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What is Industrial Relation?There is no unanimity as to the meaning and scope of Industrial Relations, since different terms such as labour management Relations, Employer & Employee Relations, Union & Management Relations, personnel Relations, Human Relation etc are in use or used. In its strictest sense, the term “Industrial Relation” Means the relationship between Management & Workmen in an unit or an Establishment or an Industry. In wider sense, it means the relationship between the workers & Management union & workers and Union and management in an Industry.

The four main parties who are activelyassociated with any industrial

relationssystem are the Managements

Workmen,theOrganisation of

managements,workmen,workmen and the state.

Fundamentally ,theterm industrial relation Refers to anorganised relationship between twoorganised parties representing

employersand employees regarding matters ofcollective interest.

Objectives and AimsApart from the primary objective of

bringingabout sound and healthy relations

betweenemployers and employees, Industrialrelation aims1. To facilitate production and

productivity2. To safe guard the rights and

interests of both labour and management by enlisting their co- operation.

3. To achieve a sound, harmonious and mutual beneficial Labour - Management relations.

4.To avoid unhealthy atmosphere in the industry especially work Stoppage , go slows, gheraos, Strikes, lockouts etc

5.To establish and maintain industrial democracy.

The problem posed in the field of Industrial

Relations cannot be solved within the limits

of a single discipline and hence it is bound

to be inter-disciplinary approach.

Grievance Function in Industrial Relations

• There is hardly a company where the employees do not have grievance of one kind or other. A grievance produces unhappiness, discontent, indifference, low morale, frustration etc. Ultimately it affects employees’ concentration, efficiency and productivity. A large number of work stoppage, shop floor incidents and strike could be attributed to the faulty handling of grievances. Prompt and effective handling of grievances is the key to industrial peace.

• Grievance is a rust on human relations. Grievance can be conceived in several stages. Dissatisfaction may or may not articulated. When it takes some shape and brought to the notice of some authority then it is seen as complaint. A Compliant is a formal representation of a grievance. An individual grievance if not settled under the Grievance process it assumes the form of an Industrial disputes and attracts disputes settlement provisions. Basically grievance is a complaint of one or more workers covering such areas of wages, allowances, conditions of work, over time, leave, transfer, promotion, etc

• Informal and formal presentation of grievance have their advantages and disadvantages. Informal less important, less attention etc. Formal gets more serious attention. • Grievance must be settled as early as possible to the point of origin and on merit only. Hasty actions without properly ascertaining facts helps to aggregate the situation hence it is better only to have a systematic grievance redressal procedure which would (i) be simple, fair and easy to understand (ii) encourage employees to put forth their grievance (iii) function promptly and expediously (iv) gain employees confidence and (v) promote healthy relations between employees and the company.

Discipline function in Industrial Relations

• In any industry, discipline is an useful tool for developing, Improving and stabilizing the personality of workers. Industrial discipline is essential for smooth running of an organization, for increasing production and productivity for maintenance of Industrial peace.

Dictionary meaning of Discipline

1.First it is the training that corrects, moulds, strengthens or perfects individual behaviour.

2.It is control gained by enforcing obedience.

3.It is punishment.Discipline is the force that prompts an individualor a group to observe/adhere rules, regulations and

procedures which are deemed to be necessary to the attainment of an objective.

Aims and Objectives of discipline

The main Aims and Objectives of discipline are1.To obtain willing acceptance of rules,

regulations and procedures of an organization so that organizational objectives can be attained.

2.To develop among employees a spirit of tolerance and a desire to make adjustments.

3.To give and seek directions and responsibilities.

4.To create an atmosphere of respect of human personality and human

relations.5.To increase the working efficiency and morale of employees.6. To impart an element of certainty

despite several differences in informal behaviours patterns and other related changes in an organization.

Disciplinary actions have serious repercussions

on the employees and on the industry andtherefore must be based on certain

principles inorder to be fair, just, and acceptable to

theemployees and their Union.

Indiscipline often arises from frustration and

absence of a service of responsibility. The

cause of indiscipline among workers areseveral and varied and can often be

traced totheir ignorance and illiteracy, non-

adherenceto the industrial culture, no-redressal ofgrievance, lack of commitment of

worker,absence of occupational status, low

wages,unfair labour practice, bad working

conditionsand lack of effective management

practiceetc.

