JUDICIAL TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

SUBMITTED BY AJIT KUMAR SHARMA (ROLLNO. 1303), B.A.L.L.B (HONS.)

SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR DR. S.C.ROY ( FACULTY OF LAW)

FINAL DRAFT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE COURSE

LABOUR LAW-I FOR THE COMPLETION OF B.A.L.L.B. (HONS.) COURSE

APRIL,2017
SESSION 2015-2020

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

NYAYA NAGAR, MITHAPUR
PATNA

1 | Page
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The role of management and trade unions in settlement of industrial disputes is very
important and dynamic concept specially in India where the relations between capital and
labour is very critical in view of poverty, illiteracy, and the ignorance of the majority of the
workers in organized industry and also in unorganized sectors. Therefore always many
conflicts between these two parties arise frequently posing a great threat to the industrial
peace and production is affected and ultimately the progress of the society gets crippled at
this juncture, is set rite the machine of industry for the progress of the nation, it is the
responsibility or obligation of the judiciary to interfere and settle the disputes. The role of the
judiciary is very significant in providing social justice to the workers by the eminent judges.
Justice Krishna Iyer in the case of Indian Express News Papers Pvt. Ltd., Vs Indian Express
News Papers Employees Union1 said that industrial jurisprudence is not static, rigid or
textually cold but dynamic, burgeoning and warm with life. It answers in emphatic negative
to the biblical interrogation. The Industrial Tribunal of India in the areas unoccupied by
precise block letter law, go by the constitutional mandate of social justice in the claims of the
little people. It can be pointed out here that in every state certain ideas or values will be
followed and they can be achieved through various laws. These values are very important to
the society because through these values the state desires to mould the society. In India
these values are fundamental Principles which are projected in the Constitution. The
Constitution of India embodies the noble and grand vision of liberty, equality, and fraternity
and also promise to secure social, economic and political justice. The Constitution of India
desires to attain these goals through the legislation and judiciary. In this manner the
Constitution has served as basis for jurisprudence The same is true in the case of industrial .
jurisprudence, therefore it is said that India Constitutional law is the touch stone to the
development of industrial jurisprudence in India. The industrial jurisprudence in India is
value oriented and seeks to attain a very just and social order. The Industrial Dispute Act,
1947 is a peace of welfare legislation desired in achieving social as well as economic justice
which is the aim of industrial jurisprudence. In the early periods of Industrial Revolution,
Laissez Faire continued to rule for fight some time. Under the system of Laissez faire
the activities of Government are very limited to collection of revenues and maintenance of
peace and order and defense against external threats or aggression. This type of Government
1 1978, I LLJ II (SC), pp.12 13.

2 | Page
laid to many social problems including anarchy in industrial relations and exploitation of
labour giving rise to many serious social tensions. But after some time the Industrial workers
had self conscious and started understanding or realizing their importance for the industry to
organize themselves into unions and also started representing their grievances to the
authorities concern including the employers. This type of approaches by the workers was
resisted by the employers not only by using physical force, but also by the use of penal
provisions of law for some time but could not be continued for a longer period. This type of
action taken by the employers resulted into some sort of social consciousness of the needy
laid for framing the better working and service conditions. This was also required the support
of the law and ultimately many labour laws have been passed for the welfare and protection
of the industrial workers and ultimately this led to the birth of industrial jurisprudence which
has been recognized by the state and society.

3 | Page
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study to
(i) To study the importance of industrial jurisprudence.
(ii) To study the judicial response in Trade union freedoms.
(iii) To study the rights to strike of employee.

HYPOTHESIS
The researcher comes with the following hypothesis that he role of judiciary is very
significant in providing social justice to the workers by eminent Judges.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The researcher depend upon the existing materials like books, case laws, thus the researcher
will opt doctrinal method of research. The researcher will visit library and refer the primary
and secondary sources available there.

SOURCES OF DATA
The researcher went for primary and secondary sources of data. Secondary sources are all
those work done on primary sources.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The researcher had time limitation as he has to complete this project within one month.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research will be a source for a further researcher. This research will give him/her the
basic ideas in a very simple manner.

