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INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS AND
DISPTE SETTLEMENT
MACHIENERY.
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INTRODUCTION
The term ‘industrial relations’ refers to the collective relations
between employers and employees as a group. It underscores the
importance of compromise and accommodation in place of conflict
and controversy in resolving disputes between labour and
management.

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Objectives of industrial relations

Enhance the economic position of the worker

 Minimise conflicts and to the extent possible, avoid conflicts
and their negative consequences
 Allow workers to have a say in important decisions affecting
their lives
 Resolve knotty issues through consultation and negotiation
 Encourage and develop trade unions in order to improve the
workers' collective strength
 Pave the way for industrial democracy.

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Sound Industrial Relations:

Importance and essential conditions

Sound industrial relations are essential for ensuring industrial peace and
improved productivity. Cordial labour management relations enable the
employer to secure cooperation and commitment from employees quite
easily. It is not, however, easy to promote and maintain sound industrial
relations. Certain conditions should exist for the maintenance of harmonious
industrial relations:
 Existence of strong, well organised and democratic employees'
unions
 Existence of sound and organised employers' unions
 Spirit of collective bargaining and willingness to resort to voluntary
negotiations
 Maintenance of industrial peace
 Establish machinery for prevention and settlement of disputes
 Provision for bipartite and tripartite committees to evolve proper
personnel policies
 Establish committees to evaluate collective bargaining agreements
 Create proper legal mechanisms to settle disputes quickly and easily.
Industrial Relations And Industrial Disputes
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Sound Industrial Relations:

Importance and essential conditions

Sound industrial relations are essential for ensuring industrial peace and
improved productivity. Cordial labour management relations enable the
employer to secure cooperation and commitment from employees quite
easily. It is not, however, easy to promote and maintain sound industrial
relations. Certain conditions should exist for the maintenance of harmonious
industrial relations:
 Existence of strong, well organised and democratic employees'
unions
 Existence of sound and organised employers' unions
 Spirit of collective bargaining and willingness to resort to voluntary
negotiations
 Maintenance of industrial peace
 Establish machinery for prevention and settlement of disputes
 Provision for bipartite and tripartite committees to evolve proper
personnel policies
 Establish committees to evaluate collective bargaining agreements
 Create proper legal mechanisms to settle disputes quickly and easily.
Industrial Relations And Industrial Disputes
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Machinery For The Settlement of

Industrial Disputes In India
When the relationship between the parties is not cordial, discontentment
develops and conflicts erupt abruptly. It is not always easy to put out the
fires with the existing dispute-settlement machinery, created by the
government. Hence both labour and management must appreciate the
importance of openness, trust and collaboration their day-to-day dealings.

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Machinery for Prevention and

Settlement of Industrial Disputes
M achinery for prevention and settlem ent of disputes

Vo 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 t o ry M e a s u re s

State Acts
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
 Collective Bargaining L ab ou r A d m i n is t ra t i o n  W orks Com mittees
M achinery
 Trade Unions  Conciliation
 State Level
 Joint consultations (A ) C .O fficer
 Central Level (B ) C. Board
 Standing O rders
 A rbitration
 Grievance Procedure
 A djudication
 Code of Discipline
(a ) Labour Courts
(b ) Industrial Tribunals
(c ) N ational Tribunals

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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. This is followed after failure of conciliation
proceedings.
 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

Industrial Relations And Industrial Disputes

Labour Courts
(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
constitute one or more Labour Courts for the adjudication of industrial
disputes relating to any matter specified in the Second Schedule and for
performing such other functions as may be assigned to them under this Act.

(2) A Labour Court shall consist of one person only to be appointed by the
appropriate Government.

(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Presiding Officer of a
Labour Court, unless -
(a) he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court; or
(b) he has, for a period of not less than three years, been a District Judge
or an Additional District Judge; or]
(c) he has held any judicial office in India for not less than seven years ; or
(d) he has been the Presiding Officer of a Labour Court constituted under
any Provincial Act or State Act for not less than five years.]
Tribunals
(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
constitute one or more Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial
disputes relating to any matter and for performing such other functions as
may be assigned to them under this Act.

(2) A Tribunal shall consist of one person only to be appointed by the

appropriate Government.

(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a
Tribunal unless:

(a) he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court; or

(b) he has, for a period of not less than three years, been a District Judge or an
Additional District Judge.

(4) The appropriate Government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint two persons as
assessors to advise the Tribunal in the proceeding before it.
National Tribunals
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
constitute one or more National Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of
industrial disputes which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involve
questions of national importance or are of such a nature that industrial
establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be interested in,
or affected by, such disputes.

(2) A National Tribunal shall consist of one-person only to be appointed by the

Central Government.

(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a
National Tribunal unless he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court.

(4) The Central Government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint two persons as
assessors to advise the National Tribunal in the proceeding before it.
Publication of reports and awards
 (1) Every report of a Board or Court together with any minute of dissent
recorded therewith, every arbitration award and every award of a Labour
Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall, within a period of thirty days from
the date of its receipt by the appropriate Government, be published in such
manner as the appropriate Government thinks fit.

 (2) Subject to the provisions of the act, the award published under shall be
final and shall not be called in question by any Court in any manner
whatsoever.