From its very inception, Tata Steel has been a showcase for worker welfare schemes. Today, the Human Resource Management function is a strategic partner in our business. We firmly believe that people are our greatest asset and we adopt best practices to ensure healthy employee relations, employee growth and development as well as work satisfaction.

We have, over the decades, implemented trendsetting policies, the most recent being the first in the manufacturing industry to have a 5-day work-week. We were also declared as the ‘Best Place to Work in the Core Sector’ in the Business Today, India Survey 2016.

Besides Paternity Leave, Work from Home and Extended Maternity Leave, other initiatives include Mosaic, a Diversity and Inclusion Campaign that emphasises meritocracy, gender diversity, a friendly infrastructure for differently-abled employees and increased participation of women in senior leadership.

Tata Steel has been pioneering worker welfare schemes and community initiatives before the legislation mandated them.

We recognise that our people are the primary source of our competitiveness who we have always put first in all the initiatives. Our belief in employee welfare is corroborated in the several ‘firsts’ in employee welfare measures that Tata Steel introduced over time. In India, these include the 8-hour Work Day at our Jamshedpur plant in 1912, the Leave with Pay scheme in 1936 and the Workers’ Provident Fund Scheme in 1920 – all of which were subsequently adopted by the International Labour Organisation and enacted by law in India. Click here to know more.

The European Works Council meets on a regular basis to provide a forum for discussion of significant issues which may affect employees. Tata Steel has signed on with the UK Government’s Social Mobility Business Compact, which aims to ensure everyone has a fair opportunity to fulfill his or her potential according to merit. To know more, click here.

In the SEA region too, there is a continual emphasis on human rights. Several initiatives in NatSteel have been undertaken-like the adoption of best practices, annual satisfaction survey for migrant workers, ensuring good living conditions, health management workshops, HIV awareness talks, weight management programmes, smoking cessation programmes, aerobic classes among others.

Tata Steel Thailand enhanced the human resource management in various areas such as orientation and mentoring for new joinees; welfare and benefits improvements with the TOGETHER Programme; feedback initiatives from the Labour union, Employee Committee, Welfare Committee, etc., to improve remuneration and facilities; knowledge sharing session to build workforce capability; and a continuous emphasis on feel-good initiatives to keep morale high.

Health and well-being

We organise bi-annual holistic health check-ups as well as annual extensive investigations for all employees.

We conduct regular checks to ensure that first aid centres across our plants are well-equipped and manned by experienced doctors and paramedics. Our ‘Doctor at Doorstep’ initiative sees teams of doctors, technicians and nurses visiting Tata Steel employees on shop-floors to counsel them on lifestyle management and treatment at Indian operations.

Ensuring access to nutritious food

Apart from providing air conditioning at all employee canteens, we have taken steps to ensure consistency in the quality of food at all our canteens. Tata Steel also provides specialised training to canteen staff to improve service levels and has committees in place that are responsible for continuous improvement.

Setting high standards for health & safety

Tata Steel has set quality standards by monitoring office seating arrangements as well as mobile equipment such as cranes to ensure that their ergonomics are above par. Air pollution control systems have been installed at our plants to reduce dust levels and more and more equipment can now be operated remotely, making onsite jobs safer and less strenuous. Our 'Mobi-safe' mobile application allows employees to report any unsafe condition/act in the workplace, besides offering features for online detection of hazardous gases as well as visual displays of the shop floor for better understanding of work processes.

Families and celebrations

Our 'Muskan' crèches at Indian workspaces support young parents whose work keeps them away from their children. They have state-of the-art facilities and a ratio of 1:3 caregivers to every child. Other initiatives instituted by Tata Steel to engage its workforce include celebrations of professional and personal milestones, reward and recognition events and team get-togethers.