CHAPTER II

4 | Page
 IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRIAL JURISPRUDENCE
The compound word industrial jurisprudence is the combination of two independent words
Industry and Jurisprudence. The term Jurisprudence is derived from latin word
Jurisprudentia and is a combination of Juris and Prudence which literally means
knowledge of law. In this generic and primary sense jurisprudence includes the entire
body of legal doctrine.2 Holland3 describes it as the formal science of positive law and
Allen as the scientific synthesis of the essential principles of law. According to Patten
Jurisprudence is a particular method of study and not of the law of one country but of the
general notion of the law itself which is not primarily interested in cataloguing uniformities,
nor in discovering rules which all nations accept, but to study the nature of law, the nature of
legal institutions and their relationship with the society. There can be no law without
Legislative Act said Austin in his Jurisprudence, 4 and yet for framing of laws, jural basis or
sources of laws are required. Whatever be the source, it indicates an idea or value which
the particular law seeks to achieve. These values are of utmost importance to the society as
upon their achievement depends on the future shape of the society itself. Indeed every law
should indicate the choice of value made by the society and all its processes should work
towards its achievement. This is particularly true about Indian industrial jurisprudence, which
is value oriented and seeks to achieve a just and fair social order in actuality through the
process of law . The emergence of industrial society because of industrial revolutions and
commencement of industrialization in the 18th century has changed and modified the
structure of the society. The progress of the industry has direct effect on industrial towns as
well as big industrial towns and positively resulted into industrial progress converting globe
into a big workshop. What in these circumstances become primarily important was better and
harmonious relationship between employer and employees not as a master and slave, nor as
master and serf nor even as master and servant, but as employer and employee came to be
recognized and considered equal partners in the industry in the course of time. The age old
theory of laissez faire based upon the so called freedom of contact was found inadequate
and wanting for the development of harmonious and amicable relations between the

2 P.J. Fitzagerald, Salmond on Jurisprudence, Chap 1 Universal Law Publishing

Co. Ltd., 2003, at p.2

3 T.E.Holland, Elements of Jurisprudence, Chap 1, 13th Edn., Oxford.

4 G.M.Kothari,Labour & Practice, vol. I, 1980, p. A 3.

5 | Page
employers and employees and could not secure the close cooperation of the two. The concept
of prevailing jurisprudence were to legalistic to achieve this objects it learned too much on
the theory of natural rights and misconstrued them . Industrial jurisprudence covers almost
all the aspects attached with industrialization and its scope is very vast and it touches all the
corners such as social, political, economical, ethical and global of industrialization. Every
legal problem concerning about labour are industrial person comes under the industrial
jurisprudence. Inspite of the importance of the industrial jurisprudence it is not free from
restrictions, or limitations. In the first instance, the industrial jurisprudence is desires to
regulate the human relation problem, which is only a part of the whole society and therefore
it would be restricted to that in its application and secondly it is based upon principles of
social justice. Inspite of many limitations the industrial jurisprudence will have to take a final
shape in future by taking all precautions for making good relations between employers and
employees. The importance of industrial jurisprudence can be seen from different directions
or angles. It is concerned about all industrial related aspects and hence is of all pervading
nature it effects almost all the Industrialization being complex multi faced phenomenon,
industrial jurisprudence cover all aspects attached with the industry.

6 | Page
 CHAPTER III
TRADE UNION FREEDOMSJUDICIAL RESPONSES
Trade union freedoms are the basic feature of a free, open and liberal society where
regulatory processes are merely connective and secondary nature for accelerating the path
and direction of trade unions towards self reliance, self control and inner and outer
democracy and all its feature and processes. In such social and political frame work legal and
judicial process have helped in consolidating the trade union freedoms in all its facets and
features. It is appropriate to mention here the words of Franklin D Rusevelt, President of
United States of America that I see an American where the workers are really free through
their great union and dominated by outside force or any director within, can take their proper
place in the commercial tables, with the owners and managers of business where the dignity
and security of the working man and woman are guaranteed by their strength and fortified by
the safeguard of the law.5 However the picture of India with regard to trade union freedoms
is quite different to the American situations. In India the Trade union philosophy and
movement as it birth pangs in the social milieu of economic exploitation, political oppression
and ideological hostility which emanated from the dominant groups which viewed trade
union freedom suspicious indifference and total opposition. Hence, both regulating and
judicial process before and after independence become the major instruments or defeating or
denying and controlling trade union freedoms . It can be said that in the earlier times in India
the primitive colonial Trade Union Act, 1926, and the various public safety ordinances.
Essential Services Act, Criminal Law Amendment Act, The Indian Penal Code, The Police
Act and the Criminal Procedure Code, are a few examples, only such an attitude persist in the
last decades of the 20th century in the guise of National Security Act, 1980 and the Essential
Services Maintenance Act. In so far as Indian adjudicatory processes as embodied in the
Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 and other labour management laws is concerned, it has been
tilting towards social justice rather than trade union freedoms.6 The evolution and a viable
industrial jurisprudence for productivity and improved industrial relations and successful
achievement of Trade Union Freedoms are important developments for land economic
progress The Supreme Court in India and High Courts under the parameters of constitutional

