INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Unit – 1
INTRODUCTION:

Industrial relation means the relationship between employers and employees in

course of employment in industrial organizations. However, the concept of Industrial Relations
has a broader meaning. In a broad sense, the term Industrial Relations includes the relationship
between the various unions, between the state and the unions as well as those between the
various employers and the government. Relations of all those associated in an industry may be
called Industrial Relations.

Definitions:

“According to International Labour Organization, Industrial relations comprise

relationships between the state on one hand and the employer’s and employee’s
organization on the other, and the relationship among the occupational organizations
themselves”.

“According to J.T. Dunlop, “Industrial relations are the complex interrelations

among managers, workers and agencies of the government”

Features of Industrial Relations:

 Industrial relations are outcomes of employment relationships in an industrial enterprise.

These relations cannot exist without the two parties namely employers and employees.
 Industrial relations system creates rules and regulations to maintain harmonious relations.
 The government intervenes to shape the industrial relations through laws, rules,
agreements, terms, charters etc.
 Several parties are involved in the Industrial relations system. The main parties are
employers and their associations, employees and their unions and the government. These
three parties interact within economic and social environment to shape the Industrial
relations structure.
 Industrial relations are a dynamic and developing concept, not a static one. They undergo
changes with changing structure and scenario of the industry as and when change occurs.
 Industrial relations include both individual relations and collective relationships.

Objectives of Industrial Relations:

 To maintain industrial democracy based on participation of labour in the management

and gains of industry.
 To raise productivity by reducing tendency of high labour turnover and absenteeism.
  To ensure workers’ participation in management of the company by giving them a fair
say in decision-making and framing policies.
 To establish a proper channel of communication.
 To increase the morale and discipline of the employees.
 To safeguard the interests of the labour as well as management by securing the highest
level of mutual understanding and goodwill between all sections in an industry.
 To avoid all forms of industrial conflicts so as to ensure industrial peace by providing
better living and working standards for the workers.
 To bring about government control over such industrial units which are running at a loss
for protecting the livelihood of the employees.

Importance of Industrial Relations:

Uninterrupted Production: The most important benefit of industrial benefits is that it ensures
continuity of production. This means continuous employment for all involved right from
managers to workers.

There is uninterrupted flow of income for all. Smooth running of industries is important for
manufacturers, if their products are perishable goods and to consumers if the goods are for mass
consumption (essential commodities, food grains etc.). Good industrial relations bring industrial
peace which in turn tends to increase production.

Reduction in Industrial disputes: Good Industrial relations reduce Industrial disputes. Strikes,
grievances and lockouts are some of the reflections of Industrial unrest. Industrial peace helps in
promoting co-operation and increasing production. Thus good Industrial relations help in
establishing Industrial democracy, discipline and a conducive workplace environment.

High morale: Good Industrial relations improve the morale of the employees and motivate the
worker workers to work more and better.

Reduced wastage: Good Industrial relations are maintained on the basis of co-operation and
recognition of each other. It helps to reduce wastage of material, manpower and costs.

Contributes to economic growth and development.

The scope or industrial relations is quite vast. The main issues involved here include the
following:

1. Collective bargaining
2. Machinery for settlement of industrial disputes
3. Standing orders

1. Workers participation in management

2. Unfair labor practices
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE:

An industrial dispute is caused by revolting employees who disturb industrial peace and
harmony. Industrial disputes generally arise due to tensions between labour and management,
and gives rise to more issues. This may cause employees to not do their work, and affecting the
quality and quantity of production. Furthermore, as industrial tensions rise, there may be strikes
and lock-outs.

Causes of Industrial Disputes:

1. Low income: As prices and living expenses are rising in India, employees also expect their
income to rise. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. To make things worse, there is only one
earning member in the household and this person alone supports everyone financially. Many
times, the income is not enough to keep everyone content and pay all the bills. Thus, if the
earning member loses his/her job, the entire family suffers in poverty. Low wages cause
discontent in employees.

2. Prices in India are rising constantly, hence, it is also expected that the income of industrial
labourers increase, but that never happens.

3. Dearness Allowance associated with labourers has no corresponding increase with rising
prices.

4. Most industries have unhygienic and unsafe working conditions. This puts pressure on
workers' health.

5. Employees find it extremely difficult to get leave with pay.

6. Employees are becoming more and more conscious about self-respect. Tempers flare when
they are insulted or instigated by their superiors.
 7. Most of the time, extra bonus is not paid, or not paid on time. This causes industrial
conflicts.

8. Sometimes, employees are unfairly relieved from their jobs. Nevertheless, their colleagues
unite and fight for the rehiring of their relieved colleagues.

9. Sometimes, trade unions are not recognized by industries resulting in strained relations and
stress.

10. Replacement of workers by machinery is causing discontent. Workers are getting laid off
and replaced by cheaper machines that do the same work.

11. Many industrial disputes are being caused by political parties. Political involvement in trade
unions causes divisions and unnecessary tensions.

12. Disputes may also arise due to dishonest mid-level management. This management prevent
labourers from contacting senior management, and act as middle-men. Lack of communication
causes distrust.

Consequences of Industrial disputes:

1. Unrest and unnecessary tensions engulf the hearts and minds of all the people involved -
labourers and senior management.

2. There is economic loss due to conflicts because conflicts may result in strikes and lock-outs.
This causes low or no production resulting in industrial loss.

3. Industrial losses may cause economic depression because many industries are interlinked. A
problem in one industry may drastically affect another industry.

4. The lives of low-level labourers become worse when they are out of work. They may be the
only working members of the family, and their joblessness may lead everyone in the family to
poverty.

5. When industrial conflicts get out of hand, they become a threat to peace and security.
Workers may resort to violence and indulge in sabotage.

