Health and Safety

Employee health and safety aims to protect workers' health, safety, and
welfare. It involves interactions between occupational medicine, hygiene,
public health, safety engineering, and other fields. The International
Labour Organization and World Health Organization define occupational
health as promoting maximum physical and mental well-being at work
through prevention of health issues caused by working conditions. An
organization's health and safety program works to foster a safe work
environment and protect coworkers and others from workplace risks to
support a smooth functioning work environment. Managers and
supervisors are responsible for monitoring employee health and safety,
providing training, and maintaining safe working conditions.

Meaning of health and safety

Health and safety all about preventing or mitigating any accidents or
incidents at your workplace, that may result in injury to your employees and
others.
Health and safety is made up of programs, legislation, regulations,
guidelines, processes and procedures that protect the safety, welfare and
health your employees and others on your site.
The overall goal of your health and safety program is to create a safe
working environment and to reduce the risk of accidents, injuries and
fatalities on the job.
Significance of health and safety
Health and Safety helps ensure all employees feel at ease in their
workingconditions. More often than not, health and safety related issues
that arisein the workplace are more of a burden to the organisation than
implementing activities to ensure the health and safety from the beginning.
Some of the overarching benefits that can come from effective health and
safety throughout organisations are:

• Decreased absences among employees

• Increased worker productivity
• Increase brand image within the wider community
• Ensure workers and stakeholders are at ease while at work
• Legal responsibilities will be met
 • Customers will be happy as they know they are buying from a fair
company

Health and Safety in the Workplace

Health and Safety in a workplace refers to the efforts your organisation
makes to ensure all your employees are as safe and healthy as
possible.The efforts made to ensure your workplace is healthy and safe,
may vary depending on what industry the organisation falls in, and what
country they are operating from.
In all jurisdictions there are legal requirements for your organisation to
meetin order to ensure you are operating a healthy and safe workplace.
In meeting the health and safety legislation the guidance is simple:

• Everyone has a role to play in health and safety

• Everyone’s responsibilities should be clear
• The focus should ene on managing work risk
• Those who create the risk then manage the risk
• Businesses are to engage with workers and enable them to actively
participate in health and safety
• There is flexibility in managing your health and safety risks.

Health and Safety Legislation

There are differing legal requirements for your organisation regarding
health and safety, depending on what industry you operating in and the
location you operate from. We suggest you contact your lawyer or your
local industry association and ask what legal requirements must be met
You need to think about your business and what are your critical risks.
Many organisations have the impression that they are required to record
their health and safety efforts on paper. While this may be beneficial to
some organisation, it is not actually a requirement, and other practices
could work just as good, if not better.

Measures to ensure industrial safety

• Establish internal policies and procedures preventing all forms

of violence and sexual harassment at work.
 • Ensure all employees’ equal access to health insurance,
including part-time workers, and to support services for
survivors of violence and harassment.
• Respect women and men workers’ rights to time off for
medical care and counseling for themselves and their
dependents.
• Provide safe working conditions and protection from exposure
to hazardous materials and disclose potential risks, including
to reproductive health.

• Address safety and security issues, including traveling to/from

work and business trips, and train security staff and managers
to recognize signs of violence against women, human
trafficking, labour and sexual exploitation.

Employee Welfare
Employee welfare, also known as staff welfare, refers to the services and benefits provided
by an employer for well-being of employees. It includes healthcare, paid time off, and
amenities. These services extend from physical to mental health among employees, helping
create an efficient and satisfied workforce. The main objective of employee welfare is to
improve employee morale, develop a better image of the company, develop efficiency, and
create a satisfied workforce.

