Uni

t-
lIndust
ri
alr
elat
ions:Ther
oleoft
hest
ate(
MBA-
ll
l,Sub:Empl
oyeeRel
ati
ons)

InIndi
a, i
tisinterest
ingtoobserv
et hattherol
eoft hest at
eI ndustrialr
elat
ionsi
ntervent
ionhas
undergonechangeswi ththechangingindustr
ial,
pol iti
calandsoci alsi
tuati
onsinthe
country.
Wi t
ht heemer genceofwelfarestat
es,thest ateshav ebeencal l
edupont ointer
vene
positi
velyi
nt heeconomi candsocialli
feofthepeopl e.
Thepr eambl eoftheIndi
anconst i
tuti
on
embodi esthehi ghestandthenoblestideal
sofjustice, social,economi candpoli
ti
cal whichare
thecornerstonesofawel f
arest
ate.

I
nthefi
eldofi
ndustr
ial
rel
ati
ons,
stat
einter
vent
ioni
sessent
ial
ast
hest
atehasav
ital
int
eresti
n
pr
eser
vingI
ndust
rial
peaceinacountry
.

Stateint
erventi
onbecomesallthemoreessentiali
nacount r
yl i
keIndiawhereIndustr
ial
developmenthasbeencompar ati
vel
yv er
yslowandt heproblemsoft heindustr
iesdidnotdrew
muchat tenti
onespeci
all
ytheprobl
emsofi ndustr
iall
abourev enthoughtheIndiangovernment
hasbeenmostact i
vel
yengagedintheestabli
shmentandencour agementofv ariousi
ndustr
ies
i
nt hecountry,
bothint
hepriv
atesectoraswellasthepublicsectors.

Inawel far est at e, thest at ecannotr emai napassi v

espect atori nt heIndust rialrel
ation
problems. PoorI ndust rial relationspr oducehi ghl ydisqui etingef fect sont heeconomi cl ifeoft he
count r
y.I
tr esul tsi nr educt ioni nout puti nt hei ndust ries,highpr icesf ortheconsumer s.Unbr idl
ed
i
ndust ri
al conf l
icti sseenasamaj ort hreatt or apideconomi cgr owt h,henceI ndustri
al relations
havebeencl osel ygui dedbyt hest atesi nceI ndi abecomei ndependent .TheDi r
ectivePr inciples
oftheConst itutionenj oinsupont hest atet oest ablishawel f arest ate.Si
ncei ndependenceof
thecount ry, stat esr olei nmat tersaf fect ingmanagementl abourr elati
onsandl abourwel fare
becamemor eact i
v eandposi tiveandsuchachangei nthest ate'sr olewasi nfluencedand
actuatedbyConsi der ationsofest abl ishinganegal itariansoci etyandt heDi rect i
vepr inci plesas
providedi nt heconst itutionandt or ai sel ivingst andar dt hroughmaxi mizationofi ndust rial
product i
on. Sincet hent hest ate'
spol i
cyhasbeent of osterandpr omot ecl oserr el
ationshi p
betweenempl oy eesandwor kers. Consul t
at ivemachi neryhasbeengear edupatt hepl ant ,
Industryandnat ional lev elswi tht hef or mat ionandconv eni ngofhi ghpowercommi tteesl ikethe
tri
parti
eI ndi anLabourConf erencesatt hecent re,set ti
ngupofst andi ngLabourCommi ttees
andIndust ri
al Commi tteesandi nitiatingt heschemeofJoi ntManagementCounci l
sandhel pi
ng
l
ay i
ngf oundat i
onsofcodesofdi sci plinef ort headopt ionofempl oy er sandt heempl oy eesand
thei
ror gani sat i
onsandt hroughsui tabl elegi slat ivemeasur esf orpr event i
onandset tlementof
i
ndust ri
al disput es. Thus, itcanbeconcl udedt hatI ndi anGov ernmenti spl ayingaposi tiveand
const r
uctiver olei nI ndust ri
al relat i
onsoft hecount ry .Problem ofi ndust rialdisputesofmul tiuni
t
i
ncent ral sect orf allwi thi nt hespher eoft hest at egov ernment s.
Todev elopef f
ectiveIndustrialr
elat
ionssystem,thereshi ul
dbecent rali
sedmachi neryto
coordinatethelabourr el
at i
onsandi nthisway,thepr esentdiver
gentappr oachesofdi ff
erent
stat
egov er
nment sandal sodiffer
encesinlabourlegislati
onswouldbeav oided.Ithasbeen
suggestedt hattheappr opriategovernmentandl awsmaybeamendedt oincorpor atethi
s.I
twil
l
l
eadt oconsi derableconv enienceandsmoot hwor kingi nIRfiel
d,i
fthissuggest i
oni s
i
mpl ement edatt heearli
est .
Thear t
icl
eswhichconcer nsIndustr
ialr
elati
onsar eAr ticl
e39,
Arti
cle41, Arti
cle42,Ar t
icle43andAr t
icl
e43A.

