Industrial Disputes Act

The legislation controlling labour laws that apply to all employees on the Indian mainland is the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 under Industrial Law. It became operative on April 1st, 1947. There have always been disagreements between the employers, or capitalists, and the workers, which causes many disputes between and within these two groups. After the government was made aware of these problems, they chose to enact this Act. The main goals of this Act were to provide parties with a peaceful means of resolving their differences and to put an end to labour disputes.

This Story also Contains

1. Historical Background of the Industrial Disputes Act
2. Definition of Industrial Dispute
3. The objective of the Industrial Disputes Act
4. Scope of the Industrial Disputes Act
5. Applicability of the Industrial Disputes Act
6. Main Features of the Act
7. Techniques for Handling Industrial Disputes
8. Method of Adjudication
9. Landmark judgements under the Industrial Disputes Act;
10. Conclusion

Historical Background of the Industrial Disputes Act

Workers have been exploited for longer than civilization has existed. Labourers and their groups have been fighting against this kind of exploitation for a long time, yet it still exists in some way. Industrial disputes were resolved by the Trade Disputes Act of 1929 before 1947.

The 1929 Act's operational experience exposed many flaws that required new legislation to fix. Consequently, the Legislature received a bill titled Industrial Disputes Bill. The Bill was to be reviewed by the select committee. The original Bill was amended in response to the Select Committee's suggestions. On March 11, 1947, the Industrial Disputes Bill, having been enacted by the Legislature, was ratified.

The Industrial Disputes Act, of 1947 (14 of 1947) went into effect on April 1st, 1947. It was passed to provide some protections for workers as well as procedures for looking into and resolving labour disputes. The Act is broken down into seven chapters with forty parts. Therefore, an industrial dispute is a clash or disagreement between workers and their bosses regarding their work conditions.

There's a conflict between the workers' advocates and the company's leaders. Both sides try to apply force against each other during a labour strike. Workers might engage in picketing, gheraos, or strikes, whereas bosses could resort to lockouts.

The Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 is a significant piece of law that aims to achieve industrial peace and equitable treatment for workers.

Definition of Industrial Dispute

A dispute, clash, or harm that occurs between a company and its workers, or among workers and their supervisors, or among workers and their fellow employees, which is connected to terms related to work or non-work aspects of business, or terms related to business that are influenced by a person's employment status, is considered an industrial conflict.

The objective of the Industrial Disputes Act

In India where industrial disputes are concerned. The Industrial Disputes Act, of 1947 is a very important one. The primary goals of the Act are;

• To advocate measures that will ensure healthy relations between employers and employees.

• To resolve conflicts between employers and employees through adjudicatory agencies.

• To establish appropriate apparatus for the investigation and resolution of workplace disputes.

• To avoid unlawful strikes and lockouts.

• To assist workers facing layoffs, retrenchments, unjust dismissals, and victimisation.

• To grant employees the right to collective bargaining and encourage conciliation.

Scope of the Industrial Disputes Act

To maintain industrial peace and harmony by setting up the tools and processes necessary for the examination and negotiation-based resolution of labour disputes. The Act also establishes:

• The clause requires compensation to be paid to workers who are laid off, retrenchmented, or closed.

• the process for getting the relevant government's prior approval before making layoffs, retrenchments, or closing down industrial facilities.

• Unfair labour practices by employees, a trade union, or an employer.

Applicability of the Industrial Disputes Act

• Regardless of the number of workers at a manufacturing plant, the Industrial Disputes Act governs every industrial site in India that is involved in any form of business, trade, production, or the sale of goods and services.

• Every person employed by a business for compensation is protected by the law, this encompasses freelancers, trainees, and part-time employees engaged in any type of manual, clerical, skilled, unskilled, technical, operational, or managerial work.

• Nonetheless, people who mainly work in leadership or administrative roles, those who manage or supervise others, those protected under the Army, Air Force, and Navy Acts, police officers, and individuals working in correctional facilities are not protected by this legislation.

Main Features of the Act

This Act offers detailed instructions and rules for fostering positive relationships and comprehension among employees and companies going forward. It sets out clear directions for the works committee, applicable to both employers and employees alike. Moreover, it guarantees to resolve any major disagreements in views on these issues.

Techniques for Handling Industrial Disputes

Methods, like arbitration, mediation, conciliation, and negotiation, can be employed to address conflicts in the workplace. The ability to choose any method to resolve labour disputes is a privilege held by every organization, its management, and the labour union.

