Collective Bargaining As A Substitute For State Adjudication: A Jurisprudential Study Of Indian Labour Law
- IJLLR Journal
- 23 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Melanie Veera Saldanha, Vellore Institute of Technology Chennai
Vijayendra Kumar M, Vellore Institute of Technology Chennai
1. ABSTRACT
Historically, in India, the resolution of industrial disputes has been accomplished through State adjudication as provided under labour legislation, particularly through the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Though this legal provision for the resolution of industrial disputes has been found to have been designed and developed as an initial measure to cope with the imbalance in the bargaining power between the industrialists or bosses and workmen, its overwhelming prevalence has also caused some concern in terms of delay in procedure, overreach of State intervention, and loss of industrial autonomy. On these lines, collective bargaining has been found to serve as an attractive alternative through participant orientation.
This paper attempts to undertake a jurisprudential analysis of collective bargaining as an alternate and feasible process to state adjudication in the context of Indian labour laws. In fact, the juristic foundations of Labour Jurisprudence in relation to principles of social justice, freedom of association, and justice as participation have been analysed to validate and examine different tenets of collectivism and the effectiveness of different provisions of the collective bargaining process in India, in comparison to and as an alternative to compulsory adjudication.
An analysis of the major historical decisions of the courts and legislation, as well as current trends in the new Industrial Relations Code, 2020, helps to highlight the trend towards the voluntary resolution of industrial disputes. The author will also sketch the limits on collective bargaining, from the declining membership of trade unions to resistance on the part of employers and the nature of the informal economy.
With this in mind, the paper concludes that it embraces an internationally comparative approach in positioning the study of labour jurisprudence in India in relation to internationally stipulated labour standards adopted by the International Labour Organisation. The study also concludes that despite the juncture that collective bargaining may never fully replace official adjudication by the State, still it has the ability to function as an effective alternative to labour disputes where it has an active role involving robust frameworks and judicial support.
Keywords: Collective Bargaining; State Adjudication; Industrial Dispute Resolution; Indian Labour Law; Industrial Democracy; Trade Unions; Social Justice.
