INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

 Parties to Industrial Relations

 Aspects
 Approaches
 Factors affecting Industrial relations
Parties To Industrial Relations System
Major role players

EMPLOYEES • Union
& Representatives
Their • Representing
Organisations
workers Rights

EMPLOYERS • Management
&
Their
• Job Providers
Organizations

IR

GOVERNMENT
• Courts,
& Tribunals
Its
Institutions
• Acting as
Regulator
Role of Employees/Workers

1. The personal traits or characteristics of workers, their culture, educational

background, skills ,attitude towards work play an important role in Industrial
Relations. Their dissatisfaction with the system forces them to revolt against
the employer or management.
2. The workers together form their own organisations/unions for safeguarding
their rights and interest .These organisations are mainly political institutions,
formed for the specific purpose of securing concessions from employers. e.g
Union of LIC Employees, The Air India Employee Association.
3. Gaining Political control and demanding rights: they acquire power, status,
authority with the support of their members. This power is used to pressurise
the management to yield to their demands for better wages, improvements in
working conditions and other welfare measures
Role of Employers/Management

1. Provide employement;The employer or management is the key actor in the

system of industrial relations as they provide employemnt to workers and
also lay dowm the terms and conditions of the employement.
2. Role in regulating the behaviour of workers;the employers try to regulate
the behaviour of the workers for getting higher productivity and in the course
of this process industrial disputes may arise.Industrial unrest generally arises
when the employer demands from the workers are very high and they offer
low economic benefits to the workers
3. To look after the interest of workers;because of the pressure of society and
enactment of protective legislations it finally dawned on employers that they
had to look after the interest of workers if production and profits were to be
maintained at high levels.
4. Forming associations or organisations;for having a well developed
communication channel between the workers and management and also
amongst its own member of the employer community .e.g AIOE(All India
Organisation of Workers),EFI
 Role of Government
1. Acting as Regulator;in the system of IR the government act as regulator and
judge at central as well as state and regional levels .
2. Regulating Labour-Management relations;by intervening in working
relationship and regulating wages,bonus and working conditions through
various laws relating to labour.e.g Industrial Disputes Act 1947,The Factories
Act 1948.
3. Acting as Independent Channel; the Government act as an independent
channel between the employer and employee’s organisations,when the
conflict go out of control of the two parties.
4. Maintaining Social & Economic Order; In India the state(Union Govt)
endeavours to correct and maladjusted social and economic order with a view
to reshaping the complex socio-economic relationships following technological
and economic process.

Knowledge Update!!
The code on wages 2019 ; This Code is the first of the four labor codes which has
now become an Act(received president assent on 8 Aug 2019, and has replaced four labor
regulations viz. the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
 MAJOR ASPECTS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
1. PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHY LABOUR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS:
 This can be developed through –
i. Existence of strong,well organizes,democratic trade unions and associations of the employers in
the industry,which help in increased workers participation in magement
ii. Spirit of collective bargaining and voluntary arbitration, which recognises equality of status
between two conflicting groups and prepares the ground in an ,atmosphere of trust and goodwill
for discussions,negotiations and consultations on matters of common interest
iii. Labour welfare, statutory or non statutory,provided by the state,trade unions and employers
maintain and improve labour-management relations

2. MAINTENANCE OF INDUSTRIAL PEACE:this pre-supposes absence of industrial strife,

 Industrial peace can be nurtured through –
i. Dispute resolution machinery-for the prevention and settlement of disputes, by developing
various legislative and administrative enactments like; Trade Union Acts, Industrial Dispute Act
,labor courts ,industrial tribunals, national tribunals and provisions for voluntary arbitration.
ii. The provision of the bipartite and tripartite forums for settlement of disputes,which act on the
basis ofCode of Discipline in industry,the Code of Conduct,Code Of Efficiency and Welfare(non
statutory measures).
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3. DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY; this idea exhorts that the labour should
have the right to be associated with management of an industry
 To achieve this objective ,following techniques usually employed
i. Establishment of councils or committees at floor levels and plant level-endaveour to
improve the working and living conditions of the employees,this would further improve
productivity ,encourage suggestions ,serve as a channel of communication between
mangemnet and employees,indulge them in important decision making.
ii. Recognition of Human Rights In Industry:
Workers should not be treated as a commodity as they are also human being and also
important source of manpower, so better understanding of their role in the organization by
the employer should be recognized. Employers should frame the policies and rules keeping
in mind the rights of the workers e.g Right To Work As Directive Principles Of State Policy ,
Right to employment finds its place in the directive principles of the state policy under Articles
39 and 41of the Constitution.
iii. Availability of proper work environment :
So that the worker can effectively carry out his assignment ,as it is the environment which
stimulates or depresses, improves or destroy.
Approaches To IR
Psychological
Approach