Trends In Industrial Relations:

Recent trends in industrial relations have the potential to be life-changing, both for
employees and for businesses. As baby boomers retire, up-and-coming managers and new hires
want and expect something different from their work than what previous generations
experienced. Instead of reacting reluctantly and slowly to the changing workforce, employers
who vigorously embrace the changes and promote them to employees will reap the benefits these
trends can bring to company culture and bottom-line profits.
 Unit – 2

Trade union:

A trade union is an organization of employees formed on a continuous basis for the

purpose of securing diverse range of benefits. It is a continuous association of wage earners for
the purpose of maintaining and improving the conditions of their working lives.

The Trade Union Act 1926 defines a trade union as a combination, whether temporary or
permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workmen and
employers or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers, or for
imposing restrictive condition on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes any
federation of two or more trade unions.

This definition is very exhaustive as it includes associations of both the workers and
employers and the federations of their associations. Here, the relationships that have been talked
about are both temporary and permanent. This means it applies to temporary workers (or
contractual employees) as well.

The principal purposes of a labor union are to

1. Negotiate wages and working conditions terms,
2. regulate relations between workers (its members) and the employer,
3. Take collective action to enforce the terms of collective,
4. Raise new demands on behalf of its members, and
5. Help settle their grievances. A trade union may be:
a. A company union that represents interests of only one company and may not have any
connection with other unions. Also called house union, a company union is often a bogus one
and generally illegal.
b. A general union that represents workers from several companies in the same industry. Also
called industrial union.
c. A craft union that represents skilled workers in a particular field such as carpentry or welding.
The Features of trade unions are :
1. It is an association either of employers or employees or of independent workers. They may
consist of :
 Employers’ association (eg. Employer’s Federation of India, Indian paper mill
association, etc.)
 General labor unions
 Friendly societies
 Unions of intellectual labor (e.g. All India Teachers Association)
2. It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a permanent body and not a casual or temporary one.
They persist throughout the year.
3. It is formed to protect and promote all kinds of interests –economic, political and social-of its
members. The dominant interest with which a union is concerned is, however, economic.
4. It achieves its objectives through collective action and group effort. Negotiations and
collective bargaining are the tools for accomplishing objectives.
5. Trade unions have shown remarkable progress since their inception; moreover, the character
of trade unions has also been changing. In spite of only focusing on the economic benefits of
workers, the trade unions are also working towards raising the status of labors as a part of
industry.

History of trade unions;

Trade union is a direct product of Industrialization and a very recent development. In

India, the foundation of modern industry was laid between 1850 and 1870. They had expertise
and specialized skills which was inherited by their off springs. After Industrial revolution, these
people started losing their individual identities and had to join factories to earn their livelihood
and compete with mass production. There was a psychological dislocation as they were losing
their identities. Indian trade union movement can be divided into three phases.

The first phase falls between 1850 and 1900 during which the inception of trade unions
took place. During this period of the growth of Indian Capitalist enterprises, the working and
living conditions of the labor were poor and their working hours were long. Capitalists were only
interested in their productivity and profitability. In addition to long working hours, their wages
were low and general economic conditions were poor in industries.

The second phase of The Indian trade union movement falls between 1900 and 1947. This
phase was characterized by the development of organized trade unions and political movements
of the working class. It also witnessed the emergence of militant trade unionism. The First World
War (1914-1918) and the Russian revolution of 1917 gave a new turn to the Indian trade union
movement and organized efforts on part of the workers to form trade unions. In 1919, Mahatma
Gandhi suggested to let individual struggle be a Mass movement. In 1920, the First National
Trade union organization(The All ndia Trade Union Congress (AITUC)) was established.

Structure of trade unions:

The structure of trade unions refers to the basis on which unions are organized (i.e. whether they
are organized on craft, staff, industrial or general union basis) and to the pattern whereby the
plant unions are linked to regional level or national level federations.
Reformist unions:

These unions are those which aim at the preservation of the capitalist society and the
maintenance of the usual employer-employee relationship, elimination of competitive system of
production. They neither seek comprehensive change nor wish to destroy the existing economic,
political and social structure of the country.

Business unions
Business unions are the form of labour cooperation in which employees enter the
successful business relationships with employers. Such unions primarily represent workers in
collective bargaining with their employer.
Friendly unions or uplift unions: Friendly unions or uplift unions are idealistic in nature and
aspires to elevate the moral, intellectual and social life of workers and advocates idealistic plans
for social regeneration. They are idealistic in nature, conservative and law binding.
2.Revolutionary Unions:

These unions aim at destroying the present structure completely and replacing it with new
different order which they consider is better. They try to replace capitalistic industry with a
socialistic or communistic type of industrial set up. Industrial Workers of eh World (IWW) is an
example of revolutionary unionism.

i.Anarchist Unions:

Such unions aim at destroying the existing economic system by revolutionary means.

ii. Political Unions

These unions aim at changing power through political action. They aim at enactment of
laws eliminating the power of capitalist and giving effective power to workers.

iii. Predatory Unions

This type of unionism has been added by Professor Hoxie. These unions does not
subscribe to any ideology. Such types of unions believe in ruthless pursuit of the matter in hand
for which they can follow any means without bothering for ethical or legal considerations. These
unions can further be divided into two types:

a) Hold up Unions

In these unions, the unscrupulous bosses of the worker’s organizations and unscrupulous
employers join hands together and exploit the customers by selling their products or services at
exorbitant rates. The workers, if at all, get a very small share of profits accrued due to increase in
prices.

b) Guerilla Unions

These unions do not believe in cooperation with employers. Such unions believe in exploiting
anyone and whatever they can, usually by resorting to terrorism or any other ruthless measures.

iv. Dependent Unions

This union has also been added by the followers of Prof. Hoxie, namely the dependent union.
The existence of this type of union is dependent wholly or partly on the other unions or the
employees.

