IRLL

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND
LABOR LAWS
EMESTER

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1760 : Industrial Revolution – Great Britain- spread to
other countries
1830 :France ,Belgium , USA
1850 : Sweden and Japan
1870 -80 : Canada , USSR ,Japan , India

Agrarian , Artisans – use of machines in mass production
(Industrialization)
Out-workers – people working at their homes with their
own tools
REPLACED BY
Factory System –
Owners provided premises , machinery and means of
production
Workers supplied their labor

EMERGENCE OF TWO DISTINCT CLASSES
Capitalist Working
Class Class

 Initial stages – industrialization – workers – uneducated
, untrained and unorganized
 Exploitation of labour – slaves , unhygienic working
conditions , employment of children
 Problems / Disagreements – Management / Workers
 Inability to terminate the arrangement or find
employment easily
 This led to both sides – studying the problems more
closely – the need for IR – began
 The size of modern companies – added to the
dimensions of the relationship

 Labour relations departments – added – to
negotiate and administer – complex contracts –
with union pressures
 State – stepped in – exploitation of workers
 Organized labour – began lobbying the
government for favorable legislation to counter the
management
 Personnel departments – had to monitor
compliance – with labour laws
 Further on – Human Resource Departments were
added

IR IS A TRI-PARTITE PROCESS
LABOUR
MANAGEMENT
GOVERNMENT
(STATE)

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
 All matters that arise in day-to-day association between
employers , managers / supervisors and workers , and
includes –
(a) Relations between supervisors / managers and
individual workers
(b) collective relations between employers and trade
unions ; and
(c) role of government in regulation of these
relationships.

COMPONENTS OF IR
 Relations between manager / supervisor and
individual workers
(Personnel Management)
( worker – absenting , chronic alcoholism , insubordination)
 The collective relations between Employers and
Trade Unions
(Collective Bargaining)
( revision of wages , profit-sharing , welfare measures for
workers , improve working and living conditions)
 The Role of Government in the regulation of these
relationships
(Labour Legislation)

NATURE/FEATURES OF IR
1) IR does not emerge in vacuum (emptiness) –
born out of ‘employment relationship’.
 Without – existence of two parties – labour and
management – this relationship cannot exist
 Industry – provides the environment- for IR
2) IR characterisized – both conflict and
co-operation
 (Focus of IR – study of relationships , practices and
procedures developed by the parties to resolve or
atleast minimize conflicts)

3) The study of IR includes issues like – technology of the
workplace , countries socio-economic environment ,
political environment , Nations labour policy, attitude of
TU,employers and workers.
4 ) Both the groups (labor and management) develop
different orientations and perceptions of their interests.
They generally , also develop negative images about
each other.

5) IR involves the role of three players viz. Management ,
Labor and the State
6) The concept of IR , draws heavily from a variety of
disciplines like social sciences , humanities , behavioral
sciences , law , economics , sociology etc.
7) The levels covered by IR , range from, individual
relations at the shopfloor to the regional , national and
international bodies.

OBJECTIVES OF IR
 To safeguard the interests
 labour and management
 securing – highest level of - mutual
understanding and goodwill among them.(TISCO)
 To establish - growth of industrial democracy
 labor partnership in – sharing of profits
 & participative decision-making

 To avoid - industrial conflict and strife.
 To raise productivity to highest levels
 To eliminate or minimize the number of strikes ,
lockouts and gheraos
 Vesting of a proprietary interest - workers in industries -
in which they are employed.

Divided into 4 Phases –
 1) Ancient Times
 2) Early British Rule
 3) First World War to Pre- Independence
Period
 4) Independence and After

1) Ancient Times
 Vedas –
 one of the important factors necessary for
happiness in a group or community
 good mutual relations
 Villages – Madhymasi ( mediator)
 a man of position and influence in the society –
settled disputes
 Kautilyas Arthashastra and the edicts ( an order
proclaimed by authority) of Emperor Ashoka
reveal that :

 workers enjoyed privileges –
 were paid good wages
 and were given sick leave and old-age
pensions.
 Any dispute , which could not be settled by the
local Panchayat , was disposed of by a Board
appointed by the King , on the authority of the
depositions of witnesses and secret agents.
 During Mughals period ( specially Akbar) - the
disputes were solved and decided by the
Emperor himself on the advice of Kadis.

