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SHAHEED ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO INSTITUTE

OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND LABOR LAWS

SIR VISHNU PARMAR

TITLE:

EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCES AND

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

BY:

IRFAN BHATTIAHSAN TARIQ

IRTAZA TALPUR


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INTRODUCTION:

The Industrial Revolution started from 1750 to 1850 in which changes in agriculture,

manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had great effects on the social, economic

and cultural conditions of those times. The industrial revolution basically started the United

Kingdom and then spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and eventually the

rest of the world.

(The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period

during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial

and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s,

manufacturing was often done in peoples homes, using hand tools or basicmachines.

Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass

production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine,

played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of

transportation, communication and banking. While industrialization brought about an increased

volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also

resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes.

The Industrial Revolution brought about a greater volume and variety of factory-produced goodsand raised the standard of living for many people, particularly for the middle and upper classes.

However, life for the poor and working classes continued to be filled with challenges. Wages for

those who labored in factories were low and working conditions could be dangerous and

monotonous. Unskilled workers had little job security and were easily replaceable. Children were

part of the labor force and often worked long hours and were used for such highly hazardous

tasks as cleaning the machinery. In the early 1860s, an estimated one-fifth of the workers in

Britains textile industry were younger than 15. Industrializa tion also meant that some

craftspeople were replaced by machines.

Additionally, urban, industrialized areas were unable to keep pace with the flow of arriving

workers from the countryside, resulting in inadequate, overcrowded housing and polluted,

unsanitary living conditions in which disease was rampant. Conditions for Britains working -


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class began to gradually improve by the later part of the 19th century, as the government

instituted various labor reforms and workers gained the right to form trade unions.)1

As the Industrial Revolution started to grow and spread throughout the World it raised

subsequently raised many problems for the society as a whole and the people directly concerned

with industrialization, mainly the employees. In the early stages there were many groups and

individuals who opposed the idea of machines, staged protests at that time. There are individuals

who still think that industrialization was a bad idea and support it by giving arguments on the

issues of pollution, distribution of wealth, human rights violations hazardous raw materials used

in production etc.

With the advent and then modernizing of Industrialization many issues have been raised

specially by the employees and other people concerned. One of the most positive factors of the

modernization of industries has been the formation of trade unions and the proper procedure

through which employees express their grievances and move towards collective bargaining to

resolve their disputes.

GRIEVANCES:

Various scholars and authors have defined Grievances differently but all address to a single idea

which is the dissatisfaction of employees. Grievance can be defined in the following words:

Specific complaint or formal notice of employee dissatisfaction related to adequacy of pay, job

requirements, work conditions, other aspects of employment, or an alleged violation of a

collective bargaining agreement.(www.businessdictionary.com )

According to Michael Jucius, A grievance can be any discontent or dissatisfaction,

whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, and arising out of anything connected with

the company that an employee thinks, believes, or even feels as unfair, unjust, orinequitable.

From the above mentioned definitions of grievances, it is clear that when employees are

experiencing the dissatisfaction or are uncomfortable with any of the rules or policies laid

out to them in any form result in poor performance levels such as low productivity,

absenteeism etc.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/http://www.businessdictionary.com/http://www.businessdictionary.com/http://www.businessdictionary.com/


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Dispute and Grievances have been used as interchangeable words mainly because of the

major difference between the terms is that when grievances are expressed collectively or

from the platform of a trade union they are said to be disputes. Broadly stating, employee

grievances lead to industrial disputes.

A grievance may take any of the following forms:

Factual Imaginary Disguised

Factual:When an employee is dissatisfied with his work because of an authentic orfactual reason like the breach of terms and conditions of employment or any other

reasons that are clearly attributed to the management, t he employee is said to have a

factual grievance, and so factual grievances arise when the rightful needs are unfulfilled.

Imaginary: When an employees grievance or dissatisfaction is not based on anyfactual or valid reason but because of wrong observation, thoughts or information he has.

Such a grievance is called an imaginary grievance. Though it is not the mistake of

management, the responsibility of handling it still rests with the management.

Disguised: An employee may be dissatisfied because of reasons that areunidentified to the employee. This may be because of pressures and frustrations that

an employee is feeling from other sources like his personal life. Personal life of anemployee plays a vital role in his/her work performance, if the employee has troubles at

home he will not be able to concentrate at work and everything around him would seem

wrong. It is in our human nature to be effected by our surrounding environment. This may

lead employees to have grievances and managers must identify these negative energies and

try to eliminate them.

CAUSES OF GRIEVANCES:

Employee grievances can be triggered from anything in the workplace or outside the workplace.

Following are the three major causes of employee grievances all over the World.