Staff welfare is one of the critical factors of employee retention. The higher the salary for a
position, the higher the costs to rehire and retrain a new employee. There is also a correlation
between employee welfare and higher productivity. For example, Google discovered this
correlation and provided numerous perks, taking a lead on its competitors

Key features of employee welfare

Employee welfare covers anything that is done for the well-being, comfort, and improvement
of employees – whether in terms of social or intellectual. The productivity of employees
depends on the environment of the organization and the welfare measures undertaken. Some
key features of employee welfare are:

1. It is dynamic in nature and varies from region to region.

2. It is flexible as new welfare measures are added from time to time.
3. It may be introduced by the company, charitable organizations, government, and
employees.
4. These measures improve the physical, intellectual, and moral wellness of
employees.
5. It is a continuous process.
 6. It includes anything that is done over and above the wages paid, for the
betterment of employees.

Types of employee welfare

Employee welfare can be divided into two:

1. Statutory
In case of statutory, the employee welfare services are introduced by the government. It sets a
minimum standard for safety and well-being for employees at the workplace, in terms of
first-aid, hours of work, hygiene, sanitation, etc.

2. Voluntary
Voluntary employee welfare refers to the amenities provided by the organization besides the
statutory obligations. These include transport, medical treatment, free meals, schooling
facility for children, sports, games, and many more.

Benefits of welfare measures can be summarized as follows:

• They provide better physical and mental health to workers and thus promote a healthy
work environment
• Facilities like housing schemes, medical benefits, and education and recreation
facilities for workers’ families help in raising their standards of living. This makes
workers to pay more attention towards work and thus increases their productivity.
• Employers get stable labor force by providing welfare facilities. Workers take active
• interest in their jobs and work with a feeling of involvement and participation.
• Employee welfare measures increase the productivity of organization and promote
healthy industrial relations thereby maintaining industrial peace.
• The social evils prevalent among the labors such as substance abuse, etc are reduced
to a greater extent by the welfare policies.

Objectives of Employee Welfare

• Labour Welfare aims at the whole development of the person of the working class.
The Labour Welfare Policies of any organization should keep in mind the following
objectives:
• 1. To increase the standard of living of the working class: The labourer is more
prone to exploitation from the capitalists if there is no standardized way of looking
after their welfare.
• 2. To make the management feel the employees are satisfied about the work and
working conditions.
• 3. To reduce the labour problems in the organisaton: There are various problems
affecting the workers, problems like absenteeism, turnover ratio, indebtedness,
alcoholism, etc., which make the labourer further weak both physically and
 psychologically. Labour Welfare looks forward to helping the labourer to overcome
these problems.
• To recognise human values:Every person has his own personality and needs to be
recognized and developed. It is in the hands of the management to shape them and
help them grow. The management employs various methods to recognize each one’s
worth as an individual and as an asset to the organization.
• 5. Labour Welfare helps to foster a sense of responsibilty in the industry: A
person works both in a group and as an individual. If the person is given responsibility
he will act better or else he will be only a slave to the direction of the superiors and
will not show any initiative to prove his worth,
• 6. Labour Welfare improves industrial relations and reduces industrial disputes:
Industrial dispute in any industry is a sign of unsatisfied employees. Labour Welfare
measures act as a preventive tool to most of these disputes.
• 7. To retain the employees: There should be fixed policies: This calls in to prepare
the policies, to conduct different training programmes, to have various motivational
schemes, to create interest in the job. The employees who feel secure in an
organisation, backed by fixed welfare policies have less chance of looking for a job
elsewhere.
• 8. To show up their positive mind in the work: Positive mind refers to the
development of one’s attitudes. This is to change the negative attitude into positive.
• 9. To influence over other employees: This means Labour Welfare helps to change
one’s personality – presentation skills, communication skills, inter-personal
relationships, etc. This is best achieved when their morale is kept high by the different
welfare schemes.
• 10. To increase the bargaining power of the employees: Bargaining means to
systematically extract something from the opponent. The better bargaining power, the
better influence on the opponent. Labour welfare measures like formation of works
committee, worker’s participation, Trade Union, etc., will surely help them to have
better bargaining power.

