The main aspect of Industrial Relations are :
i. Labor Relations, i.e. relations between union and management.
ii. Employer-employees relations, i.e. relations between management and employees.
iii. Group relations, i.e. relations between various groups of workmen.
iv. Community or Public relations, i.e. relations between industry and society.
v. Promotions and development of healthy labor-managements relations.
vi. Maintenance of industrial peace and avoidance of industrial strife
vii. Development of true industrial Democracy.
Effects of poor Industrial Relations:
Poor Industrial Relation produces highly disquieting effects on the economic life of the country. We may enumerate the ill-effects of poor Industrial Relations as under:
1. Multiplier effects: Modern industry and for that matter modern economy are interdependent. Hence although the direct loss caused due to industrial conflict in any one plant may not be very great, the total loss caused due to its multipliers effect on the total economy is always very great.
2. Fall in normal tempo : poor Industrial Relations adversely effect the normal tempo of work so that work far below the optimum level. Costs build up. Absenteeism and labor turnover increase. Plants discipline breaks down and both the quality and quality of production suffer.
3. Resistance of change : Dynamic industrial situation calls for change more or less continuously. Methods have to be improved. Economics have to be introduced. New products have to be designed, produced and put in the market. Each of these tasks involves a whole chain of changes and this is resisted bitterly if these are industrial conflict.
4. frustration and social cost : every man comes to the work place not only to earn a living. He wants to satisfy his social and egoistic needs also. When he finds difficulty in satisfying these needs he feels frustrated. Poor Industrial Relations take a heavy toll in terms of human frustration. They reduce cordiality and aggravate social tension.
Suggestions to Improve Industrial Relation:-
a. Both management and unions should develop constructive attitudes towards each other – Constructive Attitude
b. All basic policies and procedures relating to Industrial Relation should be clear to everybody in the organization and to the union leader. The personnel manager must make certain that line people will understand and agree with these policies.
c. The personnel manager should remove any distrust by convincing the union of the company’s integrity and his own sincerity and honesty. Suspicious, rumors and doubts should all be put to rest.
d. The personnel manager should not vie with the union to gain workers‘loyal to both the organization. Several research studies also confirm the idea of dual allegiance. There is strong evidence to discard the belief that one can owe allegiance to one group only.
e. Management should encourage right kind of union leadership. While it is not for the management to interfere with union activities, or choose the union leadership, its action and attitude will go a long way towards developing the right kind of union leadership. “Management gets the union it deserves” is not just an empty phrase. Managements
[Login to view]