The term unfair labour trade practices, though has been heard very much as the part and parcel of labour laws throughout the world, is still a grey area where very little thought and study has been put into and the said statement is of high relevance, when one looks into the wide expanse of the labour market in India, undoubtedly one among the largest in the world, half of which still comprises of labourers from unorganized sector.
The need for an exclusive legislation on unfair labour practices has been long felt within the country for a long time. However, the approach of the Parliament in implementing the said need has been in a state of apathy. This is evident from the fact that the proposed amendment to the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926 through the Amendment Act, 1947 wherein certain acts were specified as unfair labour practices has not yet been brought into force even after the passage of half a decade. There seems to be an obstruction for the legislature of the largest democracy of the world to enact a specific legislation regarding unfair labour practices, an impediment which is still known to none. The said write up is emphasizing on the need of bringing in an exclusive legislation with regard to unfair labour trade practices and also discusses in detail, the possible effects, enactment of such a law will have on the labour economy of the country.
“The problem of labour law has become the problem of an entire economic order. A renovation of labour law is no longer possible without a renewal of that economic order … The social requirements of labour law are no longer compatible with the individual character of the economic system.”
The increasing number of unfair labour practice cases is a subtle but an increasing threat to the national labour policies. Hence it is necessary that the problem is being properly addressed to. When such an observation is turned against a country like India, where historically itself the concept of collective bargaining has not been as effective as in other nations, the subject invites a large amount of thought and action to be put into it.
Since the labour regime of our country has been invariably indebted to its British counterpart, the effects that the labour laws of UK felt during the economic crisis was felt even in the colonial India and from there the labour laws of our country have not regained its balance that it lost due to the flaws in the policies that were adopted by its government in the dawn of its independence. Collective laissez-faire did not survive the strong economic currents which swept through the UK system of labour relations in this period. Being in the clutches of a colonial power meant that the repercussions of what happened in UK also happened in India. Collective Bargaining never was a popular concept in the few industries that we had during the colonial regime.
Hence, it can be understood that there was an inherent flaw in the labour policies of our country from its beginning. Despite this, the industrial jurisprudence in our country evolved at a rapid pace to ensure that the country moved correspondingly with the developments of the world. This can be understood by the fact that the significance of the concept of unfair labour trade practices was realised by the time of 1950, barely three years into the implementation of it umbrella legislation- The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
However, from there though the labour jurisprudence of our country has evolved in various fronts, the growth of the concept of unfair labour trade practices as such and its interpretation has seen very less or almost no major changes. The only major change with respect to unfair labour trade practices in our country has been the inclusion of the said concept in the parent labour legislation of the country. The rich body of case law that has been developed under the Maharashtra law stands testimony to the fact that that law is frequently used to curb unfair labour practices, in contrast to the virtually non-existent litigation of a similar nature under the Industrial Disputes Act. However, through the research that was carried out in the preceding chapters it was able to conclude that the concept of unfair labour trade practices as provided in the Industrial Disputes Act fails to deal with the subject in a comprehensive manner. Therefore the need of an exclusive legislation on unfair labour practices was felt. On the basis of the study that was carried out it was found out that;
- Change in India’s labour policy occurs in a public realm, accessible to ordinary citizen and subject to public debate. Hence, any flaws, if present in the new legislation that has to be implemented will be cleared of then and there.
- A new legislation if properly brought in and implemented will administer a system that will be able to entail every aspect of unfair labour trade practices. When this is effectively carried on, collective bargaining too will obtain a significant place in the industrial arena of our country. The law that will be produced by the new enacted legislation and its decisions will let the parties know what is expected of them thereby reducing the magnitude of litigation that is piling up in our courts regarding unfair labour trade practices.
- By enacting a new legislation and through it an administrative body like does not mean that it is the highway to Utopia. The problem within the present statutory framework is that it there is no amount of creative thought or innovation going in to work a revolution in labour relations in the country. However, the enactment and development of a new statute and remedies, is to suggest that an exclusive legislation will provide us something extra than the present Act.
- As noted earlier, the measure of success of the implemented Act will have a direct impact on Collective Bargaining. The acceptance of a newly established system will increase the acceptance of collective bargaining, there by bridging a gap that was present on the labour legislation of our country from its inception.
All the concluding points, if summed up together will reveal that the enactment of a law on unfair labour trade practices is necessary not only to have an all encompassing law dealing with the subject of unfair labour trade practices but also to makes sure that the existing glitches in our statutory framework are dealt with properly.