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BBA 301
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LEGAL ASPECTS OF MANAGEMENT
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN INDIA
Causes
A lockout may happen for several reasons. When only part of a
trade union votes to strike, the purpose of a lockout is to put
pressure on a union by reducing the number of members who
are able to work. For example, if the anticipated strike severely
hampers work of non-striking workers, the employer may
declare a lockout until the workers end the strike. Another case
in which an employer may impose a lockout is to avoid
slowdowns or intermittent work-stoppages.Other times,
particularly in the United States, a lockout occurs when union
membership rejects the company's final offer at negotiations
and offers to return to work under the same conditions of
employment as existed under the now-expired contract. In
such a case, the lockout is designed to pressure the workers
into accepting the terms of the company's last offer.
Methods of measurement
Strikes and lockouts
The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or
lockout is the case of dispute. A strike or lockout that is
interrupted and later resumes, still due to the same case of
dispute, is treated as a new strike or lockout when it resumes.
If work stoppages due to the same case of dispute occur
simultaneously in different establishments of the same
enterprise they are considered to be one strike or lockout.
Similarly, if stoppages, due to the same case of dispute, occur
simultaneously in establishments of different enterprises, they
are treated as one strike or lockout; parameters such as
industry, sector of ownership, result, method of settlement and
affiliation to the central workers' or employers' organization
are also kept in mind when deciding whether the stoppage is a
single strike or lockout. Stoppages due to the same case of
dispute occurring at different times are treated as different
strikes or lockouts.
Workers involved
The number of workers involved is the highest number of
workers involved at any one time during the strike or lockout.
Part-time workers are counted as individuals on the same basis
as full-time workers.
Duration
The duration is measured in workdays from the date the strike
or lockout began in the first economic unit involved to the date
it terminated, uninterrupted, in the last one.
CASE STUDY
Across India, bank employees go on two-day strike on Friday,
August 7th, 2009
Nearly one million bank employees in India, including some
with private and foreign banks, went on a two-day nationwide
strike Thursday demanding higher wages and a better social
security net.The strike has been called by the United Forum of
Bank Unions — an umbrella organisation representing nine
unions of officers and other staff in the banking
industry.According to reports coming in from across the
country, people were able to withdraw money from automated
teller machines (ATMs) even though other services like getting
demand drafts and obtaining cheque books were affected. “No
transactions till Saturday in any public sector bank or
branches,” said K.F. Mamadapur, secretary of one of the
striking unions, the All-India State Bank Officers’ Federation,
in Bangalore.Apart from the staff in all state-run banks, those
with private entities like Catholic Syrian Bank and foreign
ones like HSBC also joined the agitation. But the operations of
some institutions like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Standard
Chartered were unaffected.“Around 10 lakh employees across
all the public sector and private sector banks have gone on
strike,” said Rajen Nagar, national president of another union
— All India Bank Employees’ Association.“We are also
protesting against unnecessary government intervention,
which is delaying our wage settlement,” Nagar told IANS in
Kolkata.The wage revision is due from November 2007.In
Madhya Pradesh, the strike affected commercial activities in
major cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur.
“Total transaction worth Rs.150,000 crore were affected,”
claimed All India Bank Employees Association general
secretary V.K. Sharma.
In seven northeastern states, more than 30,000 bank employees
took part in the agitation.In Karnataka, about 80,000 employees
of public sector and old private banks across the state,
including 25,000 in the city are on strike. As a result, there were
long queues at ATMs in Bangalore.“People are queuing up in
large numbers at ATMs to withdraw as much money before
they run out of cash. With heavy withdrawals and no
replenishments, most ATMs will turn dry by Thursday night or
early Friday,” Mamadapur said.In Hyderabad, too, there were
long queues outside the ATMs, some of which ran out of cash
in the afternoon and are unlikely to be replenished before
Saturday.
Said Usha Ramakrishnan, who has an account with the State
Bank of India in Delhi: “I was able to withdraw money. But I
will have to go to a private bank — ICICI Bank or something
— to get a pay order. The kind of trouble we used to face
earlier isn’t there now. But it is irritating.”The main demands
of the striking staff are wage increase, a better social security
net to take care of their post-retirement needs and a proper
policy for giving jobs to the family members of deceased or
disabled employees on compassionate grounds.The unions
have been demanding a 20-percent wage hike, and rejected the
offer of 17.5 percent increase made Wednesday by the Indian
Banks’ Association (IBA) that represents the bank
managements.The government had asked the unions to hold
talks with the bank managements and the chief labour
commissioner, but the parleys were inconclusive.“The
association is playing with us. When they agreed to 17.5
percent hike initially, they brought in another clause that the
pension load should be borne equally,” said N.S. Virk, vice
president the All India Bank Officers’ Association. “This is
after they signed a memorandum of understanding,” he said.
During 2000, 426 strikes and 325 lockouts were observed which
resulted in total time-loss of 28.76 million mandays. Maximum
time-loss was caused by 297 lockouts during 2003 which
resulted in a time-loss of 27.05 million mandays. As compared
to previous years, in 2006 only 13.76 million mandays were lost
due to strikes and lockouts.
LEGAL BINDING
THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947
Title : THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947
Year : 1947
CHAPTER V
(c) before the expiry of the date of strike specified in any such
notice as aforesaid; or
(3) The notice of lock-out or strike under this section shall not
be necessary where there is already in existence a strike or, as
the case may be, lock-out in the public utility service, but the
employer shall send intimation of such lock-out or strike on
the day on which it is declared, to such authority as may be
specified by the appropriate Government either generally or
for a particular area or for a particular class of public utility
services.