Assignment on

Industrial Relations and Labor Laws

An overview of Industrial Laws and

Current Cases of Industrial Unrest in
India

Subject: Industrial Relations and Labor Laws

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Industrial Relations and Labor Laws

The relations between the employer-employee ,employer-employer and employeeemployee is termed as the industrial relations. Basically it is the outcome of the
day to day interaction as well as the activities among the various stakeholders
associated with and within the industry.
Industrial Relations are not only pertaining to formal relations , the organizational
hierarchy but also the informal orientations of the parties of the industry amongst
one another.
The term labor laws are integrated concepts of guidelines that harness the
framework of these industrial relations by ensuring the legal dimensions and
measures undertaken to maintain , strengthen and regulate wherever necessary.
According to Dale Yorder IR is the whole field of relationship that exists because of the
necessary collaboration of men and women in the employment process of an industry .

Need and Objectives of the Industrial Relations and Labor

Laws:
1. People are the key Participants - It deals with the humanistic management
approach towards people. As people are the basic elements of any industry
and the whole framework is designed around them so it becomes a
necessary objective that every considerations being made are in
correspondence with the humanistic approach.
2. Need for Legal Framework Since each and every activity carried in any
industry , corporate , trade and a business pertains legal obligations so in
order to see that the legal and lawful aspects are being followed and
covered a set of guidelines are necessary to regulate all parties as well as
the procedures of business or industry.
3. Base to Communicate and Discuss - To have a correct flow of
communication rather a effective communication network between all
parties developing and coming under industrial relations a framework has to
be there which regulate all communications , discard mis-communication
and seek regulations which delivers mechanism to ensure that needs of all
the parties are met.
4. Secure Industrial Peace and Harmony - The best outcomes are only achieved
when objectives are met by working together in a peaceful and harmonious
environment. So , in order to create , communicate , develop and preserve
such an environment it is necessary to understand industrial relations and
legal aspects of such relations which is dealt by labor laws.
5. Grievance Handling Machinery Grievances within the employeremployee ,employer-employer and employee-employee community does

not only hampers smooth running but also deteriorates the future prospects
and outcomes. i.e.: productivity. So the industrial relations and labor laws
provide effective grievance redressal machinery to ensure industrial
harmony and amity.
6. Amelioration of the conditions work and regulation in the industry-IR and
Labor laws provide guidelines which regulate the work environment and the
basics which are to be provided to a workmen / employee from the side of
employer as well as the minimum standards /conditions which are to be
met for every dispute to raised by any of the parties associated in industrial
relations

Growth of the Industrial Relations and Labor Laws:

Industry and Relations

Industrial Revolution Starts-Early 1700s .

No Regulation for IR in India.
No focus on working conditions or working regulations.
Just scientific way of management.

Pre-Independence Era
Employers and Workmans act 1860.
Trade Disputes Act 1929.
Trade Union Act 1926.

Post Independence

Industrial Disputes Act 1947.

More than 30 amendments till date.
Industries (Regulation & Development) Act of 1951.
Minimum wages act 1948.
Pre Liberalization Scenario in Industry
Between 1950 & 1970 labor disputes nearly tripled in
India.
In 1970 experience spike in labor unions & disputes.
Sudden reductionThe
in labor
disputes
was observed during
Last
Decade
1975-77.
Between 2004-11 decline in union disputes but
Total no of strikes & Lockouts was 1825 .
intensity /Impact increased.
Payment Of Bonus Act 1965.

Migrant and Contract labor are more in number the

Payment of Gratuity Act 1972.

permanent workers.
Workers are not active entities of management
considerations so grudge against management.
249 Disputes in first 5 months of 2010 and 101
disputes in 2012 over the same period.
Political Interventions in Union leading to more
damaging outcomes.
Unhealthy Relationship between workers and
Management.
Involvement of coercive entities to crush labor

The Recent Case - An Overview of Articles.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited , ManesarAn overview of the case
Maruti Suzuki opens Manesar Plant in 2006-07. a dominating company in the region and
closely related to the political machinery because of the industrial dependency of hundreds of
smaller production units, reaching down to slum production and small work-shops, partly because
the state still holds shares in Maruti Suzuki .In 2010 the company paid around 13 billion Rs tax to
the regional state . Maruti Suzuki had hoped to de-risk their production by relocating the new
production lines to a fair distance from the old troubled plant in Gurgaon, with a fresh workforce.
Everything seemed to be going well for Maruti.
Workers inputs help Maruti save Rs 160 crore at its Manesar plant
At a time when frequent labor unrests are plaguing the Indian auto industry, car maker Maruti Suzuki was
able to save about Rs 160 crore in 2010-11 by implementing suggestions given by workers at its Manesar
plant. We encourage our people to give their inputs that could increase efficiency and save money, said S Y
Siddiqui, managing executive officer (administration) of Maruti Suzuki. The company had received about 2.29
lakh suggestions last fiscal compared to about 129,000 suggestions in the previous fiscal, he added. This is in
sharp contrast to the companys past when strike by its workers crippled productions for three months from
November 2000 to January 2001. Since then the company has had a stable relationship with its workers.
When the carmakers sales crossed one million in 2009-10, the company celebrated the milestone by gifting a
gold coin to each of over 8,600 employees. (Times of India, 8th of April 2011).

The Workforce at Manesar - Workers in the Manesar plant are younger than in the Gurgaon
plant, and their wages a much lower, their contracts more casual. Permanent workers are paid
between 13,000 and 17,000 Rs, trainees get between 8,000 and 10,000 Rs, temporary workers are
paid around 6,500 Rs and apprentices around 3,000 Rs to 4,200 Rs. Permanent workers at Manesar
compared their wages to the wages of permanent workers at nearby Honda, Hero Honda or Maruti
Gurgaon plant and voiced anger about the fact that they earn only half as much. Backed by a
same union MUKU(Maruti Suzuki Kamgar Union).

Reasons what Triggered Formation of separate Union:

Harsh working conditions.
I am supposed to produce one unit of work in 40 seconds. If this target is not met even
by a low margin, I have to work two to three hours extra, rued a worker. Apprentices are
made to work in three shifts at a stretch. In some cases, interns from industrial training
institutes are called for advanced training, but made to do the job of a regular worker.
Workers do not get proper healthcare even though their contracts mention that the
company will provide compensation for ill-health.
Dominating nature of supervisors.

Cut in various forms of incentives and allowances.

The basic salary for permanent workers and temporary workers is the minimum wages of
around 5,000 Rs, the rest of the wage are incentives. If a worker is few minutes late,
then his half day salary is cut. If a worker takes one day leave, he loses about 1,500 Rs to
2,000 Rs as salary cut in various forms of incentives and allowances. If a worker takes two
day leave, he almost looses all the incentives.
Workers in Manesar did not feel represented by MUKU, they did not feel that their
grievances were addressed by the union.
Intermittent breaks pre-defined even avoiding basic needs of workers.

Company had already prepared legal documents for a possible expulsion of workers from the
premises demanding the separate union.

