Industrial Relations

Concept
In a restricted sense , IR is the relation between mgt. and the union or between representatives of employees and representatives of employers. In its widest sense , IR includes relations in all aspects of work and employment between and among the parties to an employment relationship. The term industry includes all forms of economic activity agriculture, manufacturing, services etc. Industrial relations refers to all aspects of employment relations. They are as old as industry.

Scope

The aim of the mgt. is to achieve the best results/outcomes with the least inputs, improve returns on capital and wages and working conditions of workers and offer incentives to managers to strive for continuous improvement in relations and mutual cooperation between employees and employers. The aim of workers/trade unions is to improve wages and working conditions, gain control over work, secure redressal of grievances and in some cases even pursue political action. The aim of govt. is to develop sound labour mgt relations for realizing the goals of economic and social development.

In the past ,during the era of artisan guildsthe scale and size of operations were small and relations simple and direct . This is in contrast to the modern-day complexities in the legal framework institutions and the governing industrial relations. Industrial relations are based primarily on individual perceptions of what is right in respect of fairness and the exercise of power and authority .

Importance
Governance Of Sound Industrial relations by:1.

Equity And Fairness It refers to the equal treatment to one and all under comparable circumstances. Equity and fairness are used synonymously in IR. But fairness is an objective when one applies a technical yardstick like market forces or job evaluation.

2. Power And Authority Power is the ability to influence, impose or control. It implies the use of force. Authority is the right to expect and command obedience. The law may sometimes extend or contract managerial authority to regulate the manner in which they are exercised particularly on subordinates.

3. Individualism And Collectivism An individual should have the right to join a trade union . Likewise he or she should have the right not to join a union also. But the union shop clause in a collective agreement negates the right of freedom of the individual employee where he is compelled to join a union . So, this is also monitored by the govt.

4. Integrity, Trust And Transparency To adhering to what is professed is integrity which is necessary in an org. This can be promoted by efforts to bridge the gap if any between what is said and what is done. Trust is established between and among people. Transparency is promoted through sharing of information, openness in communication and willingness to explain and reason out the motives behind decisions and actions.

Other Benefits:

1. Harmonizes the interests of ecologically sustainable economic growth with social progress and justice. 2. Generates productive employment. 3. Contributes to improvement in the productivity and quality of goods/services at economical prices. 4. Improves the well- being and quality of life of workers and their families.

Approaches To Industrial Relations

Fahlbeck Approach Acc. to him the relationship between attitudes and behaviour shapes the relations between employers and the union. Attitude Behaviour Contempt Dictatorial Adversarial Paternal Acceptance Businesslike Cooperation Participative

 1. 2. 3.

4.

He contended that employers follow one of the following 4 approaches to IR :My Boat attitude- get off , if you do not like it . Shared Boat attitude- we sail together . Do not rock the boat. Our Boat attitude- it is our own common enterprise. Let us combine our efforts to better it. Your Boat attitude- with a sense of ownership and pride, the purpose is to let employees wholeheartedly contribute to the cause of the enterprise.

The Systems Approach

Dunlop considered industrial relations a sub system of society distinct from, but overlapping ,other subsystems. He suggested that IR system could be divided into 4 interrelated elements comprising certain actors, certain contexts, and an ideology(inputs) which binds the IR system together creating a body of rules(output) to govern the actors at the workplace and the processing part includes bargaining , conciliation, arbitration, lawmaking etc.

Actors:- Managers, non-managerial employees and their representatives and specialized government agencies(and specialized private agencies created by the first two actors) concerned with IR.

Context :- Influence and constraints on the decisions of the actors which emanate from other parts of society, such as technology, market, budgetary and the locus and distribution of power in the larger society.
Ideology:- Set of ideas and beliefs commonly held by the actors that helps to bind or to integrate the system together as an entity. Rules:- The regulatory framework, developed by a range of processes and presented in variety of forms which expresses the terms and nature of the employment relationship.

