INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Asim Talukdar
Shri Ram Center of IR, HR, Economic & Social Development

16th May, 2013

Industrial Relations Nature and Scope

Whole field of employer employee relationship
Concerned with approaches regarding planning and execution of activities
that impact the well-being of employees and the organization

A discipline pertaining to procedures, practices, rules, and regulations

governing employment relationship
More an applied field concerned with practice and training of practitioners
than with theory and measurement

Inter-disciplinary in content and draws from various social sciences

Focus on
Employer-employee relations
Union-Management relations
Union-member relations
Inter-personal and Inter-group relations
Inter-union relations

ROOTS
OF
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Combined Effect of Three Revolutions

Industrial
Revolution

Democratic
Revolution

Capitalist
Revolution

INDUTRIAL REVOLUTION
Beginning : 1769
Patent for Steam Engine-

James Watt

Patent for Cotton Spinning Water frame -

Richard Arkwright

Four Aspects of Industrial Revolution

ASPECT I
Technolo
gy
Substituti
on of
Human
lablour

Org.
Revoln.
Factory,
Large
corporat
ion

ASPECT II
Free
Labour
Market
Labour
Mobility

Core & Common

Employer
Employee
Relatn.
Contact

ASPECT III
Timing:
UK,
France,
US,
Germa
ny

Role of
State

Diversity

ASPECT IV
Industrial
production
Concentration
to fewer
countries.
21st Century
Part way
progress

DOMECRATIC REVOLUTION
Revolution in Political Governance and Social Contracts of Human Rights
Root is again in England : Magna Catra 1215- Movement towards Democracy
1776: American Colonists declared Independence : Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness
1789 : France Revolution:

Declaration of Rights of Man

Rest of world including Europe: Rules Kings, Emperors, Czars,- Personal power
Serfdom and slavery widely practices till first half of Nineteenth century
British Abolition of Slave Trade Act (1807) and Slavery Abolition Act (1833) , and
Emancipation Proclamation ( 1863) by President Lincoln ( path of democracy & Human
Right)

UK and US both move from partial suffrage in 1830s to universal suffrage in 1920
Slow progress in Europe in nineteenth centaury,. Unknown to rest of the world
1871 -3rd French revolution, birth of 3rth republic- Limited P D
Beginning 20th century , irresistible momentum through out west

Industrial Revolution

Democratic Revolution

INDUTRIAL DEMECRACY

THE CAPATALIST REVOLUTION

Began in late 18th Century
Market Economy and Capitalism : A close linkage
Private Property : Foundation of Capitalism
Birth of Market Economy- Adam Smiths Wealth of nations in 1776 year
Marx and Engels : Tribute to capitalism and competitive market
Employment Relations: A natural outgrowth of capitalism
Employment Relations = Wage Relations
Labour : Commodity traded at market
Employment Relations Conflict of interest between two parties

Labour, though commodity but has human essence; labour exchange more complex
that other commodes, essence of human
Goal of Employer: Manage as effectively and as efficiently as possible to add to profit
Employer- Employee : Asymmetric Authority

Impact of growing democratic Impulse of 19th century- Autocracy in different shape

CLASS, CONFLICT AND UNIONS

Industrial Revolution + Capitalism + Industrial Democracy
Age of
Pauperism

Over 19th and Early 20th Century

Emergence of working class
Benefits
consciousness
Substantial increase per Capita income
Worker led protests & strikes
Improved working condition
Worker created Trade Union
Reduced working hours
Collective Action,

Emergence Working class: Wage Earner + Separate & Distinct

+ also excluded, Exploited and Repressed

Parallel growth of violence and conflict: Locus and form of conflict shifted
Early 19th Century : Machinesmashing binge Ned Ludd in Britain
Labour Wars:
Homestead Steel Strike , 1892 in US
Pullman rail road strike, 1894
Massive strike Railway & Docks in Britain, 1902
Series of general strikes in France, Italy and Spain in late 1980s and early 1900s

CLASS, CONFLICT AND UNIONS

Emergence of Union in modern form ( 19th Century)
Early 19th century, Union ( all courtiers of Europe and North America) started out of
economic-oriented bodies: Minimum Pay rate and limit on working hours
Market power for Skilled Workers: Craft based unions
Early stage, Govt. & court hostility towards TUs: In France and Germany unionist
were jailed
Historic inflection point in labour histories in Anglo-American

countries and

European continent : Industrialism & Capitalism gathered speed, so is ranks of wage

earners and their propensity to form union

UK and US 1830s onward : Incremental reform - Road of political & economic

accommodation of labour, suffrage to working class, pressure of middle class, about
voice in national polity, legal space to grow and practice collective bargaining
Different direction in continental Europe , other countries ( Japan, Argentina)

THE PRELUDE TO INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS:

THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Labour Problem : The greatest domestic challenge for Western Initialising country
in the years before 1st World Ward

Five fold increase of union membership giving birth to Labour party in 1906 in
UK
Decade before the 1st World war unregulated tradition economic order and laissezfaire capitalism under increasing challenge

Outbreak of 1st world war changed the rule of the game

Full employment : need for greater production of war goods
Labour response to Scarcity & raising inflation: Waves of Strikes, demand
for higher wages, shorter working hours
In search for new employment model: Managing labour, Welfare measures,
interested in reforms
Switch of Govt approach: Indifferent-repressive to accommodation and support

THE PRELUDE TO INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: THE FIRST

WORLD WAR
The greatest Impetus of Change: Proclaiming Russia as Socialist Workers State by
Bolsheviks
Socialist Revolution seemed real: Proclamation of a Soviet Republic in Bavaria and
Hungary, Overthrow of imperial German Govt., Attempt to assassinate French Premier
To direction for Govt., Employers and Middle Class: Armed force or meaningful labour
reform Better wages, working condition, voice and protection in the work place,
security from unemployment
Variation s in forms of labour reforms in countries ; Common element: Tolerance and
event support collective form of workers voice
UK form

Whitley councils, Germany set-up workers councils, US formed several

hundred shop committees, forbade employer from union discrimination

High level commissions and investigation on labour reforms by industrialised countries

Birth of field of Industrial Relations

18th, 19th & Early 20th century: Interplay The Industrial Revolution, The
Demotic Revolution and The Capitalistic Revolution gave led to
emergence to working class, Conflict and Union in UK, North America &
European Courtiers
Rest of world struggling with feudalism ; norm being agrarian society
2nd half of 19th century and early 20th marked with massive labour

conflicts.
2nd World War , perhaps, the inflection point of radical change of Govt.
and Employers approach to labour problem

Raise of labour problem to Crisis proportion

paved opportunity for

meaningful and comprehensive reform of work and employment relations

Result: Birth of field of Industrial Relations