Basing on membership structure:

Craft Union : It is an organization of workers employed in a particular craft, trade or

occupation. Such organization links together those workers who have similar skills, craft training
and specialization. It may cover all workers engaged in a particular craft irrespective of the
industries in which they are employed.

Staff Union

The term staff union is popularly used to refer both craft and industrial unions. The staff union
seeks to recruit members of non-manual sectors including clerks, supervisors, draughtsmen,
computerists, operators, technicians, managers etc.

Industrial Unions

An industrial union is organized upon an industry-wise rather than a craft wise basis. It members
belong to different crafts within the same industry. The Textile Labour Association of
Ahmedabad, The Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh, Bombay, The Labour Mines Mazdoor Sangh ,
Udaipur are important examples.

General Unions

This type of union consist of workers employed in different industries and crafts within a
particular city or region. The Jamshedpur Union is one example. In India there are several
industry cum region unions due to concentration of some industries in particular regions.

Trade Union Movement In India:

Trade unionism is a world-wide movement. The evolution and growth of trade unionism has
been sine qua non with growth in industrialization. Accordingly, the evolution of trade unionism
in India is traced back towards the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The origin and development of trade union movement in India may well be studied under
distinct phases with their distinguishing features from others.

Pre-1918 Phase:

The setting up of textiles and jute mills and laying of the railways since 1850 payed the way for
that emergence of industrial activity and, in turn, labour movement in India. Some researchers
have traced the origin of labour movement in India dated back to 1860. However, most of the
writers on the subject trace the history of labour movement in India since 1875.

The first labour agitation, under the guidance and leadership of Mr. S. S. Bengalee, a social
reformist and philanthropist, started in Bombay in 1875 to protect against the appalling
conditions of workers in factories, especially those of women and children and appealed to the
authorities to introduce legislation for the amelioration of their working conditions.

i) The movement was led mostly by the social reformers and philanthropists and not by the
workers.
(ii) There was, in fact, no trade union in existence in the true sense.

(iii) The labour movement was for the workers rather than by the workers.

(iv) The movement was confined to the revolt against the conditions of child labour and women
workers working in various industries under appalling conditions.

1918-1924 Phase:

The phase 1918-1924 is considered as the era of formation of modem trade unionism in the
country. The trade union movement got momentum just after the close of the World War I. The
post-war economic and political conditions contributed to the new awakening of class
consciousness among the workers.

1925-1934 Phase:

With increasing hardships of workers, the signs of militant tendencies and revolutionary
approach in trade unionism got expression into violent strikes since 1924. The communists
gained influence in L trade union movement during this period. They split the Trade Union
Congress twice with their widening differences with the left-wing unionists.

1935-1938 Phase:

The Indian National Congress was in power in seven provinces in 1937. This injected unity in
trade unions. As a result, the All India Red Trade Union Congress itself with the AITUC in 1935.
After three years in 1938, the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) also affiliated with the
AITUC.

1939-1946 Phase:

Like World War I, the World War II also brought chaos in industrial front of the country.
Mass retrenchment witnessed during the post-World War II led to the problem of unemployment
.This compelled workers to join unions to secure their jobs. This resulted in big spurt in the
membership of registered trade unions from 667 in 1939-40 to 1087 in 1945-46.

The year 1946 was also marked by two important enactments, namely, the Industrial
Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946. Both
the Acts, through their provisions, contributed to strengthen the trade unionism in the country.

1947 and Since:

In May 1947, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) was formed by the
nationalists and moderates and was controlled by the Congress Party. Since by then, the AITUC
is controlled by the Communists.
 Unit – 3

Harmonious Relations:

Many full-time employees spend more of their waking hours with co-workers than they do with
their spouses and families. As such, it is important to allow employees the opportunity to build
quality relationships with their co-workers. This can be accomplished through the organization
of informal get-togethers away from work, as well as by encouraging employee interaction.
There are many benefits that can be reaped by small business owners who allow and foster good
relationships in the workplace.

Steps to Harmonious Relationships

Step 1. Be Understanding:

Understand with empathy. Listen attentively, with compassion. Ask clarifying and open-
ended questions to fully understand and to show your interest. Communicate your understanding
with "active listening" and by responding in a non-critical and non-defensive way.

Step 2 . Be Respectful:

Honor each person by showing positive regard and respect. Relate to the essential
goodness of each person, even when it is hidden. Recognize their great potential. Show them that
you know how precious and valuable they are by expressing respect and appreciation.

Step 3 . Be Sincere:

Be genuine. Be really present with authentic and sincere interest. Share your best self,
your highest feelings, your soulful connection, your caring and desire to help.

Step 4 . Be Exemplary:

Teach by example. Be a living example of what you want to teach. Inspire others with
your positive attitude, joyful feelings and actions. Be a good role model.

Step 5 . Be Clear:

Communicate well. Speak their language, verbal and non-verbal, to build rapport, comfort
and trust. For good communication, speak in ways that allows them to understand you, and in
ways, such as by accurately summarizing and reflecting what they have said, so that they feel
heard and understood.

Step 6 . Be Encouraging:

Praise other people's positive attributes and express admiration and appreciation for their
talents, qualities, accomplishments, values and courage. Validate their feelings and normalize
their reactions. Acknowledge and endorse their positive aspirations such as their desire to learn
and grow.

Step 7 . Be Supportive:

Support and assist sensitively and compassionately with information, referrals, contacts,
endorsements, backing, coaching, mentoring, teaching and training.

Step 8 . Be Empowering:

Empower others by supporting them in making their own decisions. Gently offer guidance
in clarifying goals, considering consequences and choosing accomplishable steps. Their
successes will increase their self-respect, confidence, sense of responsibility and empowerment.

Step 9 . Be Prayerful & Optimistic:

Optimistically trust in the essential goodness and growth of others .Visualize a

harmonious relationship, seeing the other blessed in light and love, protected and growing.
Prayers, blessings, affirmations and visualizations are powerful forces, benefiting everyone!

