Industrial Relations

Course code: HRM101

L:28
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Develop an understanding of the

characteristics and objectives of industrial
relations.
• List the major players in industrial relations.
• Analyse the various approaches to industrial
relations.
AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU
SHOULD BE ABLE TO (CONTD.):

• Elaborate on the trends in industrial relations.

• Enumerate the essentials of effective industrial
relations.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: MEANING

Industrial relations is a process through which an

organization controls the employer-employee relations in
the organization and this process may involve continuous
communication and consultation between them.
 OBJECTIVES OF INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS

• Building cordiality in the relationship with the employees

• Connectedness
• Safeguarding mutual interests
• Collective wisdom
• Preventing industrial conflicts
• Fostering industrial democracy
• Avoiding exploitation
• Dynamic role for the government
 REALITY CHECK

Do you think industrial relations is necessary in the organizations? If

yes, how is it helping?
 NATURE OF IR

IR covers the following areas:

• Collective bargaining.
• Role of management, unions, and government.
• Machinery for resolution of industrial disputes.
• Individual grievance and disciplinary policy and
practice.
• Labour legislation.
• Industrial relations training.

7
 MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS

• Employers and their associations

• Employees and their unions

• Government
 PARTIES TO IR

Employees Employers

Employer-Employee
Employee Association Employers Association
Relations

Government Courts and Tribunals

9
 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

• Unitary approach • Human relations approach

• Pluralist approach • Giri Approach
• System approach • Industrial sociology
• Social action approach approach
• Gandhian approach • Oxford school approach
 UNITARY APPROACH

• In case of the unitary approach to industrial

relations, the authority rests solely with the
management with no right to anyone to challenge
its decisions.

• The basic assumption of this approach is that the

common values and objectives unite and bind
both the management and the workers.
UNITARY APPROACH (CONTD.)

• The use of power in this approach is for the common

good and interest only.

• In essence, this approach is not appreciative of the

role of trade unions in the organization and certainly,
they are not welcome.
 PLURALIST APPROACH
• The pluralist approach believes in basic ground rules, negotiated
settlements and mutual compromises for solving the industrial
conflicts.

• The basic assumption of this approach is that the disagreements

between the parties to the industrial relations on important issues
are not ‘unbridgeable’ by compromises and the collaborations can
continue at all stages.
 PLURALIST APPROACH
(CONTD.)

• The pluralist approach puts emphasis on industrial democracy

and collective bargaining.
 SYSTEM APPROACH

• According to this approach, individuals are part of an

ongoing but independent social system.
• The behavior, action and role of the individuals are shaped
by the culture of the society.
• The basis of this theory is that group cohesiveness is
provided by the common ideology shaped by societal
factors.
 SYSTEM APPROACH (CONTD.)
• Elements of Sytem approach
1)Actors
2)Contexts of systems
3)Ideology of an IR system
4)Web of rules
 SYSTEM APPROACH (CONTD.)
• Actors are managers, workers and government agencies(labor court)
• Contexts includes technological characteristics of the company,
economic constraints and locus of control of power.
• Ideologies are set of ideas and beliefs commonly held by the actors,
which helps in integrating the system together
• Web of rules can be regulations of management, rules of govt
agencies, rules of special agencies created by govt/management,
collective bargaining agreements, customs and traditions of workplace

•.
 SYSTEM APPROACH (CONTD.)

• In system approach, society plays a dominant role while the

actors such as employers, employees and their representatives
keep a low profile and play a passive role in the process.
SOCIAL ACTION APPROACH

• Social action approach assigns an active role to the actors

of the industrial relations. The actors are employers,
employees and their representatives.

• The actors’ understanding of the work situation becomes

more important than the social factors and their
independent views gain a greater weight in determining
their behavior towards industrial relations.
 SOCIAL ACTION APPROACH
(CONTD.)
• Social action theory primarily considers bargaining as an
important tool for the resolution of a conflict.
 MARXIST APPROACH
• According to this approach, the industrial conflicts are the
central reality of industrial relations, but open conflicts are
uncommon.

• The basic assumption of this approach is that industrial

relations under capitalism are an everlasting and
unavoidable source of conflict.
 MARXIST APPROACH (CONTD.)

• As far as theory is concerned, the compensation payable to the

employees is an outcome of the power struggle.

• As per this approach, the employers seek to maximize their

profits by paying less compensation to the employees, while the
latter resist such attempts and this results in industrial conflicts.
 NEXT CLASS

APPRAOCHES TO IR CONTINUED
 GANDHIAN APPROACH
• The core of the Gandhian approach in industrial relations is
the utility of non-violence as a means of conflict resolution in
organizations.