 2) Early British Rule
 Rapid expansion of Rail network
 The laborers were recruited through Jobbers
 Wages were deducted by the employers for late
attendance , insubordination and negligence
 British industrial capitalism – aim – India
agricultural resources – supplying Britain with
raw materials – and buying her finished and
manufactured products.

 1877 : First indication of industrial unrest and earliest work
stoppage – Weavers of Empress Mills , Nagpur
 Trade Unions informally existed – but unequal power
balance
 1890 : The first formal association – Bombay Millhands
Association was established
 1907 : Postal Union
3) First World War to Pre- Independence
Period
 World War I (1914-18) resources being used up in war- more
demand– rising profits for capitalists – not shared –
economic distress brought workers together and an
organized working class movement began in the country.

 Worker unrest :Ahmedabad – led by Mahatma Gandhi
 1921 – Madras labor unrest – led by B.P. Wadia
 Trade Disputes Act (1917)
 Workmens Compensation Act (1923)
 Trade Union Act (1926)

4) Independence and After
 1947 : INTUC was formed
 1947 : Industrial Disputes Act enacted
 1948 : The Factories Act ,The Minimum Wages Act , and the
ESI Act were all enacted in 1948.
 1951 (First 5 year Plan) – great importance to the
maintenance of industrial peace
 1965 – Payment of Bonus Act – to resolve the most
important cause of discord between the two parties
 Emergency 1975 and 1976 – IR peaceful – as strikes and
lockouts were prohibited.
 Automation , Mechanization , Computerization – skill levels –
IR
----------------------

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM
1. Employer / Management consider Trade
Unions as a necessary evil of the
Industrial system
2. The Trade Unions perceives its main task
is to challenge and oppose decisions of
Management
3. Trade Unions are poorly organized in the
country ( grip of political parties , run in
acute financial crises , dominated by
outside leadership , within small groups –
religion, caste and ideology)

4 . Parties in disagreement over scope of
collective bargaining ( Very few
agreements – arbitration)
5 . India - Agreements concluded at shopfloor
level , plant level , industry level and at the
National level
6 . The employers are highly organized ( play
a major role in shaping the countries
wages and labor policies

8 . The Indian Industrial Relations system is
slowly changing over time.
----------------

ROLE OF WORKERS ,
MANAGEMENT AND THE STATE
WORKERS
 Alienated , monotonous ,and unhygienic
work environment – activities closely
regulated and controlled by managerial
personnel- workers dissatisfaction with the
system- revolt – so workers form unions
 Safeguarding worker’s interests
 The workers organizations have become
political institutions – with the specific
purpose of securing concessions from
employers

 They acquire power , status , authority through
membership of Unions.
 Pressurize Management for better wages ,
improvement in working conditions and more
amenities .
MANAGEMENT
 They provide jobs to workers and lay down terms
and conditions for work.
 They are strongly organized.
 Workers are often intimidated / victimized by
Management – sometimes the opposite happens

 The philosophy of the Management often decides
the state of Industrial Relations
The State
 In the system of Industrial Relations , the Govt.
acts as a judge and regulator
 State emerged as one of the largest single
employer in the country
 Labor Office / Labor Commissioner
 Labor Courts
 Labor Ministry
 Govt. now trying to strike a fair balance between
the demand of liberalization and expectation of its
workforce.