EVOLUTI
ONOFI
NDUSTRI
ALRELATI
ONSI
NINDI
A:

I
Ri sdynami
cinnat
ure.ThenatureofIRcanbeseenasanoutcomeofcompl exsetof
tr
ansacti
onsamongthemajorplayer
ssuchast heempl
oyer
s,theemployees,t
hetradeuni
on,
andthestat
einagi
vensocio-
economi ccont
ext.I
nasense,
changeinthenatureofIRhas
becomesinequononwithchangeinthesoci
o-economi
ccontextofacountry
.

Thepresentsceneofindust
ri
alr
elat
ionsi
nIndi
aistheresul
tofl
onghi
stor
ical
devel
opment.I
ndiabeingansoci
ety,
somekindofemployer-
empl
oyeer
elat
ionswer
ether
esi
nce
manythousandy earback.

I
Rdur
ingPr
e-I
ndependence

I
Rdur
ingPost
-I
ndependence

I
RDur
ingPr
e-I
ndependence

Thest r
uctureofthecoloni
aleconomy ,
thelabourpoli
ciesofcolonial
government,the
i
deologicalcompositionoft
hepolit
icall
eadershi
p,thedynami csofpoli
ti
calstr
ugglefor
i
ndependence, al
ltheseshapedthecolonialmodelofindustr
ialrel
ati
onsinpre-i
ndependent
I
ndia”.Thenev enunionmov ementwasani mportantpartoftheindependencemov ement.

Howev er
,thecol
onialdynamicsoftheuni
onmov ementalongwiththeaggressiv
enessofal
i
en
capi
tal
, t
heambivalenceofthenati
vecapital
andtheexperi
enceoftheoutsidepoli
ti
cal
l
eadershipfr
ustr
atedtheprocessofbuil
dingupofindust
ri
alrel
ati
onsinst
ituti
ons.

Otherfactorsl
ikethei
deol
ogyofGandhi
ancl
asshar
mony ,l
ateentr
yofl
eft
istsandthe
bourgeoischaract
erofcongr
essal
soweakenedt
heclassapproachtot
heIndiansoci
etyand
i
ndustrialconf
li
ct”
.

Ti
lltheSecondWor l
dWar ,t
heattit
udeofthecoloni
algover nmenttowardindust
ri
alrelat
ions
wasapassi veregulatoronlyBecause, i
tcoul
dprovi
de,thatt ooonlyaft
erduepressure,t
hesum
ofprotect
iveandr egulati
velegalfr
amewor kfori
ndustr
ialrelati
onsTradeUnionAct1926( TLA)
TradeDisputesAct1929( TDA).Itwastheeconomicemer genceoftheSecondWor ldWart hat
al
teredthecolonialgov er
nment ’
satti
tudeonindust
ri
alrelations.

Thest
atei
nter
vent
ionbegani
nthef
orm ofi
ntr
oduct
ionofsev
eral
wart
imemeasur
es,
viz.t
he
DefenseofI ndi
aRules(Rule81-A) ,NationalSer
vice(Techni
calPersonnel
)Ordi
nance, andthe
Essent i
al Servi
ce(Maintenance)Or dinanceAssuchi namar kedcontrastt
oitsearl
ierstance,
thecol onialgover
nmenti mposedext ensiveandpervasivecontr
olsonindust
ri
alrel
ationsbythe
closingy earsofit
sera-.Statutor
yr egulati
onofindustri
alrel
ati
onswasonpl ankofitslabour
policy.Thej oi
ntconsult
ativeinst
itutionswereestabli
shedpr i
maril
ytoarri
veatunif
orm and
agreeabl elabourpol
icy.