• The basic elements of this approach are truth, non-violence,

the voluntary arbitration of disputes and wantlessness.
GANDHIAN APPROACH (CONTD.)

• According to Gandhi, the growth of civilization does not mean

a multiplication of wants; rather, it means a deliberate and self-
imposed attempt to reduce such wants.
• He insisted on treating workers as human beings and advocated
the concept of trusteeship.
• In essence, this approach puts emphasis on creating equality in
society through a non-violent approach.
HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH
• According to this approach, an organization is nothing but a
set of human relations and these human relations are central
to how an organization functions.

• As per this approach, the organizations are made up of people

and the success of the management lies in its dealings with
these people and their relationships to one another.
 HUMAN RELATIONS
APPROACH (CONTD.)
The goals of human relations approach are

• Getting people to work.

• Cooperating through mutuality of interests.
• Deriving satisfaction from the relationship achieved.
 GIRI APPROACH
• The Giri approach in industrial relations focuses on the relevance
and importance of voluntary negotiations between the employers
and the employees as a means of settling disputes.

• Proposed by late President of India, V.V. Giri, suggested the use

of bipartite forums for resolution of conflicts and disputes.

• State also should play an active part in dispute prevention and

settlement.
GIRI APPROACH (CONTD.)

• This approach insists on the establishment of bipartite

forums at different levels of the industry to wipe out the
dispute between the employers and the employees
represented by their unions.
• This approach also provides for the active involvement and
intervention of the state in dispute prevention and
settlement.
INDUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGY APPROACH

• The aim of this approach is to investigate the underlying trends

and patterns in the cause and effect of industrial disputes both
intended and unintended.

• This approach focuses on the prevention of industrial conflict by

tracing the cause of the disputes and then avoiding it.
INDUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGY APPROACH
(CONTD.)

• This approach provides a conceptual framework for

investigating, analyzing and specifying the structure and
process within the organization that often produce
conflicts.
• The removal of the causes of the disputes, according to
this approach, facilitates a more effective maintenance of
industrial relations.
OXFORD SCHOOL APPROACH
• According to this approach, the conflict between the interests
of employer and employee is inherent, but this interest can be
adjusted in order that a common way, which can satisfy both
the parties, can be found out.

• As per this approach, it is highly essential for the parties

(management and union) to industrial relations to get the facts
right and avoid institutional and other biases.
 OXFORD SCHOOL APPROACH
(CONTD.)

• The underlying assumption of this approach is that ‘you can’t do

much without income’ and therefore mutually beneficial ways
must be found out for achieving a convergence of interests.

• Productivity bargaining is a classic example of this system.

FACTORS INFLUENCING INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS

• Trade union density

• Frequency of strike activity
• Politico-economic institutions
• Cultural diversity
• Demographic structure
• Pattern of behavior
 ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

• Industrial relations
• Leadership commitment
• Appropriate vision, mission and business strategy
• Creative HR policies
• Open communication
• Institutionalizing the relationship
• Benchmarking
 Essentials of Effective Industrial
Relations
Leadership Open
commitment communication

Effective
Effective

Appropriate Industrial
Industrial Institutionalizing the
Vision, Mission relationship
Relations
Relations

Creative HR policies Benchmarking

industrial relations
 ROLE OF HR IN INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS

• Maintaining cordial employee relationship is a major role of HR.

• By maintaining ethical practices in recruitment, training and

development, safety and health, remuneration, etc.

• HR can contribute to the QWL of employees by organizing

various activities to keep the employees happy.
 MCQ’S

1.Which of the following is usually not an objective of industrial

relations?

a) Connectedness
b) Collective wisdom
c) Conflict prevention
d) None of the above

D
 MCQ’S

2. Identify the major actor of industrial relations from the following.

a) Employers
b) Unions
c) Government
d) All of the above

D
 MCQ’S

3. That the authority rests solely with the management with no

right to anyone to challenge it is the basis of the

a) Pluralist approach
b) System approach
c) Unitary approach
d) Social action approach

C
 MCQ’S

4. Which of the following approaches assumes that the

understanding of industrial relations requires an understanding of
the capitalized society?

a) Marxist approach
b) Gandhian approach
c) Human relations approach
d) Giri approach

A
 MCQ’S

5. Productivity bargaining is considered as a classic example of the

a) Oxford school approach

b) Giri approach
c) Human relations approach
d) Gandhian approach