The Chain of Events

On 3rd of June, eleven leaders of the workers went to Chandigarh to meet the Labour
Department to complete the formalities regarding registration of the union but the laboe
department discarded their demands and even communicated their deed to Maruti, Thus
the MSIL (Maruti Suzuki India Limited ) Manesar sacked those 11 workers and even made
few workers sign on blank papers in order to discard their demands. The news of the
suppression procedures spread like fire. On the morning of June 4, 2011, through struggle,
workers were able to retrieve some of the blank signed papers from the management. By
the afternoon, it became clear that the management was using all kind of tricks to break
their unity.
In such circumstances, we were forced to go on flash tool down strike from the afternoon
of June 4, 2011. (Interview with Maruti Suzuki union leader, www.cgpi.org) All the
workers of the company joint the struggle permanent, casual, as well as apprentices.
As I was told by a young worker how the workers tied a white hanky around their faces
so that the trainee/apprentice workers, casual and contract workers could not be
distinguished by the management ,the police was still inside, having occupied the
canteen, and increasingly bouncers were also there. The inside-outside workers
correspondence doesnt seemed to be going towards anything more substantial than
food/mobile battery exchange. (4th of June, Report by a economic times). The Maruti
union will hold elections next month. I am sure they can show their strength there. They
can air their grievances there, Maruti Suzuki chairman said. (Business Standard, 6th of
June 2011)
At the same time management undertook steps to threaten and isolate the striking
workers within the factory premises. On the 8th of June the main unions AITUC, CITU,
HMS, INTUC, UTUC formed a joint action committee to support the strike. On the 8th of
June the main unions AITUC, CITU, HMS, INTUC, UTUC formed a joint action committee to
support the strike. Although this committee dominated by AITUC had no formal link with
neither the Maruti workers nor the new Maruti union in formation, it became the main
broker and spokesperson of the strike. Often quoted representatives were union leaders
from Honda HMSI, Hero Honda Dharuhera and Rico Auto. On the 9th of June this action
committee mobilised workers of 50 to 60 factories in Gurgaon, around 1,000 to 2,000
union members gathered in front of the gates. Sachdeva, secretary, AITUC, said, As we
are a major union in this area, its our prime responsibility to support any cause that
involves the rights of our affiliated workers. We are observing a days satyagraha at the

entrance of Marutis Manesar plant. If the management doesnt accept our demands
today, the workers of other neighbouring plants will go on a days strike. We are calling
for the termination of the 11 workers to be revoked. The workforce says it will only start
production when the 11 are taken back and given assurances they [management] will not
interfere in the union. (Business Standard, 10th of June 2011)
On 10th of June the over-all pressure on the striking workers increased and pushed them
further into the arms of the main unions. The Haryana government has, under the
provisions of the Industrial Depute Act, 1947, referred the matter of ongoing strike in
Maruti Suzuki Udyog Ltd, Manesar, by the workers to the competent labour court and has
also passed the orders prohibiting the continuance of the strike in the industrial unit,
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shiv Charan Lal Sharma said in a statement.
The strike was officially called illegal.
Two truckloads additional police arrived on the factory premises. Though the Gurgaon
district magistrate said deployment of additional forces inside the 600-acre premises was
just a precautionary measure, sources informed that striking workers could be booted out
of the factory with the use of police force. We have a court order that allows us to evict
these workers from the factory citing protection of the equipment, said RC Bhargava,
chairman, MSIL, adding police were there only as a precautionary measure. Ravinder
Kulharia, a striking worker, said workers feared for their lives. We do not understand as
to why the administration has moved such a large number of police personnel when we
have been on peaceful strike from the beginning,. (Hindustan Times, 10th of June 2011).
Initally Maruti Suzuki management offered to take back 5 of the 11 sacked workers, but
the union refused. But the demand was all the employees to be taken back. Besides, the
company had to give us an assurance in writing of not taking any disciplinary action.
On the 13th of June the company management announced that it would accept a
separate union for the Manesar plant, but under the umbrella of company council, which
would be responsible for wage revisions and other general issues.
on 17th of June, the dispute was settled. The workers were represented by leader of the
proposed new union Maruti Suzuki Employees Union Shiv Kumar and national secretary of
AITUC Sachdev.
The company has now agreed that we would not be asked to sign the paper. Also, the
fact that Maruti took back the 11 workers shows that our demands were met, said Shiv
Kumar. Actually the eleven workers have to undergo an inquiry before they are taken
back.
The plant will remain closed on Friday, the 17th of June, as a rest day for both workers
and management and, instead, will function on Sunday. A puja [religious ceremony] has
been called at 12 pm tomorrow as a symbolic way of starting things afresh, the
administration official said. There was no mention of the second union in the agreement
signed yesterday, simply because the workers at the Manesar plant do not require the
managements permission to form a new union. Gurudas Dasgupta, general secretary,
All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). (Business Standard, 17th of June 2011)
The national secretary Sachdev concluded: There has been massive loss of production
and the workers are aware of this. Hence they are willing to work overtime and make up
as much as possible for the loss in production. .
Later, The workers delegation was told in no uncertain terms by officials of the labor
department that MS management was insisting on the resignations of Sonu Gujjar
(President) and Vinod Kumar (Secretary) as a precondition to any settlement whatsoever.
Sonu and Vinod complied they knew how tough the situation was for their comrades

