Introduced in 1946, incentive payments have become highly popular in our industries. They are as common as monthly wages and salaries. But the schemes in operation defy any generalization because no two plants follow an identical scheme. The schemes differ from industry to industry, and from plant to plant within an industry. Some of the incentive schemes described by the ILO are followed here, but not in their original form. They have been modified to suit the local requirements. This is necessary because the implementation of incentive schemes, in their original form, necessitates work measurement and standardization of operations which, in many cases, are not possible in our industries. Thus, the features of incentive payments are:
Though incentives are as old as industries themselves, it was only in 1946 that they were introduced in our country. Even to this day, the incentive schemes are in their infancy.
In most industrial establishments, the introduction of incentives schemes has not been preceded by work studies, consultations with workers representatives and rationalization of wage structure through job evaluation.
Incentive schemes differ from industry to industry and from plant or plant within an industry
Most incentive schemes in operation fall under one or the other of the four classes mentioned by the ILO. But the schemes are fine-tuned to suit the requirements of the organization
The schemes in public sector plants have an extremely varied coverage, some applying only to day-rated employees while others are being made applicable right upto the top management.
Inflation has reduced the motivational effect of incentives. Hence, incentives have to be substantial if workers are to be motivated for higher efficiency and greater output.
In many cases, incentives seem to have achieved their objectives, that is increased productivity and enhanced earnings
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