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INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE ACT 1947

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Promotion of measures of securing, preserving Industrial harmony

• Settlement of disputes between Employer – WorkmanEmployer - EmployerWorkman - Workman

• Rights of Registered Trade Union• Prevention of illegal- Strike; Lockout • Promotion of collective bargaining

OBJECTIVES

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According to Section 2 (k) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 “industrial dispute” is defined as,

“Any disputes or differences between employers and employers, or between employers and workmen, or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person”

DEFINITION

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Any dispute or difference between Employers and Employers Employees and Workmen Workmen and Workman

Disputes may be connected with Employment/Non employment Terms of employment Conditions of labour

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE ?

Interest disputes: arrising out of deadlocks in negotiation for collective bargaining

Grievance disputes: may pertain to discipline, wages, working time, promotion, rights of supervisors etc. also some times called interpretation disputes

Unfair labour practices: those arising out of right to organise, acts of violence, failure to implement an award,discriminatory treatment, illegal strikes and lockouts

Recognition disputes: over the rights of a TU to represent class or category of workers

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CLASSIFICATION/ TYPES OF ID

Any person who is a workman employed in an industry can raise an industrial dispute.

A workman includes any person (including an apprentice) employed in an industry to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward.

It excludes those employed in managerial or administrative capacity.

Industry means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture and includes any service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation or avocation of workmen.

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WHO CAN RAISE AN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE?

It must affect a large group of workmen It should invariably be taken up by the industry union or

by an appreciable number of workmen There must be a concerted demand by the workers for

redress and the grievance becomes such that it turns from individual complaint to a general complaint

If the dispute was in the beginning an individual dispute and continued to be such till referred for adjudication, it can not be converted into industrial dispute by later support from other workmen

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ESSENTIALS OF AN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE?

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On the Economy On the Employer On the Employees

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EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES?

Pay related issues Non-cooperation/ Indicipline Hostility Unwillingness to negotiate Absenteeism, alcoholism or high rate of accidents Go slow tactics Demonstrations Strikes

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Disputes caused by Unions/ Workers

General/ protest Economic Strike Sit Down Strike Slow down strike Wild Cat strike Go-slow strike

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Types of strikes

Primary Strike◦ Generally aimed against the employer

Secondary strike◦ Pressure is applied not against the primary

employer but to aid others or support other striking employees in their cause

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Typology of strikes

Abusive towards workers Lay-offs Lockout Suspension, termination Pay related issues

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Disputes caused by Management actions

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Works Committee

Conciliation officer

Industrial Undertaking

CG/State Govt.

Board Labour court

Tribunal

Arbitral Tribunal AWARD

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM

Conciliation is an important method for settlement of disputes through third-party intervention

Conciliation is a friendly intervention of a neutral person in a dispute to help parties settle differences peacefully

Various methods of conciliation are as under:

AUTHORITIES UNDER THE ACT I CONCILIATION

AUTHORITIES UNDER THIS ACT I CONCILIATION

Works Committee1. In the case of any industrial establishment in which one hundred or more

workmen are employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding twelve months the appropriate Government may by general or special order require the employer to constitute in the prescribed manner a Works Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workmen engaged in the establishment so however that the number of representatives of workmen on the Committee shall not be less than the number of represen tatives of the employer.

2. It shall be the duty of the Works Committee to promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between the employer and workmen and, to that end, to comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and endeavor to compose any material difference of opinion in respect of such matters.

3. Works Committee is set up with limited powers and for this reason they have been mere instruments without teeth

Conciliation officers( Section 4)

• The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint such number of persons as it thinks fit, to be conciliation officers, charged with the duty of mediating in and promoting the settlement of industrial disputes.

• The Act provides that if a dispute arises in a public utility industry, the conciliation officer shall obligatory hold conciliation proceedings. In case of other industry, his power is discretionary.

• If a settlement is reached, conciliation officer has to submit its report within 14 days. If no settlement is reached, conciliation officer has to send the full report citing reasons of failure

Arbitration is the process in which a neutral third party listens to disputing authorities, gathers information about dispute and makes a decision which is binding on both parties.

It differs from conciliation in the sense that in arbitration , arbitrator gives a decision on dispute while in conciliation, conciliator merely facilitates disputing authorities disputing parties to arrive at a decision.

AUTHORITIES UNDER THE ACT II ARBITRATION

Boards of Conciliation ( Section 5)

(1) The appropriate Government may as occasion arises by notification in the Official Gazette constitute a Board of Conciliation for promoting, the settlement of an industrial dispute.

(2) A Board shall consist of a Chairman and two or four other members, as the appropriate Government thinks fit.

(3) The Chairman shall be an independent person and the other members shall be persons appointed in equal numbers to represent the parties to the dispute and any person appointed to represent a party shall be appointed on the recommendation of that party:

(4) A Board, having the prescribed quorum, may act notwithstanding the

absence of the Chairman or any of its members or any vacancy in its number:

Courts of Inquiry

(1) The appropriate Government may as occasion arises by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a Court of Inquiry for inquiring into an matter appearing to be connected with or relevant to an industrial dispute.

