About trade union

1. TRADE UNIONS-
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

2. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN INDIA
 Early British Rule:
 India was colonial market for British goods
 There was initiative from Europeans in industry.
 Cotton mill(Bombay -1853); Jute mill (Calcutta – 1855)
 Workers were exploited by their contractors; they were
in deplorable condition, Workers were unsatisfied;
worker – management relations were not cordial.
 Hence, the Factories Act of 1881 was passed which gave
an impetus (drive) to the worker’s approach for
redressal.
 Tata Iron & Steel Industry (Jamshedpur) – 1911

3.  World war I & II
 WWI was a period of boom for employers – rise in
prices  rise in profit  wages were not rise
 This resulted in economic distress, which brought
workers together & an organized working class
moment began , i.e no. of strikes increased (at
Ahmadabad, Madras in 1921)
 Various laws were enacted;
 Workmen’s Compensation Act (1923)
 Trade Unions Act (1926)
 Trade Disputes Act (1917)
 WWII, Bonus & DA were granted but not wage hike.
 Govt prohibited strikes.
 For settlement of disputes-
 Industrial Employment Act, 1946
 Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

4.  Post Independence Era:
 In 1947, industrial scene was in chaos & confusion;
industrial unrest and shattered worker-management
relations
 Govt has emerged as an arbitrator between the
management and the workers.
 Minimum wages Act , 1948
 Factories Act ,1948
 Employee State Insurance Act ,1948

5. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
 Industrial Relations is an art, the art of living together for
purposes of production –J.H.Richardson
 Cordial & peaceful Industrial relations between the employees
and the employer are highly essential for increasing
productivity and the economic growth of the country.
 Objectives:
 Safeguard the interest of labour as well as management (by
mutual understanding & goodwill)
 avoid industrial conflicts
 Raise productivity (reducing higher labour turnover &
frequent absenteeism)
 Establish & maintain Industrial Democracy
 Bring down strikes, lockouts & gheraos (provide better &
reasonable wages & improved living conditions, and fringe
benefits for workers.
 Govt control over plants, which are in loss / production in
public interest
 Build healthy social order

6. CONFLICT RESOLUTION
 Direct observation (by good supervisor)
 Open door policy (ineffective)
 Personnel counselors
 Suggestion boxes
 Exit interview
 Ombudsman approach (he is mediator or investigator)
 Internal tribunal (management form review board or panel)
 Problem solving for unionised employees
 Arbitration (arbitrator act as judge)
 Mediation (mediator is a third party & has no power of decision)
 Union management cooperation (prior consultation,
sincere concern, joint study committees)

7. Summary:
The main theme of Industrial relations is to maintain
a human relationship between the organization and
its employees.
Objectives:
 Developing mutual understanding and goodwill
 Avoiding industrial conflicts
 Increasing productivity
 Promoting industrial democracy
 Supporting government regulations
• ……………………………………….

8. objective suggestion
Developing mutual
understanding and goodwill
The workers in a mill have to work in
shifts. The management will provide
increased security for the night shift
Avoiding industrial conflicts The company plans to shift its
production to the new mills it has
acquired. It offers its temporary
employees permanent positions in the
new centre
Increasing productivity The management deals with increasing
demand by putting in a new shift, hiring
new workers while making temporary
workers permanent
Supporting government
regulations
A wage board is set up to negotiate
between the management and labour,
on their demands for an increase in
wages
Promoting industrial The workers are asked for their inputs

9. TRADE UNIONS
 Trade Union may be defined as any combination,
whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily
for the purpose of regulating the relations between
workmen and employees or between workmen and
workmen or between employers and employers or for
imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any
trade or business and includes any federation of two
or more unions.
 Formed to protect and promote the interests of their
members.
 Primary function is to protect the interests of workers
against discrimination and unfair labor practices

10. Objectives:
 Representation (Workers’ Interests  avoid
exploitation)
 Voice in decisions (Lay off, Retrenchment) affecting
workers (security of employment)
 Fairer wages (cost of living & standard of living)
 Working conditions (working hours, leave, social
security, Education, Welfare)
 Member Service (Education, Training, Welfare,
Discounts, Loans, Bonus)
 Negotiation (Collective Bargaining)

11. IMPORTANCE OF TRADE UNIONS
 For industrial peace
Decisions taken through the process of
collective bargaining and negotiations between
employer and unions are more influential
Effective communication between the workers
and the management
 Economic development
Recruitment & selection
Discipline among workforce
Settlement of ID in rational manner

