ASSESSING WAGES AND WORKING CONDITIONS OF INDUSTRIAL WORKERS IN SIDCUL, UTTARAKHAND

This study examines how wage structures and working conditions shape the welfare of industrial workers using a quantitative, survey-based approach on a sample of 600 employees drawn from diverse manufacturing and allied sectors. A structured questionnaire captured demographic and job characteristics along with multi-dimensional constructs related to fair wage growth and transparency, timely wage disbursement and overtime payments, wages and compensation, wage discrepancy resolution, leave and rest periods, safety training and emergency preparedness, workplace health and safety measures, and workload and shift management. Reliability and validity analysis using Cronbachs alpha,composite reliability and Average Variance Extracted confirmed robust measurement properties of all constructs. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS was then used to estimate the impact of wage-related and working-condition related factors on overall perceptions and welfare of industrial workers. The findings show that timely wage disbursement and overtime payments, fair wage growth and transparency, and effective wage discrepancy resolution significantly and positively influence workers overall wage satisfaction, with timely payments emerging as the strongest predictor. Similarly, workplace health and safety measures, workload and shift management, and adequate leave and rest periods exert substantial positive effects on worker welfare, whereas safety training and emergency preparedness display a statistically insignificant relationship, suggesting implementation or perception gaps.