Discipline is a two way traffic and reach of

discipline as the part of either party inindustry will cause unrest. The

concept ofpositive discipline promotion aims at

thegeneration of a sense of self discipline

anddisciplined behaviour in all human

beingsin a dynamic organizational setting

insteadof discipline improved by force orpunishment. In brief, the approach to

thedisciplinary action in most cases

should becorrective rather than punitive.

1.Conciliation :The conciliation Officer is appointed

byGovernment. He is charged with duty

ofmediating in and promoting

settlement ofindustrial disputes.Sometimes

Governmentmay also constitute a Board of

Conciliationfor promoting the settlement of

Industrialdisputes. It consists of independentChairman and two or four other

members

representing the parties to disputes.While

conciliation is compulsory in all publicutility service and optional in non-

publicutility service. In conciliation, the

ultimatedecision rests with the parties

themselvesbut the conciliation may offer a

solution tothe dispute acceptable to both the

partiesand serve as a channel of

communication.The parties may accept his

recommendationfor settlement of any dispute or rejectaltogether. If conciliation fails, the next

stage may be compulsory adjudication or

the parties may be left to other own choice.

They have no power to decide the disputes

or ass a final or binding order on parties.

In case where a settlement is arrived at,

they can record the settlement andincase of failure of a conciliationnegotiations, they can only send a

failurereport to appropriate government. Theconcerned authority after scrutinizing

thefailure report and

the confidential note submitted by the

conciliation officer may refer or refuse

to refer the dispute to the Industrial

Tribunal or Labour Court as the case

may be for adjudication. If the Parties

at the time of Conciliation proceeding

so desires the Industrial dispute is

referred for voluntary arbitration to

the persons unanimously agreed by

them.

2. Adjudication :The Govt. generally refer an Industrial

disputefor adjudication on failure of conciliationproceedings. Adjudication means a

mandatorysettlement of industrial disputes by

LabourCourts or Industrial Tribunals or NationalTribunals under the Industrial Disputes

Act. Byand large, the ultimate legal remedy for

thesettlement of an unsolved dispute is itsreference to adjudication by the

appropriateGovt. This reference of dispute for

adjudicationis also at the discretion of the Govt.

3. Voluntary Arbitration

Voluntary arbitration is one of the

recognized and democratic ways

for settling Industrial disputes. It

is to be borne in mind that good

industrial relations are a mixture

of idealism and realism.

Trade Union and Industrial Relations

Functions1.To secure for workers fair wages.

2.To safeguard security of tenure and Improve conditions of service

3.To enlarge opportunities for promotion and training.

4.To improve working condition and timing condition.

5.To provide for educational, cultural and recreational facilities.

6.To promote identity of interests of the workers within their industry.

7.To offer responsive co-operation in improving levels of production and productivity discipline.

8.To promote individual and collective welfare.

Collective Bargaining Collective bargaining is the process of

jointdecision making and basically

represents ademocratic way of life in an Industry.

Itestablishes a culture of bipartition

and jointconsultation in industry and a flexiblemethod of adjustment to economic

andtechnical charges. In an industry. It

helpsin establishing industrial peace

withoutdisrupting either the existing

arrangementsor the production activities.

Legal frame works – Labour constitution

Constitution of India – RightsDirective principles - Though not

enforceable in Court, it shall be

duty of State to protect the interest of

the Citizen.Labour – Concurrent List – Centre & StateCentre rules would prevail upon State rules

In I.D. Act there is no provision forproviding any review, revision or

appealsagainst actions, orders or awards ofauthority. Section 17(2) of the I.D. Act makes the award of the adjudicationauthorities as final. The only remedy

isthat aggravated party can resort toconstitution remedies, namely, writunder Articles 32, 226 & 227 and

appealsunder Articles 133 and 134 of theConstitutional of India.

Disciplinary Proceedings in Industry

An enquiry held by the Management against

its employees for certain acts of allegedmisconduct is called a “Domestic

Enquiry “ or“Departmental Enquiry”1. Framing and issuing of charge sheet.2. Service of charge sheet.3. Enquiry Proceedings.4. Findings.

5. Decisionsa). Warning b). Finec). Withholding or stoppage of increments. d). Demotion or reduction in

rank.e). Suspensionf). Dischargeg). Dismissal6. Service of order.