LABOUR RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

The HISTORY OF LABOUR RELATIONS beginning in the United States, labor relations gained a
huge boost in the country with the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935. This act
covered a wide range of labour rights, including the right to strike, the right to bargain as a union, and
a general right to protest and take action to achieve their desires.
It was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1937.and Labor law (or employment law) issued, this is the
body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions
on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects
of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees. There are two broad categories
of labor law.
First, collective labor law relates employee, employer and union.
Second, individual labor law concerns employees' rights at work and through the contract for work.
The labor movement has been instrumental in the enacting of laws protecting labor rights in the 19th
and 20th centuries.
Labor rights have been integral to the social and economic development since the industrial
revolution.
The basic feature of labor law in almost every country is that the rights and obliges- tions of
the worker and the employer.
In Pakistani labor laws trace their origination to legislation inherited from India at the time of
partition of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. The laws have evolved through a continuous process
of trial to meet the socio-economic conditions, state of industrial development, population
and labour force explosion, growth of trade unions, level of literacy, Government’s
commitment to development and social welfare. To meet the above named objectives, the
government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has introduced a number of labour
policies, since its independence to mirror the shifts in governance from martial law to
democratic governance. Under the Constitution,labour is regarded as a ‘concurrent subject’,
which means that it is the responsibility of both the Federal and Provincial
Governments.However,for the sake of uniformity, laws are enacted by the Federal
Government, stipulating that Provincial Governments may make rules and regulations of
their own according to the conditions prevailing in or for the specific requirements of the
Provinces. The total labour force of Pakistan is comprised of approximately 37.15 million
people, with 47% within the agriculture sector, 10.50% in the manufacturing & mining sector
and remaining 42.50% in various other professions.The Constitution of Pakistan contains a
range of provisions with regards to labor rights found in Fundamental Rights and Principles
of Policy.

Harmonious relations in every sphere of human activity are important for socio-economic
progress. Establishing and maintaining smooth and cordial relations between labour and
management, in particular, is of utmost importance, especially in Pakistan which occupies a
low position in the national industrial scenario, where resources are limited, population is
growing at an alarming rate and hence industrial progress is the prime need. Mere technical
efficiency, modern machinery, good plant layout and dynamic organizations etc, are not
enough to make a business profitable and lead to economic growth and social
improvements. It is harmonious and constructive labor-management relationship in
industry, which plays almost a decisive role in this respect. Unfortunately, increasing
complexity of modern industrial system has widened the gap between the employers and the
employees more than ever before, the distributional disparities have worsened and
discontent and frustration at the lower levels of organizations have heightened. This gap has
created serious types of industrial conflicts in labour-management relations, resulting in
fall of production, increase in prices and creation of adverse balance and maximization of
national wealth and can easily be transcribed as threats to the welfare of the people.