5 V.R..Krishna Iyer, Law Vs Justice problems & solutions, 1981, p. 114.

6 Ganga Sahai Sharma: Trade Union Freedoms in India, 1990, P 189.

7 | Page
philosophy have played a unique role through power of judicial review which has tendered to
revolutionize the methods, approaches and interpretations opposed to attitude adopted by the
employers slowly and systematically a new industrial jurisprudence as grown with a decisive
thought towards social justice. Faith in the rule of law compels us to understand the
implication of Constitutional Law in labour relations and industrial adjudication. The
contributions made by higher judiciary in India in this direction has been largely positive. It
has not merely supplemented and strengthened the legal provisions but several cases as
character a new course of action. In earlier times labour cases decided around 1948 the High
Court dismissed out of hand a demand by the trade union leaders for a higher wages on the
ground that the court cannot alter the contractual obligations between the parties after this
case. The then Federal Court in the case of Western India Automobile Association Vs
Industrial Tribunal7 had pointed out that in the interest of social justice with a view to
securing peace and harmony between the employer and the workman industrial adjudication
impose new obligation or abolish the old ones or after the existing terms and conditions of
employment if it thought to do so. This opinion of the Federal Court was supported
subsequently by the Supreme Court in Bharat Bank Ltd. Vs The Employees of Bharat Bank
Ltd.8 and other subsequent cases. It is very interesting to mention here that the Supreme
Court of India has emphatically propounded the very ideas of social justice in the form of
general interest of the community in its historical judgment of State of Bihar Vs Kameshwar 9
which are given below: with the onward march of civilization, our notions as to be scope of
general interest of the community are fast changing and widening with the result that our old
and narrower notions as to the sanctity of the private interest of the individual can no longer
stem the forward following tide of time and must necessarily give way to the broader notions
of general interest of the community. This modern trend social and political philosophy well
reflected and given expression in our constitution. In the post independence period India
adopted the philosophy of social and economic justice and the planned production target by
introducing scheme of mixed economy to avoid loss of production caused by the recurring
industrial strife. Therefore the Government of India adopted strike or lockout ban policy to
maintain peace in industry with quasi democratic measures which assured workers

7 AIR, 1949 FC 111.

8 1950 LLJ SC 931.

9 AIR, 1952 SC 252.

8 | Page
association in non essential matters. The Government of India introduced a system of
compulsory conciliation and adjudication machinery to achieve the objectives of maintaining
industrial peace, productivity and social justice because of the workers who were very weak
and incapable to bargain with the employer and settle the dispute. With a view to relax the
legislative grip and to promote industrial democracy the judiciary has made new dimensions
in maintaining the industrial relations. It is interesting to mention the Judgement of the
Supreme Court in the case of J.K. Iron & Steel company Ltd. Vs Iron & Steel Mazdoor 10
Union Mr. Justice Vivien Bose speaking from the Supreme Court laid down that the decision
of the Tribunal must be based on established principles and not import any notion of so called
justice or compulsion to safe guard the interest of the workman. In the same case Mr. Bose
said that one sided benefit to the workman should not be given by evolving the notion of
socioeconomic justice. The Supreme Court of India during the periods of 1950s decided
industrial dispute generally within the ambit of the strict law and adhering to the literal
interpretation of the provisions of labour legislation and contractual obligations. Justice
Bhagavati, an eminent judge of Supreme Court in an exceptional situation evolved the notion
of social justice who remarked that the ultimate object of industrial adjudication is true to
help the growth and progress of the national economy to promote industrial peace. With the
effort of Chief Justice Gajendra Ghadkar evolved law in response to the needs of the society.
Therefore the judgment of the highest Tribunal reveals that the Judges of the Supreme Court
have spoken different times with different voices. Some of the judges in delivering the
judgment on labour matters have established new principles of industrial jurisprudence
through judicial legislation to safe guard the emerging trade union freedoms, thus protecting
the interest of the socially and economically weaker sections of the society. Justice
Hidayatullah observed in the case of Rastriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh Vs Apollo Mills Ltd. 11,
that the social justice is not based on contractual relations and is not to be enforced on the
principles of contract of service, and it is something outside these principles and is invoked to
do justice without a contract to back it. The Supreme Court of India played a very important
role specially in protecting the interest of poor working class by ignoring the strict contractual
laws and provided social justice to them. Dr. P.B. Gajendra Ghadkar introduced the very
important philosophy that the concept of industrial peace is positive and postulates the
existence of the understanding, cooperation and sense of partnership between the employers
10 1956 I LLJ 227 (SC).

