WHAT IS AN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE ? (SEC.

2 (k)]
Industrial dispute' means any dispute or difference between -
() employers and employers,
(i) employers and workmen, o r o g o o e
(i) workmen and workmen, which is connected with (a) the employment ox non-employment, (b)
the terms of employment, or (c) the conditions of labour of any person.
Real and substantial difference Theterm 'industrial dispute' connotes a real and substantial difference
having someelement of persistencyand continuity tillresolved and is likely, ifnot resolved, to endanger
the industrial peace ofthe undertaking or the community. When parties are at variance and the dispute or
difference isconnected with employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the
conditions of labour, there comes into existence an industrial dispute {Shambhu Nath Goyal v. Bank of
 198
Industrial Law "

Baroda, (1978) 2S.C.C. 353J. The expression 'termns of employment' would ordinarily include anl Disputes
contractual terms and conditions but those terms which are understood and applied by the
practice or habitually or by common consent without ever being incorporated in the contractparties in
included [Workmen v. Hindustan Lever Lid., (1984) 1S.C.C. 392]. are also
Three ingredients of industrial dispute. In the ordinary language an industrial dispute is
mean adispute between the workmen andthe managemen. In Standard Vacuum Refining Co. of t,
India
Ltd. v. Their Workmen, A.LR. (1960) S.C. 948, it was held that a dispute as to whether the system
implied
engaging contract labour prevailing in certain sections of an industrialconcern should be disconti
and the contractors' labourers should be made 'workmen' of the company is an "industrial dispute
is taken up and sponsored by the regular workmen of the concern. It was observed in this Case:
"The definition of 'industrial dispute' in Sec. 2(k) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has thr
ingredients, and if allthree ingradients are satisfied, the dispute raised is an 'industrial dispute'
which could validly be referred under Sec. 10 to a Tribunal for adjudication. These three
are - ingredient
(a) there should be real and substantial dispute or difference ;
(b) the dispute or difference should be between employer and his
(c) the dispute or difference must be connected with workmen ; and
of the employment or non-employment or terms
employment, or with the conditions of labour of any person."
Ael Limitations of definition. The definition of 'industrial dispute'
First, the adjective industrial" relates the dispute to an contains two limitations:
industry as defined in the Act, and
Secondly, the definition expressly states that not disputes and
which bear upon the relationshipof employers and differences of all sorts but only those
employment and the conditions of labour are workmen the terms of employment or not
and
Test of industrial dispute. Adispute is an
contemplated.
is an "industry' as defined in
Sec. 2 ()
'industrial dispute' only when it arises in any activity whlkn
S.C. 58]. The real test whether a of the Act [D.N. Banerji v. PR.
number of workmen are involveddispute is an industrial dispute or not is Mukherjee, A.I.R. (I33)
whether
his workmen is by itself not an in the dispute. An individual dispute between anthe majority or ala
dispute may become an industrialindustrial dispute which can be referred to underemployer Sec. 10.
and ote
is taken up by a dispute, provided that the cause of the But sueu
majority of workmen in particular concerned
workmen [Express Newspapers (Pvt.) Ltd. v.particular industrial establishment, or byworkman
the
difference even if the union which takes upFirst Labour Court, A.I.R. (1959) Cal. any union oI S
265]. lt makesinto
existence after the date of the cause of the
in such a case whould be a dismissal and the dismissed dismissed workman itself comes
Co. v. Jamadoba valid
industrial dispute workman joins the union thereafter ; the dispule
workman Colliery
is espoused by a
of Tata [Workmen of
Iron & Steel Co., (1967) 2 Jamadoba Colliery of Tata Iron &Seel
the workman comes, it is notunion which has absolutely L.L.J. 6331. But where the
an industrial
dispute[Motornothing to do with the causeh
from which
(1963) 1 LLJ. 222]. & establishment
Machìnery Mfrs. Ltd. v. Industrial Tribund.
Individual and Collective Dlsputess
industrial disputes may be (1)iindividual
Sec. 2A providesthat where any
employer disputes, or (2) collective
the services of an individual workman any discharges, dismisses, disputes.or otherwiseterminates
dispute or retrenches
difference between that workman and his employer
The
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 199

connected with. or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal,

an
an industrial dispute even if no
retrenchment or termination shali be
deemedto be other workman nor any union of workmen is a party to the
dispute.
Acollective dispute may relate to any of the following matters :
(0
(a) Wages, bonus, profit-sharing, gratuity, compensatory and other allowances.
() Hours of work, leave with wages, holidays.
(e Rules of discipline, retrenchment of workmen, closure of establishment, rationalisation.
Allcollective disputes are industrial disputes.
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The main causes of industrial disputes are:

" Wages: Low wages of industrial workers constitute a major Cause of

industrial disputes in the country. Wages have not been rising in
proportion te the ise in prices (inflation). Hence labourers to
demand higher wages which managerment may deny andit
consequently leads to disputes.
" Bonus: It is the second major cause of industrial disputes. The
workers feel that they should have a greater share in the profits of
theindustrialconcern and demand higher bonus whch management
may deny and it consequently leads to disputes.
Working Conditions: The working conditions such as lesser
working hours, the security of a job, better safety measures in the
factory, restrooms, leave,canteen, gratuity fac1lities, etc. are
important for workers for their motivation towards the job. Lack of
or insufficient working conditions are also respons1ble for many
industrial disputes.
" Trade Unions: Recognition of trade union and rivalry between
 saliert features of XMain
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act/industrial-disputes/20.. A
working hours, the security of a job, better safety measures in the
factory, restrooms, leave, canteen, gratuity fac1lities, etc. are
important for workers for their motivation towards the job. Lack of
or insufficientworking conditions are also
responsible for many
industrial disputes.
" Trade Unions: Recognition of trade union and
rivalry between
different trade unions is also the main cause of industrial
disputes.
"Retrenchment: Due to modern
techniques and modern machinery,
production is simplified and requires less labour. In such a case, the
management tries to reduce the manpower by retrenchment. This
may create insecurnty in the minds of workers and may
lead to an
industrial dispute.
" Political Influence: Most of the
trade unions are associated with
one or another political party. To score political
pont pokticians may
indulge in creating disputes in the industry.
Characteristics of Industrial Disputes: