Job Responsibilities of a Welfare Officer

A welfare officer is the one who is responsible for ensuring the welfare of workers by continuous communication with the factory management and workers. Although welfare officers are needed for all the human resources of an organization, they are mainly assigned to the factory premises to ensure the utmost interest of the workers and factory management. A welfare officer works under the compliance department. It can be a part of the Human Resource department also.

In the garments industry, a welfare officer plays a vital role in ensuring the garments worker’s health, safety, and hygiene factors. Normally the best practice is to appoint at least one female welfare officer in every garments factory. The number of welfare officers is mainly set as the regulating authority of an industry. In Bangladesh, the rule of appointing a welfare officer is one, if the minimum number of workers is five hundred.

Core Duties and Responsibilities of a Welfare Officer

1. Works as a path between workers and management to ensure each party’s utmost interest.
2. Maintain good workers and employer relationships within the organization.
3. Compliant management of workers as early as possible.
4. Provide ideas to the management of the factory while there is any internal labor management policy is formulated.
5. Guide workers on how to communicate with stakeholders to bring the most out of the factory facilities.
6. Monitor the worker’s health and safety issues and take the necessary steps while it is required.
7. Look after and ensure the necessary needs in the workplace like; toilets, dining facilities, medical centers, child care facilities.
8. Closely monitor the cases of sexual abuse of female workers, if any issues arise take immediate actions to resolve.
9. Counseling the workers are not mentally disturbed with any situations and monitor the improvement.
10. Communicate the worker’s needs in the workplace.
11. Provide guidelines on how a worker can avoid any hazardous situation and precautions against fire and safety in the workplace.
12. Keep records of all the activities done for welfare management.
13. Arrange training and awareness programs for the workers so that they can keep themselves from involving in any unlawful activities.
14. Develop good practice on the production floor to ensure a better working place.

Finally, a welfare officer is mainly working for ensuring a positive work environment for the workers which will ultimately beneficial for both workers and management. The reason behind appointing a welfare officer is to reduce the worker’s conflict within the factory.