industrial relations & trade unions -india
TRANSCRIPT
Industrial relations and trade Unions- India
What is Industrial relations
Industrial Relations is the Management of relationship
between employers and employees
Industrial Relationship In the words of Lester:
"Industrial relations involve attempts at arriving at solutions
between the conflicting objectives and values; between the
profit motive and social gain; between discipline and
freedom, between authority and industrial democracy;
between bargaining and co-operation; and between
conflicting interests of the individual, the group and the
community”
DefinitionsOne of the most comprehensive definitions which views industrial relations from the perspective of human relationships is by J. Henry Richardson:
"Industrial relations is an art, the art of living together for purposes of production. The parties while working together learn this art by acquiring the skills of adjustment.
Another popular definition
IR is concerned with the systems ,rules, procedures used by trade unions and Management to determine the reward for the effort and other conditions of employment ,to protect the interest of the employed and the employers and to regulate the ways in which the employers treat their employees.
K.Aswanthappa
Employer and EmployeeEMPLOYER : Any person who employs whether
directly or through another person or on behalf of himself or any other person one or more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed by the act.
EMPLOYEE: Any person who is employed for hire or reward to do any work skilled or unskilled, manual or clerical in a scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed.
IndustrialDispute:As per section 2(K)of I.D act industrial
dispute means any dispute or difference between
employers and employees,employers and employers or employees and employees which is connected with the employment or non employment or the terms of employmentor with the condition of labour of any person.
•What is Industry?Industry means any systematic activity carried on by
cooperation betweenan employer and his employee Whether suchworkmen are employed by such
employer directly or by or through any agency including a contractor for the production supply or distribution of goods or service with a overview to satisfy humanWants or wishes
(not being wants or wishes which are merely spritual or religious in nature) whether or not
(i) any capital has been invested for the purpose of carrying
on such activity or (ii)such activity is carried on with a motive to make any gain or profit and includs any activity relating to the promotion of sales or business or both carried on by an establishment
Main Parties in Industrial RelationsThere are three main parties in industrial relations:
1 Workers and their Organisations i.e. Trade
Union :
The personal characteristics of workers, their culture, educational qualifications, skills, attitude towards work, etc. play an important role in industrial relations.
2. Employers and their Organisation
Employers and their Organisation: The employers are another important variable in industrial relations. They provide employment to workers and try to regulate their behaviour for getting high productivity from them.
In order to increase their bargaining power, employers in several industries have organised employers' associations. These associations put pressure on the trade unions and the Government.
3.Central&state Goverments
Government: The Government or State plays an important role on industrial relations through such measures as providing employment, intervening in working relationships. and regulate wages, bonus and working conditions through various laws relating to labour.
The Government keeps an eye on both the trade unions and employers' organisations to regulate their behaviours in the interest of the nation.
Scope of Industrial Relations 1)Development of Healthy Labour-Management Relations: The promotion of healthy labour management relations pre-
supposes:
The existence of strong, well-organized, democratic
and responsible trade unions and associations of employers. This can lead to:
Job security of employees
Increased workers' participation in management
Negotiations, consultations and discussions
Good labour-management relations.
2) Maintenance of Industrial Peace:
Industrial peace pre-supposes the absence of industrial disputes.
Industrial peace is essential for increased productivity
and harmonious labour-management relations.
The industrial peace can be largely be maintained through
the following means:
Proper and sound machinery should be set up for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes
The industrial peace can also be attained by the creation and maintenance of implementation cells and evaluation committees which have the power to look into implementation of agreements, settlements and awards and also violations of statutory provisions laid down under various labour laws.
(3) Development of Industrial Democracy:
The concept is that labour should have the right to be associated with the management of an industry. To achieve this objective, the following techniques are usually employed:
Establishment of the Joint Labour Management Councils
At the floor and plant level. These councils aim at: Improving the working and living conditions of
employee
Improving productivity, encourage suggestions from employees
Assisting the administration of laws and agreements
Serve as a channel of communication between the management and employees
Creating among the employees a sense of participation in the decision-making process and
Sense of belonging to the industry.
Contemporary issues in IR
1 .Low Wages.
Low wages have been a perennial problem and have been a source of industrial dispute for years despite the existence of Payment of Wages Act and the Minimum Wages Act.
The acts do not seem to be solving the problem due to their poor implementation.
In many of the factories, workers are still given wages below subsistence level, which leads to high degree of dissatisfaction and subsequent decrease in productivity. In many industries, the minimum wageshave not been revised at par to compensate for it.
Employment of Women.
In the Indian cultural setup, the employment of women is a major problem even though things have started changing in the recent times.
There are special provisions regarding the employment of women in the Factories Act, which prohibit employment of women during the night shift and also on heavy machinery. Under the Equal Remuneration Act, women are entitled to equality of wages at par with the male workers.
Some employers don't follow the above provisions in letter and spirit and continue to exploit the women workers by virtue of their strong position and because of mass illiteracy and superstition among the women workers.
Ignorance and illiteracy. Various labour laws that have been made for the benefit of the workers are not implementing properly.
For this it is important that the workers themselves understand the underlying principles and provisions of the law and demand whatever is due to them.
Contemporary issues in IR
Contemporary issues in IRIndustrial Housing. Another burning issue in
the industrial relations field is that of accommodation to the industrial employees.
Here the problem is that the firms are not able
to provide accommodation to the employees and further that the house rent allowance (HRA) that they provide is not sufficient to keep pace with the ever -rising demands of
the landlords
Contemporary issues in IRChild Labour. The law requires that no
child below the age of 14 is allowed to work in any factory and the adolescent is not allowed to work in hazardous conditions.
The Supreme Court has passed a ruling strictly prohibiting the employment of children in any kind of factory. But still we can find instances of violation of law.
