing rooms, rest room and shelters, facility for cooking meals and eating, temporary housing sheds, transport facility where the shelter is away from the construction site will reduce their fatigue and improve their health Need for the study: Worker plays an important role in any industry. Without the cooperation of the worker, it is not possible to increase the productivity and get higher profit. Goal of any organisation is achieved only when worker cooperates whole heartedly. Worker s cooperation is possible only when he is fully satisfied with his employer, working condition. Traditionally, it was believed that employer s duty was limited to paying their wage satisfactorily, but later it is realized that workers expect something beyond wage. Statutory welfare benefits like Water, Canteen, Restroom, and Crèche are mandatory requirements which an employer cannot escape. Voluntary welfare measures like Medical facility, education facility, transport, recreation and housing etc. makes the workers feel more satisfied and motivates the worker. With this background a study has been undertaken on welfare benefits, the worker enjoys in construction industry Objective of the Study: The main objective of the study is to enquire into the statutory and voluntary welfare measure available to the construction industry workers, whether the workers are aware of it and they get the benefit or not. 8 editor@iaeme.com

3 A Study on Employee Welfare in Construction Industry 1.3. Scope of the study: The study on Employee Welfare in Construction Industry has thrown light on statutory and voluntary welfare measures provided by the employers to their workers in construction industry and will help the management to improve the welfare measures in order to increase job satisfaction and productivity Limitations of the study: The primary data collected is limited to only 78 workers The construction sites covered are medium and small sized construction sites The investigator s access to the staff / supervisor was limited due to non-availability The information received may not be accurate because most of the workers are from northern India and they are not aware of their statutory rights 1.5. Review Of Literature : Pillay & Haupt in Hinze, Bohner & Lew, (2008). The construction industry is very diverse and it is challenging place to work, associated with high risk environments and the workers are exposed to dangerous conditions where they work with dangerous machines and equipment. Therefore, the employer should provide them good welfare benefit and ensure their living standard is increased. CB Memoria (1999) : Labour Welfare is the initiate undertaken by the employer to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of the employees and their efficiency of the employees beyond the minimum standard prescribed by the legislation. Prof. (Dr.) Subhasish Chatterjee (2016) : Despite providing laws on social security for the formal and informal sector, the fruit is enjoyed only by the formal sector employees who are hardly 10% of the workforce. Social security act is considered as one of the most important act, but there is no proper provision to ensure compliance in unorganized sector that constitute 90% of the workforce. ILO: Work in construction industry is arduous; it involves much manual or physical activity. It is also hazardous and dirty. Good welfare facilities not only improve workers welfare but also enhance efficiency. Sai Anusha : A Study on Employees welfare and safety measures at power generation plant : According to study, every industry is dynamic and different from other industry. Presently, safety and welfare measures are satisfactory. However, there is still scope for improving the safety and welfare measures to employees and provide amenities that may improve their living standards. Effective and efficient implementation of safety and welfare measures will increase the job satisfaction of the workers employed in informal sector. Report of the Second National Labour Commission 2002: the second national labour commission constituted after 73 years (first NLC was conducted in 1969) has recommended rationalization of existing labour laws and umbrella legislation to ensure minimum level of protection to the workers employed in unorganised sector. The commission also recommended flexibility in working hours, setting up a system of social security to include unemployment insurance, uniform application of labour lwas to all establishments etc. 9 editor@iaeme.com

4 G. Gopalakrishnan and Dr. G. Brindha 2. DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION: Ample time was spent on internet to collect secondary data about the industry and welfare benefits provided by the construction industries. Primary data was collected by circulating questionnaire to the workers involved in construction work and face-to-face interview was conducted to collect first-hand information which is more reliable. The questions were framed by focusing welfare benefits in mind. Since in unorganized sectors like construction industry no union functioning, we could not meet any union office bearers. A study was conducted from about 78 employees. The researcher himself undertook the task of data collection. Since the workers are hardly educated and most of them are from Northern States like Bihar, Odisha, and Kolkata, due to language barrier, the questions were explained to them and their replies were recorded. Table 1 S No. Question SA A N D SD I am aware that my industry is an unorganized industry 6.4% 15.4% 74.4% 3.8% - I am aware of my legal rights as a workers - 3.8% 10.3% 79.5% 6.4% I am aware that we can form unions - 2.6% 7.7% 16.7% 73.1% I am aware that government had enacted rules to ensure % 21.8% 48.7% 15.4% our welfare I am aware of statutory benefits available to me 5.1% 11.5% 25.6% 35.9% 21.8% My employer complies all statutory compliances 9.0% 11.5% 26.9% 29.5% 23.1% I am aware of my welfare benefits 3.8% 15.4% 53.8% 26.9% - My employer takes care of my welfare - 5.1% 34.6% 37.2% 23.1% Labour Officers from labour department visit s our site to - 2.6% 26.9% 43.6% 26.9% ensure statutory compliances I am fully satisfied with welfare benefits given to me - 9.0% 28.2% 35.9% 26.7% From the above table, it is evident that 74.4% of the employees are neutral and even they are not aware of that the industry is an unorganized industry and also not a schedule industry where the government can fix minimum wage. Around 79.5% of the workers are not aware of their legal rights. While interviewing it was understood that since they are not on regular employment, statutory covers like Provident fund, Employee State Insurance benefit are also not provided to them. 73.1% of the workers strongly disagree that they can form a trade union, and strongly believe that they have no right to form trade unions. Majority of the workers in construction industry are not aware of their statutory rights and welfare legislation. Around 43.6% of the workers disagree that labour officers from labour department visit to their site to oversee the statutory compliance and ensure they get their legal rights. Most of the workers in construction industry are not aware of the welfare benefits. Even the Social Security legislations like Employee Provident Fund, Employee State Insurance, Gratuity, Bonus, Workmen Compensation / Employee Compensation are not known to them. They disagree that neither they know them nor it is provided to them. From the above study it is known that despite much legislation by the government they are not implemented effectively. Welfare for the construction industry employees includes provision of wholesome drinking water, Washing and bathing facility separately for male and female workers, Latrine and Urinal, Separate changing rooms for male and female workers, rest room and shelters, facility for cooking meals and eating, temporary housing sheds, pickup and drop transport facility from where they reside, First aid and medical facility are the few worth mentioning editor@iaeme.com

