GROUP- 1

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOUR

LAWS
SUBMITTED BY:
SHEFALI TIRKEY – 18PGP242
CHANDER LEKHA – 19PGP037
DIVYAM BHADORIA – 19PGP052
ISHITA CHIBBAR – 19PGP062
RUPAVATH HARIKIRAN – 19PGP109
SHREYA DHOKA – 19PGP250
 TOPIC : COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IR
ACROSS THE WORLD WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO USA, GERMANY AND CHINA
What is Industrial Relations ?

“The term industrial relations explains the relationship between employees and management
which stem directly or indirectly from union-employer relationship.”

Objectives :

Improving the economic condition of the labour in the existing state of industrial management
and political government;
Controlling industries by the State to regulate production and industrial relations;
Socialization or nationalization of industries by making the state itself the employer; and
Vesting the proprietorship of the industries in the worker.
Industrial Relations in Global Context
It is important to realize that it is difficult to compare IR
systems and behavior across national boundaries .
A comparative study of IR shows that industrial
relations phenomena are very faithful expression of the
society in which they operate , of its characteristic
features and of the power relations between different
interest groups .
The lack of familiarity of multinational managers with
local industrial and political conditions would result in a
conflict .
Many MNCs are recognizing the need that IR must be
flexible enough to adapt to local requirements.
Why IR is relevant to business in global context ?
Due to the differences between systems, prior to getting established in
a given country, businesses have to properly study and understand the
way in which industrial relations work there. 
Yet , in order to be effective locally , business need to adapt to cultural
requirements of different societies .
For example – They wants to know whether  multiple trade unions are
allowed in a given company and if all of them have a right to sign a
collective agreement; or if unions tend to be highly conflictual and
engage in collective disputes.
Moreover, because of globalization, new strategies to broaden
industrial relations at the international level have emerged, such as
through International Framework Agreements (IFAs) between a global
union and a multinational company.
IR across Germany
Trade Unions

 There are estimated to be around 7.4 million trade union members in Germany, which is around 18% of the workforce

 The main trade union confederation in Germany is the DGB, and two other confederations: the dbb, which organises public sector
workers, and the Christian confederation, CGB

 Trade unions have traditionally been organised along industry lines

 The two largest trade unions in Germany are the metalworking union IG Metall, with around 2.7 million members, and the services
union Ver.di, with around 2 million members

 autonomous trade unions that organise members in certain occupations

Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining in Germany takes place at sectoral level between sectoral trade unions and employer organisations
Sectoral agreements are usually concluded at regional level
The pay provisions of collective agreements usually cover one or two years. Other provisions run for longer periods
Coverage by collective agreement has been declining over the past few decades, and particularly since the unification of Germany

Representation

Under the Works Constitution Act, works councils can be established in all workplaces with at least five employees
The works council has the right to be informed and consulted about a number of issues connected to the workplace, such as economic and
employment-related issues, and can engage with the employer and make proposals
Works councils are not involved in collective bargaining over pay or working time, which is the prerogative of trade unions
Implementation of codetermination rights
German industrial relations is characterised by dual channels of representation
Employee representatives have a right to sit on the supervisory board of large companies. They have the right to one-third of the seats in
companies with 500 to 2,000 employees, and half of the seats in companies with more than 2,000 employees
IR across China
Trade Union

Independent unions are illegal in China with only the All-China Federation of Trade Unions permitted to operate.
ACFTU is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations.
The ACFTU is divided into 31 regional federations and 10 national industrial unions.
Chinese trade unions are organized on a broad industrial basis. 
The Trade Union Law of the People’s Republic of China is the key piece of legislation on trade union organization.
It states that 25 or more employees must be allowed to form an Enterprise Trade Union (ETU); a component part of the wider Chinese Communist Party
(CCP)-led ACFTU.
If the number of employees falls short of the required 25, they have the option of forming a “basic-level” trade union committee.
If an ETU has been formed, their employer must pay two percent of its workforce’s wages to the ACFTU, ostensibly to support its employees and the
local ETU’s activities. These activities are loosely defined in the Trade Union Law. They include staff education, protecting the property of the enterprise
and State, making “rational” proposals and technical renovations, and vocational training outside of work hours.

Notably absent from the Trade Union Law is the right of union members to strike – a cornerstone of trade unions in the West. Additionally, once formed,
management of ETUs is predominantly decided not by the workers, but by the company itself, which has often resulted in worker concerns not being put
on the negotiating table. These issues have contributed to the trend of workers organizing and striking independently in China.
Collective bargaining

 Collective bargaining is a fairly recent phenomenon in China. The legal framework for collective bargaining has been gradually developed since
that early 1990s.

 It takes place at enterprise level. Recently at regional and sectoral levels in many localities, producing regional/sectoral agreements covering large
number of employees in small and medium sized enterprises in similar industries.

 Benefits of collective bargaining at regional and sectoral levels for employees and trade unions are-

 Trade unions find it easier to organize workers and bargain collectively with employers at the regional/sectoral level; otherwise it would be
extremely difficult to do so with hundreds of individual small-sized enterprises.

 Also, it often brings quite tangible outcomes of better working conditions, as these agreements frequently produce a regional/sectoral minimum
wage which is higher than the local mandatory minimum wage.

 Finally, trade union representatives are much more independent from any undue influence of employers in this form of regional/sectoral
bargaining than in enterprise bargaining.

 Also delivers desirable outcomes for employers as well.

 Regional/sectoral agreements can help employers avoid the trouble of unusually high turnovers, reduce competition among employers in the
recruitment and retention of employees, as well as reduce other conflicts.
IR across USA