Causes of industrial disputesI. Economic Factors
WAGES
INCENTIVES
BENEFITS
WORKING CONDITIONS
Causes of industrial disputes
II. MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICE
INEFFECTIVE SUPERVISION
VIOLATION OF AGREEMENTS
Causes of industrial disputesIII. TRADE UNION PRACTICES
NON CO-OPERATIVE APPROACH
INTER UNION RIVALRY.
Causes of industrial disputesIV. LEGAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS.
MULTIPLICITY OF LABOUR LAWS.
POLITICAL INTERFERENCES.
Measures to Improve IRProgressive Management out lookStrong & Stable UnionsMutual Trust.Mutual AccommodationSincere Implementation of AgreementsWorkers participation in ManagementSound personnel policiesGovernment's Role.
WHAT SKILLS DO HUMAN RESOURCEAND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSGRADUATES DEVELOP?
1. Communication skill.
The ability to communicate clearly and listen with respect
and understanding is a must for an HR/IR officer. He should have the ability to communicate effectively with the workers on behalf of the management and present the issues or requirements of the workers to the management.
2.Critical thinking and conceptual skills
Critical thinking and conceptual skills
HR /IR officershould learn to analyse, question, evaluate and compare the
various frameworks they have studied in relation to real world situations.
Knowledge of labour laws A good HR/IR officer should have thorough knowledge of the labour laws , statutory needs regarding labour and employment.
Proactive approachA good HR/IR officer should be always in touch with the feelings of the workers, their problems, their requirements etc. He should always try to find out solutions for the issues or settle the disputes at the source itself.
Charecteristics of sound I.R system
1 Every industrial relation system has to take into account and reflect cultural factors. Systems cannot change culture but only behavior within the cultural environment.
2
A sound industrial relations system is one in which the relationship between management and employees and between them and the state are more harmonious and cooperative than conflictual and creates an environment conducive to economic efficiency and motivation , productivity and development of the employee and generates employee loyalty and mutual trust
3Industrial relation seeks to balance the
economic efficiency of organizations with equity, justice, and development of individual and to find ways to avoid or reduce and resolve the disputes and conflict and to promote harmonious relationship between and among the actors directly involved and society as a whole
4Industrial relation is again concerned with the
rules , procedures, and mechanisms through which the relationship between employers and employees and their respective representatives and the state and its agencies is regulated.
The rules and procedures and mechanisms of an Industrial relation system are found in sources such as laws, practices, customs, agreements or through directions from government.
Industrial relation operates at three levels
1 State level ,2) Industry level and ,3) Enterprise level At national level industrial relation operates by
formulating laws, rules and labour relation policy. At industry level IR takes the form of collective
bargaining between employer’s organizations and unions.
At the enterprises level IR acts as the interaction between employers and workers or the representatives of workers
IMPORTANCE OF SOUND IDUSTRIAL RELATION SYSTEM
A sound industrial relations climate is essential to solve a number of issues which are critical to the employers, employees, and the community. The efficient production of goods and services depends to an extent a sound industrial relation climate . Efficiency and quality depend on a motivated workforce for which a sound industrial relation climate is necessary.
2 Without sound industrial relation climate,
productivity, a key factor of profitability cannot be enhanced .Many mechanisms which contribute towards productivity gains are workable only where there is team work and cooperation. Therefore sound labour management relations should be maintained to create the climate appropriate for achieving the cooperation which is necessary for productivity growth.
3Labour management relation and
labour management cooperation are the prerequisite for the adoption of changes and for innovation. Here the authority is decentralised, two-way communication , risk taking and maximising opportunities are encouraged.
4
A sound industrial relations climate helps to change attitudes awareness and behaviour from counter productivity to a productivity culture.
Sound industrial relation system brings up of good labour relation which gives forum to understand each other properly.
5
Sound industrial relation system creates co-operative thinking and working to achieve the goal of the organization.
Sound industrial relation system
increases the morale of the employees, the employer give their maximum and each party think of their mutual interest.
6
Sound industrial relation system creates effective participation of employees in all progressive adoptions of technology and methods of production.
Sound industrial relation system creates
maximum work satisfaction which in turn increases production ,quality of production and efficiency of work.
7
Sound industrial relation system helps to avoid or reduce the number of industrial disputes which may otherwise causes for industrial unrest.
REASONS FOR INDUSTRIAL UNREST
There may be external or internal factors which creates labour unrest or industrial disputes .External causes include policy changes labour laws, tax rules, political changes , Technology changes, changes in the attitude of governments ,change in market conditions etc.
Internal causes include unfair labour practices, trade union rivalry, new technology adoption ,change in methods of production, new demands from employees or trade unions ,loose disciplinary mechanism etc
Causes for industrial disputes
1. Perception regarding work- Employer think
to extract maximum work with minimum remuneration .Employees thinking is to avoid work and get more pay and wages
2 Irrational wage system. Irrational wage ,
wage system, wage structure not mutually acceptable.
23.Poor working environment. Lack of safety
measures non hygienic working conditions etc
4.Lack of discipline If there is no strict measures of control it may cause for labour problems
5.Automation and introduction of new technology. Without proper consultation with the representatives of workers will create labour problems.
3 6.Nepotism,unequal work loads and
responsibilities. Affects the morale of employees and gradually it will lead to labour problems.
7.Unfair labour practices. either by the employer or employee or trade unions. creates labour problems
8.Inter union rivalries -Inter union competition for membership foisting also creates labour unrest
4 9. Disproportionate profit sharing-
Unjustifiable and disproportionate profit sharing among different categories of employees
10. Ignoring agreements and settlements.
When management or trade unions back out from the agreements and arrived settlements which have
been signed by both the parties .
