Section 9 in The West Bengal Factories (Welfare Officers) Rules, 1971
9. Duties of the Chief Welfare and Welfare Officers.
(1)In addition to the duties of a Welfare Officer hereinafter prescribed, the Chief Welfare Officers shall supervise the work of the Welfare Officers.(2)the duties of the Welfare officers shall be -(a)to advise the concerned departments of the factory on questions of fulfilment of obligations statutory or otherwise, in the application of the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, and the rules made thereunder;(b)to establish liason with the Inspector of Factories, the Medical Inspector and the Certifying Surgeon of Factories concerning medical examination of employees, health and records.(c)to advise and assist management (i) regarding provision or amenities such as first-aid, ambulance rooms, canteens, shelters, for rest, crèches, drinking water and latrine facilities, and (ii) for fulfillment of obligations concerning sickness and benevolent scheme payments, provident fund pension and super-annuation fund, gratuity payments, maternity benefits, workmen's compensation, and other welfare and social benefit measures.(d)to advise and assist the factory management regarding -(i)display of abstracts of the labour laws and the notices under the Factories Act, 1948, the West Bengal Factories rules, 1958, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, and the West Bengal Payment of Wages Rules, 1958 and(ii)submission of all notices and periodical and yearly returns to Factory Inspector;(e)to help the factory management in regulating grant of leave with wages, to explain to the workers the provisions relating to leave with wages and other leave privileges, and to guide the workers in the matter of submission of application for grant of leave for regularising authorized absence;(f)to promote relations between the concerned departments of the factory and workers for bringing about productive efficiency as well as amelioration in the working conditions, and to help workers to adjust and adapt themselves to their working environments;(g)to advise the factory management on questions relating to -(i)training of new entrants and apprentices, where there is no arrangement for imparting training.(ii)transfer and promotion, and(iii)supervise and control the notice board and information bulletins to facilitate further education of workers and to encourage their attendance at technical institutes.(h)to encourage the formation of Safety committees, Joint committees, Co-operative Societies, workers and Welfare committees and to supervise their work:(i)to advise and assist the factory management -(i)in dealing with individual personnel problems, and(ii)in providing welfare facilities, such as housing facilities, foodstuff, social and recreational facilities, sanitation and education of children.(j)to bring to the notice of workers-(i)their rights and liabilities under the standing orders of the factory, and(ii)other rules defining the right and prescribing duties of workers and dealing with discipline, safety and protection of workers and the factory;(k)to establish contacts and hold consultations with a view to maintaining harmonious relations between the factory management and the workers;(l)to bring to the notice of the factory management the grievances of workers, individual as well as collective with a view to securing their expeditious redness;(m)to study and understand the point of view of labour in order to help the factory management to shape and formulate labour policies, and to interpret these policies to the workers in a language they can understand;(n)to watch industrial relations with a view to using high influence to prevent a dispute arising between the factory management and the workers, and in the event of a dispute having arisen, to help to bring about a settlement by persuasive efforts;(o)to suggest measures which will serve to raise the standard of living of the workers, and in general promote their well-being.(p)to advise the management to display the provisions of the Code of Discipline, Code of Conduct, Grievance Procedure, and other decisions of the Indian Labour Conference or Standing Labour Committee as are available or may be available subsequently;(q)to advise management to lay down "grievances procedure" and also assist the management in implementation thereof;(r)to supervise hazardous' jobs, systematic plant inspection, safety education, accident prevention and investigation of accidents, in case of those factories where a Safety Officer is not required to be appointed under the provisions of section 40B of the Act.(3)The Chief Welfare Officer or a Welfare Officer shall not -(a)deal with any disciplinary case against a worker, or(b)appear before a conciliation officer or in a court or tribunal on behalf of the factory management against a worker or workers except when he is required by the conciliation officer or a court or a tribunal to appear as a witness.
