Safety and health are the important issues which must be taken up by the organizations to ensure satisfaction of the employees and also to ensure productivity in the organization. Particularly in small and medium enterprises, these issues demand more concern as due to small size of firm, they are often neglected. This chapter gives an overview of small and medium enterprises in India, their role in the development of economy. Moreover, this chapter focuses on the importance of Safety and Health in the organization, how they are taken up as major concerns of the organization by International Labor Organization in the form of providing various conventions and ratifications and what are the various provisions regarding the same in the Factories Act in India. The outcome of the chapter is the factors which are particularly relevant for ensuring safety and health of employees in small and medium enterprises. For determining the factors, Factor analysis was performed on the data collected from the respondents with the help of questionnaire comprising of statements on Likert scale.
TopIntroduction To Small And Medium Enterprises
Small and medium enterprises are emerging as an important sector of the economy over the last five decades. (Rana, 2014) This sector can be considered as one of the most vibrant sector of the economy. Small and medium enterprises have a vital role to play in the economic development of the country. They can be considered as the backbone of Indian economy. They are the major contributors towards the gross domestic product as far as India is concerned. They not only help in industrialization of the rural and urban areas but also help in creating employment opportunities to the people of the country, thereby combating regional imbalances. (Rana, 2014). With the growing importance of Small and medium enterprises in the economy as a major contributor to the economy, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act came into being in the year 2006. With the promulgation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act in 2006, the Small and Medium enterprises are all set to revamp with a large number of facilities provided to them by the government. Moreover, with the formation of the Act, scope of erstwhile small enterprises has expanded to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. It has thus broadened the scope in terms of production, exports and employment, thereby facilitating a breeding ground for entrepreneurship at grass root level.
Small and medium Enterprises are defined in different ways in different parts of the world. Some define them in terms of employment, some in terms of assets, sales or other. The definition of Small and medium enterprises is a contentious issue in India. In India, they are defined in terms of investment in Plant and machinery. Small and medium enterprises hold a special place in Indian economy.
As per MSMED Act 2006, the definition of Small and medium enterprises, most commonly referred to in as SMEs, in manufacturing sector can be broadly put as:
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Small enterprise is the one in which investment in plant and machinery is 2.5 million with a maximum ceiling of 5o million.
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Medium enterprise is the one in which the investment in plant and machinery is between 50 million to 100 million.