Module 4

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

DEEPU P NAIR
ASST. PROFESSOR

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 Industrial relations
 The primary objective of industrial relations is to maintain and develop
good and healthy relations between employees and employers or
operatives and management.
The objectives of IR are designed to:
1. Establish and foster sound relationship between workers and management
by safeguarding their interests.
2. Avoid industrial conflicts and strikes by developing mutuality among the
interests of concerned parties.
3. Keep, as far as possible, strikes, lockouts and gheraos at bay by enhancing
the economic status of workers.
4. Provide an opportunity to the workers to participate in management and
decision making process.

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5. Raise productivity in the organisation to curb the employee turnover and
absenteeism.
6. Avoid unnecessary interference of the government, as far as possible and
practicable, in the matters of relationship between workers and management.
7. Establish and nurse industrial democracy based on labour partnership in
the sharing of profits and of managerial decisions.
8. Socialize industrial activity by involving the government participation as an
employer.

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 PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTITUDES TO WORK AND WORKING
CONDITIONS
 Stress is primarily a psychological reaction to certain threatening
environmental events.
 Worker stress would simply refer to the stress caused by events in the work
environment.
Sources of Worker Stress
Situational stress : stress arising from certain conditions that exist in the
work environment, or in the worker‟s personal life.
Stressful Occupation : It is generally believed that certain occupations, such
as air traffic controllers, physicians, and other health care providers, police
officers, and firefighters, are particularly stressful.

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Organizational Sources of Work Stress
1. Situational Stressors
2. Work Task Stressors
Work overload
1.
2. Underutilization
3. Work Role Stressors
1. Job ambiguity
2. Lack of Control
3. Physical work conditions
4. Interpersonal Stress
5. Harassment
6. Organizational change
4. Individual Sources of Work Stress

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 FATIGUE
 Human capacity to work is limited. Every work requires care, attention
and concentration. A person cannot work continuously for longer periods.
The work output will be more in the morning and it goes on decreasing
with passage of time as a worker will feel tired, mentally and physically, in
the evening. The decrease in efficiency of working due to longer working
periods is known as fatigue.
Fatigue can precisely be explained as follows:

1. It leads to loss of efficiency.

2. It results in more or less complete loss of responsiveness of tissue.
3. It may be termed as the reduced capacity of work resulting from work
itself.
4. It is considered as state of „lack or interest‟ in not only work but in other
activities too.
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 Types of Fatigue
1. Physical fatigue
Physical fatigue is caused either by continuous work for long periods or the
nature of work like the work may be heavy and requiring lot of physical
excursion. The physical capacities of workers are limited and they may feel
tired after a continuous work for longer periods.
2. Mental fatigue
A worker utilizes has brain for doing a job for a longer period. The doing of
same work again and again will result in mental fatigue of the worker.
3. Nervous fatigue
When work needs the use of mental and physical capabilities for a continuous
period, it will result in nervous fatigue.
4. Industrial fatigue:
When a worker continues to work the job for longer periods, his efficiency
and
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productivity will result in nervous fatigue.
Causes of Fatigue
1. Longer hours of continuous work without rest pauses may cause fatigue
because muscles will be tired after long work.
2. Unsatisfactory working environment like insufficient light insanitation,
congestion, noise, elevated temperatures etc.
3. Fatigue may also be caused by personal reasons such as family tension,
bad health etc.
4. There may be faulty design of machines and equipment which leads to
wastage of energy of workers on them.
5. The complexity or production process may also put more load on
workers resulting into fatigue.
6. The workers may not be properly placed on jobs as per their skill levels.
7. The harsh attitude of supervisor may also result in fatigue of workers.
8. Inconvenient and awkward posture of worker (required for some
particular jobs) i.e., standing or bending for longer periods may also be
the cause of fatigue.
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 Methods of Reducing Fatigue
 A fatigued worker will not be able to work with his original rhythm. Every
industrial enterprise is expected to devise ways and means of reducing
fatigue so that production does not suffer for longer
periods.
1. Rest Pauses
2. Less hours of work
3. Proper lightening
4. Improving environmental conditions
5. Reduction of noises
6. Proper selection of the employees
7. Job rotations
8. Counseling of employees
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 EFFECT OF COMMUNICATION IN INDUSTRY
 Effective communication is a basic prerequisite for the attainment of
organizational goals. No organization, no group can exist without
communication.
 Co-ordination of work is impossible and the organization will collapse for
lack of communication. Co-operation also becomes impossible because
people cannot communicate their needs and feelings to others.
 Every act of communication influences the organization in some way or
other. It is a thread that holds the various interdependent parts of an
organization together. When it stops, organization activity ceases to exist.
An idea, however great it is, is useless until it is transmitted and understood
by others.
 When communication is effective, it tends to encourage better performance
and job satisfaction. People understand their jobs better and feel more
involved in them.
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 Communication is a means whereby the employee can be properly
motivated to execute company plans enthusiastically. It is the means by
which behavior is modified, change is effected and goals are achieved.
 Communication is also an intra-management problem. It is the force that
binds the people of an organization together. Through communication
they can attain a common viewpoint and understanding and co-operate to
accomplish organizational objectives.
 Good communication presupposes a two-way flow of information from
the top down and from the bottom up. It can be compared to a mighty
river on the banks of which business life is built.
 Communication plays a major role in dealing with employer employee
relation problems, employee productivity, in short, with all human
relations matters. Bad communication is often the root cause of many
problems.