1. Negotiation

Negotiation techniques that work well for settling labour issues. During a negotiation, the parties—employers or management and employees or their unions—rely on one another to overcome differences. Instead of feeling the need for a third party, both parties have faith and confidence in one another. This dispute-resolution technique prioritises conversation, particularly bilateral interaction, using non-governmental mediation. This conflict resolution process demonstrates a higher degree of maturity in the management-union relationship.

2. Conciliation

In this dispute resolution process, the employer and the union seek outside assistance from organisations like government agencies. The governmental body aids in enabling conversations among the management and labour unions and backs them throughout their negotiations. Bringing together the two conflicting groups in the sector is the main objective of mediation to stop further production problems, apathy, and tense relationships in the workplace. This approach to resolving industrial conflicts is employed when individuals cannot find a peaceful solution to their disagreements but wish to steer clear of the issues that come with a public dispute.

3. Mediation

Mediation is frequently employed when two parties in a dispute cannot reach an agreement or discover a reasonable solution. Mediation is a process for resolving workplace disputes with the assistance of an outsider. The mediator contributes constructively by gathering information from both parties (management and union), analysing their perspectives, and providing solutions or compromises.

4. Arbitration

After mediation and conciliation have failed, arbitration is a means of resolving conflicts between two or more parties at work. Conferencing is advisory in nature, whereas arbitration is judicial. In contrast to conciliation, which is advising in nature, arbitration is judicial. Section lOA of the Industrial Disputes Act, of 1947 stipulates that arbitration is voluntary in cases when parties have not resolved their issues via discussion and conciliation and agree to submit to arbitration.

Method of Adjudication

A three-tiered method of adjudication is provided under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947;

• Labour Courts

• Industrial Tribunal

• National Tribunal

1. Labor Court

The responsible government may, by notice, establish one or more labour courts to resolve labour disputes related to the subjects mentioned in the second schedule of the Act. The following list outlines the authority of labour courts:

• Release or deal alleviation to improperly utilized or ended labourers.

• Analyze whether strikes or standstills are lawful.

• Maintain typical benefits and concessions.

• Report labour issues to an appropriate government agency.

2. Industrial Tribunal

At least one Industrial tribunal might be laid out by the important government to determine work debates by notice. The accompanying issues are:

• The responsibility of the industrial tribunal

• Decrease in the workforce.

• Rules and compensation allowances are provided.

• Consideration of profit sharing and bonuses.

• Workbooks that provide information about working hours and breaks.

• Arrangement of wages and fortunate assets.

• Quick procedures and ideal reports are shown to the state government.

• The Industrial tribunal should facilitate its cycles and give its outcomes to the state government before the due date.

3. National Tribunal;

• The central government might lay out national tribunals for public issues.

• Courts handle questions including various states or impacted businesses.

• Responsibility: Lead speedy hearings and present a report to the central government.

Landmark judgements under the Industrial Disputes Act;

Indian Bank vs. Management of Indian Bank 1985 1 LLJ 6 (Mad.)

It was noted that when a trade union official received privileges in the form of duties, the management withheld the benefits that were awarded to the privileged. It is not possible to argue that this has given birth to an industrial dispute, and the duty relief's legal standing is limited to that of a concession rather than anything to do with working conditions. In this instance, it was decided that if a concession is taken away, the recipient cannot claim that a condition of service is impacted, and the management is not allowed to bring up the issue without filing an industrial dispute and having the authority settle it.

Guest Keen William (Private) Ltd. vs. Sterling (P.J) and others

The Supreme Court ruled that a delay in bringing up an industrial dispute does not prevent it from being referred. The Tribunal will consider this in evaluating the dispute's validity if it is brought up after a significant amount of time without a plausible explanation.

Bombay Union of Journalists vs. The Hindu 1961, II LLJ 727 Bom

A staff member of "The Hindu, Madras" was terminated for inaccurately portraying themselves as a permanent employee. The dispute was raised by the Bombay Union of Journalists. It was found that among the 10 workers, seven were in administrative roles and just three were in journalism positions. Only two out of the three were part of a union. Thus, the Bombay Union of Journalists cannot raise this matter, as per the Supreme Court's decision. It would not have turned into a labour conflict, even if it had been addressed.

Conclusion

The Industrial Dispute Act is a significant milestone in India's industrial law history. According to the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, an industry employing 100 or more people must obtain government authorization to close, and workers must be compensated at the rate of 15 days' earnings for every completed year of labour.