Step 10 . Be Grateful & Gracious:

Express your gratitude. Show your appreciation. Be specific with your thanks and gratitude in a
timely fashion. Be grateful and acknowledge what others mean to you. Showing gratitude works
wonders. Be gracious and find grace in the eyes of the Creator and of Mankind.

Step 11 . Be Kind & Caring:

Being kind and caring is our true calling, our soul's divine nature. The benevolent giving
of ourselves, with kind gestures, caring attitudes, and actions, is a blessing and healing for those
we give to, and are a blessing and healing for ourselves.

Step 12 . Be A Good Friend:

A good friend allows us to give, as well as to receive and feel appreciated. Even when
friends are not equally capable, each has something to give the other. Creating opportunities for
the other to give and gratefully receiving their gifts are the acts of a good friend.

Step 13 . Be Loving:

To love is to give unselfishly. God created us with love and He instructed us to love Him
and His creation. Love is our soul's calling. Our destiny is to be loving, emulating the qualities of
God. Love is nurturing & healing, stimulating emotional, spiritual physical growth &
development.
Machinery For Prevention And Settlement Of Industrial Disputes:

The eight types of machinery for prevention and settlement of industrial disputes are as follows:
1. Works committees 2. Conciliation officers 3. Boards of conciliation 4. Court of enquiry 5.
Labour courts 6. Industrial Tribunals 7. National Tribunal 8. Arbitration.

1.Works committees:

This committee represents workers and employers. Under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947,
works committees exist in industrial establishments in which one hundred or more workmen are
employed during the previous year.

2.Conciliation officers: Conciliation Officers are appointed by the government under the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

The duties of conciliation officer are given below:

(i) He has to evolve a fair and amicable settlement of the dispute. In case of public utility service,
he must hold conciliation proceedings in the prescribed manner.

(ii) He shall send a report to the government if a dispute is settled in the course of conciliation
proceedings along with the charter of the settlement signed by the parties.

(iii) Where no settlement is reached, conciliation officer sends a report to the government
indicating the steps taken by him for ascertaining the facts, circumstances relating to dispute and
the reasons on account of which settlement within 14 days of the commencement of the
conciliation proceedings.

3. Boards of conciliation:

The government can also appoint a Board of Conciliation for promoting settlement of
Industrial Disputes. The chairman of the board is an independent person and other members
(may be two or four) are to be equally represented by the parties to the disputes.

The duties of the board include:

(a) To investigate the dispute and all matters affecting the merits and do everything fit for the
purpose of inducing the parties to reach a fair and amicable settlement.

(b) A report has to be sent to the government by the board if a disute has been settled or not
within two months of the date on which the disputes were referred to it.

4. Court of enquiry:

The government may appoint a Court of enquiry for enquiring into any industrial dispute.
A court may consist of one person or more that one person and in that case one of the persons
will be the chairman. The Court shall be required to enquire into the matter and submit its report
to the government within a period of six months.

5. Labour courts: As per the second schedule of the Industrial Dispute Act 1947.The
government sets up Labour Courts to deal with matters such as:

(i) The propriety or legality of an order passed by an employer under the standing orders.

(ii) The application and interpretation of standing orders passed.

(iii Discharge or dismissal of workmen including reinstatement, grant of relief to workers who
are wrongfully dismissed.

(iv) Withdrawal of any customary concession of privilege

(v) Illegality or otherwise of a strike or lockout, and all other matters not specified in the third
schedule.

6. Industrial Tribunals: A Tribunal is appointed by the government for the adjudication of

Industrial disputes.

7. National Tribunal: A National tribunals is constituted by the Central government for

Industrial Disputes involving question of national importance.

CONCILIATION:

The employer and employees may agree to settle the dispute by appointing an independent
and impartial person called Arbitrator. Arbitration provides justice at minimum cost.

Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a

dispute use a conciliator, who meets with the parties both separately and together in an attempt to
resolve their differences. They do this by lowering tensions, improving communications,
interpreting issues, encouraging parties to explore potential solutions and assisting parties in
finding a mutually acceptable outcome.

Conciliation differs from arbitration in that the conciliation process, in and of itself, has no
legal standing, and the conciliator usually has no authority to seek evidence or call witnesses,
usually writes no decision, and makes no award.

Conciliation differs from mediation in that in conciliation, often the parties are in need of
restoring or repairing a relationship, either personal or business.

1. Facilitative - He does not gives opinion but merely assist the parties to clarify their
communications, interests and priorities.
2. Evaluative - He gives his opinion on the merits of the issues so that the parties approach
for settlement.
 3. Court Annexed Conciliation - Here the judges, lawyers and litigants become
participants therein, thereby giving them a feeling that negotiated settlement is achieved
by all the three of them.
4. Voluntary Conciliation - Here the parties are free to make use of conciliation under their
free will
5. Compulsory Conciliation - If voluntary conciliation is very unlikely and parties do not
agree even to meet each other for direct negotiations, then the procedure is made
compulsory. It is mostly seen in Labor cases.

ARBITRATION:

Settlement of a dispute (whether of fact, law, or procedure) between parties to a contract by a

neutral third party (the arbitrator) without resorting to court action. Arbitration is usually
voluntary but sometimes it is required by law.

Arbitration disputes usually arise in deals. Some examples are acquisition and merger,
intellectual property, financial services, infrastructure and construction, and purchase and sale
agreements. Arbitration is the process that allows both parties to negotiate and settle their
disputes.

Domestic Arbitration:

The term “Domestic Arbitration” denotes arbitration which takes place in India, when the
subject matter of the contract, the merits of the dispute and the procedure for arbitration are all
governed by Indian law or when the cause of action for the dispute has arisen wholly in India or
where the parties are otherwise subject to Indian jurisdiction.