Statutory Welfare Schemes

The statutory welfare schemes include the following provisions:

• 1. Drinking Water: At all the working places safe hygienic drinking water should be
provided.
• 2. Facilities for sitting: In every organization, especially factories, suitable seating
arrangements are to be provided.
• 3. First aid appliances: First aid appliances are to be provided and should be readily
assessable so that in case of any minor accident initial medication can be provided to
the needed employee.
• 4. Latrines and Urinals: A sufficient number of latrines and urinals are to be provided
in the office and factory premises and are also to be maintained in a neat and clean
condition.
• 5. Canteen facilities: Cafeteria or canteens are to be provided by the employer so as to
provide hygienic and nutritious food to the employees.
• 6. Spittoons: In every work place, such as ware houses, store places, in the dock area
and office premises spittoons are to be provided in convenient places and same are to
be maintained in a hygienic condition.
 • 7. Lighting: Proper and sufficient lights are to be provided for employees so that they
can work safely during the night shifts.
• 8. Washing places: Adequate washing places such as bathrooms, wash basins with tap
and tap on the stand pipe are provided in the port area in the vicinity of the work
places.
• 9. Changing rooms: Adequate changing rooms are to be provided for workers to
change their cloth in the factory area and office premises. Adequate lockers are also
provided to the workers to keep their clothes and belongings.
• 10. Rest rooms: Adequate numbers of restrooms are provided to the workers with
provisions of water supply, wash basins, toilets, bathrooms, etc.

Non Statutory Schemes

Many non-statutory welfare schemes may include the following schemes:

• 1. Personal Health Care (Regular medical check-ups): Some of the companies provide
the facility for extensive health check-up
• 2. Flexi-time: The main objective of the flexitime policy is to provide opportunity to
employees to work with flexible working schedules. Flexible work schedules are
initiated by employees and approved by management to meet business commitments
while supporting employee personal life needs
• 3. Employee Assistance Programs: Various assistant programs are arranged like
external counselling service so that employees or members of their immediate family
can get counselling on various matters.
• 4. Harassment Policy: To protect an employee from harassments of any kind,
guidelines are provided for proper action and also for protecting the aggrieved
employee.
• 5. Maternity & Adoption Leave: Employees can avail maternity or adoption leaves.
Paternity leave policies have also been introduced by various companies.
• 6. Medi-claim Insurance Scheme: This insurance scheme provides adequate insurance
coverage of employees for expenses related to hospitalization due to illness, disease
or injury or pregnancy.
• 7. Employee Referral Scheme: In several companies employee referral scheme is
implemented to encourage employees to refer friends and relatives for employment in
the organization.

Social Security
Social security is an essential part of our daily lives. In the age of modern technology where
almost everything is carried out online, financial and social security are of utmost
importance. This benefit is accorded to a special demographic. In other words, social
security also suggests protection from discrimination and injustices based on socially
constructed categories. Social security is ensured by the state to its citizens. Government is
responsible to carry out policies and functions that provide social security benefits to
individuals.
Social security provides a sense of stability and reliability. Social securities are certain
considerations and benefits accorded to individuals based on their belonging to a
country. Social security is a feature of democratic governments. In other words, social
security also suggests protection from discrimination and injustices based on socially
constructed categories. Social security is an essential part of our daily lives. The social
security system operating in the USA is essentially a social security pension. The Indian
central government allocates a good portion of the annual budget on social security and its
development. Social security in India is divided into many branches some of which are:
• Retirement benefits
• Medical insurance also covers healthcare facilities
• Disability insurance
• Unemployment and life benefits
• Food security
• Maternity benefits
• Rural employment benefits
In this programme, social security is provided to retired individuals, disabled individuals, and
survivors. Social security functions on the following principles:
• It provides a financial resource for disabled workers, survivors as well as retired
individuals
• It provides a sense of stability and reliability
• This insurance is paid into by the workers.

Employee to Employer Relationship-an overview

The employee to employer relationship definition refers to the working

connection between employees and employers in the workplace. In
order to produce outcomes that are beneficial to the corporation,
managers and subordinates are reliant on one another. As a result, the
two must have a strong relationship. In the contact point field, the
management of such a relationship among the two is crucial. Employee
satisfaction rises in direct proportion to the strength of the connection,
resulting in improved performance. To qualify for these advantages, one
must keep the importance of the employer-employee relationship in
sight.
Employers and workers have a formal connection called an employment
relationship. It emerges when a person undertakes employment or
provides services for a fee within specific circumstances.