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 INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
 Dispute means difference or disagreement of strife over some issues
between the parties.
 As regards industrial dispute, since its settlement proceeds as per the
legal provisions contained in the „Industrial Disputes‟ Act, 1947, hence it
seems pertinent to study the concept of industrial disputes from a
legalistic angle.
 The above definition is too broad and includes differences even between
groups of workmen and employers engaged in an industry. However, in
practice, industrial disputes mainly relate to the difference between the
workmen and the employers.
 Dispute differs from discipline and grievance. While discipline and
grievance focus on individuals, dispute focuses on collectivity of
individuals. In other words, the test of industrial dispute is that the
interest of all or majority of workmen is involved in it.
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The following principles judge the nature of an industrial dispute

1. The dispute must affect a large number of workmen who have a

community of interest and the rights of these workmen must be affected
as a class.
2. The dispute must be taken up either by the industry union or by a
substantial number of workmen.
3. The grievance turns from individual complaint into a general complaint.
4. There must be some nexus between the union and the dispute.
5. According to Section 2A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, a
workman has a right to raise an industrial dispute with regard to
termination, discharge, dismissal, or retrenchment of his or her service,
even though no other workman or any trade union of workman or any
trade union of workmen raises it or is a party to the dispute.

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 Forms of Industrial Disputes
Strikes: Strike is the most important form of industrial disputes. A strike is a
spontaneous and concerted withdrawal of labour from production.

 The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines a strike as “suspension or

cessation of work by a group of persons employed in any industry, acting in
combination or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common
understanding of any number of persons who are or have been so
employed to continue to work or accept employment”.

 Strikes are classified into two types: Primary strikes and Secondary
strikes.

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i) Primary Strikes
 These strikes are generally aimed against the employers with whom the
dispute exists. They may include the form of a stay-away strike, stay-in,
sit-down, pen-down or tools- down, go-slow and work-to-rule, token or
protest strike, cat-call strike, picketing or boycott.
ii) Secondary Strikes
 These strikes are also called the „sympathy strikes‟. In this form of strike,
the pressure is applied not against the employer with whom the workmen
have a dispute, but against the third person who has good trade relations
with the employer.

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 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
 Collective bargaining is a process of negotiating between management
and workers represented by their representatives for determining mutually
agreed terms and conditions of work which protect the interest of both
workers and the management.
 Thus, collective bargaining can simplify be defined as an agreement
collectively arrived at by the representatives of the employees and the
employers.
 By collective bargaining we mean the „good faith bargaining‟.
 It means that proposals are matched with counter proposals and that both
parties make every reasonable effort to arrive at an agreement‟ It does not
mean either party is compelled to agree to a proposal. Nor does it require
that either party make any specific concessions.