International Arbitration:

International Arbitration” has a foreign ingredient. Arbitration becomes “International”

when at least one of the parties involved is resident or domiciled, outside India or the subject
matter of the dispute is abroad. The law applicable to an arbitration proceedings may be the
Indian law or a foreign law, depending on the terms of the contract in this regard and the rules of
conflict of laws.

Foreign Arbitration:

“Foreign arbitration” is an arbitration conducted in a place outside India, where the resulting
award is sought to be enforced as a "foreign award".

Ad hoc Arbitration:

Ad hoc arbitration” is arbitration agreed to and arranged by the parties themselves without
recourse to an Institution. The proceedings are conducted by the arbitrator(s) as per the
agreement between the 'parties' or with concurrence of the parties. It can be domestic,
international or foreign arbitration.

Institutional Arbitration:

Institutional arbitration” is arbitration conducted under the Rules laid down by an

established arbitral organization. Such Rules are meant to supplement provisions of the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act in matters of procedure and other matters the Act permits. The
rules may provide for domestic arbitration or for international arbitration or for both and the
disputes dealt with may be either general in character or specific.

Specialized Arbitration:

"Specialized arbitration" is arbitration conducted under the auspices of arbitral institutions

which might have framed special rules to meet the specific requirements for the conduct of
arbitration in respect of disputes of particular types, such as, disputes as to commodities,
construction or specific areas of technology.

Statutory Arbitration:

“Statutory Arbitrations” are arbitrations conducted in accordance with the provisions of

certain special Acts which provide for arbitration in respect of disputes arising on matters
covered by those Acts. There are about 24 such Central Acts. Among them are the Cantonments
Act, 1924, the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the Railways Act,
1890 and the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, 1956. Many State Acts also provide for
arbitration in respect of disputes covered by those Acts, including Acts relating to co-operative
societies. The provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1940 generally apply to those arbitrations unless
they are inconsistent with the particular provisions of those Acts, in which case the provisions of
those Acts will apply (Sections 46 and 47, Arbitration Act, 1940).

ADJUDICATION:

An adjudication is a legal ruling or judgment, usually final, but it can also refer to the
process of settling a legal case or claim through the court or justice system. It usually refers to
the final judgment or pronouncement in a case that will determine the course of action taken
regarding the issue presented.

Normally, an adjudication represents the final judgment or pronouncement in a case.

Adjudication can also refer to the process of validating an insurance claim and a decree in the
bankruptcy process between the defendant and the creditors.

Formal adjudication:

Formal adjudication is a decisional procession involving an adversarial hearing mandated by

a statute. The focus here is on APA formal adjudication, but the organic statute of the agency
may prescribe the hearing requirements apart from the APA. This section focuses on formal
adjudication as distinguished from informal adjudication or other forms of agency action. Formal
adjudication usually affects individual rights, not group. It often has a retroactive impact, rather
than being prospective in impact, unlike rulemaking.

Informal adjudication:

Informal adjudication is an ill defined but broad category of agency action. The APA's do
not specifically define informal adjudication. A working definition of informal adjudication is
that it is a statutorily required decision making process that may or may not require a hearing and
is neither formal adjudication nor rulemaking.

CODE OF DISCIPLINE:

A code of discipline has been laid down to maintain harmonious relations and promote
industrial peace. It applies to both public and private sector enterprises and aims to secure the
settlement of disputes and grievances by a mutually agreed procedure.

It specifies various obligations for the management and the workers with the objective of
promoting cooperation between their representatives. This code of discipline requiring the
employers and workers to settle disputes making use of the existing machinery and abstaining
from taking direct action was evolved at the Indian Labor Conference in 1958.

The Basic Objectives of Code of Discipline are to:

1. Maintain peace and order in industry.

2. Facilitate a free growth of trade unions

3. Promote constructive criticism at all levels of management and employment

4. Eliminate all forms of coercion, intimidation and violations of rules and regulations governing
industrial relations.

5. Avoid stoppage of work in industry.

6. Avoiding litigations

The Code of Discipline Ensures that:

1. There should be no strike or lock-out without prior notice.

2. No deliberate damage should be caused to a plant or property

3. Acts of violations, intimidation and coercion should not be resorted to.

4. Actions that disturb cordial relationships should be avoided

5. No unilateral action should be taken in connection with any industrial matter.

6. The existing machinery for the settlement of disputes should be utilized.

Unit- 4
GRIEVANCE:

A grievance is a formal complaint that is raised by an employee towards an employer

within the workplace. There are many reasons as to why a grievance can be raised, and also
many ways to go about dealing with such a scenario. Reasons for filing a grievance in the
workplace can be as a result of, but not limited to, a breach of the terms and conditions of an
employment contract, raises and promotions, or lack thereof, as well as harassment and
employment discrimination.

A grievance between an employee and employer can be dealt with either informally or
formally, and sometimes both approaches are taken in search of a resolution. In the informal
approach, an employee can informally bring forth a concern promptly to his or her employer.
Here a discussion or similar between the two parties can result in a mutually agreed upon
resolution. In the case that this step fails or is skipped altogether, a grievance can be raised
formally, where formal meetings and options for appeals become available

DISCIPLINE:

It is action or inaction that is regulated to be in accordance (or to achieve accord) with a

particular system of governance. Discipline is commonly applied to regulating human and
animal behavior, and furthermore, it is applied to each activity-branch in all branches of
organized activity, knowledge, and other fields of study and observation. Discipline can be a set
of expectations that are required by any governing entity including the self, groups, classes,
fields, industries, or societies.

Types of grievances in the workplace:

These are the most common examples of employee grievances.

