Industrial conflict

Definition
• “According to industrial disputes act1947, Industrial disputes means
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 the terms
of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person.”
Types of industrial dispute
• Interest dispute:
• It is related to determination of new wage level and other condition
of employment.
• Rights dispute:
• Such disputes are related to Grieveances such as dismissal, payment
of wages, demotion, promotion, overtime work job security,
obligation related to health and safety.
Recognition disputes
• Recognition disputes arises when the management of an undertaking
or employers organisations refuse to recognize a trade union for the
purpose of collective bargaining.
• Disputes of unfair labour problems:
• The most common unfair labour practices include attempts taken by
management of an undertaking to discriminate against workers on
the ground that they are trade union members or participate in trade
union activity.
• Example refusal to bargain collectively in good faith.
Features of industrial dispute:
• Industrial conflict is a human conflict:
• It is just one aspect of the general conflict inhritent in capitalist
society, based upon pursuit of self interest in self economic life every
individual and the group to which he belongs.
• The industrial conflict between labour and capital is one
manifestation of this all pervasive conflict in the capitalist economy.
Urge for higher wages and profit
• The coming together of workers motivated by their worker urge of
obtaining the highest possible wages and owners of capital motivated
by profit maximisation is the basic cause of industrial conflict.
• Conflict among workers and employers:
• Conflict is like conflict between buyer and seller.
• The seller seeks to sell his commodity at the highest possible rate that
he can extract and the buyer seeks to pay lowest possible price.
Conflict is not personal
• It results from capitalist system itself,
• In a competitive market situation, the constant drive for cost
reduction is needed for the mere survival of a business enterprise.
• Limitations of the system:
• It is not that the employer is cruel and enjoys sight of misery, disease
and wants among his workers.
Labour power
• The labour sells his power but retain its it in his person.
• It depends upon the bargaining power of employees.
• Conflict of interests.
• It is found not only in the spheres of wages and profits alone rather it
bedevils the totality of relationship arising out of coming together of
labour and capital in the capitalist form of economic organisation.
Profit maximisation
• It may require authoritarian administration of the enterprise closer
supervision of workers, maintenance of strict discipline and complete
obedience of rules of the enterprise.
Impact of industrial dispute
• High impression:
• Dispute brings in new impression in the mind of employees and
management and brings about change in organisations environment.
• New outlook:
• Disputes help to find out existing problems of the organisation and
help the organisation to add some new changes that can be
conductive for the improvement of activities of the organisation.
Prompt solution