most workers badly wanted a settlement. (The mainstream media humored itself by
speaking about a golden handshake with guesstimates of the blood-money paid varying
from INR 2.8 million to 4 million; post 18th July 2012 these quotes went up as high as 15
million). In bargain the management had to relent and agree that it would not create any
hurdles in the registration of MSEU, which it would subsequently recognize. Later on MS
management announced that any worker charge-sheeted for the 2011 disturbances
would not be allowed to participate in the elections to these committees.
2012 also began with the worker masses realizing that whatever the management may
have committed in the October 2011 settlement, their union registration still was not
happening forget union recognition and subsequent collective bargaining over
employment terms. In other words things would be still the same same pay, same
working conditions At times they become very angry, even belligerent. 4th March 2012
was such a day. MS management sensed the mood that day. It did not want to be beaten
up. It blinked and it talked soft. It recognized the union on the spot Maruti Suzuki Workers
Union (MSWU) was the name they got for themselves. Thinking everything to be oncourse, the workers began working on their charter-of-demands. Workers collected
photocopies of the best industrial agreements they could come across. They constituted a
committee to visit the best schools in town to collate information on the expenses
needed. They did everything they could in order to write out, on a piece of paper, a
charter-of-demands that would give them a decent life. They presented this charter-ofdemands to the management and sat politely across the negotiating table.
None of their demands were met instead they were humiliated on the basis of mistakes
they committed on the preparation of charter. On 16th July 2012 MS management
responded to the workers demands by circulating a sheet of paper that informed the
workers what Maruti Suzuki was willing to give, during the next three years, in return for
their work. It was way below expectations and in bad taste as well example: Maruti Suzuki
offered them INR 200 a month for child education . Nothing happened on 17th July. But
next day supervisor Ramkishor Manjhi cursed worker Jiya Lals on his caste and beat him,
Managements unequivocal support for Ramkishor Manjhis act Jiya Lals immediate
suspension, The grudge began A shift did not leave the factory premises when B shift
entered to begin work. A good number of them had iron rods, car door frame-channels
and projectiles tucked beneath their shirts intimidating management bouncers were
always around and these workers had not forgotten the 2005 Haryana Police beat up of
Honda workers inside the court premises. They were prepared, angry and no mood to
take it lying down. few workers Ram Meher, Sandeep Dhillon, Sarabjit Singh and Co. the
men representing the workers inside the negotiating room folded their hands and told
the management that the least it could do was revoke Jiyas suspension in order to lessen
the tension that evening. It is said that Mr. SY Siddiqui (Chief Operating Officer
Administration) contemptuously smiled back he was probably intriguing on the basis of
intelligence that the 11 man delegation would be beaten up if it did not accomplish
anything that evening. The 11 man delegation went and reported to the mass that it
could not achieve anything.
18 July 2012-Violence Started-They first smashed the CC TV cameras that could record
what they were doing. They they went after the bones of the men who had spent years
teaching them efficiency; denying them natures calls in the name of efficiency. Efficient
they were: it was all over within half an hour. Maruti Suzuki reported a burnt main gate
and administration building, ninety-six supervisors and managers hospitalized for
fractured bones and other injuries, one dead. Maruti Suzuki did not report that its
bouncers did not put up a fight, that they fled.