Theoretical Perspectives
Unitary Pluralist Radical(marxian) Trusteeship(mahatma gandhi)

Unitary Perspective
Here employers perceive themselves as providers of job, income and social security and they believe that conflict is unnecessary. It is based on the assumption that:1. the organization is composed of a group of people under a single loyalty structure. 2. It is the right, prerogative and responsibility of the mgt. to make decisions regarding how an enterprise is to be run and how employees are to be dealt with. 3. Conflict is irrational and trade unions are avoidable.

Employers find the unitary perspective attractive because it legitimizes their authority to govern and allows them to presume that conflict is largely due to the fault of the governed and the mgt. can do no wrong. The unitarist argument is:- There is only one source of authority which is management. They own and therefore they control. Regrettably, in a large section of the unorganised sector, in both urban and rural india, and In several tiny and small scale industries in urban areas, unitarism still prevails.

Plularlist
1. It is based on the assumption that the org. is composed of individuals who make up distinct sectional groups, each with its own interests, objectives and leadership. 2. Common interest and mutual dependence are perceived as necessary for the survival of the whole of which they are parts. 3. Normative differences do not come in the way of negotiations. 4. It sees conflicts between mgt. and employees as rational and inevitable but it can be and needs to be managed and resolved.

Employees are allowed to form unions but pluralism does not always guarantee compromise because negotiations can at times end in a deadlock. Gouldner observed that the respect for rules depends on the manner of their formulation and suggested that if norms are established
through consensus and in consultation with those covered, there is a greater chance of them being accepted. Through collective bargaining employees can influence job regulation/control and it is possible to achieve a balance of power between mgt. and trade unions. So, both the parties strive to exercise economic as well as political power.

Pluralist: Input-output model

Input Conversion Output

CONFLICT
Function: Identify Differences of interest Types: 1. Micro-level organisation tensions 2. Macro-level society values & issues Forms of expression: 1. Hidden individual 2. Overt constitutional 3. Industrial pressure

RECONCILIATION
Conducted through: 1. Processes 2. Institutions 3. Levels

REGULATION
Rules: 1. Substantive or procedural 2. Internal or external to the organisation 3. Varying degrees of formality

Radical Perspective
1. It is based on the assumption that the production system is privately owned and is motivated by the profit. Control over production is exercised by the managers who are agents of owners. 2. The marxist theory of surplus value argues that conflict is necessary for social change and social change is required to end the disparity between those who own capital and those who supply labour. 3. It sees industrial conflict as synonymous with political and social conflicts. 4. It considers pluralism as mere illusion . 5. It believes that conflict can not be controlled as long as capitalism prevails.

6. It favours transformation of trade unions into revolutionary organizations. 7. He said that the legal framework of employment supports the interests of management. The law gives the employer the right to issue orders while imposing on the workers the duty to obey. 8. Marx believed that only trade union consciousness without classconsciousness is not enough.

Trusteeship
It was introduced by mahatma gandhi . A trustee is one who holds property in trust for others. It becomes trusteeship when a company accepts its total responsibility and when mgts role becomes that of balancing all the claims upon the company on the basis of seeking justice as the aim of business. A co. is not a human person therefore it cannot have a human soul. What it can and should have is a corporate personality which enables its managers and employees to realize that they are serving the community through the company. He believed that people should keep the minimum of wealth for themselves to be able to lead a life that millions lead and give up the rest to be held in trust for the greatest good of all. But it is an idea and an idea that is still evolving and is not sufficiently crystallized for implementation in letter and spirit.

Conclusion
Whatever the perspective, conflict is inherent in industrial relations due to tensions of command and subordination, competitiveness, exploitation, physical deprivation at work and economic security. Conflict may arise due to : Wage-work bargain, Managerial system of work governance, or fundamental divisions and differing values in society.

Conflict manifests itself in one or more of the following forms :1. Relatively hidden and unorganised individual ways such as high labour turnover, accidents etc.
2. Grievances, indiscipline etc. 3. Strikes or other forms of industrial action, overt (strike/lockout) or covert(go-slow etc.)