Thesali
entfeatur
esofthecol
onial
model ofI
Rcanbesummar i
zedascloseassoci
ati
on
betweenpoli
ti
calandtr
adeunionmov ement,
dominanceof‘
out
sider
s’i
ntheunionmovement
,
stat
eint
erventi
onandfederal
andtri
part
it
econsul
tati
ons.

TheeveofIndependencewi tnessedsev erali

nstancesthatservedasthreshol
dplankforI
R
duri
ngpostIndependenceer a.Thepr ominentinstancestoment i
onar
epassi ngofIndi
anTrade
Unions(Amendment )Act,1947,Industr
ialEmpl oyment(Standi
ngOrders)Act1946,Bombay
I
ndustri
alRel
ati
onsAct ,1946,andI ndustr
ialDisputesAct,1947andspli
tinAITUCand
for
mat i
onofINTUC.

I
RDur
ingPost
-I
ndependence:

ThoughI ndependentI ndiagotanoppor t

unit
ytor estructuretheindust ri
al rel
ationssy st
em the
colonialmodelofIRr emai nedinpr act
iceforsomet i
mesduet ovariousr easonsl i
ket hesocial
,
poli
ticalandeconomi ci mplicati
onsofpar t
it
ion,socialtension,continuingi ndustrial unrest,
communi sti
nsurgency ,confli
ct,andcompet i
ti
oni nthet radeunionmov ement .Int hepr ocessof
consultati
onandconf r ontat
ion,graduall
ythestructureoft heindustrial r
elationssy st em (I
RS)
evolved.Aft
eratt
ainingheri ndependencei n1947,Indiaopt edforasoci ali
sticpatter noft he
society,
wherepublicsect orwasassi gnedtoper form acr uci
alroleint heI ndianeconomy .

Numberofnewl abourlegi
slat
ionswer eintr
oducedwher eagr eatrol
ewasassignedtotrade
uni
ons,empl oyersandgov er
nment .
Industr
ywasgi venat oppriori
tyandnumberofareaswere
l
eftexcl
usivelyforpri
vatesector
.Withtheemer genceoflargenumberofpolit
icalpar
ti
esont he
nati
onalscene, almosteverypoli
ti
calpartyfl
oateditsownt r
adeuni ons.

Pr
esent
lymaj
ort
radeuni
onsf
unct
ioni
ngi
nIndi
aar
eCI
TU,
lNTUE,
BMS,
AITUC,
HMSet
c.

Ontheotherhandnumberofemploy
ersor
gani
sat
ionsar
eal
sowor
kingt
her
e.Maj
ornat
ional
l
evelemployer
sorgani
sat
ionsar
eASSOCHAM andFICCI

Tr
adeUni
on:Def
ini
ti
onandNeedofTr
adeUni
on

 De fi
nit
ion:-TheTr adeUnionusedinthedi f
ferentcontextsinthevari
ous
countri
es.Somebelievethattr
adeuni
onsr epresenttheor gani
sati
onofworkerswhil
e
othersareoftheviewt hatev
enempl oyersorganisati
onsal socover
edunderthescope
ofthetradeunions.I
nsomecount ri
esfriendl
ysoci et
ies,associ
ati
onofprofessi
onal
 peopl
ear
eal
socov
eredi
nthedef
ini
ti
onoft
radeuni
on.

Labourunionsort
radeunionsareor
ganizat
ionsfor
medbywor kersf r
om rel
atedfiel
dsthat
workfort
hecommoni nter
estofi
tsmembers.Theyhelpwor kersinissuesli
kefair
nessofpay,
goodworki
ngenv i
ronment,hour
sofworkandbenef i
ts.Theyrepresentaclusterofworker
sand
prov
ideali
nkbetweent hemanagementandwor ker
s.

Descri
pti
on:Thepurposeoft
heseuni
onsi
stolooki
ntothegr
iev
ancesofwagersandpresenta
col
lect
ivevoi
cei
nfrontoft
hemanagement
.Hence,i
tact
sasthemedium ofcommunicati
on
bet
weent hewor
kersandmanagement.

