workforce to demand this facility. The provision of an industrial canteen is thus an
obligation for the
management of the industrial establishments. The need and justification of running an
industrial canteen in an industrial unit that is run satisfactorily need not be exaggerated
as the facility is acceptable to both the parties concerned that is the employers and the
employees working in those units.
3-1-2 Industrial Canteens as a Welfare Facility
The aim of every industrial organisation is to gain maximum at
minimum costs through a loyal and co-operative workforce. In order to achieve this aim,
it is necessary to provide a work environment that is comfortable, convenient and
pleasant to its workforce. The establishment is obliged to fulfil the needs of the
employees if they are to give their best to achieve organisational goals. The employers
ought to provide certain facilities and benefits to their employees to gain maximum at
minimum costs. These facilities and benefits are often, referred to as “Staff Welfare
provisions”. These provisions are classified under the heads of physical needs and
socio-psychological needs.
The physical needs are those which are required for comfort at work. The
welfare activities of this category are the provision of proper lighting, temperature and
humidity control, fresh air free from fumes and gases, low noise levels, a clean
environment, clean uniforms for staff, toilet and hand washing facilities, waste disposal
equipment, proper drainage and sanitation facilities, safety procedures and devices and
appropriately designed equipment and furniture. Sound proof ceilings, fitting exhaust
fans, provision of sinks and sitting and resting facilities are required in the industrial
establishments and particularly in the canteens.
The socio-psychological needs cover the needs for security through adequate
wage payments, provision for housing, infant creches for working mothers, transport,
social working hours, leisure and holidays, leave for sickness, maternity and
counselling services for stress at work-in-addition to the wages, subsidies on meals,
housing and others help to enhance wages indirectly.
The physiological needs are the needs of all the people. The provision of safe
drinking water, canteen facilities, rest periods and room, clean toilet facilities and
medical facilities are included in the physiological needs. Canteen facilities are a
statutory requirement. Irrespective of this, it is moral obligation on employers of catering staff to provide them with fully or partly subsidised meals. Health facilities
generally include regular medical check-up, treatment for ailments or injuries,
preventive medical care, health education and health insurance. Money is an important
motivator of people’s behaviour as far as it can help to satisfy basic physiological needs.
After that it is the non-financial incentives that take care of psychological and social
needs. The employee welfare measures include (a) work environment facilities related
to the maintenance of temperature, humidity, clean air, noise level and safety, (b)
hygiene and sanitation such as toilets, change rooms, rest rooms, waste disposal,
drainage protective clothing, and footware (c) welfare amenities such as canteen
services, safe drinking water, health facilities and medical checks, (d) housing facilities
such as HRA free accommodation and loans for housing (e) recreation as sports, games,
reading room, library and films and (f) training such as job development, individual
development, language training communications, craft training and lectures etc. The
provision of canteen facilities thus satisfies the physiological needs of the worker and
thus running a canteen in an industrial unit is a labour welfare facility.
3-1-3 Composition of Industrial Canteens
What is an industrial canteen composed of? An, industrial canteen exists in its
utilitarian functioning, which is plainly to feed the employees in an industrial unit. Its
functioning is a service-oriented facility. The core activity in the industrial canteen is
the cooking of the items of food in the kitchen and serving them fresh and not to the
consumers in the dining hall or its service area. The preparation of food production, the
actual food production and the food service to the consumers are the central activities to
be performed in an industrial canteen. In addition to these core activities, what goes
before the pre-production and production stages and what follows after the food is
served are also part and parcel of the schedule of the functioning of an industrial
canteen. What an industrial canteen is composed of is the continuous and complex
network of activities during the pre-production, production and post production phases
of preparing food and serving to the consumers in order to enhance their efficiency
through the provision of wholesome meals and by creating a comfortable work-
environment. The orderly sequence of these activities needs to be maintained and each
of the activities needs to be executed most efficiently and a delicate balance between
competent work culture and consumer satisfaction needs to be maintained in the
functioning of an industrial canteen. The composition of an industrial canteen lies on
the co-ordineted joint efforts of a group of workers involved in the canteen