Industrial

Relations and
Trade Unions

By Prof: Teena Bharti

 Industrial Relation: Introduction

– “Industrial relationship is about the relationship between an employee and management.”

– According to Dale Yoder’, IR is a designation of a whole field of relationship that exists because of
the necessary collaboration of men and women in the employment processes of Industry”.

– Industrial relations has become one of the most delicate and complex problems of modern
industrial society. Industrial progress is impossible without cooperation of labors and harmonious
relationships. Therefore, it is in the interest of all to create and maintain good relations between
employees (labor) and employers (management).
Scope of IR

Based on the definition, the scope of

IR can be outlined as follows:

–  Labour relations, i.e., relations

between labour union and
management.
– 2. Employer-employee relations i.e.
relations between management
and employees.
– 3. The role of various parties’ viz.,
employers, employees, and state in
maintaining industrial relations.
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE
Forms of Industrial Disputes
• Strikes: These are collective stoppages of work by workers.
• Sympathetic strike (sympathy with workers in other
industries)
• General strike (most of the unions in a industry or
region)
• Unofficial strike (without the consent of the unions)
• Sectional strike (refusal of a section to work)
• Bumper strike (plan to paralyze the industry)
• Sit down strike (tool down/pen down/ stay in)
• Slow down strike (go slow tactic)
• Lightning strike (strike without notice or at a very
short notice)
• Hunger strike
Forms of Industrial Disputes

 Lock outs: Closing down of an undertaking or the suspension of work or

the refusal of an employer to continue to employ any number of persons
employed by him is known as 'lock out'.
 Gherao: Gherao means to surround. In this method, a group of workers
initiate collective action aimed at preventing members of the management from
leaving the office.
 Picketing and Boycott: When picketing workers often carry or display
signs, banners and placards, prevent others from entering the place of work and
persuade others to join the strike. Boycott aims at disrupting the normal
functioning of an enterprise.
Machinery for Prevention and Settlement of
Industrial Disputes:

M a c h in e r y f o r p r e v e n t io n a n d s e t t l e m e n t o f d is p u t e s

V o lu n ta r y M e th o d s G o v e r n m e n t M a c h in e r y  
S ta tu to ry M e a s u re s

S ta te A c ts
I n d u s t r ia l D is p u t e s A c t , 1 9 4 7
 C o ll e c t i v e B a r g a i n i n g Labour A d m in is t r a t io n  W o rk s C o m m itte e s
M a c h in e r y
 T r a d e U n io n s  C o n c ilia t io n
 S ta t e L e v e l
 J o in t c o n s u lta tio n s (A ) C . O f f ic e r
 C e n tr a l L e v e l (B ) C . B o a rd
 S ta n d i n g O r d e r s
 A rb itra tio n
 G r ie v a n c e P r o c e d u r e
 A d j u d ic a t io n
 C o d e o f D is c ip li n e
(a ) L a b o u r C o u rts
(b ) I n d u s t r i a l T r ib u n a ls
(c ) N a t i o n a l T r ib u n a l s
Machinery For The Settlement of Industrial
Disputes In India:
 Works committees: As per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, works
committees have to be set up all those industrial units which employ 100 or
more persons. It is basically a consultative body
 Giving greater participation to workers
 Ensuring close interaction between labour and management
 Generating cooperative atmosphere for negotiation between parties
 Opening the doors to unions to have a clear view of what is going on
within the unit
 Strengthening the spirit of voluntary settlement of disputes
 Joint Management Councils: The JMC normally consists of equal number
of representatives of workers and employers looking after three things:
information sharing, consultative and administrative matters relating to welfare,
safety, training etc and the formulation of standing orders.(of course, without
encroaching on the jurisdiction of works committees)
Machinery For The Settlement of Industrial
Disputes In India:

• Standing orders: These are the rules and regulations which govern
the conditions of employment of workers. The Industrial
Employment (standing orders) Act of 1946 provides for the framing
of standing orders in all industrial undertakings employing 100 or
more workers.
• Grievance procedure: A model grievance procedure as suggested
by the Indian Labour Conference, 1958 has more or less been widely
accepted in India now.
• Code of discipline: It consists of a set of self-imposed obligations
voluntarily formulated by the central organisation of workers and
employers.
Industrial Disputes: Settlement Machinery

