Category: HR & Industrial Relations
The emergence of contract labour significantly impacts industrial relations in both positive and negative ways. Positive impacts include weakening unions, facilitating change, and enabling a focus on core areas. However, negative impacts encompass reduced negotiation space, unequal pay, and issues of discipline, accountability, and work culture. Indian Railways' contracting out further complicates industrial relations, posing challenges for workforce productivity and labor exploitation.
Industrial relations refer to the dynamics between management and workers in an industry. It has evolved through history, driven by labor issues and social changes. In India, industrial relations have ancient roots, reflecting the evolving relationship between capital and labor. The government also plays a crucial role in managing industrial relations, employing various mechanisms such as the Whitley Council in the UK and the Joint Consultative Machinery in India. In the Indian Railways, the Participation of Railway Employees in Management (PREM) and Permanent Negotiating Machinery (PNM) are vital for addressing staff grievances.
Indian Railways is a mammoth organisation employing around 13.08 lakh workforce spread across the length and breadth of the country. This makes Indian Railways the largest employer in India. However at the same time this also makes the management of this humungous workforce a key challenge of Industrial relations. Unions in Indian Railways: Trade union … Continue reading Challenges of Industrial Relations in Indian Railways: Managing the Largest Workforce
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