Gandhian Sociological
Approach APPROCHES Approach
TO
IR

Marxist System
Approach Approach
Approaches to Industrial Relations
1. Psychological Approach: ( perception or attitude towards each other)
• The psychologist are of the view that problems of industrial relations are deeply rooted in the
perception and attitude of FOCAL PARTICIPANTS i.e management and the workers.
• The ‘thematic application test’ was conducted by Mason Harie to understand the behavior,
mindset and perception of the two significant workgroups, i.e., executive and the union leaders, in
a particular situation and he was of the following views:-
I. The conflict between ‘labor’ and ‘management’ occurs because every group negatively
views/perceives the behavior of others i.e even the honest intention of a party is looked with
suspicion.
II. The general belief of a management representative is entirely different from that of a labour
representative.
III. Both the management and labour do not consider each other to be trustworthy.
As a result of the factors mentioned above, there remains a tensed interpersonal relation leading to
conflicts which ultimately hinders the image and interest of the individuals involved.
2. Sociological Approach: (emphasizing the various social factors like values,culture,tradition)
• Sociological factors importantly influence industrial relations which comprises of different
values,culture,norms etc of different communities of workers,where their work behavior is largely
monitored by aforcited factors.
• Management should understand the pulse of employees and make rules and policies accordingly.
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3. Gandhian Approach: (based on idea of truth and non-violence)
• The Gandhian approach to industrial relations was proposed by the father of our
nation, Mahatma Gandhi ,who was also a well-known labour leader.
• This philosophy presumes the peaceful co-existence of capital and labour,which calls for the
resolution of conflict by non-violent, non cooperation(SATYAGRAH).
• Though Gandhi Ji was not against carrying out strikes, he believed that it should be the last
option to which the labour should resort to, after the failure of all the constitutional and
peaceful ways of resolving conflicts and negotiating with the employer.
4. Marxist Approach: (because of division of society i.e haves and haves not)
• This approach developed by Karl Marx ,a German philosopher & socialist, is based on the
basic assumption that the conflict is regarded as the product of a capitalist society.
• This means that conflict arises not just because of the rift between the employee and the
employer, but also because of the division in the society between those who owns the
means of production (capitalists) and the ones who have only labor to offer.
• the ultimate objective of the capitalists is to increase the productivity by paying possible
minimum wages to the workers due to which the latter feels exploited so to overcome this
situation ,the workers form unions so as to safeguard their interest.
5. System Approach: (focuses on participants, context & ideology)
• John Dunlop gave the systems theory of industrial relations in the year 1958.
He believed that every human being belongs to a continuous but independent
social system culture which is responsible for framing his or her actions,
behaviour and role.
• The industrial relations system was based on three sets of different
variables:
Actors: By actors here we mean that the individuals or parties involved in the
process of developing sound industrial relations. This variable is denoted by .
Contexts: The contexts refer to the setup in which the actors perform the given
tasks. It includes the industry markets, technologies and the power distribution
in the organization and labour unions.
Ideology: The similar ideas, mentality or beliefs shared by the actors helps to
blend or integrate the system together as an entity.
 FACTORS AFFECTING IR
1. SOCIAL
2. ECONOMIC
3. TECHNOLOGICAL
4. PSYCHOLOGICAL
5. POLITICAL
6. GLOBAL
• Explain the necessary conditions for maintenance of sound industrial relation?
• Who are the three actors of industrial realtion system ?Explain their role in
Industrial relation system.
Or
• Who are the major parties in industrial relation system ?Explain the pattern of
interaction between them.