INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE

&
EMPLOYEE
GRIEVANCES
Chapter 4
 Disputes mainly relate to the strife between
employers and their employees.

According to the Industrial Dispute Act,1947 sec

(2(k)),Industrial disputes mean any dispute or difference
between employers and employers, or between
employers and workmen, or between workmen and
workmen, which relates to the employment or non
employment or terms of employment or with the
conditions of labor of any person.
 ❑ Industrial Factors
❑ Managements Attitude
Factors of towards workers
Industrial Dispute ❑ Government Mechanisms ;
and
❑ Other Causes
➢ Industrial Factors

i. An industrial matter relating to

employment, work, wages, hours of
work, privileges, the rights and
obligations of employees and employers,
terms and conditions of employment
including matters pertaining to dismissal
or non-employment of any person,
registered agreement , settlement.
ii. An industrial matter in which both the
parties are directly and substantially
interested.
iii. Disputes arising out of unemployment,
inflation, rivalry among unions.
 i. Unwillingness to talk over any dispute with
their employees, unwillingness to
➢ Management negotiation and settlement of disputes.
Attitude Towards ii. Unwillingness to recognize a particular
trade union , delegating enough authority
Labor to the representatives.
iii. Decisions regarding recruitments,
promotion etc. without consulting the
concerned employees
➢ Government Mechanisms

When employees or employers perceive

the laws provided by the government to be
inadequate, unfair or not properly
enforced.
 i. Affiliation of the trade unions with a
political party, where the latter may
instigate the trade unions to conduct
strikes, lockouts , gheraos etc.
➢ Other Causes ii. Other potential factors like corruption
in industry can also result into
industrial disputes.
 Industrial Disputes

Strikes Lockouts

Primary Secondary Others

Strikes Strikes

Sit down
Stay-in
Stay- Tool
Work Token Gherao
Hunger
away To or Lightening Picketing Strikes
Down Go - Rule or Cat- Call & Boycott
Strikes or Slow
Protest
Strikes strikes
Pen Down
Strikes
Industrial disputes are basically of two types ,i.e.,
Strikes and Lockouts.
➢Strikes
• Strikes are a result of more fundamental
maladjustments, injustices and economic
disturbances.
• Strike is a temporary cessation of work by a
group of employees in order to express
grievances or to enforce a demand concerning
changes in work conditions.
Strikes are divided into three types .They are
Primary strikes, secondary strikes and other
strikes.

1. Primary strikes are generally against the

employer with whom the dispute exists. They
are :
▪ Stay Away Strikes: In this strike workmen
stay away from the workplace. They
organize rallies, demonstrations, etc.
▪ Stay-in or Sit-Down Strikes: In this strike,
workmen come to the place , they stay at
the workplace, but they don’t work.
▪ Tools Down, Pen Down Strike: Here the
strikers lay down their tools in case of
factory workers , office workers lay down
their pens.
▪ Token or Protest Strikes: It is of very short duration and is in nature of
signal for the danger ahead. In this strike workers do not work for an
hour or a day.
▪ Lightening or Wild cat strike: In this strike, the strike is done without any
prior notice or with a shortest notice.
▪ Go –Slow : In this strike, the workers intentionally reduce the speed of
work.
▪ Work to rule : In this strike, the strikers undertake the work according to
rules or job description.
▪ Picketing : It is an act of protesting by 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 blockade of a target either by encirclement,
intended to block from and to a particular office, workshop etc.
▪ Hunger Strike : This type of strike is resorted to either by the leaders of
the union or by some workers all at a time for a limited period or up to
the period of settlement of disputes.
2. Secondary Strike : Secondary strikes are against a third party. These
strikes are sympathetic strikes.
3. Other Strikes : These strikes are in the form of general political and
bandhs.

➢Lockouts
• Lockout means the closing of a place of business of employment or the
suspension of work, or the refusal by the employer to continue to employ
any number of persons employed by him.
• However, termination of employment or retrenchment, and prohibiting
an employee are not lockouts.
• Section 2(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines “Lock-out” as the
closing of a place of business of employment or the suspension of work, or
the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons
employed by him.
 Labor Tripartite Standing Grievance
Welfare and
PREVENTIVE Officer Bipartite
Orders Procedure

MEASURES Bodies

OF
INDUSTRIAL Collective Strong Trade Labor Co- Joint
Bargaining Unions
DISPUTES Partnership and
Profit sharing
Consultations
1. Labor Welfare Officer

Section 49 (1) and (2) of the Factories Act,

1948 specifies that every factory wherein 500
or more workers are ordinarily employed at
least one welfare Officer must be appointed,
where the number of workers exceeds
2500,the assistant and / or additional welfare
officers are required to be appointed to assist
the Welfare Officer.
The functions of Labor Welfare Officer includes
• Labor Welfare Functions: Advice and
assistance in implementing provisions
relating to :
 ✓ Health &Safety
✓ Working conditions
✓ Sanitation & Cleanliness
✓ Recreation
✓ Workers Education
• Labor Administration Functions :
These may cover:
• Organizational Discipline
• Safety & Medical administration
• Wage & salary administration
• Administration of Legislation covering Industrial Relations

• Labor Relations Functions

These may consist of :
• Administration of standing orders.
• Settlement of Grievances.
• Settlement of Disputes through statutory procedures.
• Trade unions & union management relations
• Steps to increase productivity efficiency.
[Link] and Bipartite Bodies

