INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSThe term industrial relations denote relations

between employee- employer, employee- employee and employer- employer.

Industrial Relation is that part of management which is concerned with the manpower of the enterprise – whether machine operator, skilled worker or manager.

SCOPE OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSThe staff employed in the industrial relations

department should know the limitations within which it has to function. The industrial relations director generally has several assistants who help him to perform his functions effectively, and he usually reports directly to the president or chairman of the board of directors of an organization. The functions of industrial relations staff are :

1. Administration, including overall organization, supervision and co-ordination of industrial relations policies and programmes.

2. Liaison with outside groups and personnel departments as well as with various cadres of the management staff.

3.The drafting of regulations, rules, laws or orders and their construction and interpretation.

4.Position classification, including overall direction of job analysis, salary and wage administration, wage survey and pay schedules.

5.Recruitment and employment of workers and other staff.

6.Employment testing, including intelligence tests, mechanical aptitude tests and achievement tests.

7. Placement, including induction and assignment.8. Training of apprentices, production workers,

foremen and executives.9. Employee counselling on all types of personnel

problems-educational, vocational, health or behaviour problems.

10. Medical and health services.11. Safety services, including first aid training.12. Group activities, including group health insurance,

housing, cafeteria programmes and social clubs.13. Suggestion plans and their uses in labour,

management and production committees.14. Employee relations, specially collective bargaining

with representatives and settling grievances.

15. Public relations.16. Research in occupational trends and

employee attitudes, and analysis of labour turnover.

17. Employee records for all purposes.18. Control of operation surveys, fiscal

research and analysis.19. Benefit, retirement and pension

programmes.

RECENT TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

1.COMPETITION ON THE BASIS OF CHEAP LABOUR

Globalization and increased competition has lead to less strikes, lockouts and less man days lost due to strikes.

Also now in the era of knowledge industry employees are educated and thus don’t believe in violent activities. They are having responsibilities in cut throat competition and also are aware of their rights well leading to decline in strikes.

Employers also avoid lockouts because decline in production for even hours results in heavy losses so forget about days or weeks.

2. DISINVESTMENT AFFECTING INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

It changes ownership, which may bring out changes not only in work organisation and employment but also in trade union (TU) dynamics.

It changes the work organization by necessitating retaining and redeployment.

It affects the right of workers and Trade unions, including job/union security, income security, and social security.

Trade unions, mgt and government are responding to these challenges through various types of new, innovative, or model arrangements to deal with different aspects of disinvestment like negotiating higher compensation for voluntary separations, safeguarding existing benefits setting up further employment generating programs .

3.DECENTRALIZATIONDecentralization of IR is seen in terms of the

shift in consideration of IR issues from macro to micro and from industry to enterprise level.

When the coordination is at the national or sectoral level then work in the whole industry can be paralyzed because of conflict in IR. But when the dispute is at the bank level, in the absence of centralized coordination by Trade unions only work in that bank is paralyzed and the other banks function normally. This weakens the bargaining power of unions.

4. NEW ACTORS AND EMERGING DYNAMICS

Earlier IR was mainly concerned with Trade unions, mgt and government but now consumers and the community are also a part of it.

When the rights of consumers and community are affected, the rights of workers and unions and managers / employers take a back seat. Hence there is ban on bandh and restrictions even on protests and dharnas.

Increasingly Trade unions are getting isolated and see a future for themselves only by aligning themselves with the interests of the wider society.

5. PRO-LABOUR AND PRO-INVESTMENT POLICIES

This leads to decline in strength and power of Trade unions if not in numbers. Unions have to make alliances with the society, consumers and community and various civil society institutions otherwise they will find themselves dwindling.

6. DECLINING TRADE UNION DENSITY

Trade unions have become defensive evident from the fact that there is significant shift from strikes to law suits.

Instead of pressing for higher wages and improved benefits, Trade unions are pressing for maintenance of existing benefits and protection and claims over non-payment of agreed wages and benefits.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

1. EMPLOYEE SYNERGYThe present dimensions of different cadres of

employees as workers and managers will gradually diminish.

