Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Source: Kornhauser,A,Dubin and Ross, A.M., Industrial Conflict, McGraw Hill, 1954, p.14
Strikes
Section 2(q) of ID Act 1947 defines a strike as, a cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal under a common understanding of a number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment y In this light strike postulates three main elements: 1. Plurality of workmen 2. Cessation of work or refusal to do work 3. Combined or concerted action
y
Typology of strikes
Strikes Primary Strike
Secondary Strike
Others
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Stay Away strike Sit-down stay-in strike Tool-down/Pen-down strike Go slow Work to rule Token or Protest strikes Lightening or Cat-call strike Picketing and Boycott Gherao
Sympathy Strikes
Prevention of strikes
y 1.
2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7.
If an optimal level of good industrial relation is to be developed and maintained , the incidence and frequency of strikes should be minimized through persistent efforts by the management: The management should adopt well-defined, precise, clear and progressive HRM policies for the maintenance of good industrial relations It should ensure an effective administration and timely implementation of these policies It should ensure that an effective two-way communication system is in operation. It should provide just and humane conditions of work, along with suitable welfare activities for the benefits of workers and develop close personal contacts with the employees at all levels It should evolve and adopt a suitable and speedy grievance redressal procedure for the management of workers problems IT should give recognition to a representative union and should have a pragmatic approach to union activities It should ensure joint consultation at different levels and encourage collective bargaining
Lockouts
Lockout refers to the action of an employer in temporarily closing down or shutting down the undertaking or refusing to provide its employees with work with the intention of forcing them either to accept the demands made by them or withdraw the demands made by them on him. y According to ID Act, lockout means the closing of a place of business or employment or the suspension of work or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him
y
Lockout is a closure of industrial undertaking because of the existence of or apprehension of an industrial dispute, violence and damage to property y It is the suspension of employment in so far as the employer refuses to give work to the workmen until they yield to his demand or withdraw the demands made on him y A lockout is a antithesis of a strike y A lockout is used with some intention i.e. to coerce or force workmen to come to terms
y
Prohibiting an individual employee Termination of employment by retrenchment Termination of services of more than one person at the same time Declaration of a lockout by an employer merely on ground that the workmen have refrained from attending to work
Conciliation
State Acts
Collective Bargaining:
ILOs Perspective
y
In a bulletin issued by the ILO in 1960, collective bargaining has been defined as, negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employer organizations and one or more representative workers organizations .with a view to reaching agreement wherein the terms of an agreement serve as a code defining the rights and obligations of each party in their employment relations with one another; it fixes a large number of detailed conditions of employment , and during its validity none of the matters it deals with can in normal circumstances give grounds for dispute concerning an individual worker
Collective bargaining is :
y
A process of Accommodation: Acc to Harbinson collective bargaining is a process of accommodation between two institutions which have both common and conflicting interestsIt purports not to attain industrial peace , rather it aims at the attainment of the commonly held goals of a free society..specifically the major function of collective bargaining is to generate pressures for enhancement of the dignity and worth of concerned parties. Performing mutual obligations: Collective bargaining finds a place in the National Labour Relation Act of United States. The Act in section 8(d) defines collective bargaining as, the performance of the mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable time and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment, or the negotiation of an agreement, or any question arising there under, and the execution of a written contract corroborating any agreement reached if requested by either party A two-way street: It protects the basic interests of the management as well as the legitimate rights of the workers.
y y y y
A political institution in which rules are made by trade unions of workers, employers and corporations/ organizations A negotiation, administration and interpretation of written agreement between the union and management which covers a specific period of time. It is opposed to individual bargaining as it related to group bargaining about wages and salaries and working conditions The extension of the democratic idea into work organization It is a continuous and dynamic activity in the employer and employee relationships It is not a competitive process rather is a complementary process
Chamberlain & Kuhn Conjunctive bargaining mutual coercion - indispensable to each other - Lose-lose Cooperative bargaining both accept neither will gain advantages unless the other gains too. Win-Win - willingness to concede - to increase size of cake
Walton & McKersie Distributive bargaining basic conflict over slice of the cake. Fixed-sum game - if you win, I lose. Integrative bargaining (common perception & acceptance of issue) Mgt accept employee influence.TU accepts business responsibility. Cooperate to increase cake. Adversarial- cooperative tension remains Flanders Restrictive bargaining Productivity bargaining
Scope of bargaining
y
A rule making or legislative process: it formulates the terms and conditions under which labour and management will cooperate and work together over certain stated period An executive process: both management and trade union officials share the responsibility of enforcing the rules A judicial process: in every collective agreement there is a grievance procedure to settle any dispute concerning the application of agreement
Issues for consideration Issues pertaining to union recognition and union security Issues related to employment relationship Wage related issues Supplementary economic benefits Administrative issues
Machinery and procedure through which these issues are considered (Negotiation and bargaining power)
Union tactics like strikes and boycotts Management strategies like lockouts etc. Third party intervention such as arbitration, adjudication
1. 2. 3.
y
1. 2.
