ASSIGNMENT

Course code: HRM - 6317

Course Title: Industrial Relations

Prepared For:

Professor Dr. M A Mannan

Vice Chancellor

Bangladesh Open University

PREPARED BY:

Md Golam Gaus

173 – 34 – 802 – 403

EMBA (7th Batch)

School Of Business

Bangladesh Open University

Date of Submission: 16 Nov 2018

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Grievance:

A grievance is a formal complaint that is raised by an employee towards an employer

within the workplace. Workplaces that have trade union representation often file a

grievance with an employer on behalf of an individual employees’ request.

Types of Grievances:

Let's first look at some of the most common types of employee and workplace

grievances. Keep in mind that a grievance can be real or imaginary, and employees

file grievances for a range of issues that can be minor or major.

1.Pay and Benefits: This is the most common area of employee complaints and

grievances. These grievances may involve the amount and qualifications for pay

increases, pay equity for comparable work within the organization, and the cost and

coverage of benefit programs.

2.Workloads: Heavy workloads are a common employee and workplace grievance. If

you work for a company that is going through lean times, you may have been asked

to take on more work without a pay increase. Perhaps your employer decides not to

fill a vacant position and instead assigns additional work to you and your colleagues.

Such situations lead to employee frustration and dissatisfaction.

3.Work Conditions: A safe and clean work environment is crucial to employee

satisfaction and motivation. Extensive state and federal regulations protect worker

health and safety. Employees who believe a company is not following applicable

regulations and guidelines may decide to file a grievance.

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4.Union and Management Relations: When unions represent employees, both the

union and management must avoid unfair labor practices. These illegal acts involve

threatening or coercive behavior by either party designed to obtain an employee's

loyalty or cooperation. The National Labor Relations Act specifies unlawful

activities for employers and unions. For example, employers cannot threaten

employees with termination if they vote for a union. Employees may file grievances

when they experience unfair labor practices.

Definition of Industrial Dispute:

An industrial dispute may be defined as a conflict or difference of opinion between

management and workers on the terms of employment. It is a disagreement between

an employer and employees' representative; usually a trade union, over pay and other

working conditions and can result in industrial actions.

Settlement of Industrial Disputes:

The ill effects of industrial disputes pressurize employees, employers and the state

to settle such disputes for the betterment and welfare of all the parties involved.

Whatever may be the cause of industrial disputes, the consequences are harmful to

all stakeholders-management, employees, economy, and the society. For management,

disputes result in loss of production, revenue, profit and even sickness of the plant.

Employees would be hard hit as the disputes may lead to lockouts and consequent

loss of wages and even jobs. Industrial establishments are pillars of the economy

and the economy is bound to collapse if industries are tom by industrial strife. The

cumulative effect of all these is felt by society.

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Methods of Settlement of Disputes:

A dispute, therefore, needs to be settled as early as possible. Various methods are

available for resolving disputes. More important of them are:

1: Collective bargaining

2: Code of discipline

3: Grievance procedure

4: Arbitration

5: Conciliation

6: Adjudication

7: Consultative machinery

Please consider the following description.

1.Collective Bargaining:

Collective bargaining is probably the most effective method of resolving industrial

disputes. It occurs when representatives of a labor union meet management

representatives to determine employees’ wages and benefits, to create or revise

work rules, and to resolve disputes or violations of the labor contract.

The bargaining is collective in the sense that the chosen representative of the

employees (i.e. the union) acts as a bargaining agent for all the employees in carrying

out negotiations and dealings with the management. The process may also be

considered collective in the case of the corporation in which the paid professional

managers represent the interests of the stockholders and the board of directors in

bargaining with the union leaders. On the employer side, it is also collective in those

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common situations in which the companies have joined together in an employer

association for purposes of bargaining with a union.

2.Code of Discipline:

The code of discipline defines duties and responsibilities of employers and workers.

The objectives of the code are:

1. To ensure that employers and employees recognize each other’s rights and

obligations.

2. To promote constructive co-operation between the parties concerned at all

levels.

3. To secure settlement of disputes and grievances by negotiation, conciliation and

voluntary arbitration.

4. To eliminate all forms of coercion, intimidation, and violence in industrial

relations.

5. To avoid work stoppages.

6. To facilitate the free growth of trade unions.

7. To maintain discipline in industry.

3.Grievance Procedure:

Grievance procedure is another method of resolving disputes. All labor agreements

contain some form of grievance procedure. And if the procedure is followed strictly,

any dispute can easily be resolved.

In the meanwhile, a grievance may be understood as an employee’s dissatisfaction or

feeling of personal injustice relating to his or her employment relationship. A

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grievance is generally well-defined in a collective-bargaining agreement. It is usually

restricted to violations of the terms and conditions of employment. Other conditions

which may give rise to a grievance are:

l. A violation of law.

2. A violation of the intent of the parties as stipulated during contract

negotiations.

3. A violation of company rules.

4. A change in working conditions or past company practices.

5. A violation of health and/or safety standards.

When an employee believes that the labor agreement has been violated, he or she

files a grievance. The grievance needs to be ‘resolved according to a set procedure.

4.Arbitration:

Arbitration is a procedure in which a neutral third party studies the bargaining

situation, listens to both the parties and gathers information, a then makes

recommendations that are binding on the parties. Arbitration is effective as a means

of resolving disputes because it is:

I. Established by the parties themselves and the decision is acceptable to them, and

2. Relatively expeditious when compared to courts or tribunals. Delays are cut down

and settlements are speed up.

5.Conciliation:

Conciliation is a process by which representatives of workers and employers are

brought together before a third party with a view to persuade them to arrive at an

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agreement by mutual discussion between them. The third party may be one individual

or a group of people. The alternative name for third party is mediators.

It may be stated that the conciliator has no power to force a settlement, but can

work with the parties separately to determine their respective positions, explains a

position more fully to the opposition, points out bases for agreement that may not

have been apparent previously, helps in the search for solutions, and generally

facilitates the reach of an agreement.

6.Adjudication:

Adjudication means a mandatory settlement of an industrial dispute by a labor court

or a tribunal. Generally, the government refers a dispute or adjudication depending

on the failure of conciliation proceedings. Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act,

1947, provides for reference of a dispute to labor court or tribunal. The Act also

lays down rules regarding the composition and powers of labor courts and tribunals.

7.Consultative Machinery:

Towards the end it is essential to refer to the consultative machinery set by the

government to resolve conflicts. The main function of consultative machinery is to

bring the parties together for mutual settlement of differences in a spirit of co-

operation and goodwill. A consultative machinery operates at the plant, industry,

state and the national levels. At the plant level, there are works committees and

joint management councils. Being essentially bipartite in character, works

committees are constituted as per the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act,

2006.

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