Industrial Dispute Act 1947

As per section 2 (k) of Industrial

DisputesAct1947, Industrial Dispute is defined
as any dispute or difference between
employers and employers or between
employers and workmen or between
workmen and workmen which is connected
with the employment or non-employment or
the terms employment or with the condition
of labour of any person
 What is an Industrial Dispute?
Industrial dispute means any dispute or
difference between:
i) Employers and employees,
ii) Employers and workmen, or
iii) Workmen and workmen, which is connected
with
(a) the employment or non-employment,
(b) the terms of employment or
(c) the conditions of Labour of any person.
 OBJECTIVES
Promotion of measures for securing and
preserving amity and good relation between
the employers and workers
Investigation and settlement of industrial
disputes
Prevention of illegal strikes and lockouts
Relief to workmen in the matter of layoff and
retrenchment
Promotion of collective bargaining
 Features
This act extends to the whole of India including the state of Jammu
and Kashmir
It encourages arbitration (mediation) over the disputes between
employers and employees
It provides for setting up of works committees as machinery for
mutual consultation between employers and employees to
promote cordial relation
This Act paved the way for setting up permanent conciliation
machinery at various stages having definite time limits for
conciliation and arbitration
This Act emphasis on compulsory adjudication besides conciliation
and voluntary arbitration of Industrial Disputes
(Adjudication means a formal judgement on a disputed matter)
 Workmen
WORKMEN - Sec 2(s)Means any person
including an apprentice employed in any
industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled,
technical, operational, clerical or supervisory
work for hire or reward the terms of
employment be express or implied and there
should be a contractual relationship between
master and servant
 Industry
Section 2(j) Industry means any systematic
activity carried on by co-operation between
an employer and his workmen (whether such
workmen are employed by such employer
directly of by through any agency, including a
contractor) for the production, supply or
distribution of goods or services with a view to
satisfy human wants or wishes.
 Causes for Industrial Disputes
Economic factors
Non economic factors
Management practices
Trade union practices
 Economic factors
Economic needs are the basic for the human being, if
these are not satisfied there will be conflict in the
factory. Economic factors of industrial disputes include
issues relating to compensation, which are as follows:
Demand for higher wages- cost of living
Demand for allowances and bonus- dearness
allowance, house allowances, medical allowances etc.
High industrial profits- in the changing world , concept
of labour has changed considerably. At present,
employers consider themselves as a partner of the
industry and demand their share in the profit
 Non Economic Factors
Working conditions and working hours
Modernization and automation of plant and machinery
Personnel causes- dismissal, retrenchment, layoff, transfer
etc.
Political causes- various political parties controls the trade
unions and put pressure on workers.
Indiscipline- disputes also take place on part of the
workforce due to violation of rules.
Non recognition of trade union
Weakness of trade union.- due to weak trade union some
employees protest themselves against the employer for
their rights so dispute arises.
 3. Management practices
Unfair labour practices
Ineffective supervision
Violation of acceptable norms
( norms in the sense code of discipline,
grievance procedures, agreements entered into
between lab our and management,
discrimination in giving promotion and providing
training etc.)
 4. Trade union practices
1: union rivalry:
there is problem of multiciplity of trade union in
india.
In such case each union claims to precede the
causes of workers so as to attract them to its fold.
The result is that any settlement arrived at
between management and a union is opposed
by other union.
So such rivalry among union leads to violence and
other similar problems.
2. non- cooperative approach:
Many trade unions and their leaders proceed
on the assumption that what they do is right
and what management does is wrong
 5. Legal and Political factors
There are many legal and political factors,
which unnecessarily interfere in the industrial
relations system of an organisation or in
industry as a whole.
These factors may be grouped into two
categories:
Multiplicity of labour laws and political
interference
 Various authorities under industrial
disputes act for settlement of industrial
dispute.
Works committee (section 3)
Conciliation officer (section 4)
Board of conciliation (sec 5)
Courts of Inquiry (sec 6)
Labour court (sect 7)
Industrial tribunal (sec 7-A)
National tribunal (sec 7-B)
 Works committee (section 3)

More than one hundred or more workmen are

employed- the appropriate government may
by general or special order require the
employer to constitute a work committee.
