Industrial vs Individual Disputes Under Labour Law: Meaning, Differences & Legal Framework in India

Question:

What is Industrial dispute? Difference b/w Industrial & Individual dispute. What are circumstances in which individual dispute can become an industrial dispute?

Answer:

Definition:

Section 2(k) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines “Industrial Dispute” as follows:

• A dispute or difference between:
  1. Employers & employers
  2. Employers & workmen
  3. Workmen & workmen
• The dispute or difference must be connected with:
  1. Employment or non-employment
  2. Terms of employment
  3. Conditions of labour of any person
• The dispute may relate to any workman or workmen or any other person in whom they are interested as a body.

For a dispute to qualify as an industrial dispute, a demand must first be raised on the management and rejected by them.

Individual vs Industrial Dispute:

Before the insertion of Section 2-A of the Act, an individual dispute could not per se be an industrial dispute. However, it could become one if it was taken up by a trade union or a group of workmen.

The Act indicates that its applicability to individual disputes (as opposed to group disputes) is limited unless the dispute acquires the general characteristics of an industrial dispute, i.e., when a body of workmen or a substantial section of them support the individual workman’s cause.

Case Law:

Jagdish Narain Sharma and Anr. vs. Raj Patrika Ltd. and Anr.

It was held that a dispute relating to the transfer of a workman becomes an industrial dispute only when:

• It is espoused by a union of workmen, or
• It is supported by a number of substantial workmen employed in the industry.

Without such support, the dispute cannot be treated as an industrial dispute and cannot be referred to a labour court.

Section 2-A:

• Section 2-A has limited application and does not declare all individual disputes as industrial disputes.
• A dispute connected with a discharged, dismissed, retrenched, or terminated workman shall be treated as an industrial dispute.

Key Clarifications:

• Only a collective dispute could constitute an industrial dispute.
• However, “collective” does not necessarily mean:
  • That it should be sponsored by a recognized union, or
  • That all majority workmen of an establishment should be parties to it.
• A dispute is still an industrial dispute if:
  • It is sponsored by a union, even if it is not registered.
  • However, the trade union must be connected with the employer or industry concerned.
• It is not necessary that there should be a resolution by a substantial number of workmen.
• What is necessary is the expression of the collective will of a substantial number of workmen taking up the cause of the aggrieved workman.
• Once a dispute has been referred, it does not cease to be an industrial dispute even if the workmen later withdraw their support.