• The purpose of consultative

machinery is to bring the partners
together for mutual settlement of
differences in spirit of cooperation
and goodwill.
• Bipartite consultative machinery
comprises two parties i.e.,
employees and employer.
3. Standing Order
A set of rules or regulations established
by an employer that govern the conduct,
rights and obligations of employees
within the workplace. It was made
obligatory that standing orders should
govern the conditions of employment
under the Industrial Employment
(Standing Orders ) Act of 1946. The
Standing Orders regulate the conditions
of employment from the stage of entry
to the stage of exit.
4. Grievance Procedure : Grievance generally arise from day -to- day working relations.
Grievances of the employees are readdressed by the management. Management can
prevent the occurrence of industrial disputes by solving the individual problems.
5. Collective Bargaining : Collective bargaining helps for settlement of issues and
prevention of industrial disputes. It occurs when representatives of a labor union meet
management representatives to determine employees' wages and benefits, to create or
revise work rules and to resolve disputes or violations of the labor contract.
6. Strong Trade unions : Trade union is the most suitable and effective agency to conduct
collective bargaining on behalf of the workers. A powerful bargaining may be achieved by
strong trade unions, which enable the workforce to maintain harmonious relations with
the management.
7. Labor Co-partnership and profit sharing : Good industrial relations can be maintained
through proper partnership and profit sharing; employer gives a portion of total profits to
workers in addition to their normal wages. This sort of attitude of management would
create psychological conditions favorable for industrial peace.
8. Joint Consultation : Joint Consultation involves a continuous relationship between labor
and management and expects willingness of management and the participation of workers
in discussing common problems of interest. This is the result of collective bargaining
relations on a stable basis when parties know each other well and have a mutual trust.
 Settlement of Disputes
Collective
Bargaining Arbitration

Dispute
Code of
Settlement
Discipline Conciliation

Grievance
Procedure Adjudication

Consultative
Machinery
➢ Collective Bargaining
• Collective bargaining helps for settlement of
issues and prevention of industrial disputes. It
occurs when representatives of a labor union
meet management representatives to
determine employees' wages and benefits, to
create or revise work rules and to resolve
disputes or violations of the labor contract.
• The bargaining is collective in the sense that
the chosen representative of the employees (i.e.
union ) acts as a bargaining agent for all the
employees in carrying out negotiations and
dealings with the management. On the
employer side, it is collective in those common
situations in which the companies have joined
together in an employer association for the
purposes of bargaining with a union.
➢ Code of Discipline

The code of discipline defines duties and responsibilities of employers and workers.
The objectives of the code are:
✓To ensure that employers and employees recognize each others' rights and
obligations.
✓To promote consecutive co-operation between parties concerned at all levels.
✓To eliminate all forms of coercion, intimidation and violence in IR.
✓To avoid work stoppages.
✓To facilitate the growth of trade unions.
✓To maintain discipline in the industry.
➢ Grievance Procedure
• Grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction, arising out of employment
relationship, which an employee thinks , believes or feels to be unfair, unjust or
inequitable.
• A grievance procedure is a formal process which is preliminary to arbitration,
which enables the parties involved to attempt to resolve their differences in a
peaceful and orderly manner.
• It enables the company and the trade union to investigate and discuss the
problem at issue without in any way interrupting the peaceful conduct of
business.
• When the grievance redressal mechanism works effectively, it satisfactorily
resolve most of the disputes between labor and management.
➢ Arbitration

• Arbitration is a procedure in which a neutral third-party

studies the bargaining situation, listens to both the parties,
gathers information and then makes recommendations
that are binding on both the parties. Arbitration is
effective means of resolving disputes because it is :
• Established by the parties themselves and the decision is
acceptable to them.
• Relatively expeditious when compared to courts and
tribunals.
Process of Arbitration :

➢ The labor union generally takes initiative to go for arbitration. When the union decides,
it notifies the management.
➢ The union & the management select the potential arbitrator by carefully studying the
previous decisions given by the particular arbitrator, to detect any biases.
➢ After the arbitrator is selected, the time & place for hearing will be determined, the
issue to be resolved will be presented to the arbitrator in a document that summarizes
the questions to be decided
➢ Each side represents its case at the hearing.
➢ Each party must submit formal written statements.
➢ Witness , cross-examination, legal counsel may be used.
➢ After hearing, the arbitrator studies the materials submitted and reaches the decision
within 30 – 60 days.
➢ The decision given usually is a written opinion mentioning the reasons.
➢ The report is submitted by the arbitrator to the appropriate government
➢ Conciliation

❖ Conciliation is a process by which the representatives of workers and employers are

brought together before a third party with a view to persuading them to arrive at an
agreement by mutual discussion between them. The third party may be an individual or a
group of people. The third party may also be called as mediators.
❖ In Conciliation , the ultimate decision rests with the parties themselves but the
conciliator may offer a solution to the dispute acceptable to both the parties and serve as
a channel communication . The parties may accept his recommendation or reject it.
❖ If the conciliation fails, the next stage may be compulsory adjudication, or the parties
may be left with their own choice. In cases where a settlement is arrived at, they can
record the settlement and in case of failure of the conciliatory negotiations, they can send
a failure report to the appropriate government.
➢ Adjudication

❖ Adjudication means a mandatory settlement of

an industrial dispute by a labor court or a tribunal.
❖ Disputes are generally referred to adjudication on
the recommendation of the conciliation officer who
had dealt with them earlier. The government has a
discretionary powers to accept or reject
recommendations of the conciliation officer. It is
obvious that once is referred for adjudication , the
verdict of a labor court or tribunal is binding on both
the parties.
❖ This is the most significant instrument of
resolving disputes. But it has been criticized because
of the delay involved in resolving conflicts.
➢ Consultative Machinery

❖ Consultative machinery is set by the government to resolve conflicts. The main

function is to bring the parties together for mutual settlement of differences in the
spirit of co-operation and goodwill.
❖ To facilitate communication, cooperation, and consultation between employers,
employees, and their representatives.