Prior to the independence of India, disputes between an employer and an employee were being settled under the Trade Dispute Act, 1929 which was enacted by the British Government. The said Act did not provide apt dispute settlement nor spoke about legal strikes and lockout, hence post-independence, Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was passed to meet the lacunas of the earlier Act.
The various forms of conflicts addressed under the Act are:
In regard to the commencement of strike, prior notice of 6 weeks has to be served to the employer giving 14 days’ time to review the demand. If any notice does not specify the time then it is not considered as a notice for strike.
Yes, the employer can suspend those workers who were not a participant to the strike. The cause of such suspension is lack of work in the company premises. Further, the workers who are suspended can demand for their wages and compensation and theemployer is responsible for the payment of wages for the days’ work done and compensation for suspension.
2.Lock- out is a condition, where the employer of an industrial establishment refuses to accept the employment of workmen employed by him, when the work is suspended by an order.
Yes, lock out as an end result of breach of Standing Orders in non- public utility services is legal lock out. But lockout as a consequence of illegal strike shall be considered to be illegal.
Yes, Even though employees are not working and are not entitled to pay, they are still considered employees and cannot be terminated simply because of being locked out. When the lockout ends, they are entitled to return in preference to any other employee hired during the dispute.
3.Lay-off, is discontinuation of work temporarily by an employer.
No, any employer who does not recruit workers category wise (skilled, unskilled, manual, and technical) does not have the right to lay-off such workers.
4. Retrenchment is to end, conclude or cease of particular staff or the labour force from continuation of the work.
An employer who has retrenched the employee must give one month’s notice for searching for another job or should pay one month’s wages for the notice period. The compensation should be paid to the retrenched employee on or before the retrenchment takes place and the compensation should be the reward of the work done by him during the service period.The conditions of providing the notice or the wages is mandatory in nature and full compliance is required for effecting retrenchment, otherwise retrenchment would be unacceptable. As a result of ill health no worker can be retrenched. If any employer retrenches an employee on the basis of nonrenewal of the contract, it is an illegal retrenchment.
Yes, any casual worker can be retrenched, with the compensation and he will not be entitled to reinstatement with back wages. However, the employer before hiring any other employee from outside is supposed to offer reemployment to the retrenched workers.This condition does not hold in case of casual workers transferred within the unit.
5. Closure of an industrial undertaking is closing down the business due to any reason such as, losses, non-functioning of the unit, labour problem etc.
An employer intending to close down the undertaking has to apply for prior permission before 60 days to the appropriate government with less than 50 workers. Undertakings set up for construction of buildings, bridges, roads, canals, dams or other construction work have been exempted from giving such prior notice. Whereas, if more than 100 workmen are employed, the employer needs to apply at least 90 days before the intended closure. Theappropriate government before giving the permission for closure is expected to satisfy itself as regards to the genuineness of reasons, such that the closure is not adverse to the interest of general public.
In case of closure of an undertaking as a result of acquisition and not in pursuance of an intention to close down the undertaking, then the employer is liable to pay only part of compensation to the employee who has been illegally retrenched by the former employer. The compensation paid has to be equivalent to 15 days average pay for continuous service or any part in excess of 6 months and it shall not exceed average wages of the workmen for 3 months.
Yes, a closure can be initiated for a part of unit or an entire unit of a company without disturbing the functioning of other units. Further it has been observed that the closure need not be of the entire plant.
6. Settlement Mechanisms are provided by the act to resolve the disputes between an employer and an employee which arises because of various reasons such as demand of higher wages, good working conditions, incentives, and working hours.
The Grievance Redressal Committee came into existence as main dispute resolution machinery where the parties could directly approach and get the dispute resolved. After the dispute has been heard in the aforesaid committee and if the parties think that the settlement is not satisfactory, they can go to Works Committee for further hearings. Both the Committees require equal representation from employers and employees to maintain unbiased environment while addressing issues.
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