Industrial relations: disputes, grievances, labour welfare and social security
Industrial relations covers employer-employee-state relations. Disputes are settled through conciliation, arbitration and adjudication; India's four labour codes now consolidate most older labour Acts.
Approaches to industrial relations
| Approach | Proponent | Key idea |
|---|---|---|
| Unitary | Alan Fox | One team with common goals; conflict is abnormal; unions are unnecessary |
| Pluralist | Alan Fox (also Flanders and Clegg) | Rival interest groups; conflict is natural and is managed through collective bargaining |
| Marxist (radical) | Karl Marx; Richard Hyman | Conflict reflects the class struggle between capital and labour |
| Systems approach (1958) | John Dunlop | Actors (managers, workers, government agencies) in a context (technology, market, power) bound by ideology produce a web of rules |
| Gandhian | Mahatma Gandhi | Trusteeship, non-violence and arbitration rather than strikes |
| Oxford school | Allan Flanders | IR as the study of the institutions of job regulation |
Dispute settlement machinery (from the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947)
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Bipartite methods | Works committees and collective bargaining: employer and workers settle directly |
| Conciliation | A neutral third party (conciliation officer or board) helps the sides agree; no binding award |
| Voluntary arbitration (s.10A) | Both sides refer the dispute to an arbitrator of their choice; the award binds them |
| Adjudication | The government refers the dispute to a Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal or National Tribunal; the award is binding |
| Court of inquiry | Investigates and reports; does not settle the dispute |
| Today | This machinery is carried, with changes, into the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 |
Industrial conflict terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Industrial dispute | A dispute between employers and workmen (or among them) over employment, non-employment, terms of employment or conditions of labour |
| Strike | Workers acting together stop work or refuse to work |
| Lockout | The employer temporarily closes the workplace or refuses to employ workers |
| Lay-off | Failure to give work for reasons such as shortage of power or raw material; the worker stays on the rolls |
| Retrenchment | Termination by the employer for any reason other than disciplinary punishment (retirement and ill-health exits excluded); usually of surplus staff |
| Gherao | Workers physically confine managers; not a lawful form of protest |
| Go-slow and work-to-rule | Deliberate slowing down or rigid rule-following; the Supreme Court called deliberate go-slow serious misconduct (Bharat Sugar Mills v. Jai Singh, 1961) |
| Meaning of 'industry' | Bangalore Water Supply v. A. Rajappa (1978): systematic activity, employer-employee cooperation, production of goods or services for human wants |
Model grievance procedure
This step-ladder comes from the Model Grievance Procedure adopted with the Code of Discipline (1958).
Labour welfare and social security
| Concept | Key point |
|---|---|
| Intramural welfare | Inside the workplace: canteens, rest rooms, drinking water, washing facilities, first aid, crèches |
| Extramural welfare | Outside the workplace: housing, education, recreation, transport |
| Statutory vs voluntary | Required by law vs offered by employers or unions by choice |
| Theories of welfare | Police, religion, philanthropic, trusteeship (paternalistic), placating, public relations, functional (efficiency) |
| ILO Convention 102 (1952) | Minimum standards of social security across nine branches, such as medical care, sickness, old age, employment injury and maternity |
| Social insurance vs social assistance | Insurance is contributory (EPF, ESI); assistance is non-contributory and funded by the state |
The four labour codes (in force from 21 November 2025)
| Code | Main Acts it absorbs |
|---|---|
| Code on Wages, 2019 | Payment of Wages 1936, Minimum Wages 1948, Payment of Bonus 1965, Equal Remuneration 1976 |
| Industrial Relations Code, 2020 | Trade Unions 1926, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) 1946, Industrial Disputes 1947 |
| Code on Social Security, 2020 | Nine Acts, including EPF 1952, ESI 1948, Employees' Compensation 1923, Maternity Benefit 1961 and Payment of Gratuity 1972; also covers gig and platform workers |
| Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 | Thirteen Acts, including Factories 1948, Mines 1952, Contract Labour 1970 and Inter-State Migrant Workmen 1979 |
NET asks you to match labour codes with the Acts they absorb, sequence the model grievance procedure, and tell conciliation, arbitration and adjudication apart; IR approaches come as match-the-author items.
Typical MCQ: “In which settlement method is the award binding because both parties chose the third party?” Voluntary arbitration. Trap: conciliation gives no binding award, and in adjudication the government makes the reference.
Typical MCQ: “Which labour code absorbs the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947?” The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, along with the Trade Unions and Standing Orders Acts. Trap: not the Code on Wages.
Typical MCQ: “Who are the three actors in Dunlop's systems model?” Managers and their organisations, workers and their organisations, and government agencies. Trap: consumers are not an actor.
Settlement climbs from advice to award to authority: conciliation, voluntary arbitration, adjudication. The codes are Wages, IR, Social Security, OSH.