Health condition of footwear manufacturing workers and their working environment: a special reference to Veyangalla village

Abstract

The workers in the footwear industry are affected by health-related hazards due to the poor maintenance of their working environment all over the world. Health plays a vital role in determining working ability and productivity. The working environment influences the health condition of the workers and causes health hazards and increases health care costs. Therefore, this study aims to analyses the impact of workplace environment factors on the health of footwear manufacturing workers in Veyangalla village, and it also has the sub objectives of identifying work environment factors that impact disease for workers, identifying the health cost of workers, identifying the impact of work environment factors on health cost, and presenting suggestions for improving the health of workers. Because the primary data and secondary data were used in this study, Primary data were collected from 100 employees from 12 footwear manufacturing factories in the research area using systematic sampling and analyzed using descriptive analysis, cost of illness analysis, and multiple regression analysis methods based on questionnaire, interview, observation, and discussion. Accordingly, this study found that some workplace environment factors have a high impact on labor health due to lack of cleaning, insufficient ventilation, and unsatisfaction of sitting arrangements. The health cost is high for male laborer’s, spray-coated laborer’s, and laborer’s who have been working in the footwear industry for more than 10 years. As well as the significant impact of work environment factors on labour health, it has been found to have a significant impact on labour health costs. Therefore, this study concludes that the workplace environment factors have been impacting the disease of the workers engaged in the footwear industry in Veyangalla village and suggestions for this have been made. For this purpose, the government can protect employees by implementing policies such as granting permits for health care costs, granting permission to review plans, setting up factories.