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Industrial Disputes

Dr. Sasmita Mishra


What is a dispute?
• Disciplinary disputes

These can
• Grievance disputes
be
collective
or
• Industrial disputes individual!
Definition
• Academically speaking, industrial dispute
refers to any conflict between employees
and employers, between employers and
employers and between employees and
employees.

• But in reality, dispute is


understood as the conflict
between employees and
employers
Industrial dispute Act, 1947
Industrial dispute means 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 terms of employment
or with the conditions of labour of
any person.
Causes of Dispute
• Wages
• Union rivalry
• Political interference
• Unfair labour practices
• Multiplicity of labour laws
• others
Types of Trade Union
Craft Unions – supports skilled
craftsmen, e.g. Musicians’ Union

Industrial Unions – grew from


traditional heavy industrial e.g.
Union of Shop, Distribution Workers
(USDAW)
General Unions – usually semi-skilled
and unskilled workers e.g. GMB

White Collar Unions – people working


in clerical jobs e.g. UNISON
Industrial Action
Go-slow
Carry out work slower
Overtime bans than normal
Picketing
members refuse Members stand
to work overtime outside
Sit-ins
Members occupy the firm
buildings to
publicise their
protest
Work-to-rule Strikes
Members follow their Members withdraw
job description their labour
Settlement of Disputes

Collective Arbitration
bargaining

Dispute
Code of Discipline settlement Conciliation

Grievance Consultative
Adjudication
procedures machinery
Collective Bargaining
Takes place when representatives of a labour union
meet management representatives to determine
employees’ wages and benefits and to solve other
issues. Collective bargaining is the most effective
method of resolving industrial disputes

Approaches to collective
bargaining
• As a process of social change
• As a peace treaty between conflicting
parties
• As a system of industrial jurisprudence
Collective Bargaining
• Importance
– It helps increase economic strength of both the
parties at the same time protecting their interest
– It helps establish uniform conditions of employment
with a view to avoid occurrence of industrial disputes
– It helps resolve disputes when they occur
– It delays down rules and norms for dealing with
labour
– It helps usher in democratic principles
into the industrial world
Collective Bargaining
• Strategic choices
– Managers must decide when to open
the negotiations
– Managers must examine the possibility
of a strike and decide on the ways of
handling it, should it occur.
– It is important to understand which
issue to raise first and which to wait for.
– Decide who would represent
– Managers need to decide how closely
they will follow the agreement, once it
is signed.
Collective Bargaining Process
Environment
Preparing for negotiation

Bargaining issues

Negotiating

Negotiation Yes
Overcoming breakdowns
breakdown
No
Reaching the agreement

Ratifying the agreement

Administration of the
agreement
Status of Collective Bargaining

Year No. of Issues


agreement Minority Health and Personnel
s welfare

1988 959 225 74 620


1989 961 164 44 733
1990 886 243 104 766
1991 787 205 108 670
Code of Discipline
• Just as there are code of ethics, there
are codes of discipline.
• A code of discipline defines duties
and responsibilities of employers and
employees
Grievance procedure
Stage 4
Complaint to union
No
Yes Grievance resolved

Stage 3
Complaint to divisional head
No
Yes Grievance resolved

Stage 2
Complaint to department head
No
Yes Grievance resolved

Stage 1
Complaint to section head
Arbitration
• Arbitration is another method of resolving
industrial disputes.
• It refers to a procedure in which a neutral
third party studies the dispute, listens to
both the parties and collects information,
and makes recommendations which are
binding on both the parties.
Arbitration and industrial dispute Act, 1947
Section 10-A provides that where any industrial
dispute exists or is apprehended, and the employer
and the workmen agree to refer the
dispute to arbitration, they may do so by a
written agreement.
Conciliation
Conciliation is a process by which
representatives of workers and employers
are brought together before a third party
with a view to persuading them to arrive
at an agreement by mutual discussion
between them.

Industrial dispute Act, 1947, Sec 4


Adjudication
• Adjudication means
a mendatory
settlement of an
industrial dispute
by a labour court or
a tribunal.
Consultative Mechanism
• Indian Labour Conference (ILC)
• Standing Labour Committee (SLC)
Thank You

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