Collective Bargaining: A Critical Analysis

The concept of Collective bargaining is the most efficient way in solving the disputes
between the employer and the employee, concept of collective bargaining is defined by the
Supreme Court as “the technique by which dispute as to conditions of employment is resolved
amicably by agreement rather than coercion”. It involves the process of discussion and
negotiation between employer and workmen regarding terms of employment and working
conditions in the collective bargaining process the workers are generally represented by trade
unions with respect to expressing their grievance concerning service conditions and wages
before the employer and the management. The practise of collective bargaining is protected
by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 this legislation will treat the practise of the employer to
be unfair if they refused to collectively bargain in good faith with the employer. This is
generally an effective system as it usually results in employers undertaking actions to resolve
the issues of the workers.

The process of collective Bargaining involves Charter of Demands, Negotiation, Collective

Bargaining Agreements, Strikes, Conciliation, Arbitration or Adjudication by labour courts it
is considered to best method of resolving disputes between employer and workmen in many
countries but the situation in India is different the process of collective Bargaining is
considered ineffective as the legal procedure in India for collective bargaining is complicated
it has not properly laid down the provisions relating to wages, bonuses, working hours,
benefits, allowances, terms of employment, holidays, etc. In an establishment with multiple
unions the employer generally prefers a common charter of demands, but in principle, all
unions may submit different charters not only the mentioned but there has been great
difficulty for this concept to be implemented properly.

The collective bargaining in India can be classified into various levels like National level
Industry Bargaining, Industry level / Regional level Bargaining, Enterprise or plant level
Bargaining there are also different types of collective Bargaining agreements in India like the
Bipartite or Voluntary Agreements, Settlements, Consent Awards. these procedures though
sound apt are not adoptable in India the procedures are complicated and have been source of
litigation not only the procedure of collective Bargaining in India failed to solve the problem
but also did not set up a proper means of communication between the employer and
employee.

My project will be giving a clear overview of the existing mechanism of Collective

Bargaining in India and also discuss about the laws governing the trade unions it also
discusses about the laws which protect or implements the practise of the collective bargaining
like the Industrial Dispute Act, Industrial Relation Act etc in India my project will also make
an analysis on the reasons or difficulties of implementation of Collective Bargaining in India
and also explains the effects of implementing this procedure my project will also briefly
compare the Indian Collective Bargaining process with the other countries procedure and
suggest any improvements which could be made for proper implementation of the Collective
Bargaining.