Legislations dealing with grievances of employees working under Indian industries are mentioned below:
In Indian industry, adequate attention has not been paid to the settlement of grievance. Legislative framework deals only indirectly with the redressal of individual grievances.
At present, there are three legislations dealing with grievances of employees working in industries. They are:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
1. The Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act 1946.
2. The Factories Act 1948.
3. The Industrial Disputes Act 1947.
1. The Industrial Employment (standing orders) Act 1946:
Requires that every establishment employing 100 or more workers should frame standing orders. These should contain, among other things, a provision for redressal of grievances of workers against unfair treatment and wrongful exactions by the employer or his agents.
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2. Factories Act 1948:
The factories act 1948 provides for the appointment of a welfare officer in very factory ordinarily employing 500 or more workers. These welfare officers also look after complaints and grievance of workers. However, these provisions are not helpful due to the dual role which these officers are called upon to play.
3. The Industrial Disputes Act 1947
The Industrial Disputes Act provides:
(a) The employer in relation to every industrial establishment in which fifty or more workmen are employed shall provide for a grievance settlement authority.
(b) When an industrial dispute connected with an individual workman arises in an establishment referred to above, a workman or any trade union of workmen of which such workman is a member may refer such dispute to the grievance settlement authority for settlement.
(c) The grievance settlement authority shall follow such procedure and complete its proceedings within such period as may be prescribed.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(d) No reference shall be made to boards, courts or tribunals of any dispute referred to in this section unless such dispute has been referred to the grievance settlement
Authority concerned and the decision of the authority is not acceptable to any of the parties to the dispute.
Under section 2 – A of the Industrial Disputes Act (which was added to the Act by an amendment made in 1965), the term “industrial dispute” includes all differences between an industrial workman and his employer connected with organising out of his discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination not withstanding that no other workman nor any union or workman is a party to dispute.
The effect of this provision is that the industrial grievances of a worker of the kind noted above can in future pass through the settlement machinery which has been provided for under the Act.