5 A Study on Employee Welfare in Construction Industry 3. FINDINGS: It is found that majority of the workers employed in unorganised sector are not aware of their industry, statutory and voluntary welfare benefits available to them. Also it was evident that the workers from construction industry are not covered under minimum wage, working hours, social security legislations. Most of the workers employed in construction industry are from northern state, therefore, the workers are interested in earning money not interested in fixed working hours, social security coverage like ESI, Employee provident fund etc. Since the workers are migrant, neither the workers are interested in forming a union nor are the trade unions interested to take care of them. Even the Labour Officers from ministry of labour seldom visit the construction site to ensure statutory compliance. The world is moving towards industry 4.0 / 5.0, the construction industry still remain as traditional and there is hardly any improvement in their standard of living. When a worker suffers any employment injury, he is not given any medical assistance and compensation, instead he is asked to get away from the work. Therefore awareness is to be created among workers about their rights. 4. SUGGESTION: The construction industry is booming fast, though the government enacted legislation like The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 etc., but its implementation is not effective. Government should ensure the officials visit the site and ensure compliance. Majority of the workers in construction industry are not extended statutory social security coverage like ESI, PF, Gratuity, bonus etc., through respective department, the government should ensure the workers given the benefits. The industry is filled with migrant workers; the employer should play a paternalistic approach in ensuring their voluntary welfare benefits and shoulder the responsibility to improve their standard of living. NGO s may be encouraged to visit the site and create awareness about the statutory rights, accident compensation etc. 5. CONCLUSION: Finally to conclude, it is a known fact that until the poor working class is supported by legal body like trade unions, it is difficult to get their statutory rights from their employers. Hardly any employer in construction industry is willing to extend voluntary welfare benefits. Therefore, the trade union should come forward to support the life of migrant workers. There is no job security in the industry, any workers raises a question about his right is sent out immediately. While dismissing the worker, their entitlement like gratuity, notice pay, retrenchment benefits are not given. Government can make legislations for the benefit of unorganised workers, but its purpose is solved only when the benefit reaches the worker. This is possible only when trade union turn towards unorganised sector workers sympathetically. Unless the trade unions think of unorganised workers compassionately, the legislation that government makes will remain in papers only. REFERENCE: [1] ILO on Construction OS&H [2] Safety, Health and Welfare on construction sites: a training manual, International Labour Office [3] Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 [4] Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare (Cess) Act, editor@iaeme.com

6 G. Gopalakrishnan and Dr. G. Brindha [5] Report of the Second National Labour Commission 2002 [6] The Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 [7] CB Memoria (1999) : Personnel Management [8] Priscilla Mageret James (2011): The well-being of workers in the construction industry: a model for employment assistance. [9] Sai Anusha (2013), A Study on Employees welfare and safety measures at power generation plant [10] Chandra Sekhar Patro (2015): Employee Welfare is the key: An insight [11] Md. Vaseem Chavhan, M. Siva Jagadish Kumar, M.V. Raju and E. Naveen Kumar, A Scientific Approach of Ambient Atmosphere To Develop Allround Personalaites For Sustainable Welfare Of The Students: A Model Study. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(5), 2017, pp [12] Dr. S. Poongavanam, R. Rajendr a Prasad, Dr. R. Srinivasan and Rengamani, An Empirical Study on Civil Construction Workers Labour Welfare Facilities in Chennai. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology 8(7), 2017, pp [13] Dr. S. Poongavanam, Dr. Rengamani, Dr. R. Srinivasan and Rajendra Prasad, Employee Welfare Measures & Industrial Hygiene in Civil Construction Company - A Study, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), Volume 8, Issue 7, July 2017, pp [14] Dr. G. Rajendran (2015): A study on the social security of unorganized workers in Nagapattinam District with special reference to unorganised workers Social Security Act, 2008 [15] Ministry of Labour & Employment Annual report [16] Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Labour & Employment dated 25 th Jul 2016 [17] Prof. (Dr.) Subhasish Chatterjee (2016) : Labourers of Unorganised sectors and their Problems [18] Health and Safety Executive Guide, Provision of welfare facilities during construction work [19] Employee Welfare Schemes of MAHAGENCO 12 editor@iaeme.com