The practice of managing relationships in a company is

known as employee relationship management, or ERM.
These connections can be made between the company and
its employees and between coworkers on the same level.
Human Resource Management considers employee
relationship management to be a distinct discipline.
Employee relationship management (ERM) is the procedure
of implementing control techniques and procedures to
govern employee relationships with one another and with
their employers.Employee employer relations are the
essential for the proper functioning of the team. This article
will go through the definitions, benefits and tips on how to
improve them.

The employee to employer relationship definition refers to

the working connection between employees and employers
in the workplace. In order to produce outcomes that are
beneficial to the corporation, managers and subordinates are
reliant on one another. As a result, the two must have a
strong relationship. In the contact point field, the
management of such a relationship among the two is
crucial. Employee satisfaction rises in direct proportion to the
strength of the connection, resulting in improved
performance. To qualify for these advantages, one must
keep the importance of the employer-employee relationship
in sight.
Employers and workers have a formal connection called an employment
relationship. It emerges when a person undertakes employment or provides
services for a fee within specific circumstances.

The practice of managing relationships in a company is known as employee

relationship management, or ERM. These connections can be made
between the company and its employees and between coworkers on the
same level. Human Resource Management considers employee relationship
management to be a distinct discipline. Employee relationship management
(ERM) is the procedure of implementing control techniques and procedures
to govern employee relationships with one another and with their
employers.

Benefits of Good Employee Employer Relationship

There are many benefits of maintaining good employee-employer relations.

Some of these benefits are listed below:

• Employee-employer relationships that are amicable assist economic

growth and development, which adds to increased productivity.
Increased efficiency translates to increased performance and
development.
• Employees will work more effectively if they have a beneficial
connection with their bosses. They will put in their maximum effort to
guarantee the project’s success. Companies with pleasant
connections will be successful in maintaining output consistency.
• Employee interactions are the foundation of every company. Poor
employee relations will hurt performance and lead to a high rate of
staff turnover. Employees will use their talents and expertise to the
maximum extent possible to contribute to the company’s success if
they feel appreciated.
• Organizations with strong employee relations offer better
compensation and deliver additional appealing perks, putting it in the
employee’s greatest advantage to continue. Even when employees
are dissatisfied with their current employer, they are less likely to
 leave for another if they are content with their current work
environment. Employee morale and motivation improve when they
work in a nice setting.
• Employees remain with a firm for extended periods when relations
with the higher management are satisfactory, allowing them to
thoroughly understand the organization’s rules, procedures, and
operations. Employees with extensive information within the
organization are valuable assets. They are extremely qualified,
effective, and can teach new personnel. Most businesses find it
difficult to substitute established personnel, particularly in industries
that rely heavily on highly skilled workers.
• Employee disengagement may cost businesses millions of dollars in
damage to production. Companies with engaged employees due to
excellent employee-employer relationships have better production.
To boost motivation and confidence, businesses must ensure that
their employees feel empowered and valued.
• Disputes and difficulties at work are all too prevalent. In every
business, conflicts are unavoidable, and they can vary from concerns
about biased hiring practices to employment environments.
Workplace conflicts negatively influence a company’s performance
and are prone to lead to a climate of suspicion between employees
and bosses, which can impede performance.
• Employees are a company’s most important commodity. The company’s
success will be determined by how they operate. They will strive to
accomplish the company’s expectations if they are engaged and
motivated. Employees and the business as a whole will benefit from a
good employee-employer relationship.

Grievance Handling Procedure

2. Introduction

Grievances relate to problems of interpretation or perceived nonfulfillment of one’s expectations

from the organisation. A grievance is a complaint of one or more workers with respect to the
organisation. It can be related to wages, conditions of work, leave, transfer, overtime, promotion,
seniority, job assignment and termination of service.

