Historical Background

The history of labour legislation in India is naturally interwoven with the history of British
colonialism. The industrial/labour legislations enacted by the British were primarily intended
to protect the interests of the British employers. Considerations of British political economy
were naturally paramount in shaping some of these early laws. The earliest Indian statute to
regulate the relationship between employer and his workmen was the Trade Dispute Act,
1929 (Act 7 of 1929). Provisions were made in this Act for restraining the rights of strike and
lock out but no machinery was provided to take care of disputes.

The original colonial legislation underwent substantial modifications in the post-colonial era
because independent India called for a clear partnership between labour and capital. The
content of this partnership was unanimously approved in a tripartite conference in December
1947 in which it was agreed that labour would be given a fair wage and fair working
conditions and in return capital would receive the fullest co-operation of labour for
uninterrupted production and higher productivity as part of the strategy for national economic
development and that all concerned would observe a truce period of three years free from
strikes and lockouts. Ultimately the Industrial Disputes Act (the Act) brought into force on
01.04.1947 repealing the Trade Disputes Act 1929 has since remained on statute book.

Object of the Act

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, is, therefore, the matrix, the charter, as it were, to the
industrial law. The Act and other analogous State statutes provide the machinery for
regulating the rights of the employers and employees for investigation and settlement of
industrial disputes in peaceful and harmonious atmosphere by providing scope for collective
bargaining by negotiations and mediation and, failing that, by voluntary arbitration or
compulsory adjudication by the authorities created under these statutes with the active
participation of the trade unions. With the aid of this machinery, industrial law covers a
comprehensive canvas of state intervention of social control through law to protect directly
the claims of workers to wages, bonus, retiral benefits such as gratuity, provident fund and
pension, claims, social security measures such as workmen’s compensation, insurance,
maternity benefits, safety welfare and protection of minimum of economic well-being. Job
security has been particularly protected by providing industrial adjudication of unfair
discharges and dismissals and ensuring reinstatement of illegally discharged or dismissed
workmen. Protection has gone still further by laying down conditions of service in specified
industries and establishments and limiting the hours of work. By and large, all these subjects
are "connected with employment or non-employment or terms of employment or with the
conditions of labour" of industrial employees. In other words, these matters are the subject
matter of industrial disputes, which can be investigated and settled with the aid of the
machinery provided under the Act or analogous State statutes.

Mechanism of Disputes Settlement

The principal techniques of dispute settlement provided in the I.D. Act are collective
bargaining, mediation and conciliation, investigation, arbitration, adjudication and other
purposes.

2) Court of Inquiry

According to Section 6(1) of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, the appropriate Government
may as occasion arises by notification in the Official Gazette constitute a Court of Inquiry for inquiring
into any matter appearing to be connected with or relevant to an industrial dispute.
3) Constitution of Court of Inquiry
A Court of Inquiry may consist of one independent person or of such number of independent
persons as the appropriate Government may think fit and where a Court consists of two or more
members, one of them shall be appointed as the chairman.

Quorum

A Court, having the prescribed quorum, the quorum is one if the number of members is not
more than two. The quorum is two if the number of members is two, but less than five. The quorum is
three if the number of members is more than five.

4) Duties of the Court of Inquiry

Section 14 of the Industrial Act 1947 prescribes duties of the Court of inquiry are as follows -

(i) The court of inquiry is to inquire into the matters referred to it under section 10(1) of the said Act by
the appropriate government. It is only those matters which are appearing to be or connected with the
industrial dispute that can be referred to it under section 10(1) or under Section 12(5) of the Industrial
Dispute Act, 1947.

(ii) The court of inquiry is to make a report to the appropriate government on the basis of an inquiry
held by it on the matters referred to it, ordinary leave within 6 months from the date of commencement
of the inquiry. The inquiry made beyond the period of 6 months will not be illegal as the provision is
directory in nature.

) Effects of Proceedings Before Court of Inquiry

Unlike the proceedings in the nature of conciliation when there is a legal bar regarding the
worker's right to go on strike, the employer's right to declare Lockout and dismiss or otherwise punish
the workmen under Section 33 of the said Act. The provision of this section 22, 23 and 33 provide that
during the pendency of the preceding before the Court, the following rights remain unaffected.

