Industrial Disputes Act Essay

Discussion on Industrial Disputes Act

Industrial Disputes Act formulated in 1947 was enacted “to make provision for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes, and for certain other purposes.” It provides a systematic institutional design for the prevention and settlement of disputes that arise in an industry. But how does this Act define an industry? What is an industrial dispute?

To answer this question we turn towards the definitions of these terms under the Act. They are:-

1. Industry- Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 defined industry as “any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture, calling of employers, and includes any calling, service, employment, handicraft, industrial occupation or avocation of

It often leads to strikes, lock-outs, etc. all of which lead to a loss in production.

Despite all this, a harsh reality is that disputes do arise in an industry. Therefore, we need a mechanism to settle them in a peaceful manner. This is done with the help of Industrial Disputes Act. The methods to settle disputes as provided in the Act are shown in the diagram. All these processes are briefly discussed below:-

1. Conciliation- It is the process of settling disputes internally in an industry which involves intervention of the Government. The Government has a power to appoint either conciliation officers or a Board of Conciliation for the purpose of conciliation. The aim of conciliators is to act as mediators between the workers and employers. They come up with recommendations for settling the dispute and share it with both the parties, i.e., management and workers. If the employees and employers agree on the recommendations, dispute is settled and Conciliating Officers send an official notification to the Government stating the terms of agreement. But if conciliators fail to convince workers and employees, then conciliators send report of failure to the Government and suggest following the process of adjudication for settling the