The Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill, 2015

The Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill, 2015

It seeks to merge – 

• The Trade Unions Act 
• The Industrial Disputes Act 
• The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 

Merging these three laws into one would encourage compliance and improve the ease of doing business

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Related to Conditions of Service.

Labor Investigation Committee: “ An Industrial Worker has the right to know the terms and conditions which he is expected to work” 

The Objective: 

Uniformity, Minimizing Conflicts and Promoting harmonious relationship. 

Classification of Work: Permanent, Temporary, Badli, Apprentice. • ( Conditions attached to it): Leave, Time, Type, Act of Misconduct,

The right to association, right to collective bargaining and right to collective service condition are to be respected in any change of this kind of Law.

Previous Bill on the same issue 

The National Law Commission in its 1969 report had suggested cosmetic changes, which include changing the name of the Industrial Dispute Act to Industrial Relations Act so that it would not sound a discordant note and encourage smooth industrial relations. secondly the consolidation of the Trade Unions Act (1923), the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act (1946), and the Industrial Disputes Act (1947). But instinct of the NLC recommendation report, no attempts were made to consolidate and simplify laws. After a decade the newly formed Janata Party government introduced the Industrial Relations Bill (IR Bill) (1978) in parliament, but it was later dropped. 

In 1982, the Congress government introduced another IR Bill. But due to no clarity on the attendant legislations to be brought in for the categories excluded from the IDA, that move also failed. Even after it many attempts and recommendations were made among which the proposed bill mainly concentrate on the National Law Commission Report 2002 discussed in next part.

As early as in 2002 also, the Second National Commission on Labour had suggested the formulation of labour codes similar to those in Russia, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Canada. The present draft is very similar to the report of law commission as well as FICCI Report. The law commission report proposes various changes which includes No Prior permission in respect of lay-off and retrenchment or shut down in an establishment of any employment size as prescribed by law. Two months prior notice or notice pay in lieu of notice is made compulsory, in case of retrenchment or shutdown. The commission suggested increasing the rate of compensation in case of retrenchment where the organisation is running than a closed organisation. It would however recommend that in the case of establishment employing 300 or more workers where lay-off exceeds a period of 1 month such establishments should be required to obtain post facto approval of the appropriate government. The Commission recommends that the provisions of Chapter V B pertaining to permission for closure should be made applicable to all the establishments to protect the interest of workers in establishment which are not covered at present by this provision if they are employing 300 or more workers.

The laws regarding Strike should be made tough. It can be called by the recognised negotiating agent only and that too only after it had conducted a strike ballot among all the workers, of whom at least 51% of support the strike. The participation of workers in management process is also felt. 

The Commission had also recommended the Approaches in drafting the Law on Labour Management Relations which include that Firstly, the gender neutral expression 'worker' instead of the currently used word 'workman'. Secondly, the law will apply uniformly to all such establishments. Thirdly, we recognise that today the extent of unionisation is low and even this low level is being eroded, and that it is time that the stand was reversed and collective negotiations encouraged. Where agreements and understanding between two parties is not possible, there, recourse to the assistance of a third party should as far as possible be through arbitration or where adjudication is the preferred mode, through Labour Courts and Labour Relations Commissions of the type be proposed later in this regard and not governmental intervention. A settlement enter into with recognised negotiating agent must be binding on all workers. Fourthly, the provisions must be made in the law for determining negotiating agents, particularly on behalf of workers. Fifthly, the law must provide for authorities to identify the negotiating agent, to adjudicate disputes and so on, and these must be provided in the shape of labour courts and labour relations Commissions at the State, Central and National levels. Finally, The Commission was of the view that changes in labour laws be accompanied by a well defined social security package that will benefit all workers, be they in 'organised' or 'unorganised' sector and should also cover those in the administrative, managerial and other categories which have been excluded from the purview of the term worker

Conclusion 

Fewer laws mean better monitoring, easy compliance and benefit to both industries and workers. In India the entire system of labour laws should be made simplified by clubbing together wherever possible and made less cumbersome to make the environment more employment friendly. The main objective of these reform in labour laws is required to make India a more attractive country for investments, and to enable manufacturing here to become globally competitive; which is a necessary condition for Make in India. However, amendments to the labour laws do require consultations with the trade unions, and the government cannot bypass this process.