MANAGEMENT OF LABOURS OF THE FARM AND LABOUR

WELFARE MEASURES

BY Savita

rathod M.V.Sc ANIMAL

NUTRITION

INTRODUCTION Labour is one of the most important inputs in agricultural

production.

How it is measured and valued is critical for establishing the cost of producing agricultural commodities and accurately portraying labour's relative share of the total cost of production.

Managing employees is probably the most important job in a dairy.

Labour makes up around 15-20% of total farm expenses.

Therefore, proper labour management can greatly impact the productive and financial success of your dairy farm.

Conti.......Perhaps the most important decision in the dairy

operation is hiring and keeping the right employee.

Hiring a person not suited to a particular operation can be catastrophic.

It does not take long for an employee to start a flare-up of mastitis, ruin equipment or harm livestock.

In most dairy operations labour accounts for 15 percent to 20 percent of total costs.

Conti..... Before 1990 labour management has been of limited

interest for agricultural economists (Howard and McEwan) .

During the 1990’s and after 2000 more efforts were devoted to empirical research on agricultural labour.

Growing competition has led to continuing consolidation and increasing reliance on hired labour (Hadley, Harsh, &Wolf; Stahl et al.).

Availability of employees is the most common pre-expansion labour management challenge for dairy farmers.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Labourers or workers are defined as the number or inventory of persons at a point in time.

Workers are generally heterogenous because of differences in productive skills, location, and availability for work.

Labour is a service (person-years per year) and includes all human time-using activities, including what is sometimes labeled separately as labour and management.

Labour services are perishable and hence can not be moved to another period in time for use; workers, on the other hand, are durable, potentially working for many years as well as being geographically mobile.

Categories Of Farm Labour

Two major categories of farm labour are proposed: (1) Hired labour without farm ownership claims.

(2) Unpaid farm labour and salaried farm labour having ownership claims.

A comprehensive accounting procedure is recommended for the farm labour input in ways that will most likely increase recognition of the quantity of unpaid farm labour used in farming.

The cost of hired farm labour (type 1 farm labour) is total producers' costs, including wages, salaries, fringe benefits, and other hired labour associated costs.

Farm Labour and Related Services

Farm labour includes all hired, contract, exchange, and unpaid family labour used agricultural production.

Farm labour is defined here to encompass what is sometimes distinguished as traditional labour, management, and other overhead time.

Also includes labour acquired through farm labour contractors and all semi skilled services used in farming, such as mechanics for machinery and building repair,and book keepers.

Opportunity Cost Of Farm Labour

The opportunity cost of farm labour is the maximum value per unit among the alternative uses of that labour.

Skill or human capital, location, and period of use are generally important factors for determining the opportunity cost of farm labour.

For hired farm labour (no ownership claim), the compensation (wage plus cost of benefits) is the opportunity cost.

Though unpaid farm labour does not generally receive a wage, it does have an economic cost.

Implicit compensation for unpaid farm labour is based on the opportunity cost of off-farm work, or the return available in the next best alternative use of this labour time and effort.

Quantity Of Farm Labour

Measuring labour as the number of workers or employees is using a stock item to approximate a service.

All workers generally do not work the same number of hours per period and are different in ways that affect the quality of a unit of service.

Thus, approximating farm labour by the number of workers or by assuming a uniform rate of conversion from stock to flow, such as eight hours per day, is not a recommended practice.

Measuring farm labour as person-hours per period used in farming is the appropriate services measure.

Hiring Labour

When hiring employees, remember you are entrusting them with your cows and your dairy business.

Place advertisements for the job opening in dairy magazines or other agricultural prints.

A good employee will not want to work on a poorly managed farm. Furthermore, an employee will put in the work to maintain the level you present.

If the farm is unorganized and cows are dirty, the employees will work to maintain that level.

Training New Labour

After hiring, training is needed for employees to do their jobs well.

Train employees for two or three days, demonstrating how things are to be done and encourage questions.

Provide written standard operating procedures for all tasks.

If an employee does not know how to properly work equipment or manage your cattle, the job will not get done or be done correctly.

It is important to praise employees for following proper protocols, and be open to any questions.

Have one trainer who instructs the employee, and ensure that co workers do not contradict the instruction.

Finally, have the protocols specific enough to allow the employee to know what to do even if the employee has not worked in the dairy industry before.