Regulat
ionofrel
ations,
set
tl
ementofgri
evances,rai
singnewdemandsonbehal
fofworker
s,
col
lecti
vebargai
ningandnegot
iat
ionsar
etheot herkeypri
nci
plef
unct
ionst
hatt
heset
rade
uni
onsper f
orm.

TheIndi
anTr adeUni
onAct,1926,i
sthepr i
nci
pleactwhichcontr
olsandr egulat
esthe
mechanism oftr
adeuni
ons.InIndi
a,poli
ti
call
inesandideol
ogiesinfl
uencet r
adeunion
movements.Thisist
hereasonwhyt odaypoli
ti
calpar
ti
esareformi ngandr unni
ngtradeuni
ons.

Accor
dingt
oIndi
anTradeUnionAct,
1926,atr
adeuni
onisanycombinat
ionwhet
hert
emporar
y
orper
manentfor
merpri
maril
yforthepurposeofr
egul
ati
ngtherel
ati
onsbet
weenworkmenand

empl
oyer
sorfori
mposingrest
ri
cti
vecondit
ionsontheconductofanyt
radeorbusi
nessand
i
ncl
udeanyf
ederat
ionoftwoormoretradeunions.

 Needf
orTr
adeUni
ons:

Wor
kersjoi
ntradeuni
onstoachi
evecer
tai
nobject
ivest
hatt
heymaynotbeabl
etoachi
evei
n
t
hei
rpersonal
capacit
y.Tr
adeuni
onsarenecessar
y:-

Toensurejobsecurityandri
ghtpayf ort
hemember s:Oneofthebasicneedsofanyempl oyee
i
ssecurityofservi
ce.Themai nreasonwhyanempl oyeejoi
nsaunionistogethim secur
ed.
Apar
tfrom jobsecur i
tyandemployeesneedtogetpaycommensur atewiththei
rquali
fi
cati
ons
andski
lls.Tradeunionsstr
ivetogetbothjobsecur
ityandcorr
ectpayforall
employees.

Tov ent
il
atethegri
evancesofempl oyeestothemanagement :Whent heempl oy
eesingeneral
orsomei nparti
cul
arhaveanygr iev
ance,theymaynotbeabl etoconv eythesametot he
managementi nthei
rpersonalcapacit
y.Suchgriev
ancesmaybebr oughttotheknowledgeof
themanagementt hroughthetradeunion.Themember softhemanagementmaybei ndif
fer
ent
tothedemandsoft heindi
vidualemployeesbuttheycannotbesowheni tcomestouni on
workersalsoneedtradeunionsatthetimeofsickness,
accident
,deathetc.

Thepr
imarypur
poseoft
radeuni
onistosaf
eguar
dtheeconomicint
erestofit
smembers.One
oft
heprobl
em i
nthel
if
eofworkersi
showtoprovi
desuff
ici
entf
ood,clothi
ngandahomef or
hi
msel
fandthemembersofthefami
ly.
Thi
siaafi
rstandf
oremostquestionoffi
ndi
ngajobasa
r
easonablewages.
Toimprov
eandmaintai
nthewagesandr
easonabl
est
andar
disoneoft
he
i
mportantreasonf
orwhi
chaworkerj
oinsatr
adeuni
on.

Thenawor kerdoesnotonlyr
equi
rethebar
enecessariesofexistencebutalsowantst
oobtai
n
theamenit
iesofcivi
l
isedl
ifee.
g.bet
terwor
kingcondit
ions,
lesserwor ki
nghours,
andmore
bonus.
Tradeunionsprovi
deadequat
emachineryforsett
li
ngt herelat
ionsbetweenempl
oyer
s
andemployees.

Ref
erences:

1.I
ndust
ri
alRel
ati
onsbyS.
K.KapoorandPooni
a.

2.I
ndust
ri
alRel
ati
onsbyAr
unMonappa.

3.HumanResour
ceManagementbyAngel
oS.
DeNi
si
,Ri
ckyW.
Gri
ff
in,
Ani
taSar
kar

Cenagel
ear
ningI
ndi
aPv
tLt
dDel
hi-
110092