It shall consists of representatives of employer
and workmen.
The number of representatives of workmen
on the committee shall not less than the
number of representatives of the employer.
 Duties of work committee
To promote measures for securing and
preserving amity and good relations between
the employer and workmen.
Comment up on matters of their common
interest
Endeavor to compose any material difference
of opinion in respect of such matters.
 2. Conciliation officer
According to the industrial disputes act 1947 the
central and state govt can appoint a conciliation officer
to mediate in all disputes brought to notice.
The appropriate govt has been empowered under of
the industrial dispute act to appoint such number of
persons as it think fit.
The appointment is made in the official gazette.
The officer enjoys the powers as a civil court.
He is expected to give judgement within 14 days of the
commencement of the conciliation procedings.
 Duties of conciliation officers
It is the duty of the officer to bring about
settlement of the dispute without delay,
investigate the dispute and all matters.
Is settlement is arrived a report should be sent
to appropriate govt
If settlement is not arrived again a report
should sent to govt mentioning the reasons.
A report shall be submitted within 14 days.
 Powers of conciliation officers
A conciliation officer may for the purpose of
inquiry into any existing or apprehended
industrial dispute, after giving reasonable notice,
enter the premises occupied by any
establishment to which the dispute relates.
A conciliation officer may enforce the attendance
of any persons for the purpose of examination of
such person or call for and inspect any document
which he has ground for considering to be
relevant to the industrial dispute.
 For the purpose of above he will have the
same powers are the vested in civil court
under the civil procedure code, 1908 in
respect of enforcing the attendance of any
person and examining or of compelling the
production of documents.
 3. Court of inquiry
In the case the conciliation proceedings fail to
resolve a dispute a court of inquiry is constituted
by the government to investigate the dispute and
submit the report with in 6 month
It is merely a fact finding body
A court of inquiry consists of one independent
person or such number of independent persons
as the appropriate govt thinks fit.
 duties
A court shall inquire into the matters referred
to it and report thereon to the appropriate
govt with in a period of 6 months.
The report of the court shall be in writing and
signed by all the members of the court.
The report together within the minutes shall
be published within a a period of 30 days by
receipt by the appropriate govt.
 5. Labour court
The appropriate court may, by notification in
the official gazette, constitute one or more
labour courts for adjudication of industrial
disputes relating to any mattered specified in
the second schedule,our
The labour court consists of of one person
only to be appointed by the appropriate govt.
The person so appointed is known as presiding
officer of a labour court.
 Qualification of the presiding officer
He is or has been a judge of a high court or
He has for a period of not less than three
years, been a district judge
He had held any judicial office in india for not
less than 7 years.
He had been the presiding officer of a labour
court for not less than 5 years.
 6. Industrial tribunal
The appropriate govt may be notification in
the official gazatte, constitute one or more
industrial tribunal for the adjudication of
disputes.
This is a one man adhoc body ( presiding
officer)
 Qualification of presiding officer for
tribunal
He is or has been a judge of high court or
He has, for a period of not less than three
years, been a district judge or an additional
district judge.
 National tribunal
This is the third one-man adjudicatory body to
be appointed by the central government to
deal with disputes of national importance
issues.
The tribunal shall consists of one person not
below the rank of a high court judge and not
below 65 years of age.
Powers of authorities under the act
Powers to enter premises
Powers of civil courts
Power to call for and inspect documents.
Power to appoint assessors.
Power to determine the costs.
 strike
A strike is a spontaneous and concerted
withdrawal of labour from production
temporarily.
It is a collective stoppage of work by a group
of workers for pressuring their employers to
accept certain demands.
 Causes of strike
Trade union recognition
Dispute over long hours of work
Working arrangement and conditions
Wage disputes
Lack of promotional programmes.
