Nehaa V, B.Com, L.L.B. Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tiruchirappalli
ABSTRACT
Collective bargaining has always played a critical role in industrial relations in terms of having a structured entity for negotiation and bargaining with employers. Collective bargaining is a process by which employment-related conflicts are settled amicably, quietly, and freely by agreement between labor unions and management. In terms of presenting their demands collectively, workers have an advantage thanks to collective bargaining.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines “Collective bargaining as any kind of written agreement pertaining to working conditions and employment terms that is reached between an employer, a specific set of employers, or an employer's association (which might be one or more).” In Article 19(c) of the Indian Constitution, the freedom to associate is guaranteed and named as one of the essential rights.
In 1891, Sydney and Beatrice Webb coined the phrase "Collective bargaining." In the United States of America, using collective bargaining to address workplace issues was largely recognized. In the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi formally started collective bargaining in India in the Ahmedabad textile sector.
According to International Labour Office in 1960“Collective bargaining is the negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer and a group of employers or one or more employer's organization on one hand, and one or more representatives of workers organization on the other to reach an agreement.".1 (Minocha, Amrisha. (2021)).
This study focuses on the different forms, styles, and techniques of collective bargaining as well as its legal requirements and the role that trade unions and ILO principles play in collective bargaining. It also examines several cases to demonstrate why it is lawful in Japan and India.
Keywords: Collective Bargaining, provisions in Constitution, Industrial dispute act, Labour union act, strike