2.1 According to Dale Yoder “A grievance is a written complaint filed by an employee and
claiming unfair treatment.”
 2.2 Keith Davis defines it as “any real or imagined feeling of personal injustice which an
employee has concerning his employment relationship.”

2.3 According to Jucius “a grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed

or not, whethe valid or not arising out of anything connected with the company which an
employee thinks believes or feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable.”

Causes of Grievances

An employee is dissatisfied and harbors a grievance when he feels there has been an
infringement of his rights that his interests has been jeopardized. This sense of grievance
generally arises out of misinterpretation or misapplication of company policies and practices.

Grievances mostly arise out of following reasons:

3.1Concerning wages

Demand for individual adjustment; the worker feels that he is not paid fully.

Complaints about incentives; piece rates are too low or too complicated.

Mistakes in calculating the wages of the workers;

3.2Concerning supervision

Complaints against discipline; inadequate instructions given for job performance .

Objections of having a particular foreman; the foreman playing favorite; the foreman ignores
complaints.

Objections to the manner in which the general methods of supervision are used; there are too
many rules; regulations are not clearly posted.

3.3General working conditions

Unhygienic working conditions

Poor production standards

Non availability of tools, materials and equipments

3.4Collective bargaining
 The company is attempting to undermine the trade union and the workers who belong to that
union; the contract with labor force has been violated; the company does not deal effectively
with union grievances.

The company does not allow the supervisors to deal with and settle the grievances of the
employees.

The company disregards the agreements already arrived at with the workers or their trade
union.

Grievance redressal machinery

A grievance procedure is a formal process which is preliminary to an

arbritration, which enables the parties involved to attempt to resolve their
differences in a peaceful manner. It enables the company and the trade
union to investigate and discuss the problem at issues without in any way
interrupting the peaceful and orderly conduct of business. When the
grievance redressal machinery works effectively, it satisfactorily resolves
most of the disputes between labour and management.

The grievance procedure may be of an open door type or of step ladder

type. In an open door policy the management asserts that no employee is
prevented from going to it directly with his grievance and even meet the
head of the firm in an effort to have his grievance properly attended to it.
This type of policy is useful in case of small units.

5.1 Grievance Procedure

 Grievance redressal machinery

A grievance procedure is a formal process which is preliminary to an arbritration, which

enables the parties involved to attempt to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner. It
enables the company and the trade union to investigate and discuss the problem at issues without
in any way interrupting the peaceful and orderly conduct of business. When the grievance
redressal machinery works effectively, it satisfactorily resolves most of the disputes between
labour and management.

The grievance procedure may be of an open door type or of step ladder type. In an open door
policy the management asserts that no employee is prevented from going to it directly with his
grievance and even meet the head of the firm in an effort to have his grievance properly attended
to it. This type of policy is useful in case of small units.

4.1Exit interview

Interviewing employees who have decided to quit the company could reveal a lot about what
is not visible to the naked eye. These are very useful as the company can come to know what
problems are been faced by the employees.

4.2 Opinion surveys

A survey could be undertaken to find out how employees feel about the company about the
work, their colleagues.

4.3 Gripe boxes

Gripe boxes may be kept at prominent locations in the factory for. lodging anonymous
complaints pertaining to any aspect relating to work. Since the person lodging the complaint
need not reveal his identity he can reveal his feelings of injustice or discontent fairly and without
any fear of victimization.

4.4 Open door policy

This is a kind of walk in interview or meeting with the manager when the employees can
express his feelings about any work related grievance. The manager can cross check the details
of the complaint through various means at his disposal.

4.5 Observation

In this grievance identification technique grievances are not heard from the aggrieved
employee directly, rather the manager or the immediate supervisor constantly tracks the behavior
of the employees working under him. If he comes across an employee who exhibits an indifferent
attitude, experiences difficulties in getting along with people, mishandles or damages tools,
equipment or materials due to carelessness or he/she is quite often absent then they infer such an
employee has some serious grievances which needs immediate action and remedy.

