Industrial dispute

• Industrial Dispute


  Any dispute between employers & employers, employers & workmen, or workmen & workmen, connected with the terms of employment or conditions of labour of any person
• Workman


  Any person (including an apprentice) employed in an industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled technical operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied
• Industry


  Any systematic activity carried on by cooperation between employer & his workmen (whether workmen are employed directly or through an agency) for the production, supply or distribution of goods or services with a view to satisfy human wants or wishes, whether or not any capital has been invested or such activity is being carried out for the purpose of making profits
• Authorities appointed under ID Act

  • Works Committee
  • Conciliation Officer
  • Board of Conciliation
  • Court of Inquiry
  • Labour Court
  • Industrial Tribunal
  • National Tribunal
• Works Committee


  • Bipartite - representatives of both workers and employers, equal in number, term of 2 years, handles matters arising out of day to day working of the organisation (e.g health, safety, welfare of employees, productivity, quality, cost consciousness)
• Conciliation Officer


  • Appointed by appropriate government, may be Labor officer, Labor Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner, works to induce both parties to the dispute to come to fair and amicable settlement, can mediate or conciliate
• Board of Conciliation


  • Composition: Chairman and 2 or 4 members, duties and powers same as Conciliation Officer, if dispute is settled then report to be sent to appropriate government, if not then also submit report within 2 months
• Court of Inquiry


  • Appointed by appropriate government, may consist of one or more persons as members, inquires into the dispute and submits report to government within 6 months
• Labour Court


  • Appointed by appropriate government, consists of 1 person who should be or have been a judge of High Court, or for 3 years been a district judge or an additional district judge, or have held any judicial office in India for 7 years, handles matters specified in 2nd Schedule
• Industrial Tribunal


  • Consists of 1 person who should be or have been a judge of High Court, or for 3 years been a district judge or an additional district judge, handles matters specified in 2nd and 3rd Schedules
• National Tribunal


  • Central government may refer disputes of national importance to it
• Collective Bargaining


  Presentation of demands and grievances in a collective manner, discussions and negotiations on mutual grounds, signing of formal agreement or informal understanding, if fails then likely resort to strikes or lock outs, bargaining with the help of third party is called Conciliation or mediation
• Voluntary Arbitration


  When parties feel mutual negotiations will not succeed, they may decide to submit the dispute to a neutral person or group of persons for arbitration, award given may or may not be binding on parties
• Conciliation and Mediation


  The aim of conciliator is to break the deadlock, explain the viewpoint of one party to the other, convey messages and keep the negotiation going, parties may or may not accept the suggestions
• Adjudication


  When dispute is not settled and parties adhere to strikes and lockouts, government may decide to refer the dispute to adjudication and force the parties to abide by the award of the adjudicator, prohibit the party from work stoppages, compulsory method in which parties are forced to go by the power of the state, decision imposed by third party based on law and justice
• Voluntary Reference of Disputes to Arbitration

  Employer and workmen can voluntarily refer the dispute to an arbitrator(s) through a written agreement, if there are an even number of arbitrators then an umpire shall be appointed, a copy of the arbitration agreement shall be sent to the appropriate government and the conciliation officer and published in the official gazette, when the government is satisfied that the persons who have signed the agreement represent the majority of each party, the dispute is referred to arbitration and the government issues a notification, the government may prohibit the continuance of a strike or lock out, the arbitrator(s) shall investigate the dispute and submit the award to the appropriate government
• Strike


  Cessation of work by a body of persons employed in an industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal under common understanding of any number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or accept employment
• Lock Out


  Temporary closing of place of employment or the suspension of work or refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him or her
• Forms of Strike


  • Authorized strikes
  • Unauthorized strike or Wild Cat strike
  • General Strikes
  • Particular Strikes
  • Work-to-rule strike
  • Ordinary strike
  • Sympathetic Strike
  • Gherao
• Public Utility Service


  Any railway service or any transport service, any service in major port and dock, any postal, telegraph or telephone service, any industry which supplies power, light or water to public, sanitation, any industry specified in the First Schedule
• No person employed in any industrial establishment shall go on strike in breach of contract and no employer shall declare lockout during the pendency of conciliation proceedings before a board and 7 days after the conclusion of such proceedings, or during the pendency of proceedings before a Labour Court
• Types of strikes based on techniques

  • Slow-down strike
  • Quickie strike
  • Sit-down strike
• Slow-down strike


  Workers do not stop working, rather they slow down the pace of work
• Quickie strike


  Workers remain in their place of work, but they stop work for a brief period for few minutes or hours
• Sit-down strike


  Workers remain in their place of work but they do not work. Duration is long as compared to quickie
• Public Utility Services


  • Any railway service or any transport service
  • Any service in major port and dock
  • Any postal, telegraph or telephone service
  • Any industry which supplies power, light or water to public
  • Sanitation
  • Any industry specified in the First Schedule
• No person employed in any industrial establishment shall go on strike in breach of contract and no employer shall declare lockout:
• During the pendency of conciliation proceedings before a board and 7 days after the conclusion of such proceedings
• During the pendency of proceedings before a Labor Court, Tribunal or national Tribunal and two months after the conclusion of such proceedings
• During the pendency of arbitration proceedings before an arbitrator and two months after the conclusion
• During any period in which a settlement or award is in operation in respect of any matter covered by the settlement or award
• No person employed in a Public Utility Service shall go on strike in breach of contract without giving to the employer, notice of strike, within 6 weeks before striking or within 14 days of giving the notice or before the expiry of the date of strike specified in such notice or during the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a CO & 7 days after the conclusion of such proceedings
• No employer carrying on a Public Utility Service shall lock out any of his workmen without giving them, within 6 weeks before locking out, within 14 days of giving the notice, before the expiry of the date of Lock out specified in such notice, or during the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a CO & 7 days after the conclusion of such proceedings
• Employer's obligation: to inform the appropriate govt. about any notice of strike received from the workmen or any notice of lock out given to them within 5 days of receiving or giving such notices
• Notice of lockout is not necessary when strike is already in existence, but intimation of the same is to be sent to the authority specified by appropriate govt.
• Notice of strike is not necessary when lockout is already in existence, but intimation of the same is to be sent to the authority specified by appropriate govt.
• A strike or lock out shall be deemed to be illegal if it is commenced in contravention of section 22 or 23 or in case of arbitration - strike is prohibited
• A lock out in consequence of an illegal strike is NOT illegal and a strike in consequence of an illegal lockout is NOT illegal
• No person shall knowingly spend any money to support an illegal strike or lockout
• The right to strike is controlled or restricted by appropriate legislation