 Pay and benefits.
 Bullying.
 Work conditions.
 Workload.
Pay and benefits grievances:
As an employer, you've probably had at least one member of your staff come to you to
express that they're unhappy with what you're paying them.
Your employee might mention:
 That they want a higher salary.
 They think they should be earning as much as somebody who does a similar job in
the organization.
Make sure that you have a pay and benefits policy that outlines how often you will
conduct salary and benefits reviews with your staff, and ensure that any documents your
employees receive are in line with this policy.
Bullying grievances:
 It's inevitable that members of staff in your workplace just won't get on. But that
doesn't mean you should allow bullying or harassment. You must have a zero
tolerance policy.
 Ensure that you give everyone your anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies, and
always email any updates or revisions. These policies should include the
disciplinary procedure you'll follow if somebody lodges a grievance for bullying or
harassment.
Working conditions grievances:
Nobody wants to lose a valuable employee because of problems with their workplace
conditions. It's up to you to prevent this. Think about:
 Cleanliness on the office floors or in the kitchen.
 Desk etiquette.
 Bathroom conditions.
 Health and safety hazards.
 Temperatures in the workplace.
Conduct workplace risk assessments regularly to identify any possible hazards, such as a
leak.
Have a first aid officer, a first aid kit, and signs designating fire exits.
Workload grievances:
You can often find a link between grievances about their workload, and pay and
benefits issues that staff raise.
Typical situations that cause problems with employees are:
  Increasing your employee's workload when another employee leaves, rather than
finding a replacement.
 Increasing an employee's workload because you've made other staff redundant to
cut costs.
If you're going to increase an employee's workload, you should be ready for them to ask,
"What's in it for me?" And if you're hoping that your employee will just do more work for
no extra pay or benefits, and not even a recognized promotion, you're likely to frustrate
your employee.
Grievance Redressal is a management- and governance-related process used commonly in
India. While the term "Grievance Redressal" primarily covers the receipt and processing of
complaints from citizens and consumers, a wider definition includes actions taken on any
issue raised by them to avail services more effectively
Grievance Redressal typically covers the following types of complaints:
 Service Unavailability
 Non-Delivery against Commitment
 Excessive Delays
 Injustice concerns (such as over race, caste, sex)
 Staff Misbehavior
 Malpractice
Wider definition of grievance redressal covers:
 Malfunctions under Warranty coverage
 Product Support issues
 Citizen Vigilance reports
 Employee Disputes
Meaning of Industrial Discipline:
Industrial discipline refers to orderly working of the employees of an industrial
undertaking in accordance with established rules, regula-tions and conventions. Discipline
is a force that prompts an individual to observe rules, regulations and procedures to attain
an objective. In the broad sense, discipline means orderliness — the opposite of confusion.
In an organization, discipline is the orderly conduct of its members.
Discipline is essential for any successful activity and, where it re-fers to industrial
discipline, it essentiality gets an added value. In in-dustrial organizations, discipline is a
must. The condition of complete peace and harmony as opposed to chaos is a very
important factor for the success of an industrial unit.
1) Workers are to be consulted while framing rules and regulations.
2) Rules and regulations should be properly framed.
3) There should not be any communication gap between the man-agement and the workers.
4) New workers should be given proper orientation.
5) Where necessary, charts, graphs and other methods should be used so that the workers
may understand them.
6) Penalty for breaking rules should be used only where it is abso-lutely necessary.
7) Victimization should not be the aim of punishment.
8) Favoritism, nepotism and casteism should be avoided.
9) Managerial staff should never be breakers of law which they themselves have framed for
enforcing discipline.
10) Code of conduct or discipline should be framed and followed.
11) A disciplinary committee should be formed.
12) A suitable machinery should be set up to listen to the appeals made by the aggrieved
party..
Indiscipline at Workplace:
The following are the common causes of indiscipline:
1. Lack of Proper Leadership:
People are to be motivated, inspired and prepared to conform to rules and
regulations and behave accordingly. This can be effectively done by leaders whether it is
managerial leadership or union leadership. Ineffective leadership leads to indiscipline
because they fail to motivate and control the bahaviour of the employees. They cannot seek
their cooperation in achieving organizational objectives.
2. Lack of Supervision:
Lack of proper supervision can create problems. Maintaining discipline and
controlling the behaviour of the employees and forcing them to follow rules and
regulations is the supervisory responsibility. Lack of effective supervision will promote
indiscipline.
3. Violation of Rights of Employees:
Employees are human beings. They are treated as human resources. As human beings
employees have certain rights which should not be violated in any case. Some of these
rights are, they must be treated with respect, they should be allowed to express themselves
or raise their voice, right to contribute to the best of their abilities, right to justice, right to
security of service, right for self development etc. If these rights are violated and they are
suppressed they will feel dissatisfied. Discontent will prevail which will lead to gross
indiscipline.
4. Absence of Grievance Settlement Machinery:
Grievances of the employees should be redressed quickly at the lowest level as
far as possible. Settlement should not be postponed. Effective grievance settlement
machinery should be set up to resolve the disputes otherwise indiscipline will result.
5. Lack of Proper Promotional Policy:
Every employee has an inspiration to rise. If his claim in promotion is set aside
and his junior and inefficient is given promotion he feel discontented. This will provoke
him for revolt and he will behave in indisciplined manner.
6. Employer’s Attitude:
Employers’ attitudes towards their employees are also cause for indiscipline.
Employers’ have certain obligation to be fulfilled e.g. ensuring safety at workplace, healthy
conditions, adequate tools and implements, supply of raw materials, confo rming to rules
and regulations, payment of adequate wages and salaries etc. The breach of these
obligations by the employers will lead to indiscipline.
7. Lack of Communication:
There must be effective two way communication channel. Especially upw ard
communication. Superiors must listen to feelings and opinions of lower level staff. Lack of
this channel of communication is responsible for employee dissent and indiscipline.
8. Lack of Proper Rules and Regulations:
The rules and regulations which are impractical and cannot be followed are
responsible for creating indiscipline among employees. Also the lack of proper code of
conduct and manual pose problems.
9. Divide and Rule Policy:
Managements adopting divide and rule policy also create an atmosphere of
misunderstanding and chaos keeping the employees divided and killing their team spirit.
10. Bad Working Conditions:
Bad and intolerable working conditions promote indiscipline among employees of
the organization.
11. Discrimination:
Discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, sex, language and other forms of
favouritism in the matters of placement, transfer recruitment and promotion etc. lead to
indiscipline among employees.
The leadership must take due care of employee welfare. Employees must also not
forget their responsibility. They should realize it towards the organisation and for their
fellows well being. A two way effective communication channel plays an important and
significant role in removing misunderstanding and maintaining cordial relationship among
and between employees and management.
Preventive Measures
For disciplining employees certain measures based on principles have to be adopted for
cordial atmosphere at the workplace. The measures adopted for maintaining discipline
should be fair, equitable and acceptable both to employees and employers.
The following are some of the measures taken for maintaining discipline at the workplace:
1. The rules and regulations for maintaining discipline should be framed in consultation
with the employees’ representatives.
2. Employees should be given a chance to improve their behaviour. The past offences as far
as possible be condoned after some time.
3. Rules should be made known to employees and they should be reminded of those rules
after regular intervals.
4. Rules should not be made rigid but they should change with time and changes in the
working conditions.
5. There should be uniformity in application of rules. Everybody should be treated e qually
before rules.
6. Breach of rules by any employee should not be allowed and rules breakers should be
dealt with firmly.
7. It should be remembered that the aim of rules is to prevent indiscipline and not to cause
harassment to the employees.
8. The offences of grave concern should be dealt with firmly by appointing a committee to
enquire thoroughly in the matter. The committee should be un-bias in its dealings.
9. There must be a provision for appeal and disciplinary action taken should be reviewed if
required.
Definition of Collective Bargaining:

