Page 214 - DMGT516_LABOUR_LEGISLATIONS

Unit 8: Collective Bargaining

(9) The fullest use should be made of surplus labour in the various projects undertaken by the Notes
government.
(10) Incentives in the form of higher wages and a better standard of living should be offered to
show the gains which have accrued as a result of rationalisation. Where such gains have
largely been the result of additional efforts made by the workers, the latter should have a
share in them, particularly when their wages are below the living wage. The capital
investment of the management should, however, be taken into account while determining
the workers' share in the gains of rationalisation. In this way, workers would be persuaded
to accept the need for rationalisation.

Task Write a note on Collective Bargaining and its importance in India.

8.6 Policy and Law on Collective Bargaining in India

V.D. Kennedy, in his book on Essays on India labour, has observed that Collective Bargaining
makes large demands on the parties. It needs an orderly and rational environment – an
environment in which the incidental causes of uncertainty are kept to a minimum, an environment
that maintains general rules designed to further bargaining as an orderly process but otherwise
throws the parties on their own resources to develop their relationships and workout solutions
to their problems; Government policy and administrative practices have an important role to
play in helping to create this kind of environment. When we analyse the history of Collective
Bargaining in India, its era has started in true namely from 1977. Prior to this period, the
Collective Bargaining took a back seat with the emergence of violent and coercive methods in
industrial relations, further there was an attitude give or take between management and labour
but not given and take. But from 1977 onwards we find a positive approach to Collective
Bargaining, but more importantly, there is a change in the attitude and approach of the
government. In fact the Government made efforts to provide legal framework for Collective
Bargaining. According to Randle and Wortmas, the policy and legal requisites of Collective
Bargaining are:
(1) The employer must recognise a duly certified bargaining unit;
(2) Both the parties are legally obligated to bargain collectively without any compulsion to
agreement but in N O faith;
(3) Any subject matter of interest to the parties such as, wages, hours of work, profit sharing,
welfare retirement benefits etc. must be discussed;

(4) Agreements when consummated must be reduced to writing;
(5) Bargaining meetings must be held at reasonable intervals; and
(6) The agreements should be accorded a legal status to facilitate their enforcement: Keeping
in view the above legal requirements, we now trace the emergence of legal frame work on
Collective Bargaining in India. The first and foremost requirement is that the existence of
able trade unions and organised managements with an open minds to appreciate each
others stand. In this direction, the Government of India has included an exclusive uniton
governments labour and industrial relations policy in each and every five year plan
documents, as the plan documents are the means of declaring the official policy statement;
on every aspect of development. The importance of unionism to the Collective Bargaining
system is certainly recognised in these policy statements. The policy statement on Collective
Bargaining in the public sector is positive, which is revealed in the following words
"Collective Bargaining" between workers and management should be encouraged. Such

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