The agreement
Voluntary agreements Settlements
2.
Dale Yoder identifies two major phases of Collective bargaining process Negotiation phase: advancing proposals, discussing and criticizing, explaining and exploring their meaning and effects, seeking to secure their acceptance and making counter-proposals or modifications for similar evaluation. Administration phase: Contract administration related to putting the signed agreement into effect.
Dunlop and Healy identifies three phases : Bargaining demands The deadline or threat of strike or lockout Changing positions and reaching agreement
Phase1: 1.Registration of union 2. Recognition of union Phase 2:Preparation for Negotiations by management and unions Data collection Policy formulation Management strategy planning Union strategy
y
1. 2. 3. 4.
Phase3: Bargaining
Options: rejection of all demands, considering a few, temporary suspension to study the implications , counter demands Criteria for bargaining: give and take, open communication, read the hidden agenda, identify striking point of other side Strategies for bargaining: distributive, integrative, intra organizational bargaining Bargaining power of parties: persuasion, negotiation, coercion
y y y
Problems in recognition of Trade unions Trade unions still form a very small portion of the total industrial employment Unions too weak to bargain collectively on account of their small membership, poor finances, multiplicity etc. Inter union and intra-union rivalries Lot of restrictions on the rights of employers and employees to lockout and strikes Unfavourable political and economic climate
Recommendations of the National Commission of Labour for successful functioning of Collective bargaining in India
Government intervention should be reduced particularly in settlements of industrial disputes y Trade unions should be strengthened y Legal provisions may be made either by a separate legislation or by amending existing enactments
y
Work Committees
Section 3 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provides for the setting up of a works committee in all industrial establishments employing one hundred or more workers consisting of representative of management and employees.It is the duty of the employer to form such a committee
Composition
This committee is bipartite with a provision that the number of representative of workmen shall not be less than the number of representatives of employer but the total number shall not exceed 20 The representatives of employer shall be a nomination and the workers representatives shall be elected from among workmen. The committee shall have a chairman to be nominated by the employer, a vice-chairman to be elected by workers, a secretary and joint secretary to be elected by the committee.
The term of office bearers shall be six years, onethird retiring every two years Workers with one year of continuous service are eligible to stand for election..workers with six months of continuous service are eligible to vote.
Objectives
According to the Industrial Disputes Act, the objectives of the works committee are to , promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between the employer and the workmen, and to that end, to comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and endeavour to compose any material difference of opinion in respect of such matters.Industrial peace will be most enduring where it is founded on voluntary settlement and it is hoped that the works committee will render recourse to the remaining machinery provided for the settlement of industrial disputes
Conditions of work such as ventilation, lighting, temperature and sanitation Amenities such as drinking water, canteens, rest rooms, medical and health services Safety and accident prevention, occupational diseases and protective equipment Adjustment of festivals and national holidays Administration of welfare and fine funds Educational and recreational activities Implementation and review of decisions arrived at in the meetings of works committees
2.
3.
4. 5. 6. 7.
The works committee would not discuss (or deal with) the following:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Wages and allowances Bonus and profit sharing bonus Fixation of work load Retrenchment and lay-off Victimization of trade union activities Leave and holidays Incentive schemes Housing and transport P.F, gratuity and other retirement benefits Collective bargaining
2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
the advisory nature of the recommendations: no mandatory powers vagueness regarding their exact scope :not clearly defined in the Act the functions inter-union rivalries union opposition and reluctance of employers in this regard. Problems in implementation of the recommendations
Suggestions to improve the effectiveness of Works Committees (The National Commission of Labour 1969)
A more responsive attitude on the part of management Adequate support from unions Proper appreciation of the scope and functions of the Works Committee Whole hearted implementation of the recommendations of the works committees Proper coordination of the functions of the multiple bipartite institutions of the plant level.
Composition:
According to the Industrial disputes Act 1947, the conciliation machinery in India consists of
1. 2. 3.
The three tier Machinery for the adjudication of industrial disputes as provided by industrial disputes Act 1947 consists of
1. 2. 3.
Labour Court (Section7) Industrial Tribunal(Section 7a) National Tribunal (Section 7b)
Conciliation