Maruti Replies Back-.On 19th July 2012 Maruti Suzuki issued a statement which has is
quoted. The statement says (http://www.marutisuzuki.com/Maruti-Suzuki-statement-onManesar.aspx accessed 16th August 2012) By any account, this is not an industrial
relations problem in the nature of management-worker differences over issues of wages
or working conditions. Rather, it is an orchestrated act of mob violence at a time when
operations had been normal over the past many months.It would be retrenching more
than 500 existing permanent workers and getting 100 para-military personnel from the
state government to patrol the shop-floors during each shift and it would not be
employing contract workers on the direct production line anymore.
Later in August The Plant Started to function and the head of the SUZUKI Cop JAPAN came
to india and visited MSIL Manesar.

The Summary of the Case and After Effects:

IR focuses on proper communication between all stakeholders including the state

but in case of Maruti there was a huge gap between the workers and the
management instead as quoted in the articles there was not even a proper
leadership in the initial stages of the strike.
o No obligations of Directive Principles of State Policy was considered at
MSIL
o Equal Wages for Equal Work.-Permanent, Contract labors and apprentices.
o Living Wage and Decent Standard of Life of laborers-- Article 43 No increase
in pay or allowance.
The health and Safety of workers should be a major concern for every management
but ot has been discarded in case of Maruti, Factories Act 1948.
Since Industrial Relations is a function of three variables management, trade unions
and workers, a workable approach towards planning for healthy labor-management
relations can be developed by:

Defining the acceptable boundaries of employer/ employee action- This is relevant

for both the MSEU and MSIL.
Granting the freedom to act within these boundaries-NO external entities should be
allowed to be involved
For achieving the objectives of improved management for the trade union
A realistic attitude of managers towards employees and vice versa for humanizing
industrial relations.
Proper organization climate and extension of area of Industrial Relations,
Institutionalism of industrial relations and effective forums for interaction between
management and trade unions at plant, industry and national levels.
A comprehensive system of rules and discipline,
The maintenance of an efficient system of communication,
An objective follow-up pattern for industrial relations system.
Respect for public opinion and democratic values
An integrated industrial relations policy incorporating rational wage policy; trade
union and democratic rights, sanctity of ballot, collective bargaining and tripartite
negotiations.
Whatever, labor laws may lie down, it is the approach of the management and union
which matters and unless both are enlightened, industrial harmony is not possible. In fact
both managements and workers need a change in their philosophy and attitudes towards
each other. In all fairness, both management and workers should not look upon
themselves as two separate and distinct segments of an organization, but on the
contrary, realize that both are partners in an enterprise working for the success of the
organization for their mutual benefit and interest. It is becoming increasingly obvious that
industrial peace amongst all participants in the industrial relations systems requires truth
as foundation, justice as its rule, love as its driving force, and liberty as its atmosphere .
Future Impacts:
Changes in laid labor laws especially those pre liberalization scenario.
IR to be viewed as the most important and exhaustive Function of HR.
To discard the belief that The Trade Union does not hampers the
discipline--Good governance what is required is a firmness to defend
traditional values and promote change with dual focus on both equity and
efficiency.
IR the new HRM Approach- i.e: B-schools including IIMS reviewing HRM
curriculum after Marutis Manesar Violence.
Manesar has Provoked Indian Academia To Don their thinking caps to
bring back the lost focus on IR, and to try and wipe out the dichotomy
between the white collared and the Blue collared worker (August
29,Economic Times).

Death of a Manager and Murder case against 377

Automobile Workers at Allied Nippon

November 16, 2010

Sahibabad is amongst those industrial areas where there has been a glorious history of labour
struggles. The martyrdom of Safdar Hashmi of Jan Natya Manch at this place is also a testimony of
the labour struggle here. But, at a time when there has been an ever increasing onslaught on the
rights of the workers in the era of liberalisation and privatisation and when the administration and
industrialists are taking resort to authoritarian means to prevent the workers from getting
organized, it is but natural that the workers anger would be vented at some or the other place.
On 13th November a bloody struggle took place between the management and the workers on the
lawful demands of the workers of the Indo-Japanese Combo Allied Nippon Company situated in
Sahibabad Site-4 in which the manager of the company Yogendra Chaudhary lost his life.
Immediately after this episode the administration and the institutions of the industrialists were
alerted to teach a lesson to the workers. The entire media with its clamouring tone is hell bent on
terming the workers as murderers.
Let us first learn the history of the conditions and struggles of the workers of the Allied Nippon
Company before reaching to any conclusion.

