INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

IR, HR, LR, and LIR …

What’s in a Name?

Industrial Relations

(as a field of study)

Labor Relations

Union Bilateral Rule-Making All aspects of people at work Employment relationships

Human Resources

Nonunion Unilateral Rule-Making - CB/Negotiation - Labor Law - Contract Admn.

- Labor History - Compensation - Staffing - T&D - Benefits

Industrial Relations As A Field of Study -- Definitions • Employment relationships -- relations among workers, employers, their organizations, and government regulators • All aspects of people at work (Kochan) • The processes by which human beings and organizations interact at the workplace and more broadly in society to establish terms and conditions of employment (Mills)

Meaning • Relations between management and workers and the role of regulatory mechanism to resolve any dispute.

• Parties to IR Employers & their Associations Employers & their Associations Government (Regulatory Body)

IR System Concept: A Causal Model Representation

Actors Contexts Processes Ideology Rules or Outcomes

IR Systems Concept (Dunlop 1958) Major Elements

• • • • •

Actors

(workers, unions, mgmt, government)

Contexts

(labor and product markets, technology, community)

Processes

(unilateralism, individual bargaining, legislation, adjudication, “CB”)

Ideology

(minimal shared beliefs; the “glue” that gives systems stability)

Rules

(broadly defined)

or Outcomes

conflict, productive efficiency) (pay, benefits, work rules, working conditions, job satisfaction, industrial democracy, peace and

Trade unions

• Voluntary associations of employees or employers to promote their interests through collective action.

• Legislation : The Trade Unions Act, 1926 • A combination, whether temporary or permanent formed : – primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between : • Workmen & employers • Workmen & Workmen • Employers & employers

or

– for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business and includes any federation of 2 or more trade unions.

Employers Associations in India

• CII • FICCI • ASSOCHAM • NASSCOM

Employees Associations in India

• AITUC • INTUC • CITU

Why do employees join unions?

• Dissatisfaction with terms and consditions of employment • Collective bargaining : more power than individual • Security • Welfare

Shift in the traditional Role of unions?

• Traditional Role : Opponent of management • New Role : Cooperative partner • e.g. Eicher, Parwanu, H.P

• Unitary • Pluralist • Marxist

Approaches to IR

Trade union movement in India • 1919 – After the World War –I : workers realised the importance of STRIKE as a weapon of economic coercion.

• 1920 : AITUC • 1926 : Trade Union Act • Late 1920s: Split in Trade Union Movement – AITUC : Communists – AITUF : moderates

• 1930s : not favourable for trade union movement – Failure of Bombay textile strike – Retrenchment – Strikes failed • 1945 : II World war • Idealogical differences increased • Govt. invoked Defence of India Rules : banned all strikes & Lock Outs • Workers realised the need for an organised movement • After Independence : dreams of increased salaries & better working conditions, not realised • Large scale unrest : strikes & lock outs multiplied

• Disunity : 3 Central Labour Organisations – INTUC : 1947 – HMS : 1948 – UTUC : 1949 • MANY More unions formed • Today : More than 60000 unions in India , affiliated to one of the Central Association of trade Unions • Today’s Unions are – Matured, responsive & realistic – Reconciled to economic reforms – Trend towards de-politicisation