CHARACTERISTI

CS OF
INDUSTRIAL
RELATON
SYSTEM IN
 GROUP
MEMBERS
NAME ROLL NO
SAGNIK MUKHERJEE
79
PRATIK LAHIRI
63
RUPAM MAZUMDER
75
RIMJHIM BARUAH
70
SUBHODEEP GHOSH
110
REHANA AKTER
124B
SUROJIT DEBNATH
118
RANAK DEY
124
 Introduction
What is IR ?
refers to all types of relationships between employer and employees, trade union and
management, works and union and between workers and workers.
the complex interrelations among managers, workers and agencies of the governments
the process of management dealing with one or more unions with a view to negotiate and
subsequently administer collective bargaining agreement or labour contract

Characteristics of IR in India
Employer/Management in Retrospect and Historically used to consider Trade
Unions as a necessary evil of the Industrial System
The trade union perceive their main task is to challenge and oppose decisios of
employer/mangement
Trade unions are poorly organised in the country
The parties are largely in disagreement over the cope of collective bargaining and various
issues to their negotiation process
Bargaining between employers and unions is very much centralized
The employers are highly organized
The Indian Industrial Relations is changing over time
 Evolution of IR in India
First Phase ( 1947-66; 1st & 2nd five-year plans):
Import-Substitution Industrialization
National Capitalism
Formation of large employment-intensive public enterprises
Largely centralized bargaining with static real wages.
Relative industrial peace
Growth of public sector unionism.
Government controlled & regulated IR.

Second Phase ( 1967-80; 4th & 5th five-year plans):

Considerable slowdown in employment growth & declining real wages.
Crisis in IR system : massive strikes & industrial conflict, multiple unionism & decline in
strength.
Government loosing control over the IR system.

Third Phase ( 1981-91; 6th & 7th five-year plans):

Variation in wage growth: skilled versus unskilled, labour productivity increases, period of
jobless growth.
Rise of independant enterprise unionism, several city/regional IR systems operating
Government slowly withdrawing from IR system
 Central Labour Acts

Laws related to Industrial Relations Laws related to Equality and Empowerment of Women

The Trade Unions Act, 1926 The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
The Trade Unions (Amendments) Act, 2001 The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
The Industrial Employment Act, 1946
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

Laws related to Deprived and Disadvantaged Sections of the Society

Laws related to Wages

The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2005
The Working Journalist Act, 1958
The Minimum Wages Act, 1958 Laws related to Social Security
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

Laws related to Working Hours, Conditions The Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008
of Services and Employment

Laws related to Employment and Training

The Factories Act, 1948
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959
The Mines Act, 1952
The Apprentices Act, 1961
The Contract LabourAct, 1970
The Sales Promotion Employees Act, 1976
 IR Acts and Laws
Trade Unions Act, 1926:
Till 2001, any 7 workers can form a union; amended in 2001; 10% or 100 workers in a unit,
whichever is less, minimum still 7
Distinction between registration (with the government) & recognition(by the employer as
bargaining agent); neither mandatory under this Act, (but some states have laws).
Bargaining agent: secret ballot versus check off (government verifies membership)

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947:

Objective: To settle industrial disputes & secure industrial peace
Problems:
1. No procedures to determine the representative union wihin a single bargaining unit
2. Employers not legally obliged to bargain with unions
3. Thus, no incentives for either party to engage in collective bargaining
Most contentious issue:
1. Firm employing more than 100 (reduced form 300) will need state governments prior
permission before any prposed layoffs
2. Since nearly impossible to downsize during downturns, firms reluctant to hire permanent
employees during upturns
3. These laws partly responsible for pushing newly created jobs into low productivity firms
4. Recent OCED computation (2007): Indias laws more stringent than Brazil, China & all but two
OCED countries.
 Trade Union

What is a Trade Union?

According to Lester, a trade union is
an association of employees
designed primarily to maintain or
improve the condition of employment
of its members.
A trade union performs two types of
functions-
militant(strikes,lockouts,gheraos) and
ministrant (to provide the employees
with benefits in times of need).
 After
There was large-scale unionisation of white-collar workers whereby white collar
1947
workers joined the already existing unions of blue-collar workers.
National Commission on Labour was set up in 1966.
1940-
Second World War started in 1939 and it led to a rift in AITUC leadership wherein 1946
many leaders in AITUC wanted to form a seperate Union thus giving rise to INTUC in
May 1947
1936-
There was phenomenal increase in the number of trade unions and their members 1939
due to the passing of the Government of India Act which gave increased
representation of labour in the Legislative Assemblies.
This period saw the rise of Left-wing Trade unions as the political situation in India was 1924-
favourable for the reception of Communist ideology. 1935
Number of Acts like Mines Act,Trade Unions Act,Workmens Compensation Act were
passed
1919-
During this period many ad hoc unions disappeared and several large and medium
1923
sized unions came into existence.
Indias first central organisation of labour, the AITUC was set up in 1920
1890-
Trade unions were largely sectarian in character, they lacked definite aim and had no 1918
striking power.
Evolution of Trade Union in India
 Case Study : Heavy Engineering Corporation
This case represented a typical problem on the crucial issue of recognition and the inadequacy of legal
provisions on recognition