TRADE UNIONS
Definition – Trade Union Act , 1926
o Any combination ( association)
o Whether temporary or permanent
o formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the
relations between workers and employers
o or for imposing restrictive conditions on any trade
or business ( irrational , arbitrary and illegal actions
of employers )
o and includes any federation of two or more unions

Non-legislative definition – Trade Union
‘ An organization of workers acting collectively
, who seek to protect and promote their
mutual interests through collective
bargaining ‘

TRADE UNIONS
 TU – To fill vacuum – created by industrial
revolution – in the industrial society
 Individual dispensability and collective
indispensability – basic principle for its
formation
 Philosophy – ‘ United we stand and divided we
fall’
 The Government philosophy – of Laissez –
faire – left the working class – at the mercy of
employers

 The worker lacked bargaining power
 Supply of labour was more and demand was
less
 Employers employed on their own terms –
which were exploitative
 The exploitation of labor was at its peak
 Combination of workers was considered as ‘
criminal conspiracy’
 Discontent was brewing
 Marxism – fanned the discontent – and gave
birth to an institution - ‘Trade Union’.

FORMATIVE STAGES OF TRADE
UNIONS
 Trade Unions – initial years – difficult and
hostile period
 Employers – crush them – iron hands
 Subsequently – period of agitation – and
occasional acceptance – also the period of
struggle
 Employers – were forced to – accommodate –
tolerate and hesitatingly – accept them
 Then – period of understanding – collective
bargaining in industry

 Unions matured – employers started consulting
them
 Desired stage – Fusion stage – joint efforts- for
union ; management cooperation and
partnership

SOME MAJOR TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA
 All India Trade Union Congress-AITUC-
(Communist Party of India)
 Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh –BMS- (Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh)
 Indian National Trade Union Congress-INTUC-
(Indian National Congress)
 New Trade Union Initiative (Independent from
political parties, but left)

 Centre of Indian Trade Unions – CITU
(Communist Party of India (Marxist))
 Hind Mazdoor Sabha- HMS - (socialists)
 Labour Progressive Federation (Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam)
 Trade Union Coordination Committee (All India
Forward Bloc)

PROMINENT TRADE UNIONISTS OF
INDIA
 V.V. Giri (AITUC)
 Lala Lajpat Rai ( Founder – AITUC)
 S.A. Dange (founders of Communist Party of
India)
 Datta Samant (INTUC)
 N.M. Joshi (AITUC)
 B.T. Ranadive (AITUC , subsequently formation
of CITU)

2008
 While the biggest gainer is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), (60
Lakh) which has added almost 33 lakh members to its
1996 strength of 27 lakh,
 The Congress-supported Indian National Trade Union
Congress ranks second in the list of 10 central unions
with (38 lakh) members as against 24 lakh in the
previous survey.
 the CPI-affiliated All-India Trade Union Congress has
moved to the third position with (33 lakh) members
from the fifth slot in 1996 when its membership was
nine lakh.
 The Hind Mazdoor Sabha, ranked fourth, has added
about 18 lakh new members, taking its enrolment to (32
lakh).

Unorganised sector
 The increase in membership is largely from the
unorganised sector such as plantation, agricultural ,
beedi workers, and cart-pullers.
 It is believed that the BMS has gained primarily on RSS
`ideology' without being a militant organisation. The
mobilisation is basically on Hindu `ideology.'

2013
Going by data from various trade unions, submitted by them to the
union labour ministry as part of the survey :
 The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), affiliated to
the Congress party, has emerged as the biggest of the seven
central trade unions, with a membership of 33.3 million.
 This is also more than the total membership size of all trade unions
in the previous survey conducted in 2008, signifying a giant leap in
the size of unions, coinciding with the economic slowdown, which
was supposed to push workers into the arms of unions.
.

 The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), lenient to the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is in second place
after INTUC, with 17.1 million members.
 In the 2008 survey, BMS had been the leader, with
a membership of 6.6 million, while with 3.9 million
members, INTUC held the second position.
 .

The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC),
affiliated to the Communist Party of India, has
retained the number three slot with a 14.2 million
membership


 Following it is the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), an
independent union, with 9.1 million members, up
from 3.2 million in 2008.