The real cause of the incident

There was a tension between the management and the union from last three months on the
issues of contract, bonus and salary hike.
Besides the demands of the permanent workers, there was a demand to make those
workers as permanent on the priority basis who were working for last 6-8 years.

. On the other hand the owner-management did not want to accept these demands. About six
month ago the owner had secretly given lakhs of rupees to the so called management (in reality
the white collared goons) Yogendra Chaudhary and his colleagues Rajkumar, Omvir,Mahendra
Singh Chaudhary and Narendra Dabas for breaking the union. Since then this so called
management was arbitrarily running the factory.
It was quite common for them to roam inside the factory openly carrying the guns in order to
terrorise the workers.
There was a surge in the incidents of threatening and intimidation to the workers, beating them
and expelling them on the frivolous grounds so that the owner does not have to regularize any
worker and a ground is prepared for not honouring the contract.
All this caused enormous indignation among the workers.

The workers were living in a condition of fear. If anyone dared to complain he was sure to
lose his job.

A worker was always living in a dilemma of his economic needs and fear. He was always
fearful that if he would protest he would have to lose his job and face economic hassles.

On the other hand he was also thinking of salvaging his dignity and self-esteem. This
condition was gradually taking a dangerous turn and on 13th November it took an explosive
form.

What transpired on 13th November? - The Union had earlier declared a strike and the
company management wanted to halt it. On the ill fated day at 2 oclock in the afternoon the HR
Head of the company Mahendra Chaudhary went to the two wheeler clutch wiring department
along with Yogendra Chaudhary. Some altercation ensued with the workers there. After that
Yogendra Chaudhary opened fire and in 4-5 rounds of fire a bullet hit a worker named Brijesh.
Subsequently the angry workers valiantly fought with the officials and in an act of defence by the
workers, the manager lost his life. Many people were injured from both the sides.
Strength of the workers - There are around 300 permanent workers in the Allied Nippon
Company and the same would be the approximate strength of the casual workers. Further around
the same number of workers work on contract. The workers formed their union in 2006 against the
increasing exploitation of the company.
The empire of the company The workers tell that owner of the company has 4-5 other
factories in Gurgaon and other places. There is a big show room in Delhi. The owners sons name
is Rohan Talwar.
The authoritarian behavior of the administration with the workers
(Yogendras relative and the security officer of the company Omvir Singh has lodged an F.I.R. in the
Link Road police station against 377 people and by naming 27 workers this case. Police has
arrested 8 persons in this connection. ) not so imp point

Right from the day of the incident, the SSP Raghuvir Lal has been saying that the clash was
initiated from the workers side. On the other hand the labour department has already
stayed the strike by the union by taking refuge to Industrial Dispute Act. The stand of the
administration is very clear. The entire site-4 has been converted into a police cantonment
and the police teams are conducting raids at different places in the workers bastis.
On the other hand the leadership of CITU which claims to represent the interests of workers
is maintaining a conspicuous silence over this issue.

Some questions which remain unanswered by the administration - Clearly the death of the
manager cannot be justified but the question arises if the pistol is the way how the management
wanted to hold a dialogue with the workers? If a case can be filed against 377 workers then why
not against the management which carried out a fatal attack on the workers.
Secondly if the management at the time of the formation of the union had promised to implement
the demands of the workers and now when they have betrayed the promise and arbitrarily
retrenching the workers, the union did not have any other means than to go on strike which is a
constitutional right of every citizen.