• Any dispute within the organisation can be solved by giving a prompt

solution to the problems.
• Clear explanation:
• When any dispute arises prompt solution should be given to the
problem.
• Creativity.
• When any dispute arises suggestions, opinion, or decision is needed
to take from different organisations which helps the employees to
explore their creativity.
Negative impact of industrial relation
• Feeling of defeat:
• Disputes can create deprivation in the minds of employee as they feel
they will be defeated.
• Distance;
• It creates distance between employer and employee relationship.
• Lack of confidence:
• Labour turnover
• Problem making attitude
• Change in intention
Impact of industrial dispute
• Economic factors
• Demand for higher wages
• Demand for higher allowances and wages
• For allowances and bonus
• High industrial profit
• Non economic factors
• Working conditions and working hours
• Automation of machinery.
High industrial profit
Noneconomic Factors:
Working conditions and working hours
Political causes
Indiscipline
Non- recognition of trade union
Weakness of trade union
Miscellaneous cause- behavior of supervisors, lack of proper
communication.
Management causes
• Unfair labour practices
• Ineffective supervision
• Violation of acceptable norms.
• Union rivalry
• Non cooperative approach
• Political interference
strikes
• “Strikes is a temporary cessation of work by a group of employee in
order to express grievance or to enforce demand concerning changes
in work condition”.
Causes for strike
• Victimisation of membership
• Trade union recognition.
• Wages disputes
• Internal union disputes
• Grieveances.
• Job insecurity.
• Unequal workloads.
• Improper personal policies.
Types of strikes
• Stay away strike:
• The employees will stay away from workplace. They will organize rally,
demonstrations.
• Stay in strike:
• In this strike workmen come to place, the stay but they don’t work.
• Tools down strike:
• In this strike the strikers lay down their tools, factory workers lay
down their strike.
Token strike
• It is a very short duration. In this strike workers do not work for an
hour or a day.
• Lighting or strike:
• The strikers strike without any prior notice or with short notice.
• Go slow strike:
• In this workers reduce their working speed.
picketing
• It is an act of posting pickets and implies machinery or patrolling of
the workmen in front of the workmen in front of the premises of the
employer.
• Boycott:
• it aims at disrupting the normal functioning of the enterprise.
• Gherao: it is a physical blockage of target.
• Hunger strike:
• This type of strike is resorted to either by leaders or some workers all
a time in small batches
• Political strike:
• Strike which is directed against state and its authorities is called as
political strike.
• Bandhs:
• Bandhs means that the community or political party declaring bandhs
except the general public to stay in their homes and strike
Collective bargaining
• Collective bargaining is essentially a process in which employees act
as a group in seeking to shape conditions and relationships in their
employment.
Features of collective bargaining
• It is collective in two ways.
• Workers collectively bargain for their common interests and benefits.
• Equal bargaining strength:
• The bargaining strength of both the parties are equal.
• It is industrial democracy at work.
Flexible
• It is a group action where representatives of workers and
management expand energies in order to arrive at solution.
• It is a give and take policy.
• Voluntary:
Both management and workers come to negotiating table in order to
have meaningful dialogue.
continuous
• It is a continuous process.
• It does not start with negotiation and end with an agreement.
• Dynamic process:
• It is a dynamic process because the way agreements are arrived and
the way in which it will be implemented.
Power relationship.
• Workers want to gain more from management and management
wants to extract the maximum from workers and by offering as little
as possible.
• Representation:
• It represents both labour and management.
Bipartite process
• The employers and employee negotiate the issues directly face to
face.
• Safeguard interest:
• It safeguards interest of both parties (management and workers).
Types of collective bargaining
• Distributive bargaining:
• The parties try to maximize their respective gains.
• The try to settle economic issues like wages, bonus.
• Integrative bargaining:
• It often takes the form of joint problem solving.
• Both management and worker come together to solve a problem.
Productivity bargaining
• In this method workers wages and benefits are linked to productivity.
• A standard productivity index is fixed and workers have to strive hard
to achieve the goals.
• Composite bargaining:
• In this method workers bargain for wages as usual but goes a step
further demanding equity in matters relating to work norms, etc
Concessionary bargaining
• Concessionary is opposite of other bargaining.
• The object is to give back the management what they gained in
previous bargaining.
Process of collective bargaining
• Preparing for negotiation:
• Careful and advance preparation by employers and employee.
Identifying bargaining issues:
Example: issues related to wages, economic benefits, seniority,
employee discipline.
Negotiating
• It begins with each side presenting their initial demand.
• It goes on for days until and agreements is reached.
• Reaching and ratifying the agreement:
• In this stage negotiating team explains and put them for voting.
• Once voting is done the agreement is finalized.
Contract administration
• The agreement should be implemented according to the letter of
spirit.
• The HR manager plays crucial role inn day to day activities of the firm
Importance of collective bargaining
• Society:
• Leads to industrial peace in the country.
• Results in establishment of harmonious industrial climate.
• Employees :
• Develops a sense of self respect
• Increases the morale and productivity of employees.
Employers
• Promotes sense of security among the employers.
• Opens upon channel of communication between top bottom and
middle level.
Conciliation
• Conciliation is the practice where by which services of a neutral third
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 or agreed solution.
Powers of conciliation machinery
• Power to enter premises.
• The conciliation officer or a member of a board or court have the
rights to enter the premises after giving reasonable notice.
• Powers of civil court:
• Enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath.
• Issuing commissions for examination of witness.
Power to call for and inspect documents
• A conciliation officer has the right to inspect the documents of the
factory.
• Power to appoint assessors:
• Assessors give advise in the proceedings before it.
Duties of a conciliation officer
• To hold conciliation proceedings.
• To investigate the dispute
• To send a report and memorandum of settlement to appropriate
Government.
• Where no settlement is arrived
Duties of board of conciliation.
• To bring in about settlement of dispute.
• To send memorandum of settlement to appropriate Government.
• To submit report within two months.
Arbitration.
• Arbitration is a process in which a third party listens to disputing
parties, gathers information about the dispute and makes decision to
be binding both the parties.
Types of arbitration
• Voluntary arbitration:
• In voluntary arbitration the arbitrator is appointed by both the parties
with mutual consent.
• The arbitrator acts when the dispute is referred to him.
Compulsory arbitration.
• When the disputing parties exhaust other means of settling their
dispute, the Government can force the parties for compulsory
arbitration.
• The award of both the compulsory is binding both the parties.
Adjudication
• It is an ultimate remedy for settlement of dispute in India.
• The Industrial dispute act, 1947 provides three tier adjudication
machinery which includes the following:
• Labour Court(Section7)
• Industrial Tribunal(Section7(A).
• National Tribunal(section7(B)
LabourCourt
• The appropriate Government by notification in the official Gazette,
one or more labour courts for adjudication of industrial dispute
relating to any matters specified in the second schedule.
• Qualification for appointment of Judges:
• He is or has been a judge of a High court.
• He has, for a period of not less than three years, been a district judge
or an additional District Judge
• He has held any judicial office in India for not less than seven years.
• He has been the presiding officer of a Labour Court constituted under
any provincial Act or State Act for not less than five years.
Duties of labour court.
• The labour court deals with issues related to the following:
• The propriety or legality of an order passed by an employer under
standing order.
• Illegality or otherwise of a strike or lock- out.
• Withdrawal of any statutory concession or privilege.
Duties of industrial tribunal
• Wages including the period and payment mode.
• Hours of work and rest period
• Classification of grade
• Bonus, profit sharing, providend fund and gratuity.
• Leave with wages and holidays.
Lock outs
• “Lock out means the temporary closing of a place of employment or
suspension of work, or refusal by an employer to continue to employ
any number of person employed by him”.
Features of lock out
• Counterpart of strike:
• A lockout is an counterpart of a strike.
• Just as the employees go on strike, the employers also have weapon
against the employees.
• Closure of industrial undertaking
Suspension of employment