 GENERAL FEATURES OF TRADE UNIONS
1) The TU is an association either of employers or
employees like –
 General Labor Unions
 Employers Associations ( Bombay Mill Owners
Association , Tea Planters Association of North India ,
Indian Paper Mills Association )
 Combination of intellectual labor ( All India Teachers
Association , All India Medical Doctors Association ,
All India Bank Employees Association)

2) Labor unions are relatively permanent association of
workers and are not temporary or casual
Persist throughout the years
Purpose not immediate but continuous
3) A Trade Union is an association of workers who are
engaged in securing economic benefits for its members.
To secure control of the supply of labor in one or more
markets
Maintain that control as a means of fixing the price of labor
as well as conditions under which it works.

 Contemporary approach of Trade Unions –
a. Protection of workers and provision for their security
b. Improving the wages , conditions of work and standards of
living.
c. Raising the status of the workers as a part of industry and
citizen of society.
d. Contributing to nation’s socio-economic development.
4) The origin and growth of trade unions have been influenced
by a number of ideologies-
Communism - Karl Marx – Theory of Class War , class-
conflict – change in social order-overthrow the capitalist
class
Socialism – upliftment of all sections of society –trade
unionism extension of the ‘principle of democracy’.

5)The character of Trade Unions has been constantly
changing :
 from illegal activities , they have become legalized and
recognized institutions
 From small bodies they have become gigantic
institutions
 They now contribute to the social , cultural , economic
and political development of the country.

STRUCTURE OF TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA
 Local level
 State level
 National level
 The National Federations
 The central union organizations are national federations
of labour based on different political ideologies.
 Some of the trade union leaders are MP’s , MLA’s ,
elder man of city corporations.

 A majority of these federations allow their affiliates to
bargain independently with their respective employers.
 Function through :
 Affiliated unions
 General council ( including office-bearers)
 Working committees
 Pradesh bodies

WHITE-COLLAR TRADE UNIONS
 Earlier - Unions and Strikes – known only to blue-
collared workers in factories , mines , docks etc.
 Doctors , Engineers , Lawyers , Teachers and
managerial staffs – thought it below their dignity- to
march streets – and yell slogans
 Today – Trade Unions exist – among white
collared employees
 Employees in Banks , Teachers , Lawyers , LIC
Officers – organized
 They take recourse to – strikes , mass casual
leaves , dharnas and gheraos

 All India Defense Employees Federation
 All India LIC Employees Federation
 Indian Federation of Working Journalists
 All India Bank Employees Association
 Indian Medical Association
 RBI Officers Association

EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATIONS
 Employer’s organizations (EO’s) are composed
of enterprises
 The Trade Union Act , 1926 – includes in its
purview – both associations of workers +
employers
 The Chambers of Commerce – usually set up
– defend the economic interests of employers –
In some countries – UK , Norway and Jordan –
the same organization deals with economic
interests – as well as industrial relations

 The Royal Commission on Labor – recommended –
Indian employers need an organization ‘ to deal with
labor problems – from the employer’s point of view
 1920 – ASSOCHAM – Associated Chambers of
Commerce
 1927 – FICCI- Federation of Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
 ILO - Treaty of Versailles – terms – technical – FICCI –
AIOE ( All India Organization of Employers)
 ASSOCHAM – EFI ( Employer’s Federation of
India)
 1970 – public sector – SCOPE – Standing Conference
on Public Enterprises

 After several initiatives and meetings – 1956 – AIOE
and EFI included CIE (Council of Indian Employers) –
to ensure closer cooperation and coordination –
between the two bodies – which together represent –
the interests of large-scale industry in India
 1973 – SCOPE joined the CIE
COUNCIL OF INDIAN EMPLOYERS (CIE)
 To discuss matters coming up with the ILO and
Industrial committees
 Policy and attitude of Indian employers – with
employers of other countries
 Discuss problems confronting Indian Employers
 Select members of Indian Employers Delegation to ILO
Conferences and committees.

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