12.  Purpose of Trade Unions
 Employment Protection and Job Creation.
 Economic Protection.
 Social Status - Identity.
 Political Role - Democratic Institution
 Societal Obligation - Transformation.
 Competitiveness / Sustainable Development.
 Why do people join Union?
 Greater Bargaining Power
 Minimize Discrimination
 Sense of Security
 Sense of Participation
 Sense of Belongingness
 Platform for self expression
 Betterment of relationships

13. SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF UNIONS
 Wage & salary bargaining
 Fight for continuous improvement in employee benefits
 Improving working conditions at work place
 Improving welfare, healthcare & recreation facilities,
and leisure at workplace
 Increasing rest periods, holidays, paid leave and time-
offs
 Decreasing working hours, work load esp. manual, and
hazardous working conditions
 Improving career and salary rise prospects & job
security
 Protecting employees against arbitrary / unjust actions
of Management

14. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
 According to Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, an Industrial
Dispute is defined as ‘any dispute 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.

15.  Objectives:
 To provide machinery for the just, equitable &
peaceful settlement of industrial disputes
 To prevent illegal strikes and lockouts
 To promote collective bargaining
 To avoid unfair union practices
 To provide relief to workers against layoffs,
retrenchment, wrongful dismissal &
victimisation
 To improve the conditions of workers
 To promote measure for securing & preserving
amity and good relations between employers
and employees

16. CAUSES
Economic causes:
Issues relating to compensation like wages,
bonus, allowances and conditions of work,
working hours, leave and holidays without pay,
unjust layoffs and retrenchments
Non-economic causes:
include factors like victimisation of workers, ill
treatment by staff members, sympathetic strikes,
political factors, indiscipline etc.

17. TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
Industrial
disputes
strike
Sit-down strike
Slow down
strike
Sick-out strike
Wild cat strike
Sympathy strike
Lock-
outs
Picketing Gherao

18. STRIKE
Acc to Industrial Disputes Act 1947, strike means ‘a
cessation of work by a body of persons employed in an
industry acting in combination: or a concerted refusal
of any number of persons who are or have been
employed to continue to work or to accept
employment; or refusal under a common
understanding of any number of such persons to
continue to work or to accept employment’.

19. LOCKOUTS
 Acc to Industrial Disputes Act 1947, lock-out means the
‘temporary closing of a place of employment or the
suspension of work or the refusal by an employer to
continue to employ any number of persons employed by
him’.
 Thus, a lockout is employers’ weapon while a strike is
raised on part of employees.
 For example,
 if a group of the workers strike so that the work of the
rest of the workers becomes impossible or less
productive, the employer may declare a lockout until
the workers end the strike
 To avoid slowdowns or intermittent work-stoppages.

20. PICKETING
When workers are dissuaded from work by stationing
certain men at the factory gates, such a step is known as
picketing.
 If picketing does not involve any violence, it is perfectly
legal.
 Pickets are workers who are on strike that stand at the
entrance to their workplace.
 It is basically a method of drawing public attention (This is
achieved by harming the business through loss of customers and negative publicity, or by
discouraging or preventing workers and/or customers from entering the site and thereby
preventing the business from operating normally.)
The purpose of picketing is:
to stop or persuade workers not to go to work
to tell the public about the strike
to persuade workers to take their union's side

21. GHERAO
Gherao in Hindi means to surround.
It denotes a collective action initiated by a group of
workers under which members of the management are
prohibited from leaving the industrial establishment
premises by workers who block the exit gates by
forming human barricades.
The workers may gherao the members of the
management by blocking their exits and forcing them
to stay inside their cabins.
The main object of gherao is to inflict physical and
mental torture to the person being gheraoed and hence
this weapon disturbs the industrial peace to a great
extent.

22. TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS’ BETWEEN
MANAGEMENT & UNION

23. PROBLEMS FOR TRADE UNION GROWTH??
 Off-Centering Labour
 Segmentation of Workforce
 Core / Periphery
 Employment Instability
 Investment Attraction
 Individualisation of Labour Relations
 Labour Cost Cutting
 Leadership Credibility/ Inside vs. Outside leadership
 Failure of Institutions
 Emergence of Non-union firms/ E-union/ Cyber-
union

24. EX:Poor Industrial Relations and Its Reasons
 David Croft, Labour Relations Officer at Empress
Mills, discovers that his employees have many
grievances. In fact, his workers are so dissatisfied
that many of them are considering resigning. David
has a situation of poor industrial relations on his
hands. What are the causes of this situation?
 1. Discontent was existing but mng didn’t know
them, workers didn’t air their complaints
 2. New technology, training was not given but
order for work with deadline was brought.
Workers were at disadvantage n work was lagging
 3. Rewards were not given, even after profits
incentive was not given.