 "Govt to ease employee-employer dispute resolution mechanism")
The move comes as trade unions have adopted a tough stance to a slew of proposed labour law reforms. All the 11 central trade unions have decided on a one-day nationwide strike on September 2 to protest the government's proposed changed to the industrial relations Bill.
The labour ministry would soon propose a tri-partite board with adjudication powers, to help workers raise grievance in case of industrial disputes with employers and if the conciliation process fails. Adjudication is a legal way to expedite the delivery of resolutions or punishments to conflicting parties. "Some respected representative of the employer and the trade unions, along with a government official, might be a part of this board," said a senior labour ministry official.
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The official said the board would have to arrive at a decision within a period. If the grievance was not redressed by then, the worker would have the right to move his case to the industrial tribunal. "At present, providing justice to workers is a time consuming and expensive process. We aim to make life easier for the workers in case a dispute arises. This board will quickly redress the grievances of the labour," said the official.
At present, in case of retrenchment or dismissal or termination of service, a worker can raise a dispute before a conciliation officer. In case that fails, a report is sent to the government and after due consideration, the ministry of labour refers the dispute for adjudication to the industrial tribunals-cum-labour courts.
One of the significant proposals in the proposed industrial relations Bill was that the government's approval would be not required for a case to be moved to the industrial tribunal in case of a failure of conciliation. "This means there will be no government interference in case of a conflict," said the official.