5 Grievance redressal machinery

A grievance procedure is a formal process which is preliminary to an arbritration, which

enables the parties involved to attempt to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner. It
enables the company and the trade union to investigate and discuss the problem at issues without
in any way interrupting the peaceful and orderly conduct of business. When the grievance
redressal machinery works effectively, it satisfactorily resolves most of the disputes between
labour and management.

The grievance procedure may be of an open door type or of step ladder type. In an open door
policy the management asserts that no employee is prevented from going to it directly with his
grievance and even meet the head of the firm in an effort to have his grievance properly attended
to it. This type of policy is useful in case of small units.

5.1 Grievance Procedure In an unionized organisation, the operation of the grievance

procedure may contain the following steps:

5.1.1 The aggrieved employee verbally explains his grievance to his immediate supervisor or
in a conference or a discussion specifically arranged for the purpose. The employee seeks
satisfaction from his supervisor. The grievance can be settled if the supervisor has been properly
trained for the purpose, and if he adheres strictly to a basic problem solving method.

5.1.2 The second step begins when the grievance is not settled by the supervisor. In this case
it is sent to a higher level manager with a note in which are mentioned the time, place and nature
of the action to which the employee objects. The higher level manager is generally a
superintendent or an industrial relations officer.

5.1.3 Now the grievance is to be submitted to the grievance committee since the decisions of
the supervisor and of the higher level manager have not solved the problem. The committee
which is composed of some fellow employees, management representatives, considers the record
and may suggest some possible solution.
 5.1.4 If the decision or suggestion of the grievance committee is not accepted by the grievant
he may approach the management or the corporate executive.

5.1.5 The final step is taken when the grievance is referred to an arbitrator who is acceptable
to the employee as well as the management.
In practice grievance procedure differs from company to company. For example at Patni
Computers the employees can file their complaints on the intranet through the “E-Care”-the
grievance resolution system. The complaints centre around three areas ie human resources,
facilities and project related. The response should be made within 4 days failing to which it is
auto escalated to the next level-from the process owner to the function head to the management
council.

Benefits of a grievance redressal procedure

A sound grievance redressal procedure offers the following benefits to

an organisation.

1 Enables the management to know the pulse of its employees by learning

about their feelings and opinions and about the policies and practices of
the organisation.

2 Provides a channel to the aggrieved employees to express their

grievances about various aspects of their jobs.

3 Provides clues about the behavior and attitude of the managers and
supervisors towards their subordinates.

4 Gives an assurance to the employees about the existence of a

mechanism for the prompt redressal of their grievance.

5 Boosts up the morale of the employees by ensuring that the grievance

will be handled in a fair and transparent manner.

Industrial Disputes
According to the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. Section 2 (K) “Industrial
Disputes mean any dispute or difference between employers and employers
or between employers and workmen or between workmen and workmen,
which is connected with the employment or non - employment or terms of
employment or with the conditions of labour of any person”.
 Industrial disputes can be classified into four major types, known as interest
disputes, grievance disputes, unfair labour practices disputes and recognition
disputes.

CAUSES OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

Industrial disputes are a common feature of all industrialized economies,

whether it is a capitalist economy or socialist economy or mixed economy.
Industry and industrial dispute always go hand in hand infact they are the two
sides of the same coin. The employees who give their services and time to the
industry are interested in higher wages, good working conditions and want to
have a voice in management. The employers on the other hand are more
interested in profits, productivity, quality and control o f cost. With both these
forces acting in opposite direction there is a maximum possibility o f disputes
and so industrial disputes has become a major feature of industrialization.

Industrial disputes may arise out of economic, political, social or from socio
- economic background. At the same time the attitude of the employers and
employees is also responsible to a great extent. The factors leading to
industrial disputes may be industry related, management related, government
related or union related.