11 AIR, 1960, SC, 819

9 | Page
and employees. The state should try to avoid strikes and strifes in the industrial world to
maintain cordial and harmonious relationship between labour and management. Justice
Gajendra Ghadkar made his sincere efforts to uplift the deprived and downtrodden people
within the parameters of the law. In the case of Standard Vacuum Refining Company Vs Its
Workmen12 with a view to clarify the transformation era of notions and conception of labour,
the advent doctrine of welfare state confined and routed deeply in the nations progressive
philosophy which have rendered the traditions concept of laissez faire absolute. And
where the social consciousness of the general community becomes more alive and active, the
welfare policy of the state takes a more dynamic forum, the national economic progress stage
to stage and under the growing strength of trade union, collective bargaining and industrial
democracy enter the field. The labour problem ceases to be purely arithmetical and physical
satisfaction. It is also to be pointed out that industrial adjudication and also necessarily to be
aware of the current economic thought around in the case of J.K. Cotton Spinning and
Weaving Mills Company Ltd., Vs Labour Appellate Tribunal. It was held that the ultimate
object of industrial adjudication is to help the growth and progress of national economy.
There are some judges who created history in delivering justice to the working class. One of
such persons is justice V.R. Krishna Iyer who made revolutionary and progressive
philosophy. To him the principles of scientific management tend to value technical
efficiency about human factors may not hold goods in managing human beings who have
emphatically demonstrated in recent years that they cannot be treated as cogs in the wheel of
machinery. They would like to have a responsible and respectable place in society and also in
the industry where they work for about a 100 years. Social justice is justice according to
social interests subordinate to fundamental rights. In the case of Board of Trustees, Port of
Bombay Vs Dilip Kumar. Justice Bhagavathi said that justice must not only be done must
seem to be done is not a requirement for courts alone, it applies with equal vigour, and
rigour to all those who must responsible for fair play in action. The above discussion it is
clear about the role played by the judiciary in providing justice and also for the maintenance
of good labour management relations. There is no doubt that justice alone can maintain
relations between the employees and employers and by which a nation can achieve
productivity and industrial peace.

12 1961 I LLJ 22 SC.

10 | P a g e
 CHAPTER IV
RIGHT TO STRIKE : THE CONSTITUTION, COURTS AND
ADJUDICATION:
In India it is known fact that the strikes are frequently resorted by the workers and the trade
unions because of various reasons such as lack of proper trade union consciousness and lack
of legal awareness about the consequences of strikes The trade unions leaders emotionally
declare strikes against the employers using different types of methods. The causes of the
strikes are many such as non payment of proper wages, stringent working conditions, failure
of collective bargaining system and other methods of settlement of industrial disputes,
involvement of political parties, dominating attitude of the management, failures in providing

labour welfare and the social security. The right to strike has also been recognized in all
democratic societies. Reasonable restrain use of this right is also recognized. Similarly the
employers also have the freedom to use the weapon of lock out in case workers fail to
follow the rules of contract of employment. The degree of freedom granted for its exercise
varies according to the social, economic and political variants in the system for safe guarding
the public interest, the resort to strike or lock out and in some cases the duration of either
subject to rules and regulations or voluntarily agreed to by the parties or statutorily imposed
this has been criterion underline the earlier legislation for regulating industrial relations in the
country. 13
The strikes and lock outs are useful and powerful weapons in the armoury of workmen and
employers and are available when a dispute are struggle arises between them. Threats of their
use even more than their actually use, influence the course of the contest. The threat is often
explicit much more often tacit but not for that reason less effective. Trade unions and
employers will have to use very skillfully these weapons strike and lock out by way of
threatening or actual may help one party to force the other to accept the demands, or atleast to
concede something to them. But reckless use of this weapon creates the risk of unnecessary
stoppages. The stoppages hurt both parties badly create worse tensions and frictions and
violations of law and order and above all, from the public point of view they retard the
Nations Economic Development. A strike could be defined as a cessation of work by a body
of persons employed in any industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a
refusal under a common understanding, of any number of persons who are or have been so
employed to continue to work or to accept employment. In English law, there is no
comprehensive legal definition of strike or industrial action. Perhaps the closet we come to is
Lord Dennings attempt in Court of Appeal in 1975, when he said that a concerted stoppage
of work by men done with a view of improving their wages or conditions, or giving vent to a
grievance or making a protest about something or other, or supporting or sympathizing with