(2) A Court may consist of one independent person or of such number of independent persons as the appropriate Government may think fit and where a Court consists of two or more members, one of them shall be appointed as the chairman.

(3) A Court, having the prescribed quorum, may act notwithstanding the absence of the chairman or any of its members or any vacancy in its number:

Provided that, if the appropriate Government notifies the Court that the services of the Chairman have ceased to be available, the Court shall not act until a new chairman has been appointment

Labour Courts (1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute

one or more Labour Courts for the adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matter specified in the Second Schedule and for performing such other functions as may be assigned to them under this Act.

(2) A Labour Court shall consist of one person only to be appointed by the appropriate Government.

(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Presiding Officer of a Labour Court, unless

1. He is, or has been, a judge of a high court; or2. He has, for a period of not less than three years, been a district judge or an

additional district judge3. He has held any judicial office in india for not less than seven years ; or4. He has been the presiding officer of a labour court constituted under any

provincial act or state act for not less than five years.

Tribunals

(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute one or more Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matter and for performing such other functions as may be assigned to them under this Act.

(2) A Tribunal shall consist of one person only to be appointed by the appropriate Government.

(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a Tribunal unless:

(a) he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court; or(b) he has, for a period of not less than three years, been a District Judge or an

Additional District Judge.

(4) The appropriate Government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint two persons as assessors to advise the Tribunal in the proceeding before it.

National Tribunals

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute one or more National Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involve questions of national importance or are of such a nature that industrial establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be interested in, or affected by, such disputes.

(2) A National Tribunal shall consist of one-person only to be appointed by the Central Government.

(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a National Tribunal unless he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court.

(4) The Central Government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint two persons as assessors to advise the National Tribunal in the proceeding before it.

Disqualifications for the Presiding Officers of Labour Courts, Tribunals and National Tribunals

• No person shall be appointed to, or continue in, the office of the Presiding Officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal, if –

1. He is not an independent person; or2. He has attained the age of sixty-five years.

Strike has been defined in Section 2(q ) of the Industrial Disputes Act in the following words.

Strike means a cessation of work by a body of persons

employed in any industry, acting in combination or a refusal under common understanding, of any number of persons who have been employed to continue to work or to accept employment.

PROVISIONS REGARDING STRIKES

1. Strikes & lockouts are prohibited in public utility services without fulfilling following conditions:

2. A statutory notice of strike/lockout must be given to employer or workmen within six weeks before striking or lockout.

3. There must be no strike/ lockout within 14 days of giving such notice.

4. Where any conciliation proceedings are pending, no strike or lockout declared during pendency of any conciliation proceedings and seven days after conclusion of proceedings.

Prohibition of Strikes and Lockouts Section 22 (1)

1. According to Section 23, no workman who is employed in any industrial establishment shall go on strike and no employer shall declare a lockout:

2. During the pendency of conciliation proceedings before a board & seven days after conclusion of proceedings

3. During pendency of proceedings before labour court, industrial or national tribunal and two months after conclusion of such proceedings.

4. During pendency of arbitration proceedings before an arbitrator and two months after conclusion of such proceedings.

General Prohibition Of Strikes and Lockouts- Section 23

1. Strikes and Lockouts are legal when they are declared in compliance with provisions of Act.

2. A strike is illegal when it is commenced in contravention of Section 22 or Section 23 of the Act.

Illegal strikes and lockouts

1. By retrenchment is meant termination of employment by which employee is discharged of the duties paying compensation as prescribed under the Industrial Disputes Act. This refers to a permanent cessation of employment. The retrenchment compensation is 15 days salary for every completed year of service of the concerned employee.

2. Lay Off, on the other hand, refers to temporary cessation of employment due to non availability of power, materials, breakdown of machinery, over stock, lack of order etc. The laid off employees will be paid lay off compensation as prescribed under the ID Act, ie, 50 % of salary. Once the work is regularised, the employees laid off will resume work as usual. The days for which they were laid off will not be counted as break in service but will enjoy all benefits of continuous service.

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Retrenchment Vs Lay-off

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1. To establish employer sponsored TU2. To encourage discourage membership of any particular 3. To refuse promotion, refuse seniority, refuse

increment/promotion, discharge or dismiss any worker taking part in any TU activity or as victimisation

4. To abolish regular nature of work replacing by contractual, recruit workers – to break a strike

5. To refuse collective bargaining

UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES

According to the Act, Award means,” any interim or a final determination of any industrial dispute or question there to by any labour court, industrial or national tribunal and includes arbitration award.

Award shall be in writing and signed by its presiding officer.

Award and Its Commencement

REFRENCES

1. PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT BY C.B.MAMORIA2. WIKIPEDIA.ORG

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