The growing awareness of roles and responsibilities and the increasing levels of education will convert the less informed workers into knowledge workers who in turn will comfortably compete with their more privileged superiors-the Managers.

The distinction thus will disappear, so traditional approach of maintaining IR will not work. HR Manager has to be fully prepared, competent, transparent and logical while dealing with workforce.

2.CONSOLIDATION OF BARGAINING STRENGTHS

The bargaining strengths of Trade Unions have brought remarkable dividends to the working class all over the world.

The managements have not recognised this fact that the less united group of employees, namely, the officers and staff have not been treated fairly and equable. This denial of justice has been playing heavily on the white collared personnel and the formation of the federations in Banks and Public Sector Undertakings has been a pointer in this direction. Realising that the only way to receive justice from the hands of the management is to force them to understand that they should not be treated in a casual manner. This objective will be sought to be satisfied through consolidation of their strength in the form of associations.

To meet out this situation, HR manager has to equip not only himself but complete team of management through interpersonal skill development and enhancement of competence level.

3. INTERNAL LEADERSHIPExternal leadership has largely been replaced

in many developed and developing countries with the advent of liberalised and enlightened outlook on the part of employers and a sense of commitment and concern in the employees.

This will brighten the prospects of nurturing internal leadership among the employees.

The frequent confrontations resulting in agitations, stoppages of work and closures of Industrial establishments will become a nightmare for all those who are concerned with productivity improvements and organisational excellence.

4. EMPOWERMENTEmployees should be empowered to acquire

constructive roles in the management of the resources.

When they will have a better say in the matter which govern the process of utilisation of resources, chances of conflicts and confrontation will be minimal.

5. COMPENSATION STRATEGYCompetitive compensation and remuneration system

with thrusts for ‘payment by results will demand greater focus in the future. These will include incentive Schemes, variable performance based pay, annual rewards and bonus schemes, employee stock option schemes etc, which will need to be related to and support the organisational objectives. At the same time, the control of unionised employee cost will continue to demand a lot of effort-this does not imply low salaries, but high productivity and manpower utilisation with competitive payments. Review and redesign of retirement benefits and medical assistance/insurance during the service period, and post retirement benefits, will also be necessary. Retention and motivation of key employees will remain a major function and challenge for which planned IR strategy will be important.'

6.LINKAGE WITH HRM

The emphasis should be on linking HRM with strategic planning, cultural changes, pre-screening placement, promotions, lay-offs based on how individuals will fit with desired new culture, co-ordinating people and structural changes.

7.CONSIDERATION OF PEOPLE AS SOCIAL CAPITAL CAPABLE OF

DEVELOPMENTIncreasing power of development of HRM

functions, forming work-groups, using skill-based pay to broaden employees' competencies, heavy emphasis on training, more open communications, greater participation to develop people's commitment, more concern about employment security.

8. DEVELOPMENT OF COINCIDENCE OF INTERESTS

BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERSJoint union-management efforts based on

improving quality of work life and organisational effectiveness, emphasis on employees self-esteem with positive human and business outcomes. Open channels of communications to build trust, commitment of greater sharing of information of business with unions, work groups, organisational units greater communication about design and administration of pay systems.

CONCLUSIONFor maintaining, good IR, in future, responsibility

should be shifted from HR Manager to line manager. It has to start from selection. People should be raw talent, Expectations must be set, that organisation has from these people, not by setting out the steps they must take, but by communicating the end result that they must ensure.

Individuals have to be strengthened and putting them at right fit for their talent. HR Manager should train line manager for this new role and arm them with HR tools so they could contribute effectively in keeping good IR and develop HR.

And above all, one needs to create a better workplace, so that employees are highly engaged in their work. Engaged employees treat organisation's concerns as their own, because they identify them closely with the company. The result is higher productivity, better reward for people and of course good IR and HRD.

THANKS