An Empirical Study on ESI Benefits: Employer Perception (With reference to select establishments in costal Andhra Pradesh)

The Employees’ State Insurance Act, enacted in April 1948, was one of the first major pieces of social security legislations enacted after the partition of British India. The problem of social security had attracted the attention of the Government of India as early as 1927, in connection with the ratification of the draft Convention on social insurance passed at the tenth session of the International Labor Conference, in that year. In 1931 a Royal Commission on Labor recommended the introduction of a sickness insurance program. Social security is essentially a term of the Trans-Atlantic origin. It was in 1935 that the term was authoritatively used for the first time when the U.S. social security was passed to provide the schemes of unemployment, sickness and old age insurance. Three Years later in the Year 1938, the same term was adopted by New Zealand where first time a comprehensive social security system-a measure of income security for all citizens. In 1941, the Atlantic charter also contemplated the importance of social security of labour. In the post Independence India the ESI Act 1948 is the first of its kind in South-East Asia and marks the first attempt at introducing a compulsory integrated system of social insurance covering health, maternity and accident benefits. Being a pioneer measure in the field of social insurance, there were certain practical difficulties in putting it into force throughout India simultaneously. A plan of phased application of the Act was, therefore, drawn up. The implementation of the plan had to be deferred at the last moment owing to some objections received from employers. Subsequently the Act was amended in 1951 to overcome these objections and to remove a few other lacunae in the Act. The act applies to whole of India and applies to all factories other than seasonal factories that it can be extended partially or wholly to any establishment or class of establishment, industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise. The administration of the Insurance scheme framed under the act, has been entrust to an autonomous body called the ‘Employee State Insurance Corporation’ consisting of representatives of the central and state Governments, employers’ and employees’ organizations, medical profession and members of the parliament. The union Minister for Labour and Employment is the Chairman and the Minister for Health is the vice-chairman of the corporation. The benefits provided under the act are sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement benefit, dependent benefit, funeral benefit; medical benefit etc. The objective of the study is to know the employer perception on the Employees State Insurance benefits in selected establishments of costal Andhra Pradesh under study.