 Conciliation: The practice by which the services of a neutral third

party are used in a dispute as a means of helping the disputing parties
to reduce the extent of their differences and to arrive at an amicable
settlement or agreed solution.
 Conciliation officer: an authority appointed by the
government to mediate disputes between parties brought to his
notice; enjoying the powers of a civil court. He is supposed to give
judgement within 14 days of the commencement of the
conciliation proceedings.
 Board of conciliation: The Board is an adhoc, tripartite body
having the powers of a civil court created for a specific
dispute(when the conciliation officer fails to resolve disputes
within a time frame, the board is appointed)
 Court of enquiry: In case the conciliation proceedings fail to
resolve a dispute, a court of enquiry is constituted by the
government to investigate the dispute and submit the
report within six months.
Machinery For The Settlement of Industrial
Disputes In India

 Voluntary arbitration: It is he process in which the disputing parties

show willingness to go to an arbitrator (a third party) and submit to
his decision voluntarily.
 Adjudication: It is the process of settling disputes compulsorily
through the intervention of a third party appointed by the
Government. The Industrial Disputes Act provides a three-tier
adjudication machinery consisting of:
 Labour court
 Industrial tribunal
 National tribunal
TRADE UNIONS
Trade Unions: Introduction:

A trade union is a formal association of workers, acting collectively, who seek to protect
and promote their mutual interests through collective action

Features:
It is an association of employees or employers or of independent
workers.

It is a relatively permanent formation of workers.

It is formed to secure certain economic benefits to members.

It emphasizes joint, coordinated action and collective bargaining.

Objectives of trade unions:
 Securing economic benefits to members
 Improving the working conditions
 Protecting members from unilateral acts and disciplinary actions of
management
 Fighting against inappropriate personnel policies
 Promoting the welfare of members
 Improving employer-employee relations
 Carrying out negotiations with management in a fair manner
 Safeguarding organisational health and the interests of the industry

Functions of trade unions

 Intra-mural functions (militant/protective)
 Extra-mural functions (fraternal- financial and non financial
assistance)
 Political functions
 Social functions
 Importance of Trade Unions

1. To Employees:
– Members of the union tend to have higher wages than non-unionized workers.
– Trade unions also sometimes act as representatives of workers in case of legal
matters
– The rights of the employees are better protected. For example, they cannot be
unjustly removed from work.
2. To Employers:
– Since the individual rights of workers are better protected and well
represented, they tend to be motivated. This results in higher levels of
efficiency and improved productivity.
The Legal Framework:

The Trade Union Act, 1926 legalises the formation of trade unions by any seven
persons employed in a unit quite easily.
A registered union has certain advantages to its credit.
Due to inter union and intra union rivalry, it is not easy to carry out negotiations
with a recognised union in India.
The Act, of course, has not cleared the fog either.
Problems Of Trade Unions

1. Lack of Balanced Growth

2. Low Membership
8. Lack of Recognition
3. Poor financial Position
9. Opposition from Employers
4. Political Control
10. Indifferent Attitude of the Members
5.  Multiplicity of Unions

6. Inter-Union Rivalry

7. Lack of able Leaders

Current Trends In Trade Unionism

Of late, trade unions have been pushed to the wall due to factors such as:
global competition, restructuring exercises carried out by companies from
time to time just to survive, rising costs of manufacturing, lack of support
from the general public and the government; privatization, failure to deliver
results in case of a prolonged battle etc.

Reasons for the Paradigm shift

 Political base shrinking

 Public sympathy disappearing
 Jobs vanishing at an alarming rate
 Membership figures sinking
Measures to strengthen trade union movement:

Welfare
Maintaining Workers
Activities for
Unity Education
Workers

Free from
Adequacy of
Political
Funds
influence:
Grievance Redressal
–THANK YOU