Industrial disputes between the employee and employer can also be settled by discussion and
negotiation between these two parties in order to arrive at a decision. This is also commonly
known as collective bargaining as both the parties eventually agree to follow a decision that they
arrive at after a lot of negotiation and discussion.

According to Beach, “Collective Bargaining is concerned with the relations between unions
reporting employees and employers (or their representatives).

It involves the process of union organization of employees, negotiations administration and

interpretation of collective agreements concerning wages, hours of work and other conditions of
employees arguing in concerted economic actions dispute settlement procedures”.

According to Flippo, “Collective Bargaining is a process in which the representatives of a

labor organization and the representatives of business organization meet and attempt to
negotiate a contract or agreement, which specifies the nature of employee-employer union
relationship”.

Collective Bargaining Involves:

(i) Negotiations

(ii) Drafting

(iii) Administration

(iv) Interpretation of documents written by employers, employees and the union representatives

(v) Organizational Trade Unions with open mind.

Some of the salient features of collective bargaining are:

1. It is a Group Action:
Collective bargaining is a group action as opposed to individual action. Both the parties of
settlement are represented by their groups. Employer is represented by its delegates and, on the
other side; employees are represented by their trade union.

2. It is a Continuous Process:
Collective bargaining is a continuous process and does not end with one agreement. It provides a
mechanism for continuing and organized relationship between management and trade union. It is
a process that goes on for 365 days of the year.
3. It is a Bipartite Process: Collective bargaining is a two party process. Both the parties—
employers and employees— collectively take some action. There is no intervention of any third
party. It is mutual given-and-take rather than take-it-or-leave-it method of arriving at the
settlement of a dispute.
4. It is a Process:
Collective bargaining is a process in the sense that it consists of a number of steps. The starting
point is the presentation of charter of demands by the workers and the last step is the reaching of
an agreement, or a contract which would serve as the basic law governing labour-management
relations over a period of time in an enterprise.

5. It is Flexible and Mobile and not Fixed or Static:

It has fluidity. There is no hard and fast rule for reaching an agreement. There is ample scope for
compromise. A spirit of give-and-take works unless final agreement acceptable to both the
parties is reached.

6. It is Industrial Democracy at Work:

Collective bargaining is based on the principle of industrial democracy where the labour union
represents the workers in negotiations with the employer or employers. Industrial democracy is
the government of labour with the consent of the governed—the workers

7. It is Dynamic:
It is relatively a new concept, and is growing, expanding and changing. In the past, it used to be
emotional, turbulent and sentimental, but now it is scientific, factual and systematic.

8. It is a Complementary and not a Competitive Process:

Collective bargaining is not a competitive process i.e., labour and management do not cope while
negotiating for the same object. It is essentially a complementary process i.e., each party needs
something which the other party has, namely, labour can put greater productive effort and
management has the capacity to pay for that effort and to organize and guide it for achieving the
enterprise’s objectives.

9. It is an Art:
Collective bargaining is an art, an advanced form of human relations.
Reasons for the Growth of Collective Bargaining:
The growth of collective bargaining in India may be attributed to the following factors:
(1) Statutory Provisions:
Which have laid down certain principles of negotiations, procedure for collective agreements and
the character of representation of the negotiating parties?

(2) Voluntary Measures: Such as tripartite conferences, joint consultative boards, and industrial
committees at the industry level have provided an ingenious mechanism for the promotion of
collective bargaining practices.

(3) Several Governments Measures:

Like schemes for workers’ education, labour participation in management, the evolution of the
code of Inter-union Harmony, the code of Efficiency and Welfare, the Code of Discipline, the
formation of Joint Management Councils, Workers Committees and Shop Councils, and the
formulations of grievances redressal procedure at the plant level— have encouraged the
collective bargaining.

(4) Amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act:

The Amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act in 1964 provided for the termination of an award
or a settlement only when a proper notice is given by the majority of workers. Agreements or
settlements which are arrived at by a process of negotiation on conciliation cannot be terminated
by a section of the workers.