Even with prior experience, remember,farms do things differently.

Providing Standard Operating Procedures

Training new labour can be difficult, but SOPs can help.

The purpose of an SOP is to provide detailed instructions of a specific operation so anyone knows exactly how the task is to be done.

A part of continual training of employees is continual education.

New advances are constantly being made, so it is important to keep up in order to most efficiently and productively manage a farm.

Most areas offer extension or consulting meetings that both employees and managers can attend.

This can enable everyone to learn.

Communication

In any business, communication is the key to keeping morale and productivity high.

Weekly meetings, written standard operating procedures, and opportunities to ask questions aid in keeping communication lines open.

communication is mandatory in maintaining a positive working environment and high morale.

With open lines of communication, employees should maintain positive work ethic and efficiency.

Labour Efficiency On Farm

a) Efficiency Of Labour Associated With Milking Process

Improvements in milking efficiency have a greater influence than any other aspect of the dairy farmers work on overall farm labour inputs (Whipp, 1992).

In order to facilitate the examination of milking process ,labour inputs, the milking process may be divided into the following three components:

Herding pre and post milking (transfer of cows to and from the milking parlour); milking (milking tasks / work routines within the parlour); and washing (washing of milking machine and yard).

Mean while, within milking specifically, the number of cows milked per operator per hour is the best measure of both the performance of the operator and the milking installation (Clough, 1978).

This is affected by the following three factors:

The milking times of the cows, the number and arrangement of the milking units, and the operator’s work routine (Whipp, 1992).

The addition of extra milking units will only increase milking performance if the operator has idle time during milking (Hansen, 1999).

The labour input for milking accounted for over 50% of the daily labour inputs on dairy farms (Chang et al. 1992)

The milking process consumed over half of the working day in 40% of dairy herds (Schmidt and Johnston ,1997) .

Technology has focussed on the task of milking due to its high labour requirement and has a significant effect on the number of cows that can be managed by one person.

The level of mechanisation as a key factor in influencing the efficiency and quality of milking and in reducing the number of operators required for that task ( Armstrong et al. 1994) .

The Milking Process On Commercial Farms

The impact of the milking process on labour input and efficiency is obvious, given the substantial time associated with milking for each cow.

This consequently impacts on farm family income and quality of life. The lower time per cow associated with milking in the larger herds was due to economics of scale, particularly in the herding of cows and post-milking washing routine.

Cow entry and exit times are becoming increasingly important as parlour length increases due to increased milking unit numbers.

Efficient cow flow in the research farm milking parlour in this study resulted in it being unnecessary for the operator to leave the pit during milking.

Milking performance is dependent on work routines (Whipp, 1992).

LABOUR WELFARE MEASURES

INTRODUCTION In a resolution in 1947, the ILO defined labour welfare as

"such services, facilities and amenities as adequate canteens, rest and recreation facilities, arrangements for travel to and from work, and for the accommodation of workers employed at a distance from their houses, and such other services, amenities and facilities as contribute to improve the conditions under which workers are employed”.

The Committee on Labour Welfare (CLW), formed in 1969 to review the labour welfare scheme,described it as social security measures that contribute to improve the conditions under which workers are employed in India.

Conti........ Labour welfare occupies a place of significance in the

industrial development and economy.

It is an important facet of industrial relations, the extra dimension, giving satisfaction to the worker in a way which even a good wage can not, With the growth of industrialization and mechanization,It has acquired added importance.

A happy and contented work force is an asset for the industrial prosperity of any nation.

Labour welfare is nothing but the maintenance function of personnel in the sense that it is directed specifically to the preservation of employee health and attitudes.

Objectives of Labour Welfare

There could be multiple objectives in having a labour welfare programme, the concern for improving the lot of the workers, a philosophy of humanitarianism or what is now termed as internal social responsibility, a feeling of concern, a caring by providing some of life's basic amenities.

Besides the basic pay pack,. Such caring is supposed to build a sense of loyalty on the part of the employee towards the organization.

The welfare package by taking care of the basics of living, frees the worker to devote his time and attention to the organizational task and thus enhance efficiency and output.

A. Welfare measures inside the work place

1. Conditions of the work environment: Neighbour hood safety and cleanliness House keeping; up

keeping of premises Workshop (Room) sanitation and Cleanliness; temperature, humidity, Control of effluents.

