UNIT 2

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AND

RESOLUTION
 Intro
Diversified goals of mgmt and labout result in
dispute of interests and consequently leads to
industrial conflicts.
The goals are:
1. Profit maximisation or wealth maximisation
goal of mgmt and
2. Profit sharing or wage maximisation goal of
workers
Industrial peace
Industrial conflicts can be
classified into 4 groups
Interest disputes : arise out of deadlocks in
negotiation
Grievance disputes : arise from day-to-day
grievances
Unfair labour practices: arise from acts of
interference with the exercise of right to
organize, acts etc
Recognition disputes: arise due to the
recognition of trade union as a bargaining
agent
Definition of Dispute
 According to IDA 1947, section 2(k), Industrial disputes
means any dispute or difference between employers
and employers or between employers and workmen or
between workmen and workmen which is connected
with empt.
 For a dispute to become a industrial dispute, it should
satisfy the following essentials
1. There must be a dispute or difference between
employers and employers or between employers and
workmen and between workmen and workmen
2. It is connected with the empt
3. A workman does not earn wages exceeding rs.1000/-
per month
4. The relationship between the empr and the workman
should be in existence and should be the result of the
contract and the workman actually employed
 Some of the principles to judge the nature of a
dispute by courts

Considerable section of emps should

necessarily make common cause within the
general lot
The dispute should invariably be taken up by
the industry union
Grievance becomes individual complaint into
the general complaint
The parties to the dispute must have direct
and substantial interest in the dispute
If the dispute was in its inception an
individual dispute, it could not be converted
into an industrial dispute
Causes of Industrial conflicts
Grouped into 4 categories
1. Industrial factors
2. Mgmt’s attitude towards workers
3. Govt machinery
4. Other causes
 Industrial Factors
An industrial matter relating to empt, work,
wages, hours of work, privileges, the rights
and obligations of emps and emprs, terms
and conditions of empt including matters
pertaining to:
1. Dismissal or non empt of any person
2. Registered agreement, settlement or award
3. Demarcation of the functions of an emps
An industrial dispute of a matter in which
both parties are directly or substantially
interested
Disputes often arise because of unempt,
inflation, change in the attitude of employers
Mgmt attitude towards Labour
Mgmt generally is not willing to talk over
any dispute with their emps or refer it
arbitration. This enrages the workers
A mgmt’s unwillingness to recognize a
particular trade union
Not delegating enough authority to the
officials to negotiate
During negotiations for the settlement of a
dispute the representatives of the
employers take the side of the mgmt
No consultation with the emps regarding
recruitment, promotion, transfer or awards
No provision of benefits and services to
 Govt machinery
Irs are ineffective and unsatisfactory due to:
1. Their irrelevancy in the context of the challenges
of present industrial climate
2. Incapability of understanding and answering
imperatives of development
3. Improper and inadequate implementation by
many employers
The govt’s conciliation machinery has settled a very
negligible no of disputes because:
Both emps and emprs have little confidence in it
Both have common litigation minded
It is inadequate
The officers associated with conciliation have very
little training to handle the problems
 Other causes
Affiliation of trade unions with a political
party. Result labour conflicts and disputes
Political instability, centre-state relations,
general responsibility or all fronts are
reflected resulting industrial conflicts
Other potential factors such as rampant
corruption in industry and public life, easy
money, conspicuous consumption, permissive
society, character crisis leads industrial
unrest
 Types of industrial conflicts
They are of 2 types
1. Strikes
2. Lock-outs
 Strikes
Strikes are the result of more fundamental
maladjustments, injustices and economic disturbances
According to Peterson, “strike is a temporary cessation
of work by a group of emps in order to express
grievances or to enforce a demand concerning
changes in work conditions
According Industrial dispute act 1947, section 2(q)
strike is a concession of work by a body of persons
employed in any industry, acting in combination or a
concerted refusal under a common understanding of a
no of persons who are employed
According Industrial dispute act 1947, section 2(l)
lockout means “the closing of a place of business of
empt or the suspension of work or the refusal by an
empr to continue to employ any no of persons
employed by him
 Strikes
 Strikes are divided into
1. Primary strikes (against the empr)
2. Secondary strikes
Primary strikes
3. Stay away strikes
4. Stay in strike or sit-down strike
5. Tools down, pen-down or mouth shut strike
6. Token or protest strike
7. Lightening or wildcat strike
8. Go slow
9. Work to rule/work to designation
10. Picketing
11. Boycott
12. Gherao
13. Hunger Strike
 Prevention of strikes
 Orgn should adopt clear and progressive personnel policies
aiming at the maintenance of good IR
 It should ensure an effective admin and timely
implementation of these policies
 fair and reasonable recruitment, promotion and wage
policies
 Ensure an effective two way system of communication
 Provide just and humane conditions of work along with
suitable welfare activities for the benefit of workers
 Develop close personal contacts with emps at all levels.
 Adopt a suitable and speedy grievance procedure for
redressal
 Give recognition to a representative union and should have
pragmatic approach towards union activities
 Encourage joint consultation at difft levels and encourage
CB for resolving the differences
 Lock-outs