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 Objective of collective bargaining
1. To foster and maintain cordial and harmonious relations between the
employer/management and the employees.
2. To protect the interests of both the employer and the employees.
3. To keep the outside, i.e., the government interventions at bay.
4. To promote industrial democracy.
The need for and importance of collective bargaining is felt due to the
advantages it offers to an organization.
1. Collective bargaining develops better understanding between the employer and the
employees.
2. It promotes industrial democracy
3. It benefits the both-employer and employees
4. It is adjustable to the changing conditions.
5. It facilitates the speedy implementation of decisions arrived at collective negotiation
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 TRADE UNIONS
 Trade unions are associations of workers formed to represent their
interests and improve their pay and working conditions.
There are four main types of trade unions
i. Craft unions:
 These represent workers with particular skills e.g. plumbers and weavers.
These workers may be employed in a number of industries.
ii. General unions:
 These unions include workers with a range of skills and from a range of
industries.
iii. Industrial unions:
 These seek to represent all the workers in a particular industry, for
instance, those in the rail industry.

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iv. White collar unions:
 These unions represent particular professions, including pilots and
teachers. Unions in a country, often belong to a national union
organization.
Role of Unions:
 Unions carry out a number of functions. They negotiate on behalf of their
members on pay scales, working hours and working conditions.
 These areas can include basic pay, overtime payments, holidays, health
safety, promotion prospects, maternity and paternity rights and job
security.
 Depending on the circumstances, unions may try to protect or improve
workers‟ rights. They also provide information on a range of issues for
their members, for instance on pensions.
 They help with education and training schemes and may also participate
in measures designed to increase demand for the product produced and
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Main Functions Performed by Trade Unions
i. Increasing Co-operation and Well-being among Workers
ii. Securing Facilities for Workers
iii. Establishing Contacts between the Workers and the Employers
iv. Trade Unions working for the Progress of the Employees
v. Safeguarding the Interests of the Workers
vi. Provision of Labor Welfare

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 WORKERS PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT
 Management considers participation as a joint consultation prior to
decision-making, while workers mean co-determination by the term
„participation‟.
 Government looks at „participation‟ as an association of labour with
management without the final authority or responsibility in decision-
making.
Need for Workers’ Participation
 Workers‟ participation in management was felt essential for achieving
higher productivity, ensuring greater employee morale and harmonious
industrial relations. The recognition of human factor in industry forms the
basis of workers‟ participation in management.
 Principles of industrial psychology and the new trends in personnel
management have necessitated workers‟ involvement in management.

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  Literate, educated, cultured and well-informed workers are never
satisfied with the fulfillment of their lower level needs such as food,
clothing and shelter; they want to be treated by their employers as
responsible adults capable of assuming greater responsibilities.
 A harmonious inter-relation- ship of these factors can ensure a good
organization and here is the need for the workers to come close to
management.
 This will not only increase the sense of responsibility of the
workers but also pave the way for better overall personnel management
by boosting the morale of the employees.

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Significance and Benefits of Workers’ Participation
 Workers‟ participation in management, if utilized meaningfully, can serve a
number of purposes.
 It can generate a “we” feeling among workers which go a long way in
achieving the desired goals of an organization.
 It fosters joint responsibility and co-operation, and certain specific
purposes vital for the sound running of the organization can be achieved
through participation.
 Participation encourages workers to accept responsibility, makes them ego-
involved and emotionally involved.
 Sufficiently significant is that, contrary to the usual practice of the workers
to oppose any move taken by the management, workers‟ participating in
management co-operate and encourage the acceptance of any change in the
traditional pattern by the workers.

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 This is no mean advantage on the part of the management to introduce any
new idea in the organisation. Where workers participate in management,
there is less resistance to the introduction of computer economy or any
scheme of rationalisation.
 Workers‟ participation in management also enriches the decisions of the
management, since all decisions are taken after much deliberation with the
workers. By improving morale and team work and by using creativity of
workers‟ participation, it plays a significant role in improving industrial
relations and, thus, it increases production and productivity.
 Workers‟ participation in management adds dignity to workers, makes
them feel one with the management, gives them confidence, encourages
them to speak out — all these bring about an all-round development of
the organisation.

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 Workers‟ participation in management is a matter of ideology that
develops self-management in industry. Participation acquires significance
since it confers a number of benefits to the management, workers and
the society.
These benefits are:
(1) Enhancement of the sense of responsibility of workers,
(2) Change of mental attitude of workers to accept any change,
(3) Encouragement for better decisions,
(4) Improvement of morale and team work,
(5) Use of the creative employees,
(6) Encouragement for self-expression and self-advancement,
(7) Fostering dignity to workers,
(8) Improvement of product quality and quantity,
(9) Reduction of workers‟ grievances and industrial conflicts.
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