(5) Industrial Truce Resolution:

The Industrial Truce Resolution of 1962 has also influenced the growth of collective bargaining.
It provides that the management and the workers should strive for constructive cooperation in all
possible ways and throws responsibility on them to resolve their differences through mutual
discussion, conciliation and voluntary arbitration peacefully.

Collective Bargaining Process

The collective bargaining process involves five core steps:
1. Preparation – Choosing a negotiation team and representatives of both the union and
employer. Both parties should be skilled in negotiation and labor laws, and both examine
available information to determine whether they have a strong standing for negotiation.
2. Discussion – Both parties meet to set ground rules for the collective bargaining negotiation
process.
3. Proposal – Both representatives make opening statements, outlining options and possible
solutions to the issue at hand.
 4. Bargaining – Following proposals, the parties discuss potential compromises, bargaining to
create an agreement that is acceptable to both parties. This becomes a “draft” agreement,
which is not legally binding, but a stepping stone to coming to a final collective bargaining
agreement.
5. Final Agreement – Once an agreement is made between the parties, it must be put in
writing, signed by the parties, and put into effect.

Types of collective bargaining:

Conjunctive or Distributive Bargaining: In this form of collective bargaining, both the parties
viz. The employee and the employer try to maximize their respective gains. It is based on the
principle, “my gain is your loss, and your gain is my loss” i.e. one party wins over the other.

The economic issues such as wages, bonus, other benefits are discussed, where the employee
wishes to have an increased wage or bonus for his work done, whereas the employer wishes to
increase the workload and reduce the wages.

Co-operative or Integrative Bargaining: Both the employee and the employer sit together and
try to resolve the problems of their common interest and reach to an amicable solution. In the
case of economic crisis, such as recession, which is beyond the control of either party, may enter
into a mutual agreement with respect to the working terms.

For example, the workers may agree for the low wages or the management may agree to adopt
the modernized methods, so as to have an increased production.
Productivity Bargaining: This type of bargaining is done by the management, where the
workers are given the incentives or the bonus for the increased productivity. The workers get
encouraged and work very hard to reach beyond the standard level of productivity to gain the
additional benefits.

Through this form of collective bargaining, both the employer and the employee enjoy the
benefits in the form of increased production and the increased pay respectively.

Composite Bargaining: In this type of collective bargaining, along with the demand for
increased wages the workers also express their concern over the working conditions, recruitment
and training policies, environmental issues, mergers and amalgamations with other firms, pricing
policies, etc. with the intention to safeguard their interest and protect the dilution of their powers.

Collective Bargaining Agreements Are Prevalent In India:

1. Bipartite agreements:

These agreements are a result of voluntary negotiations between employer and trade
union and are binding, as per the provisions of the ID Act.

2. Settlements:

It is tripartite in nature as it involves the employer, trade union and the conciliation
officer. Settlements arise out of specific disputes which is resolved by a reconciliation officer. If,
during the conciliation proceedings, the conciliation officer believes at any point of time that
there is a possibility of reaching a settlement, then the officer may withdraw himself from the
negotiations. The parties are free to finalise the terms of the agreement and must inform the
conciliation officer within a specified timeframe if such an agreement is reached after his
withdrawal.

3. Consent awards:

These are agreements reached while a dispute is pending before an adjudicatory authority.
Such agreement is incorporated in the authority’s award and although the agreement is reached
voluntarily between parties, it becomes binding under the award passed by the authority.

Workers participation in management includes following.

 Workers participation in management provides a chance to employees in organization's
decision making process.
 The workers participation may be at the shop level, departmental level or at the top level.
 The workers participation in the management is that the willingness to share the
responsibility and accept commitment by workers in executing decisions of management
with consultation of workers.
  The workers participation is conducted through the mechanism of forums which provide
for association of workers representatives.
 the idea behind worker's participation in management is to dole of self discipline and
control among workers and for the smooth running of management.

levels of workers participation in management:

workers participation may exist in all levels of management, however it may vary from
management to management. Participation of workers in management is more likely at lower
level and less involvement at top level of management. Broadly speaking there are following file
levels of participation of workers in management.

1. Information participation of workers: It ensures that employees are able to receive

information and express their views pertaining to the matters of general economic importance.

2. Consultative participation of workers: Under this kind of workers participation in

management, May act as a consultant in the matters of workers safety, health and their welfare at
workplace. Even so, ultimate decision lie in the hands of management, only employees views are
considered as advise.

3. Associative participation of workers: This kind of workers participation in management is

next level to consultative participation. under associative participation of workers in
management, morally bound to accept and implement the opinion of employees.

4. Administrative participation of workers: Under this kind of participation of workers in

management, workers the part in discharge of managerial functions. Here employees take part in
decisions, which were already taken by the management, thereupon employees have to select the
best from those decisions for the purpose of implementation.

5. Decisive participation of workers: Decisive participation is the highest level of workers

participation in management, where employees and management together taking decisions on the
matters related to workers welfare and production related issues.

Forms of Workers’ Participation in Management

The forms of workers participation in management vary from industry to industry and
country to country depending upon the political system, pattern of management relations and
subject or area of participation. The forms of workers participation may be as follows:

 Joint Consultation Model

 Joint Decision Model
 Self Management, or Auto Management Scheme
 Workers Representation on Board
1. Joint consultation model: In the joint consultation model the management consults with the
workers before taking decisions. The workers represent their view through ‘Joint consultative
Committees’. This form is followed in United Kingdom, Sweden and Poland.

2. Joint decision model: In this form both the workers and management jointly decide and
execute the decisions. This form of participation is followed in U.S.A. and West Germany.

3. Self management of auto management: In this model, the entire control is in the hands of
workers. Yugoslavia is an example to this model. Where the state industrial units are run by the
workers under a scheme called ‘Self Management or Auto Management Scheme’.

4. Workers’ representation on board: Under this method, the workers elect their representative
and send them to the Board to participate in the decision making process.