Unequal workloads
 Types of strike
Stay away strike
Stay in strike or sit down strike
Tools down, pen down or mouth shut strike
Token or protest strike
Go slow strikes
Hunger strike
Gherao- it is a physical blockade of a target either
by encirclement, intended to block the regress
and ingress from and to a particular office. etc
 Payment of wages act 1936
The payment of wages act 1936, was passed to
regulate the payment of wages to certain classes
of persons employed in industry.
It is essentially meant for the benefit of industrial
employees not getting very high wages and the
provisions of the act were enacted to safeguard
their interest.
It is also provides against irregularities in
payment of wages and unauthorized deductions
therefore by the employers.
 Main object of the act
The main object of the act is to provide that
employed persons shall be paid wages in a
particular form, at regular intervals and
without any unauthorized deduction
 wages
Wages means all remuneration ( whether by
way of salary, allowance or otherwise)
expressed in terms of money or capable of
being so expressed which would, if the terms
of employment, expressed or implied, were
fulfilled, be payable to a person employed in
respect of his employment or of work done in
such employment and includes;.
(a) any remuneration payable under any award
or settlement between the parties or order of a
court (b) any remuneration to which a person
employed is entitled in respect of over-time
work or holidays or any leave period(c ) any
additional remuneration payable under the
terms of employment (d ) any sum of
termination of employment of the person
employed, is payable under the law
 Wages does not include
Bonus
The value of house accommodation or the
supply of light, water etc
Travelling allowance
Any gratuity
 Rules for payment of wages
(1. responsibility for payment of wages
section 3)
Every employer shall be responsible for the payment of all wages
required to be paid under this act to persons employed by him and
in case of persons employed. However, in case of persons
employed:
(1) in factories, if a person has been named as the manager of the
factory under section 7(1) of the factories act 1948
(2)In industrial or other establishment, if there is a person
responsible to the employer for the supervision and control of
industrial or other establishment.
(3 )Upon railways if the employer is the railway administration and
the railway administration has nominated a person in this behalf for
the local area concerned.
 2. Fixation of wage periods (sec 4)
Every person responsible for the payment of
wages under section 3 shall fix periods, known
as wage period, in respect of which such
wages shall be payable.
A wage period shall not exceed 1 month.
3 Time of payment of wages (sec5)
Wages to be paid before 7th/10th day of the
following wage period.
In case of termination of employment: in case
of termination of employment of any person
by or on behalf of the employer, the wages
earned by him shall be paid before the expiry
of the second day from the day on which
employment is so terminated.
 Deduction from wages( section 7)
Meaning of deduction (section 7(1)
section 7 ( 1) provides that not withstanding
the provisions the railways act 1989, the wages
of an employed person shall be paid to him
without any deductions of any kind except
those authorized by or under this act.
 Authorized deduction from wages
Meaning of authorized deduction- as per sec 7
(i) any loss of wages resulting from the
imposition of the penalties of following nature
are terminated as authorized deductions
 The following deductions are
permitted
( a)Fines: deductions by way of the fine from the wages
of an employed person shall be made only in accordance
with the provisions of the act, which are as follows:
(a) an employed person can be fined only for acts and
omissions which are specified in a list which is approved
by the state govt or the prescribed authority.
(b) The list must be exhibited in the place of work.
( c ) before the fine is imposed on an employed person
he must be given an opportunity of showing cause for
fine.
( d ) the total
 Payment of Bonus Act 1965
Bonus is a concept referring to ex gratia
payment or a payment by way of gift.
Normally the term bonus implies an extra
payment over and above what Is due to the
person concerned given as a voluntary gift.
 Objects of the act
To impose statutory liability upon an employer of
every establishment covered by the act to pay
bonus to employees in the establishment.
To define the principle of payment of bonus
according to the prescribed formula.
To provide for payment of minimum and
maximum bonus and linking the payment of
bonus with the scheme of set-off and set-on.
To provide machinery for enforcement of the
liability for payment of bonus.
 Set-on
Where for any accounting year, the allocable
surplus exceeds the amount of maximum
bonus payable to the employees in the
establishment under section 11, then the
excess shall subject to a limit of 20 percent of
the total salary or wage of the employees
employed in the establishment in that
accounting year, be carried forward for being
set on in the succeeding accounting year.