The most common causes of industrial disputes can be listed as:

Wages and Allowances 2. Personnel Policies 3. Retrenchment 4. Lay off 5. Leave

hours of work 6. Bonus 7. Indiscipline 8. Violence 9. Inter Union rivalry 10. Non-
lementation of awards or agreements 11. Non-fulfillment of demands 12. Workload 13.
rk standards 14. Surplus labour 15. Working conditions 16. Change of manufacturing process
Violation of rules or codes 18. Shift working 19. Political motives 20. Closure or lockouts
nability to communicate effectively 22. Refusal to recognize unions 23. Authoritarian or
ocratic attitude of management. 24. Non-implementation of labour law.

Whatever may be the reason for an industrial dispute what disturbs the most
is the amount of loss to the nation. A developing country with pressure of
population, per capita income, poor infrastructure and low standard of living
cannot afford to have such out of proportion disputes and loss of mandays.

Industrial Dispute Settlement Machinery

Some of the major industrial dispute settlement machinery are as described:- 1. Conciliation
2. Court of Inquiry 3. Voluntary Arbitration & 4. Adjudication. This machinery has been
provided under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. It, in fact, provides a legalistic way of setting
the disputes. As said above, the goal of preventive machinery is to create an environment
where the disputes do not arise at all.

This machinery comprises following organs:

1. Conciliation
2. Court of enquiry.
3. Voluntary arbitration
4. Adjudication (Compulsory arbitration)

1. Conciliation
Conciliation is a form of mediation. Mediation is the act of making active effort to bring two
conflicting parties to compromise. Mediation, however, differs from conciliation in that
whereas conciliator plays only a passive and indirect role, and the scope of his functions is
provided under the law, the mediator takes active part and the scope of his activities are not
subject to any statutory provisions.

Conciliation is the practice by which the services of a neutral party are used in a dispute as a
means of helping the disputing parties to reduce the extent of their differences and to arrive
at an amicable settlement of agreed solution. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provides for
conciliation, and can be utilised either by appointing conciliation officers (permanently or for
a limited period) or by constituting a board of conciliation.

This conciliation machinery can take a note of a dispute or apprehend dispute either on With
a view to expediting conciliation proceeding, time-limits have been prescribed-14 days in the
case of conciliation officers and two months in the case of a board of conciliation, settlement
arrived at in the course of conciliation is binding for such period as may be agreed upon
between the parties or for a period of 6 months and with continue to be binding until revoked
by either party. The Act prohibits strike and lockout during the pendency of conciliation
proceedings before a Board and for seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings.

Conciliation Officer: The law provides for the appointment of Conciliation Officer by the
Government to conciliate between the parties to the industrial dispute. The Conciliation
Officer is given the powers of a civil court, whereby he is authorised to call the witness the
parties on oath. It should be remembered, however, whereas civil court cannot go beyond
interpreting the laws, the conciliation officer can go behind the facts and make judgment
which will be binding upon the parties.

On receiving information about a dispute, the conciliation officer should give formal
intimation in writing to the parties concerned of his intention to commence conciliation
proceedings from a specified date. He should then start doing all such things as he thinks fit
for the purpose of persuading the parties to come to fair and amicable settlement of the
dispute.

Conciliation is an art where the skill, tact, imagination and even personal influence of the
conciliation officer affect his success. The Industrial Disputes Act, therefore, does not
prescribe any procedure to the followed by him. The conciliation officer is required to submit
his report to the appropriate government along with the copy of the settlement arrived at in
relation to the dispute or in case conciliation has failed, he has to send a detailed report
giving out the reasons for failure of conciliation. The report in either case must be submitted
within 14 days of the commencement of conciliation proceedings or earlier.

But the time for submission of the report may be extended by an agreement in writing of all
the parties to the dispute subject to the approval of the conciliation officer. If an agreement is
reached (called the memorandum of settlement), it remains binding for such period as is
agreed upon by the parties, and if no such period is agreed upon, for a period of six months
from the date on which the memorandum of settlement is signed by the parties to the
dispute, and continues to be binding on the parties after the expiry of the period aforesaid,
until the expiry of two months from the date on which a notice in writing of an intention to
terminate the settlement is given by one of the party or parties to the settlement. Board of
Conciliation In case Conciliation Officer fails to resolve the differences between the parties,
the government has the discretion to appoint a Board of Conciliation.

