Page 244 - DMGT406_HUMAN_RESOURCE_MANAGEMENT

Unit 13: Industrial Relations

Industrial Conflict: Organised protest against prevailing industrial conditions raised by a group Notes
or a class of workers.
Industrial Dispute: Any dispute or difference between employers and employers, or between
employers and workmen or between workmen and workmen which is connected with the
employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour
of any person.
Industrial Relations: It generally refers to the collective relations between employers and
employees as a group.
Lock-out: Closing down of an undertaking or the suspension of work or the refusal of an
employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him.

Negotiation: An interpersonal process used by two or more parties whereby both or all modify
their demands to reach an agreement.
Strike: A collective stoppage of work by a group of workers.

Trade Union: "A voluntary organisation of workers formed to promote and protect their interests
by collective action" (V.V. Giri).

13.12 Review Questions

1. What do you mean by labour relations? What measures would you suggest to improve
labour relations in a firm?
2. Do you think the right of the workers to strike is a fundamental right - as guaranteed in the
Constitution of India? Why and Why not?
3. Examine the current state of labour-management relations in India. What measures would
you suggest to make these more cooperative?

4. In the face of technological, competitive, political and social changes, do you visualise a
constructive role for trade unions in the years ahead?
5. Is union influence on the decline? If yes, illustrate your arguments with examples from the
corporate world.
6. Once bargaining begins, an employer is obliged to negotiate in good faith with the union's
representatives over conditions of employment. Do you think this is being observed in
actual practice in India? Why and why not?

7. What is collective bargaining? Why is it considered as the best way of determining
employer-employee relations? In the light of challenges brought about by new technology,
methods and processes, do you think the employer-employee relationship has changed
completely? If yes, did the Labour Unions and EAs learn to dance with the times?
8. 'The trade union movement in India has not developed along healthy lines'. Comment.
9. Do you think that trade unions in India have served the objectives for which they were
formed? Why and Why not?
10. How would you explain equal employment opportunity?

Answers: Self Assessment

1. F 2. T

3. F 4. F

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