Industrial Dispute Act 1947 Strikes, Lockout

A strike is a powerful weapon used by trade unions or other associations or workers to put across their demands or grievances by employers or management of industries. In another way, it is the stoppage of work caused by the mass refusal in response to grievances. Workers put pressure on the employers by refusal to work till fulfilment of their demands. Strikes may be fruitful for workers’ welfare or it may cause economic loss to the country.

For strike, the industrial dispute act under 2 (q) defines strikes as “a cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal, under a common understanding of any number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment”.

Common Reasons for Strike

Strikes generally occur in industries due to disputes between employees and employers, employees and employees or among employers and employers mostly due to the following issues:

• Working hours
• Working Conditions
• Salary, Incentive etc
• Time payment of wages
• Reduction in salary/wages
• Issue related Minimum wages
• Leave/Holidays
• Dissatisfaction with the company policy
• PF, ESI, Profit Sharing etc
• Retrenchment of workmen and closure of establishment
• Any other issue.

Under the following situation as given under section 22, on these grounds the strikes can be considered as illegal:

• Without giving to employer notice of strike within six weeks before striking.
• Within fourteen days of giving such notice.
• Before the expiry of the date of strike specified in any such notice as aforesaid.
• During the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings.

Further, the provisions under section 23 are general in nature. It imposes general restrictions on declaring strike in breach of contract in both public as well as non- public utility services in the following circumstances mainly:

• During the pendency of conciliation proceedings before a board and till the expiry of 7 days after the conclusion of such proceedings;
• During the pendency and 2 months after the conclusion of proceedings before a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal;
• During the pendency and 2 months after the conclusion of the arbitrator, when a notification has been issued under subsection 3 (a) of section 10 A;
• During any period in which a settlement or award is in operation in respect of any of the matter covered by the settlement or award.

Types of Strike

Primary Strike: The strikes that are directly projected against the employer are known as Primary Strikes. Below are types of Primary strikes which workers adapt to push the employer to get them on terms agreed to workers.

• Gherao is adopted by the factory workers to push the management to agree to their demand by restricting access to office or factory premises where nobody could move in or out.
• Picketing is the process of highlighting their issues on playcard or banners to show their demand to the public at large and media. In this union members are being talked to resolve the issue peacefully.
• Boycott is a process where no worker is allowed to carry out any work and union members push other workers not to do work and participate in their strike.
• Pen down strike where workmen come to work on a regular basis but do not do any work and sit idle for whole office hours.
• Go Slow Strike is also a very harmful way of strike where workmen intentionally work very slow to slow down operation. This harms the employer where order has strict timelines to deliver.
• Hunger Strike is the most common and oldest method used by workmen where they go for indefinite fasting and sit around factory or employer residence to project their demand.

Secondary Strikes: The other name for the secondary strike is the sympathy strike. In this, the force is applied against the third person having sound trade relations with the organization to indirectly incur a loss to the employer and the business. The third person does not have any other role to play in such a strike.

Nowadays third kind of strikes have also become popular which are adopted by the General Public to show their anger or objections against Government Policies for roll back of government policies. Recently we have seen outrage over Farmer’s bill where Bharat Bandh, No Purchase at Government Mandis kind of actions has been adopted at various states.

Consequences of illegal Strike

Economic Consequences: Losses incurred by strikes are humungous and serious, in some cases can even lead to the bankruptcy of the industry. The economic losses caused by the strike may be serious for the employer. During strikes, production stops, sales go down, due to which rival companies use this opportunity to capture their market and industry loses its consumers and their trust, strikes badly affects the market goodwill of the company.

Both parties i.e, employer and employee are at loss; for employers the quick losses capital loss, loss of profits, the delaying of orders and loss of goodwill as well as the possible incurring of insurance or strike-breaking expenses while on the worker’s side there is the loss of wages, the contracting of debts and all the personal hardships that may be involved.

The losses incurred by a strike are difficult to be calculated economically. Strike can have adverse effect leading to an unstable foreign investment in an economy. Furthermore, the negative effects on international trade include the hindrance of economic development and creating great economic uncertainty especially as the global media continues to share details, images and videos of violence, damage to property and ferocious clashes between strikers and security.

Social Consequences: the social consequences of the strike are serious, and mostly affect the employees; as they are the ones who are losing their wages, they are at greater risk of losing their jobs. Loss of wages or loss of jobs will directly affect in curtailing their consumption and expenses and further strikes in essential utility services effects the tripod of any industry i.e, suppliers, manufactures ( both employer and employees ) & customers. 

A hostile attitude on the part of the employer towards their employees lead Dismissal of workmen.

Legal consequences: The legitimateness of a strike may rely upon the article, or reason, of the strike, on its planning, or the direction of the strikers. The article, or items, of a strike and whether the articles are legitimate are matters that are not in every case simple to decide A strike, legal or illegal, justified or unjustified does not dissolve the employer-employee relationship.

Normally taking part in the illegal strike amounts to misconduct on the part of a workman for which they invite the punishment of dismissal. Whether the employer is free to punish dismissal from services in such cases has been subject to regular domestic enquiry to determine the quality of misconduct and quantum of punishment by finding out whether they were peaceful strikes or violent strikers. It is only after complying with these requirements, a workman if found guilty of the charges may be dismissed.

Lockouts

This is the only method adopted by the Employers against employees to make employees agree to their new rules and procedures. In lockouts, the employer temporarily closes the workplace or stops the work or takes action like suspending the workers to force them to follow the new terms and conditions.