Role of Different Parties Involved in Industrial Relations

Role of Government in Industrial Relations

In recent years the Government has played an important role in regulating industrial relations but the extent of its involvement in the process is determined by the level of social and economic development while the mode of intervention gets patterned in conformity with the political system obtaining in the country and the social and cultural traditions of its people. The degree of Government  intervention is also determined by the stage of economic development. For example, in a developing economy like ours, work-stoppages to settle claims have more serious consequences than in a developed economy and similarly, a free market economy may leave the parties free to settle their relations through strikes and lockouts but in other systems varying degrees of Government  participation is required for building up sound industrial relations.

In India, the role played by the Government  is an important feature in the field of industrial relations and Government  intervention in this area has assumed a more direct form. The Government  has enacted procedural as well as substantive laws to regulate industrial relations in the country.

Role of Management in Industrial Relations

The management have a significant role to play in maintaining smooth industrial relations. For a positive improvement in their relations with employees and maintaining sound human relations in the organization, the management must treat employees with dignity and respect. Employees should be given ‘say’ in the affairs of the organization generally and wherever possible, in the decision-making process as well. A participative and permissive altitude on the part of management tends to give an employee a feeling that he is an important member of the organization — a feeling that encourages a spirit of cooperativeness and dedication to work.

• Management must make a genuine efforts to provide congenial work environment.
• They must make the employees feel that they are genuinely interested in their personal development. To this end, adequate opportunities for appropriate programmes of training and development should be provided.
• Managements must delegate authority to their employees commensurate with responsibility.
• They must evolve well conceived and scientific wage and salary plan so that the employees may receive just compensation for their efforts. They must devise, develop and implement a proper incentive plan for personnel at all levels in the organization.
• There must be a well-planned communication system in the organization to pass on information and to get feed back from the employees.
• Managements must pay personal attention to the problems of their employees irrespective of the fact whether they arise out of job environment or they are of personal nature.
• They must evolve, establish and utilize appropriate machineries for speedy redressal of employees grievances.
• Managements must provide an enlightened leadership to the people in the organization.

An environment of mutual respect, confidence, goodwill and understanding on the part of both management and employees in the exercise of their rights and performance of their duties should prevail for maintaining good industrial relations.

Role of Trade Unions in Industrial Relations

The trade unions have a crucial role to play in maintaining smooth industrial relations. It is true that the unions have to protect and safeguard the interests of the workers through collective bargaining. But at the same time they have equal responsibility to see that the organization do not suffer on account of their direct actions such as strikes, even for trivial reasons. They must be able to understand and appreciate the problems of managements and must adopt a policy of ‘give and take’ while bargaining with the managements. Trade unions must understand that both management and workers depend on each other and any sort of problem on either side will do harm to both sides. Besides public are also affected, particularly when the institutions involved are public utility organizations.