• Involves some intention.

• Suspension of employment.
• But the following do not constitute lock out.
• Prohibiting an individual is not a lock out.
• Termination of services of more than one person at the same time
would or be lock out.
Prevention machinery of industrial dispute.
• Negotiation:
• Negotiation is one of the most common approaches to make
decisions and manage disputes.
• Works committees
• Joint management Councils
• Standing orders
• Grievance procedure
• Code of discipline
• Mediation
• Collective Bargaining
• Conciliation
• Arbitration
• Adjudication.
Mediation
• “Mediation is one way of making direct and immediate contact with
others in manner that allows us to resolve dispute and at the same
time, experience being part of a larger community.”
Mediation process
• Opening the mediation:
• Information sharing and issue identification
• Exchange and negotiation
• Agreement and conclusion
Negotiation
• Negotiation is a means of getting what you want from others.
Features of negotiation
• There are two or more persons.
• There is a conflict of interests.
• Negotiation is a voluntary process.
• There is a Notion of give and take policy.
• There is mutual fulfillment of needs.
• There is use of strategies to influence other parties.
Types of negotiation.
• Distributive negotiation:
• Distributive negotiation is also called as win- lose bargaining.
• Integrative negotiation:
• It is termed as interested based bargaining.
Process of negotiation
• Preparation and planning.
• Nature of conflict.
• Person involved and their perception about the conflict.
• Expectations from negotiation.
• Goals.
Definition of ground rules.

• Person doing negotiation

• Place of negotiation process.
• Applicable time constraints.
• Clarification and justification.
• Bargaining and problem solving.
• Closure and implementation.
Importance of negotiation.

• Helps in conflict resolution.

• Helps in cost reduction.
• Strengthens and maintain better relation.
• Provides competitive advantage.
• Find solution to problem.