INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

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INTRODUCTION

Modern industrialization has not been an unmixed blessing. It has created a yawning gulf between management and labour because of the absence of workers’ ownership of the means of production. Power has been concentrated in the hands of few entrepreneurs, while a majority has been relegated to the insignificant position of mere wage earners

MEANING

The concept of industrial relations means the relationship between employees and management in the day-to-day working of an industry. But the concept has a wide meaning. When taken in the wider sense, industrial relations is a “set of functional independence involving historical, economic, social, psychological, demographic, technological, occupational, political and legal variables.”


FEATURES

1. Industrial relations are mainly the relations between employees and the employer.
2. Industrial relations are the outcome of the practice of human resource management and employment relations.
3. These relations emphasis on accommodating other party’s interest, values and needs. Parties develop skills of adjusting to and cooperating with each other.


FACTORS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Industrial relations are influenced by various factors, viz., institutional factors, economic factors and technological factors.

1. Institutional Factors: These factors include government policy, labour legislations, voluntary courts, collective agreement, employee courts, employers’ federations, social institutions like community, caste, joint family, creed, system of beliefs, attitudes of works, system of power status etc.
2. Economic Factors: These factors include economic organization, like capitalist, communist mixed etc., the structure of labour force, demand for supply of labour force etc.


THREE ACTORS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Three major participants or actors of industrial relations, viz., workers and their organizations, management and government are identified.


1. Workers and their Organisations: The total worker plays an important role in industrial relations. The total worker includes working age, educational background, family background, psychological factors, social background, culture, skills, attitude towards other workers etc. workers’ organizations prominently known as trade unions play their role more prominently in trade unions



2. Employers’ and their organization: Employer is a crucial factor in industrial relations. He employees the worker, pays the wages and various allowances, regulates the working relations through various rules, regulations and by enforcing labour laws. He expects the worker to follow the rules, regulations and laws. He further expects them to contribute their resources to the maximum