Convenience and comfort during work that is operative’s posture, seating arrangements.

Distribution of working hours and provision for rest hours, meal times and breaks.

Workmen’s safety measures, that is maintenance of machines and tools, fencing of machines, helmets, aprons, goggles, and first – aid equipments.

2. Conveniences: Urinals and Lavatories, wash basins, bathrooms,

provision for spittoons; waste disposal.

Provision of drinking water, water coolers.

Canteen services; full meal, mobile canteen.

Mobile phones and e – mail facilities.

Management of workers’ clock rooms, rest rooms, reading rooms, and sectional library.

3. Worker’s Health services:

Factory health centre, Dispensary, ambulance, emergency aid, medical examinations for the workers.

Health education, family planning, Awareness programme on HIV –AIDS.

4. Women and Child Welfare: Antinatal and postnatal care; maternity aid,

crèche and child care; Women’s general education; family planning services, Separate services for women workers, that is lunch rooms, urinals, rest rooms, Women’s recreation (indoor).

5. Worker’s Recreation: Indoor games; strenuous games to be avoided during

intervals of work.

6. Employment Follow up: Progress of the operative in his/her work; his/her adjustment

problems with regard to machines and work load, supervisors and colleagues; industrial counselling.

7. Economic Services: Co-operatives, loans, financial grants, thrifts and saving

schemes; budget knowledge, unemployment insurance, health insurance, employment bureau,

profit – sharing and bonus schemes; transport services, provident fund, gratuity and pension; reward and incentives; workmen’s compensation for injury; family assistance in times of need .

8. Labour management Participation: Formation of various committees like works com.

Safety com. Canteen com. Etc.

Consultation in welfare area, in production area, in the area of administration, in the area of public relations.

Workmen’s arbitration council / quality council Research Bureau.

9. Workers’ education:

Literary classes, skill based trainings, adult education, social education, daily news review, factory news bulletin, quality education etc.

B. Welfare measures outside the work place

Housing: bachelors’ quarters, family residences according to types and rooms.

Water, sanitation and waste disposals.

Roads, parks, recreation and playground. Schools: nursery, primary, secondary and high schools. Markets, co-operatives, consumer and credit societies. Bank and ATM

Transport. Communication: Post, Telegraph, Internet,Telephone, etc. Health and medical services: dispensary, emergency ward, out-patient

and in-patient care, family visiting, family planning Recreations: games, clubs, craft centres, cultural programmes, study

circle, open air theatre, swimming pool, athletics, gymnasia etc. Watch and ward; security Community leadership development: council of elders, women’s

association / clubs, youth clubs, etc.

Welfare facilities by the Government (Statutory):

The conservative labour welfare policy changed during the Second World War, when the government took several steps to boost the workers’ morale and increase their productivity.

The labour welfare schemes initiated then and continued.

Moreover, with a view to making it mandatory for employers, to provide certain welfare facilities for their employees the Government of India has enacts certain laws for the provision of labour welfare in order to enforce the minimum standards of health, and safety of the workers.

Employers have to observe the rules relating to working conditions, hours of works, hygiene, safety, light, ventilation, sanitation etc.

Welfare work by State Government

The Government of Bombay ( Maharastra) and Uttar Pradesh are the pioneer of labour welfare, in India, the administration of labour welfare measures was a provincial subject in 1937-1939.

In 1937, the Bombay Government introduced labour welfare centres which are changed with the responsibility of organising composite welfare activities.

At present more state Government and Union Territories have labour welfare centre, which take care of the educational, recreational and cultural needs of industrial employees.

The Welfare related Laws

Factories Act : 1948 The Mines Act : 1952 The Plantation Labour Act : 1951 The Bidi and Cigar Workers Act : 1966 Contract Labour Act : 1970 Industrial Disputes Act : 1947 Employees Provident fund Act : 1952Workmen’s Compensation Act : 1924 Payment of Gratuity Act : 1972 Bonus Act : 1965

CONCLUSION it is financially important to have good, stable employees

working in a low stress environment.

Have one clear boss for employees, and keep the lines of communication open.

You succeed as a team and fail as a leader because you have not made it clear why each task is critical.

Being smart when hiring can save you money and stress in the future, and staying calm while firing will build your reputation with your other employees.

Remember that proper management can lead to happy cows, happy employees, and financial success.

THANK YOU