Labour Laws

Industrial Disputes Act

Industrial Disputes
 There must be a dispute or a difference

 between employers and employers

 between employers and workmen
 between workmen and workmen.
Industrial Disputes
 Itshould be connected to employment or
non-employment or terms of employment
or with the conditions of labour

A relationship between the employer and

the workman should exist and it should be
the result of the contract and the
workman actually employed.
Forms of Industrial Action
 Strikes

 Lockouts
Different Forms of Strike
 Economic Strikes – more facilities and wages

 General Strikes – unions and industry

 Stay-in-Strike – tool down or pen down

 Slow down Strike – rate of output is reduced

 Work to Rule
Secondary Strikes
 Sympathetic Strikes

 Boycott

 Picketing

 Gherao

 Bandh
Management’s Actions To
Counter Strikes
 Employers Association

 Lockout

 Termination of Service
Disputes
 Disputes of Rights (application or
interpretation of existing agreement)

 Disputes
of Interest (terms and conditions
of employment)
Causes of Disputes
 Economic

 Political

 Personnel

 Indiscipline
Causes of Disputes

 Management

 Absence of grievance redress machinery

 Government machinery
 Industry Due to Due to Due to reasons Due to reasons
industrial industrial other than other than
dispute 2007 dispute 2008 dispute 2007 dispute 2008
Agriculture, 2869 2642 601 414
hunting and
forestry

Manufacture of 131 357 344 170

food products
and beverages
Manufacture of 136 15 9 9
tobacco
products
Manufacture of 20085 9290 2756 1955
textiles
Industrial Disputes Act - Strikes
 No person employed in a public-utility service
shall go on strike in breach of contract:
 Without giving to the employer notice of strike,
as hereinafter provided, within six weeks before
striking.
 Within 14 days of giving such notice
 Before the expiry of the date of strike specified
in any such notice
 Before the pendency of any conciliation
proceedings before a conciliation officer and
seven days within the conclusion of such
proceedings.
Industrial Disputes Act –
Lockout
 No employer carrying on any public utility service
shall lockout any of his workmen:

 Without giving them notice of lockout, as

hereinafter provided, within six weeks before
striking.
 Within 14 days of giving such notice
 Before the expiry of the date of lockout specified
in any such notice
 Before the pendency of any conciliation
proceedings before a conciliation officer and
seven days within the conclusion of such
proceedings.
Industrial Disputes Act
 Theemployer must inform the appropriate
authority within 5 days from the date of
receipt of notice.

 No lockout or strike during pendency of

conciliation proceeding and seven days
after conclusion of such proceedings;
Industrial Disputes Act
 During the pendency of proceedings
before (a Labour Court, Tribunal or
National Tribunal)and two months after
the conclusion of such proceedings.

 Arbitration

 When settlement or award is in operation

Industrial Disputes
 Increasing lock outs
 Declining membership and union power

 West Bengal, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra account for
over half of the mandays lost in India over
the past several years
Unfair Labour Practices
 To threaten lockout, if union is recognised

 To threaten workmen with discharge or

dismissal, if they join trade union.

 Granting wage increase to employees who

do not join trade union.

 Taking active interest in organizing a trade

union of his workmen.
Unfair Labour Practices
 To advise or actively support or instigate any strike
deemed to be illegal
 To coerce workmen in the exercise of their right to
self-organisation
 To stage demonstrations at the residence of the
employers or the managerial staff members
 To incite or indulge in wilful damage to employer's
property
 Refusal by employer to bargain collectively in
good faith with recognized TU.
 Refusal by a recognized TU to bargain collectively
in good faith with the employer
Unfair Labour Practices -
Penalties
 Imprisonment upto six months or Fine upto
Rs.1000/- or both

 Penalty for illegal strikes: one month

imprisonment or Fine upto Rs.50 or both

 Ilegal Lockouts: Rs.1000/- or one month

imprisonment or both.
Settlements of Industrial
Disputes
 Works Committee
 Conciliation Officer
 Board of Conciliation
 Labour Court
 Industrial Tribunal
 National Tribunal
Conciliation
 The conciliator brings the rival parties
together for discussion and assists them in
finding out a solution to their problem.

 Conciliation may be voluntary or

compulsory

 Board of conciliation
Duties of Conciliation Officer
 The conciliation officer to send a report of
proceedings to the government or within
such extended time as may be allowed

 Memorandum of settlement and binding

on all parties

 Failure report
Settlement
 The settlement shall be binding:

 For the period agreed upon by the parties

 Where no such period is agreed upon, for a

period of six months from the date on which
the memorandum of settlement is signed.
Board of Conciliation
 Outside chairman and two to four other
members nominated by the parties to the
dispute.

 Two months.
Criticism of conciliation
 Delays

 Parties do not attend the meeting.

 Most conciliation officer lacks training and

competence in conciliation work.

 Treated as preliminary step leading to

adjudication through the Labour Courts or
Tribunals.
Arbitration
 Compulsory Arbitration

 Voluntary Arbitration
Adjudication
 Mandatory settlement of a dispute by
Labour Courts, or Industrial Tribunal or
National Tribunal under the ID Act.

 Labour Court:

 Standing Order
 Withdrawal of any statutory concession
 Strike or lockout – Illegality
Industrial Tribunal
 Wage including the period of payment
 Hours of work and rest intervals
 Compensatory and other allowances
 Bonus, Provident Fund, Profit Sharing and Gratuity
 Rules of indiscipline
 Rationalization
 Retrenchment of workmen and the closure of an
establishment
 Shift working other than in accordance with the
Standing Orders.
Who is a workmen?
 Allemployees other than supervisors and
managers (even if they draw more than
Rs.15,000/-)

 Supervisors who draw less than Rs.15,000/-

are also considered as workmen under
Industrial Disputes Act.