13 Report of the National Commission on Labour, 1969, p 327

11 | P a g e
other workmen in such an endeavour. Strikes are, in other words, weapons in the hand of the
workers and their organizations to promote and protect their economic, occupational and
social interests in the broad sense of the term. With the constitution coming into force there
was an attempt made to bring in the theory of a concomitant right, as was inferred in Romesh
Thapars case to infer the right to strike within the confines of Article 19(1) (c) of the Indian
Constitution. In the case of All India Bank Employees Association Vs. National Industrial
Tribunal and others28 held as follows : The right guaranteed by Art 19(1)(c) of the
Constitution of India does not carry with it concomitant right that unions formed for the
protection of the interests of labour shall achieve their object such that any interference to
such achievement by any law would be unconstitutional unless it could be justified under
Article 19(4) of the Indian Constitution as being in the interest of public order or morality.
The right under Article 19(1)(c) extends only to the formation of an association or union
concerned or as regards the steps which the union might take to achieve its object, they are
subject to such laws and such laws cannot be tested under Article 19(4) of Indian
Constitution. In another case B.R. Singh Vs. Union of India, justice Ahmadi was of the view
that the right to strike cannot be equated to that of a fundamental one. Strike in a given
situation is only a form of demonstration. There are different modes of demonstrations, eg.
Go-slow, sit in, work to rule, absenteeism, etc and work. Strike is one such mode of
demonstration by the workers for their rights. The right to demonstrate and therefore the right
to strike is an important weapon in the armoury of the workers. The right has been recognized
by almost all democratic countries. Though not raised to the high pedestal of a fundamental
right, it is recognized as a mode of redress for resolving the grievances of the workers. But
the right to strike is not absolute under our industrial jurisprudence and restrictions have been
placed under it.

12 | P a g e
 CHAPTER V
WAGE STRUCTURE DECISION OF THE JUDICIARY
The concept of 'Minimum wage' was first evolved by International Labour Organisation in
1928 with reference to remuneration of workers in those Industries where the level of wages
was substantially low and the labour was vulnerable to exploitation, being not well organized
and having less effective bargaining power. As per the recommendations of Royal
Commission on Labour in India, a draft bill was considered by the Indian Labour Conference
in 1945, introduced in Indian Legislative Assembly in 1946 which was followed by the
adoption of Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The Act was enacted to secure the welfare of the
workers in a competitive market for a minimum limit of wages in certain employments. 14
Wages means all remuneration capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would if
the terms of contract of employment, express or implied were fulfilled, be payable to a person
employed in respect of employment or of work done in such employment. The Minimum
Wages Act, 1948 provides for fixation and enforcement of minimum wages in respect of
scheduled employees to prevent sweating or exploitation of labour through payment of low
wages. The object of the set is to ensure a minimum subsistence wage for workers. The
Minimum wage, as the name itself implies, represents the level below which wages can not
be allowed to drop. It is prescribed in order to check : a)The evil of sweating; and b)For the
benefit of workers who are not in a position to bargain with their employer. In Randhir Singh
v. Union of India case the Supreme Court observed as it is true that the principle of 'equal pay
for equal work' is not expressly declared by out of the Constitution to be a fundamental right.
But it certainly is a constitutional goal. Article 39(d) of the Constitution proclaims 'equal pay
for equal work for both men and women' as a Directive Principle of State Policy. 'Equal pay
for equal work for both men and women' means equal pay for equal work for everyone and as
between the sexes. Directive Principles, as has been pointed out in some of the judgments of
this Court have to be read into the fundamental rights as a matter of interpretation. Article 14
of the Constitution enjoins the State not to deny any person equality before the law or the
equal protection of the laws and Article 16 declares that there shal1 be equality of opportunity
for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office and the State.
These equality clauses of the Constitution must mean something to everyone. To the vast
majority of the people the equality clauses of the Constitution would mean nothing if they are
unconcerned with the work they do and the pay they get. To them the equality clauses will
have some substance if equal work means equal pay construing Articles 14 and 16 of the
Constitution in the light of the Preamble and Article 39(d), it is of the view that the principle
'equal pay for equal work' is deducible for those articles and may be properly applied to cases
of unequal scales of pay based on no classification or irrational classification though those
drawing the different scales of pay do identical work under the same employer." Again in U.P.
Income Tax Department contingent Paid Staff Welfare Association v. Union of India and
Others40, the Apex Court having regard to the principles as laid down above in, gave
following relief in the ultimate analysis: "We accordingly allow this writ petition and direct

14 Preamble of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948

13 | P a g e
the respondents to pay wages to the workmen who are employed as the contingent paid staff
of the Income Tax Department throughout India, doing the work of Class IV employees at the
rates equivalent to the minimum, pay in the pay scale of the regularly employed workers in
the corresponding cadres"

CASE LAW
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

14 | P a g e