What are Industrial Relations?

The concept of Industrial relations has been defined using various terminologies, but in the strictest sense, it is essentially the relationship between management and labor. The full concept of industrial relations is the organization and practice of multi-pronged relationships between labor and management, unions and labor, unions and management in an industry. Dale Yoder defines it as a "whole field of relationships that exists because of the necessary collaboration of men and women in the employment process of an industry."

Role of Industrial Relations:

Industrial relations are associated with labor, management, labor unions, and the state. The scene of industrial relations has grown tremendously, and cannot be represented merely by relations between management and labor. It has become a comprehensive and total concept embracing the sum total of relationship that exists at various levels of the organizational structure. Additionally, it connotes relationships between workers themselves within the labor class, and relations among the management within the managerial class. In an open sense, industrial relations denote all types of relations within a group and outside a group - both formal and informal relations.

Objectives of Industrial Relations:

1. Protect management and labor interests by securing mutual relations between the two groups. 2. Avoid disputes between management and labor, and create a harmonizing relationship between the groups so productivity can be increased. 3. Ensure full employment and reduce absenteeism, hence, increasing productivity and profits. 4. Emphasize labor employer partnership to establish and maintain industrial democracy. This is done to ensure the sharing of profit gains, and personal developmental of all all employees. 5. Provide better wages and living conditions to labor, so misunderstandings between management and labor are reduced to a minimum. 6. To bring about government control over plants where losses are running high, or where products are produced in the public interest. 7. To bridge a gap between various public factions and reshape the complex social relationships emerging out of technological advances by controlling and disciplining members, and adjusting their conflicts of interests. Objectives of Industrial Relation in today are: 1. To safeguard the interest of labor and management who are participate in the process of

production is being securing the highest level of mutual understanding and goodwill among all those sections in the industry. 2. To avoid industrial conflict or strife and develop harmonious relations, which are an essential factor in the productivity of workers and the industrial progress of a country. To eliminate, as far as is possible and practicable, strikes, lockouts and gathers by providing reasonable wages, improved living and working conditions, said fringe benefits. 3. To raise productivity to a higher level in an era of full employment by lessening the tendency to high turnover and frequency absenteeism. 4. To establish and nurse the growth of an Industrial Democracy based on labor partnership in the sharing of profits and of managerial decisions, so that ban individuals personality may grow its full stature for the benefit of the industry and of the country as well. 5. To establish government control of such plants and units which are running at a loss or in which productions has to be regulated in the public interest. In fact the subsidy is to provide for stable of the productions. It is necessary for mankind.

Industrial Relations in First World War:

The First World War was an opportunity in disguise for local factories in India. Prices of virtually all products went up and profits soared, however, wages of lower employees were still the same. There were various strikes and disputes between management and employees. During this time, the Workmen's Compensation Act (1923), the Trade Union Act (1926), and the Trade Disputes Act (1917) were established. While the wages of employees remained the same, they were given a certain share of profits made by their hiring industry. Strikes, however, were sometimes prohibited under the Emergency Rules. The years following World War II involved the most workers' upheaval, and saw the establishment of Industrial Employment Act (1946) and Industrial Disputes Act (1947).

Post-Independence Industrial Relations:

The post-independence era saw a developing relation between industry and labor. A conference called the Industrial Truce Resolution took place in 1947, and foresaw the establishment of the Minimum Wages Act, Factories Act, and Employees State Insurance Act in 1948. This ensured peace between labor and industry. While industrial relations in India have evolved a long way, some features of the early system still exist today. Modern industrial relations are dynamic, and may integrate industrial policies of American and British businesses.
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF INDUSTRIAL RELATION (IR) IN TODAY'S CONTEXT

Simply the relationship between employer and employee is called Industrial Relation. But it also

covers the relation between employer vs. employer and employees vs. employees. To safeguard the interests of the all the parties, harmonious relationship is necessary for both employers and employees of the production. In order to maintain good relationship with the employees, the main functions of every organization should avoid any dispute with them or settle it as early as possible, so as to ensure industrial peace and harmony with higher productivity. The Industrial Relation relations also called as labor - management, employee-employers relations. Definitions:a. Industrial Relation is deals with the manpower of the enterprise and the management which is concerned with whether machine operator, skilled worker or manager. b. Industrial Relation is a relation between employer and employees, employees and employees and employees and trade unions. and the process by which people and their organizations interact at the place of work to establish the terms and conditions of employment. - Industrial dispute Act 1947 In fact, Industrial Relation encompasses all such factors that influence behavior of people at work. A few such important factors are details below: 1. Process / Methods : The collective bargaining between both the employer and employee. The participation of workers in the Industrial Relation schemes in necessary. Others are disciplinary procedure, grievance readdress machinery, dispute settlements, union reorganization, revisions of existing rules, regulations, policies, procedures, hearing of labor courts, tribunals etc. 2. Contents : There may be two parts includes the matter pertaining to employment conditions like pay, hours of works, leave with wages, health, and safety, disciplinary actions, lay-off, dismissals retirements etc., and other part are laws relating to such activities, regulations welfare, social security, industrial relations, etc. 3. Institution / Establishment: The direct or indirect impact on the industrial relations systems is it includes government, employers, trade unions, unions federations or associations, government bodies, labor courts, tribunals and other organizations. Industrial relations has become one of the most delicate and complex problems of modern industrial society. Industrial progress is impossible without cooperation of labors and harmonious relationships. Therefore, it is in the interest of all to create and maintain good relations between employees (labor) and employers (management). Concept of Industrial Relations: The term Industrial Relations comprises of two terms: Industry and Relations. Industry refers to any productive activity in which an individual (or a group of individuals) is (are) engaged. By relations we mean the relationships that exist within the industry between the employer and his workmen. The term industrial relations explains the relationship between employees and management which stem directly or indirectly from union-employer relationship.

Industrial relations are the relationships between employees and employers within the organizational settings. The field of industrial relations looks at the relationship between management and workers, particularly groups of workers represented by a union. Industrial relations are basically the interactions between employers, employees and the government, and the institutions and associations through which such interactions are mediated. The term industrial relations has a broad as well as a narrow outlook. Originally, industrial relations was broadly defined to include the relationships and interactions between employers and employees. From this perspective, industrial relations covers all aspects of the employment relationship, including human resource management, employee relations, and union-management (or labor) relations. Now its meaning has become more specific and restricted. Accordingly, industrial relations pertains to the study and practice of collective bargaining, trade unionism, and labor-management relations, while human resource management is a separate, largely distinct field that deals with nonunion employment relationships and the personnel practices and policies of employers. The relationships which arise at and out of the workplace generally include the relationships between individual workers, the relationships between workers and their employer, the relationships between employers, the relationships employers and workers have with the organizations formed to promote their respective interests, and the relations between those organizations, at all levels. industrial relations also includes the processes through which these relationships are expressed (such as, collective bargaining, workers participation in decisionmaking, and grievance and dispute settlement), and the management of conflict between employers, workers and trade unions, when it arises.