Summary

A new tripartite wage agreement was signed between the management of HEC,
the Bihar Labour Commission and the Hatia Project Workers Union
The other agreement rejected the agreement and declared a strike till the
agreement was abrogated and few others terms and conditions were granted
Then strike, lockout and confining followed claiming a complete disruption of
normal functioning
Then the CE justified the signing of the agreement with the HPWU and the
production resumed after a long settlement
 Case Study : Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
This case upsets the traditional view of industrial relations as one between management and labour and how the lack of
recognition affected the organisation

Summary

Initially there was a single union, BHEL Employees Association affiliated to the INTUC\
A union representative was elected and all the elected persons formed the union executive
A split occured in the union and by 1986 six unions emerged in the plant and it was decided that the
voting became based on the maximum numer of votes for a union
A year later INTUC split causing major problems and the recognised union was reduced to less then
the majority, but still INTUC refused to concede
The AITUC was joined by other non-recognised unions in feelings of frustration at the managements
refual to listen to their grievances, who appeared to discuss issues with the INTUC union
The execcutives association organise a meeting of all unions but the INTUC unions refused to
attend and claimed that the executives couldnot enforce discipline because of their corruption
Althogh the association got some recognition form the top management, the feelings of frustration and
insecurity continued to haunt the managers
 Collective Bargaining
What is Collective Bargaining
a method by which problem of wages and conditions of employment are resolved peacefully and
voluntarily between labour and management
a process of bargaining between the employers and their workers by which they settle their disputes
among themselves relating to employment or non-employment or terms of employment or conditions
of labour of the workmen

Subject-matter of Collective Bargaining :

Collective Bargaining has two pronged concerns
Chalking out a broad contract of employment relationship between employers and workers
The administration of the contract

Pre-requisites for Collective Bargaining :

Effective negotiations and enforacement requires a systematic preparation of the base or ground for
bargaining which involves the following steps
Recognition of the Bargaining Agent
Deciding the Level of Bargaining
Determining the Scope and Coverage of Bargaining
Spirit of Give and Take
Good Faith and Mutual Agreement
 Collective bargaining took a more general form 1970
It widened its scope from plant or enterprise level to the onwards
industry or the national level
During this period some new trends in Collective Bargaining
also developed
1951-
In this period actual emergence of bargaining was witnessed
1969
It was established as a method of settlement of industrial
disputes and determination of terms and conditions of
employment
1920-
Bargaining was in the stage of infancy 1950
It was not a very common method of regulating labour-
management relations in India
History of Collective Bargaining in India
Collective Bargaining with all
Unions of AI
8 recognized unions , Major problem
with pilot guild but other unions
entangled in it
Govt. intervention, allocate negotiator
(N.I.T)
Pilot guild negotiation success but
other unions revolted against it
High court intervention and
 Industrial Disputes
What are Industrial Disputes ?
Any disputes or differences between employers and employees, or between employers and workmen,
or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or
the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person
It is disagreement and difference between two disputants, labour and management, on any matter
concerning them individually or collectively

Weapons used by labour and management during times of industrial disputes

Industrial Disputes

Weapons of Labour Weapons of Management

Strikes Boycott Picketing Gherao

Primary Secondary
Economics
Employerss Association Lock Out Termination of Service
General

Stay-in
Slow
Percentage Distribution of Industrial Disputes by Causes
35

30

25

20 1963
1973
1983
1991
15
1992

10

0
Salary wages and allowances Retrenchment Indiscipline and dividend
 Case Study : Reliance Industries
This case study depicts that how a single and simple decision can create an
foreseen reaction in the company

Summary

The companys leading organiser was transferred from the regional office to
companys godown
As a result the workers get very agitated and were pressurized to resign
The union protested and the dispute thus raised was referred to conciliation
After several meetings and reference to the indsutrial tribunals, the problems
was solved with the intervention of the Labour Secretary and Ministry of State for
Labour
 Employee Grievances
A grievance means any sort of
discontentment or dissatisfaction
arising in an employee related to the
enterprise where he is working. It
happens when an employee feels
something that has happened or is
going to happen is unfair,unjust or
inequitable.
 Case Study : Indian Oil Corporation
This case revealed that politicalisation was a result more of an abdiction of responsibility by the management in
the matter of industrial relations