The Board is tripartite and ad hoc body. It consists of a chairman and two or four other
members. The chairman is to be an independent person and other members are nominated
in equal number by the parties to the dispute. Conciliation proceedings before a Board are
similar to those that take place before the Conciliation Officer. The Government has yet
another option of referring the dispute to the Court of Inquiry instead of the Board of
Conciliation.

The machinery of the Board is set in motion when a dispute is referred to it. In other words,
the Board does not hold the conciliation proceedings of its own accord. On the dispute being
referred to the Board, it is the duty of the Board to do all things as it thinks fit for the purpose
of inducing the parties to come to a fair and amicable settlement. The Board must submit its
report to the government within two months of the date on which the dispute was referred to
it. This period can be further extended by the government by two months.

2. Court of Inquiry
In case of the failure of the conciliation proceedings to settle a dispute, the government can
appoint a Court of Inquiry to enquire into any matter connected with or relevant to industrial
dispute. The court is expected to submit its report within six months. The court of enquiry
may consist of one or more persons to be decided by the appropriate government. The court
of enquiry is required to submit its report within a period of six months from the
commencement of enquiry.

This report is subsequently published by the government within 30 days of its receipt. Unlike
during the period of conciliation, workers‟ right to strike, employers right to lockout, and
employers right to dismiss workmen, etc. remain unaffected during the proceedings in a
court to enquiry. A court of enquiry is different from a Board of Conciliation. The former aims
at inquiring into and revealing the causes of an industrial dispute. On the other hand, the
latter's basic objective is to promote the settlement of an industrial dispute. Thus, a court of
enquiry is primarily fact-finding machinery.

3. Voluntary Arbitration
On failure of conciliation proceedings, the conciliation officer many persuade the parties to
refer the dispute to a voluntary arbitrator. Voluntary arbitration refers to getting the disputes
settled through an independent person chosen by the parties involved mutually and
voluntarily. In other words, arbitration offers an opportunity for a solution of the dispute
through an arbitrator jointly appointed by the parties to the dispute.

The process of arbitration saves time and money of both the parties which is usually wasted
in case of adjudication. Voluntary arbitration became popular as a method a settling
differences between workers and management with the advocacy of Mahatma Gandhi, who
had applied it very successfully in the Textile industry of Ahmedabad. However, voluntary
arbitration was lent legal identity only in 1956 when Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was
amended to include a provision relating to it.

The provision for voluntary arbitration was made because of the lengthy legal proceedings
and formalities and resulting delays involved in adjudication. It may, however, be noted that
arbitrator is not vested with any judicial powers. He derives his powers to settle the dispute
from the agreement that parties have made between themselves regarding the reference of
dispute to the arbitrator. The arbitrator should submit his award to the government.

The government will then publish it within 30 days of such submission. The award would
become enforceable on the expiry of 30 days of its publication. Voluntary arbitration is one of
the democratic ways for setting industrial disputes. It is the best method for resolving
industrial conflicts and is a close supplement to collective bargaining. It not only provides a
voluntary method of settling industrial disputes, but is also a quicker way of settling them. It is
based on the notion of self-government in industrial relations.

Furthermore, it helps to curtail the protracted proceedings attendant on adjudication,

connotes a healthy attitude and a developed outlook; assists in strengthening the trade union
movement and contributes for building up sound and cordial industrial relations.

4. Adjudication:
The ultimate remedy for the settlement of an industrial dispute is its reference to
adjudication by labour court or tribunals when conciliation machinery fails to bring about a
settlement. Adjudication consists of settling disputes through intervention by the third party
appointed by the government.

The law provides the adjudication to be conducted by the Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal of
National Tribunal. A dispute can be referred to adjudication if hot the employer and the
recognised union agree to do so. A dispute can also be referred to adjudication by the
Government even if there is no consent of the parties in which case it is called compulsory
adjudication.