Industrial Disputes in India: its Causes and Measures !

In the wake of the so called New Economic Policy (NEP), there were
widespread expectations in certain quarters that time had come for
labour policies to be dovetailed with industrial, policies so that both
moved in a unified direction rather than the opposite direction.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

There was much talk about the so-called exit policy. Recently, the
Government has constituted the Second National Commission on
Labour on the recommendation of the Indian Labour Conference.

Labour is in the concurrent list of the Constitution. According to

Article 246 of the constitution of India, both parliament and state
legislature can enact on aspects relating to employment, trade
unions, industrial disputes, social security etc. Generally speaking,
the state government is the appropriate authority for administrating
central laws in most of the cases.

Industrial Disputes:
Industrial disputes refer to the differences between the employers
and workers in an industry. These disputes take various forms of
protest. From the workers side the forms of protest are strikes,
gheraos, demonstration, etc. from the employers side the forms of
protest are retrenchment, dismissal, lockouts etc.

The two most important forms of protest lead to loss in industrial

production and decline in the national income. Hence, it is essential
to know the nature and magnitude of industrial disputes, factors
responsible for their occurrence and measures used to resolve them.
ADVERTISEMENTS:

There has been a growing trend in terms of workers involved and

man days lost in industrial disputes in India.

Causes of Industrial Disputes:

The main causes of industrial disputes are:

(i) Wages:
Low wages of industrial workers constitute a major cause of
industrial disputes in the country. Wages have not been rising in
proportion to the rise in prices. This has forced the labourers to
demand higher wages, consequently leading to disputes.

(ii) Bonus:
The demand for bonus or increase in bonus has been the second
major cause of industrial disputes. The workers feel that they
should have a greater share in the profits of the industrial concern.
Non-acceptance of this fact by the employers has been a source of
friction among the employers and the workers.

(iii) Working Conditions:

The demand for improvement in working conditions such as lesser
working hours, security of job, better safety measures in the factory,
leave, canteen, gratuity facilities, etc., are also responsible for many
industrial disputes.

(iv) Other Causes:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Among other causes that lead to disputes are failure of employers to

recognise trade unions, conflict between rival unions for
representation, insult to trade union leadership by the employer,
introduction of rationalisation in the factory, the fear of
retrenchment of workers, sympathetic strikes with fellow employees
in other establishments, general discontent and sense of frustration
among labourers, political issues etc.

Measures for Industrial Peace:

Some of the measures undertaken by the Government for improving
industrial relations and for establishing industrial peace are as
follows:

(i) Enactment of the Factories Act, 1948 and other labour laws for
regulating conditions of work in factories.

(ii) Introduction of schemes like profit sharing, workers

participation in management, subsidised industrial housing etc.

(iii) Framing of Industrial Employment, (Standing Orders) Act,

1948 for defining conditions of employment and for framing model
service rules.

(iv) Introduction of bonus scheme making it compulsory for all

establishment to pay a minimum of 8.33 per cent bonus to all
employees under the Payments of Bonus Act, 1965.

(v) Enactment of an Equal Remuneration Act 1976, which provides

for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for
the same work, or work of similar nature and for prevention of
discrimination against women in matters of employment.

(vi) Arrangement for settlement of industrial disputes under the

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
(vii) Adoption of Code of Discipline (1958) by both employers and
workers for settlement of disputes and avoiding direct action.

(viii) Provision of social security benefits for industrial workers

under various laws like the Employees Provident Fund and Family
Pension Act, 1952; Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, Payment
of Gratuity Act, 1972 etc.

(ix) Fixation of minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act,

1948 and the governments efforts to get fair wages for workers, etc.

(x) Introduction of a scheme for workers participation in

management.

Industrial Relations Machinery:

The Government of India has devised certain statutory and
voluntary arrangements for the prevention and settlement of
industrial disputes. These are discussed below:

Statutory Arrangement:
It is covered by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Act provides
for the settlement of industrial disputes through conciliation,
arbitration, adjudication or working committees. It also has
provision for payment of compensation for lay-off and
retrenchment.

Conciliation, Arbitration and Adjudication:

The Act empowers the government to appoint Conciliation Officers
(a third party) to bring about settlement of disputes through
conciliation. If conciliation officers fail to settle the dispute, parties
can by agreement refer it (dispute) for voluntary arbitration to
resolve the dispute.
If this attempt also fails, the government may refer the dispute for
adjudication. It is compulsory to refer a dispute (or adjudication if
the parties to the dispute jointly or separately apply for it or if the
dispute relates to public utility services and there is a notice of
lockout or strike. Adjudication machinery is three tier systems
consisting of (i) Labour court; (ii) Industrial Tribunal; and (iii)
National Tribunal.

The Labour Court adjudicate in the matters such as propriety, or

legality of an employer s order regarding discharge, or dismissal of
workmen including reinstatement of, or grant of relief to workmen
wrongfully dismissed, illegality or otherwise of a strike or a lockout
etc.

The Industrial tribunals adjudicate on more important matters such

as wages and allowances, hours of work, leave and holidays, bonus,
rules of discipline, rationalisation, retrenchment and closure of
establishment etc. National Tribunal adjudicates on matters of
national importance and those that affect industrial establishments
located in more than one state.

Lay-off and Retrenchments:

The Act provides that no worker who has put in at least one year of
continuous service would be entrenched unless given one months
notice in writing, or one months wages in lieu thereof. In addition
he is also to be compensated at the rate of 15 days average pay for
every completed year of continuous service.

However, only workers employed in those factories, mines and

plantations are eligible for compensation which have an average
daily employment of 50 or more workers and where work is not of a
personal character. However, the new Act called the Industrial
Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1976, puts reasonable restrictions on
an employers right to layoff retrenchment arid closure.

Works Committees:
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provides for setting up of a works
committee consisting of representatives of management and
employees in every undertaking employing 100 or more workmen.
The duty of works committee is to promote measures for securing
and preserving amity and good relations between employers and
workman.

Voluntary Arrangements:
The code of discipline and the Truce Resolution, both voluntary
instruments, emphasize settlement of dispute through voluntary
arbitration.

Code of Discipline:
A code of discipline was evolved by the Indian Labour Conference in
1958. It has been accepted by all central organisations of employers
and workers and is aimed at preventing and settling industrial
disputes on a voluntary basis. According to the code of discipline:

(i) No strikes and lockouts without prior notice.

(ii) The parties should not take any action without consulting each
other.

(iii) No deliberate damage should be done to machinery.

(iv) Should not resort to acts of violence, intimidation, coercion etc.

(v) There should be no go-slow tactics.

(vi) In case of dispute the existing machinery should be utilised with

utmost expedition.

(vii) Employers should recognise the majority union in the

establishment and frame a grievance procedure.

(viii) Management should take prompt action for settlement of

grievances and should implement the awards and agreements
speedily, etc.

Industrial Truce Resolution, 1962:

In view of the National Emergency proclaimed in 1962 in the wake
of Chinese aggression a joint meeting of the central organisations of
employers and workers adopted the Industrial Truce Resolution in
1962.

It laid down that there would be no interruption, or slowing down of

production; and the production would be maximised and defence
efforts promoted in all possible ways. It has been merged with the
Central Implementation and Evaluation Committee since 1963.