Summary

The first recognised union demanded and signed an agreement with the management for
payment of bonus based on profits and was not affiliated to any central organisations
The dismissed employees formed another union affiliating to CITU, demanded reognition
form the management, which was refused
Elections were conducted, indicating the majority for the first union, but the second union
claimed that the results were manipulated
Following this, several troubles and agitations broke out again and the first union changes
its affiliation form AITUC to INTUC
The managemnt agreed to secret ballot elections once again but the corruption and
collusion with agencies, serious violations of the promotion policy were in the list of
grievances.
 Workers Participation in
Management
Workers Participation in Management is a
system of communication and consultation,
either formal or informal, by which employees
of an organisation are kept informed about the
affairs of the undertaking and through which
they express their opinion and contribute to
management decisions.
It is distribution of social power in industry so
that it tends to be shared among all who are
engaged in the work rather than concentrated
in the hands of minority.
Case Study : Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd.
This case reveals that how several enterprises inroduced suggestions schemes or minor consultation with
the unions and held these up as examples of participative cultute

Summary

The managers were easily accessible to employees and discussions were held with
them without any formal agreements
The management decided to open up organisational system, conducting sessions
with senior managers, middle managers and employees this increased the man power
Several joint management action groups were constituted, persisted in bringing up
new ideas related to grievances and conditions of service
In complex issues, study teams comprising union office-bearers together with the
management were established to collect data, analyse report, before decisions were taken
 Case Study : Jaipur Metals and Electricals Ltd.
This case depicts that how the agendas of workers and their committees and their proceedings
became beneficial for the enterprise in aparticular context

Summary

In 1923 the company flourished in the manufacture of house service metres inspite of the
restriction on the raw materials
In the mid 1940s the company made losses, a special scheme to rationalise employment was
adopted to make partial recovery
The government of Rajasthan took over its management and financial institutions, which had
acquired majority share-holding in the undertaking through debt onversions and a marginal profit
was earned
Then new chief executive began negotiations with the workers which culminated the
agreement a majority of the equity was passed to the workers through a credit operative
A major financial restructuring was achieved with highest-ever turnover of Rs 11 crore
The management created several other commitees for planning, production, sales and the
suggestions were made by the committee and was approved by the managing director
 Labour Welfare
What is Labour Welfare
Labour welfare activity in India was largely influenced by humanatarian principles and legislation
During early period of industrial development, efforts towards workers welfare was made largely by
social workers, and other religious leaders, mostly on humanatarian grounds.

Before Independance

The movement to improve the working conditions of Indian Labour started with the passing of the
first Indian Factories Act in 1881
Provisions relating to the better ventilation, cleanliness and for preventing over crowding in factories
were also made
The establishment of the International Labour Organization in 1919 was another important landmark
in the history of labour welfare movement in our country

After Independance

The labour welfare movement acquired new dimensions and it was relaized that labour welfare had a

positive role to play in increasing productivity and reducing industrial tensions

Various labour welfare activities were incorporated in diferent five year plans
 Case Study : Durgapur Steel Plant
This case discusses how the representatives of the union discusses with the management the
varuous problems facing the industry

Summary

The participation by the workers representatives before the reconstitution had not been of
much significance
The workers representative from Durgapur Steel Plant has been complaining that he has not
been receiving notices and agenda of the meetings in time
In 1972 Joint Consultative Machinery was established and it functioned for one year
satisfactorily
The Joint Consultative Machinery suggested that in view of the difficulty of the State Level
Committee operating effectively, the Plant Level Commitee itself should be converted into tri-
partite body with the Government participating in it in addition to the management and unions
 Case Study : Tata Iron and Steel Company
This case discusses how the committees operate within defined
areas and how they have helped in settlement of disputes

Summary

The first committee, Joint Works Commitee ceased to function

in 1919 due to the fact that the company felt that an increasing
measure of association of employees with the management is
desirable
In 1957 the two committees were decentralized into five zonal
committees each covering production problems
 Future of IR in India
In our presentation we have discussed Industrial Relation Strategy vide which we could
know different strategies for industrial relations and could also know how the Industrial
Disputes aree settld under the provisions of Acts as applicable to the concerned dispute.
In our discussions Future of Industrial Relation in India, we shall discuss the current
scenario of industrial relation in India and how workers influence such relations
From the various reports certain issues are emerging which are posing challenges to the
three factors viz., the employer, the employee and the government

- Strengthening collective bargaining by trying to determine a sole bargaining

power for negotiation
- Gaps that are occuring as a result of the variations act as enacted by State and
Central Government
- Workers participation in management and failure of these schemes to be looked
into.

Keeping in mind the above issue and the three factors we have to evaluate and decide
future strategy, which is to be adopted in managing personnel and industrial relations. The
strategy will depend on the values, objectives, structures available and the environment in
which they have to work
 Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude and heartful thanks to Professor (Mrs.) Tania Shaw
for her co-operation, immense support and guidance in preparing this
presentation.
We are also thankful to our Librarian for providing us valuable suggestions
about books for preparing this presentation.
We are also grateful to all our team members in the project for their
cooperation throughout the project .
And last but not the least we are very thankful to the internet.