Means closing of a place of business of empt

or the suspension of work or the refusal by an
empr to continue to employ any no of persons
employed by him
It is the closure of the industrial undertaking
It is the suspension of empt relationship
Is an counterpart of a strike
Is used with some intension
 Prevention of Industrial
Conflicts
Prevention of industrial disputes may have different
methods.
These methods cover the entire field of relation
between industry and labour which include:
 enactment and enforcement of progressive
legislation
Work committees and councils
Wage boards
Trade boards
Profit sharing and co-partnership
Tripartite labour machinery, education, housing
Welfare work
All such measures which can bridge the gap between
emprs and employed
 Preventive measures of industrial conflicts
Labour welfare officer
Tripartite and bipartite bodies
Standing orders
Grievance procedure
Joint consultation
Collective Bargaining
Strong Trade unions
Labour co-partnership and profit sharing
Joint consultations
 Labour welfare Officer
Every factory wehrein 500 or more workers
are needed atleast one LWO
If no is in excess of 2500, the Assistant or
Additional welfare officers are required
The functions of LWO are:
1. Labour welfare functions
2. Labour Administration functions
3. Labour relations functions
 Functions of LWO
 Supervision of: safety, health and welfare progs like
housing, recreation, sanitation , working of joint
committees, grant of leave with wages, redress of
worker’s grievances
 Counselling workers in : personal and family probs,
helping them to adjust to work envt, understand their
rights and privileges
 Advising mgmt in matters of: formulating labour and
welfare policies, apprenticeship training progs, meeting
statutory obligations of workers, developing fringe
benefits, workers education and use of commn skills
 Establishing liaison with workers so that they may:
understand various limitations under which they work,
appreciate the need of harmonious IR in the pant,
interpret company policies to workers, persuade workers
to come to a settlement in case of dispute
 Functions contd..
Establishing liaison with mgmt so that the
latter may: appreciate workers viewpoint to
various matters in the plant, welfare officers
should intervene on behalf of workers in
matters under consideration of mgmt, help
difft dept heads to meet their obligation
under the act, maintain harmonious IR in the
plant, suggest measures for promoting
general well-being of workers
Working with mgmt and workers : to maintain
harmonious Ir in the plant, to arrange for
prompt redressal of grievances and speedy
settlement of disputes, to improve
productivity and productive efficiency of the
The objectives of ILC (Indian
labour conference ) are
To promote uniformity in labour legislations
To lay down a procedure for settlement of
industrial disputes
To discuss all matters of all India
importance
Other tripartite bodies include: committee on
conventions, steering committee on wages,
central implementation and evaluation
machinery, central boards of workers
education and national productivity council
Bipartite bodies: the bipartite consultative
machinery comprises two parties like emps
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