Strategic INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND LABOUR LAWS S.K. BHATIA Director Human Resource Management Foundation, New Delhi and Senior Faculty, Business Management Institutes Formerly: Director (Personnel), Oil India Ltd. Director (Pers. and PR), Mekaster Group Co's. Add. General Manager (Pers. and Admn.) Bharat Heavy Electricals India Ltd. Foreword by DR. S. CHANDRA Chairman PAN Asian Management Foundation and Corporate Director, New Delhi Former Senior Faculty Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad DEEP & DEEP PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD. F-159, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi-110027
Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgements xi xiii xv PART ONE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 1. Industrial Relations: Concept, Objectives and Factors for Good Industrial Relations 3 2. Strategies for Developing Employment Relationship 8 3. Causes of Industrial Disputes and Machinery for Prevention and Settlement of Industrial Disputes 14 4. Trade Unions and their Functions 23 5. Profile of New Industrial Labour Force in India and Emerging Employer-Employee Relations in New Economy 28 6. Trade Union Strategies in the Wake of Declining Trends in Unionism 33 7. Strategies in Industrial Relations in India 41 8. Employee Relations Strategy 47 9. Line Manager's Role in Building Industrial Relations at Workplace 54 10. Collective Bargaining 58 11. Collective Bargaining Strategies 68 12. Negotiation Process 71
viii Strategic Industrial Relations and Labour Laws 13. Strategies for Developing a Climate of Trust 75 14. Workers' Participation in Management: Industrial Democracy 77 15. Managing Grievances 86 16. Managing Discipline 90 17. Disciplinary Action 94 18. Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) 103 19. Social Security. 107 20. Labour Welfare 109 (i) Quality of Work Life (QWL). (ii) Control of drug abuse and alcoholism, (iii) Precautions against AIDS, (iv) Accidents prevention and safety. (v) Coping with stress, (vi) Managing turnover, (vii) Managing absenteeism, (viii) Managing alienation, (ix) Providing good working environment. (x) Vocational guidance, (xi) Job satisfaction improvement programmes, (xii) Employee counselling. 21. Wage Policy 137 22. International Labour Organisation (ILO) 140 23. Theoretical Framework of Industrial Relations 142 PART TWO LABOUR LAWS 24. Labour Laws: Perspectives 153 25. The Trade Union Act, 1926 158 26. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 163
Contents ix 27. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 181 28. The Factories Act, 1948 187 29. The Shops and Establishment Act, 1954 193 30. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 197 31. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 201 32. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 203 33. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1978 205 34. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 206 35. The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 209 36. The Employee's State Insurance Act, 1948 213 37. The Employee's Provident Funds, Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and The Employee's Pension Scheme, 1995 217 38. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 222 39. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1948 224 40. The Apprentices Act, 1961 227 PART THREE FUTURISTIC ISSUES IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 41. Redesigning Industrial Relations: An Approach 233 42. Job Flexibility 236 43. Employee Engagement is Crucial for Business Success 238 44. Business Process Outsourcing 243 45. Aligning Employee Expectations with Change in Strategy 252 46. Impact of Technological Change and Industrial Relations. 254 47. Impact of Globalisation on Industrial Relations 258
Strategic Industrial Relations and Labour Laws PART FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES 48. Important Recommendations of the National Commission on Labour, 2002, Ministry of Labour, Government of India 265 49. Guarding against Sexual Harassment in the Work Place (SH) 280 50. Social Security to Unemployed Workers by ESIC 287 51. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 289 ANNEXURES I. Mahatma Gandhi on Industrial Relations 293 n. ILO Conventions Ratified by the Government of India 295 HI. ILO Guiding Principles on Collective Bargaining 297 IV. United Nations Global Compact Principles 299 V. Short Answer Type Questions 302 VI. Objective Type Questions 304 VII. (a) Quiz on Payment of Wages 311 (b) Quiz on Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 313 (c) Quiz on Payment of Bonus 314 (d) Quiz on Validity of settlements with Union 315 VIII. The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923: Practical Problems 316 IX. Case Studies 318 X. Amendment to Labour Laws 322 Index 324