1) The workmen's right to go on strike;

2) The Employer's right to declare Lockout; and

3) The employer's right to dismiss or otherwise punish the workmen under Section 33 of the Act

Scope of inquiry by the Labour Court under Section

33(2)(b) of the Act is limited
2018 LLR 427 MADRAS HIGH COURT Hon’ble Mr. K.K. Sasidharan J. Hon’ble Mr. G.R.
Swaminathan, J. W.A. (MD) No. 915/2017 and CMP (MD) No. 6138/2017 Dt/–7-7-2017
Management, T.N. State Transport Corporation (Madurai) Ltd., Dindigul vs. Joint Commissioner
of Labour (Conciliation), Chennai and Anr. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947 – Section
33(2)(b) – Dismissal from service – Approval of […]

(2) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947:

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was enacted to promote industrial peace by providing appropriate
machinery for amicable settlement of disputes arising between employers and employees.

Objectives of the Act:

(1) The Act provides a machinery for the settlement of disputes by arbitration or adjudication.

(2) It attempts to ensure social justice and economic progress by fostering industrial harmony.

(3) It enables workers to achieve their demands by means of legitimate weapon of strike and thus
facilitates collective bargaining.

(4) It prohibits illegal strikes and lockouts.

(5) It provides relief to the workman in the event of layoff or retrenchment.

The act relates to all the relevant aspects of industrial relations machinery namely—collective
bargaining, mediation and conciliation, arbitration, adjudication and matters incidental thereto.

Authorities under the Act:

Sections 3 to 9 of the Industrial Disputes Act deals with the authorities under the Act;

(a) Works committee.

(b) Conciliation officer

(c) Boards of conciliation

(d) Courts of inquiry.

(e) Labour courts.

(f) Tribunals

(g) National Tribunals.

(a) Works Committee:

The appropriate government may require the institution, in the prescribed manner, of a works
committee in the case of any industrial establishment in which 100 or more workmen are employed.

Such works committee consists of representatives of employers and workmen employed in the
establishment. The workmen representatives are to be chosen in the prescribed manner from
among the workman engaged in the Industry and in consulting with registered trade unions if any.

(b) Conciliation Officer:

The Act provides for conciliation as a method of settlement of disputes. The appropriate government
by gazetted notification appoint -Conciliation officers. The duties of conciliation officer include
(i) To mediate in the settlement of industrial disputes.

(ii) To promote the settlement of disputes.

The conciliation officer has to mediate on a particular case within 14 days and send a report to the
government giving details of the steps taken to settle the disputes listing reasons for success or
failure in reaching an agreement.

Settlements in the course of conciliation proceedings are binding on all parties to the dispute.
Strikes, lockouts are prohibited during tendency of conciliation proceeding and specified periods.
Thereafter the appropriate Government may take a reference on the report of the conciliation
officer.

(c) Board of Conciliation:

The appropriate government may, as occasion arises by gazetted notification, constitute a board of
conciliation for promoting the settlement of industrial disputes. Such board consists of a chairman
and two or four other members. The boards main duty is to promote the settlement of industrial
disputes.

(d) Courts of Inquiry:

The appropriate governmental may as occasion arises, by gazette notification constitute a court of
inquiry for inquiring into industrial dispute. A court of inquiry may consist of one or more
independent person or persons.

Court of inquiry is expected to inquire into matters referred to it and report there on the appropriate
government, ordinarily within a period of 6 months from the commencement of the inquiry.

(e) Labour Court:

The appropriate government may constitute by notification one or more Labour Courts consists of
one person only appointed by appropriate government. Person should be or must have been a judge
of a high court or he should have been a district judge for not less than 3 years.

Where an industrial dispute has been referred to a labour court for adjudication it is bound to hold
its proceedings expeditiously and thereafter as soon as possible as it is practicable on the conclusion
thereof to submit its award to the appropriate government.

(f) Industrial Tribunal:

An appropriate government may, by notification in the official gazette, constitute one or more
Industrial tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes. The tribunal consists of one person
only appointed by the Government. The Industrial Tribunals have wider jurisdiction than labour
courts.

(g) National Tribunal:

National tribunals are constituted by appropriate Government for adjudication of industrial disputes
which in the opinion of the Central Governmental (a) involve questions of national importance, or
(b) are of such nature that industrial-establishments, situated in more than one state are likely to be
interested in or affected by such dispute. A National Tribunal consists of one person only to be
appointed by the central government.

Provisions of the Act:

The Act also defines the various areas like:

(i) Strikes and Lockouts

(ii) Prohibition of strikes and lockouts in public utility services.

(iii) Layoffs and Retrenchments.

(iv) Protection to workmen daring tendency of proceedings.

(v) Miscellaneous topics such as—Grievance Settlement Authority, disclosing confidential

information, etc