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Managing Human Element at Work

Notes satisfy as many claims as possible with the minimum of friction. Since the law must
necessarily determine those interests which most urgently require protection over and above
other interests, those of labour, where they lack self-reliance, have invariably formed a
significant class of interests which the law protects. Hence, especially in some developing
countries, the legal rules of an industrial relations system have been judged to some extent
by the degree to which they further this end”.
The three main functions of the law in an industrial relations system have been described
as auxiliary, regulatory and restrictive. The first function is the support it gives to the
autonomous system of collective bargaining, its operation and observance of agreements.
The second function is one of providing a set of rules governing the terms and conditions
of employment and supplementing those created by the parties themselves. The greater the
coverage by collective bargaining, the less will be the regulatory function of the law. The
third function prescribes what is permitted or forbidden in industrial conflict with a view
to protecting the parties from each other, and the public from both of them.

One major objective of labour law is to create the legal framework which is necessary for
employers, workers and their organizations to function effectively and as autonomous
groups in the industrial relations system. Hence the law should protect the freedom of
association so that the two parties are accorded the protections and guarantees found in the
ILO Convention on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize
No. 87 (1948). Since one of the major purposes of such association is to enable workers and
employers to protect and further their interests, the law should also provide the legal
framework needed to promote collective bargaining. In this connection the ILO Convention
on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining No. 98 (1949) would provide the
necessary basis for such legislation.
A second important function of labour law is to prescribe the minimum terms and conditions
of employment which should be observed by employers in the course of conducting business.
Therefore, the legal system often contains provisions stipulating the minimum conditions
which must be observed in areas such as compensation for industrial accidents, social
security, safety and health in enterprises, the minimum age of employment. Some countries
may consider it appropriate to prescribe minimum wages. The basic rules to be followed
in terminating employment may be another area of the employment relationship which
would need to be covered by minimum standards. Methods for settling disputes, both
individual and collective, through institutions such as labour courts, arbitration and conciliation
systems, have not been an uncommon feature of State intervention through the law.
A third and more general role for the law in industrial relations is as an instrument of social
change. The law does not always merely or solely reflect contemporary thinking in society
and does not necessarily lag behind social and other values. It sometimes anticipates them
and can, on occasion, be employed to fashion new ideas and to effect changes in behaviour.
It is not always possible to leave crucial and complex social issues to be solved through
purely voluntary action such as collective bargaining. Sometimes, especially in developing
countries, the absence of strong and independent trade unions reduces the effectiveness and
role of voluntary action, and necessitates greater regulation through legal prescription. In
such situations desirable measures such as remedies for unfair dismissal, protection against
acts of anti-union discrimination, the minimum conditions a contract of employment should
conform to, safety requirements, etc., are prescribed by the law. But intervention on this
ground should not lead to the introduction of rigidities in the labour market through
overregulation.
Legal prescription should be viewed as merely laying down minimum terms and defining
the permissible boundaries of action within which the two parties (employers and workers)
must operate. Over regulation through law could have adverse consequences on building
a sound industrial relations system through voluntary action, and on the competitiveness

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