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Working Conditions

Improper matching of the worker with the job. Changes in schedules or procedures. Non-availability of proper tools, machines and equipment for doing the job. Unreasonably high production standards. Poor working conditions. Bad employeremployee relationship, etc.

Management Policy

Wage payment and job rates. Leave. Overtime. Seniority and Promotional. Transfer. Disciplinary action. Lack of employee development plan. Lack of role

clarity.

Personal Maladjustment Overambition. Excessive self-esteem or what we better know as ego. Impractical attitude to life etc.

From the above clearly mentioned causes of grievances, working conditionsand management policy are the most common reasons of industrial disputes

are initiated.

Managers must try to resolve these issues or dissatisfactions as soon as

possible befor they take shape into a large industrial dispute.

THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE:

An organization must clearly define and communicate its grievance procedure for everyemployee of every level. The grievance procedure is one of the most essential pillars forremoving the grievances of the employees. Different organizations may have different

procedural systems which they have defined in order to satisfy the employees but the core

concept is the same. Given below are the common steps in a general Grievance Procedure.


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Source: www.mbaknol.com

The picture clearly explains the common steps involved in a grievance procedure.

GRIEVANCES IN THE GLOBAL ARENA:

A recent global survey shows that while no nation is without its share of misery and pain, the

pain caused by the fear of rising labor unrest is heavily concentrated among the rich and the

economically rising nations. Findings from the latest global Index of Economic Pain provide a

fascinating scale of pain among over 50,000 men and women across all continents of the world.

The global survey shows the net global fear of rising labor unrest to be 42%. It is notable that the

pain caused by fears of labor unrest is nearly the same in the emerging economies of BRIC, the

financially wounded economies of Western Europe and the rich nations of the G7. The Index

measures 48% in the four leading economies of BRIC, (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and45% among the G7 including USA, Canada, Germany and others. While the top 10 most pained

nations are heavily the economically upscale or rising nations, the least pained are heavily

downscale economies. The poll findings also show that the miseries of the rich and rising are

different from those of the poor and war-torn nations. The economic pain due to net fear of labor

unrest is minus (-)19% in Afghanistan and minus (-)17% in Iraq both of whom are on top of the

10 most relaxed nations in term of labor unrest.
http://www.mbaknol.com/http://www.mbaknol.com/http://www.mbaknol.com/


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A key question in the global survey asked: So far as you are concerned, do you think that in

2012, economy related protests and industrial disputes in (your country) will increase, decrease,

or remain the same? According to the WIN-Gallup International Global Barometer of Economic

Pain 55% believe that economy related protests and industrial disputes will increase, 14%

believe that it will decrease while 25% believe that it will remain the same. However 7% did not

give a view.

THE TOP 10 MOST PAINED NATIONS:

Countries Increase Decrease Remain

the Same

Dont

Know

Net Pain

Ireland 74% 4% 22% 0% 70%

France 72% 4% 24% 0% 68%

China 71% 8% 17% 3% 63%

Belgium 67% 6% 21% 5% 61%

Lebanon 66% 11% 17% 7% 55%

Nigeria 66% 22% 4% 8% 44%

Netherlands 65% 5% 29% 1% 60%

Bosnia and

Herzegovina

58% 8% 24% 9% 50%

Italy 56% 7% 33% 4% 49%

Finland 56% 6% 36% 3% 50%

Source:http://galluppakistan.blogspot.com

THE TOP 10 MOST RELAXED NATIONS:

Countries Increase Decrease Remain the same Dont know / noresponse

Net Pain

Afghanistan 24% 43% 27% 6% -19%

Iraq 26% 43% 22% 9% -17%

Vietnam 24% 36% 31% 9% -12%

Moldova 18% 27% 27% 28% -9%

Uzbekistan 11% 18% 52% 19% -7%

Ghana 34% 41% 6% 18% -7%

Austria 45% 49% 2% 3% -4%

Kenya 35% 33% 14% 19% 2%

South Africa 42% 40% 16% 3% 2%

Georgia 27% 22% 26% 25% 5%

Source:http://galluppakistan.blogspot.com


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INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONS:

Since the industrial revolution and subsequently its modernization it has been very crucial and at

times, very hard for employees to stand up for their rights and express their grievances. Trade or

labor unions have made it more easy and centralized for employees and for the employers toadhere to the problems and dissatisfactions of their workforce. The popularity of trade unions

have increased due to their successes in resolving conflicts and securing employee rights given

below is the density of employees who are members of various trade unions throughout the

world

Source: www.wikipedia.org


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International Labor Organization:

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite U.N. agency with government,

employer, and worker representatives. This tripartite structure makes the ILO a unique forum in

which the governments and the social partners of the economy of its 183 Member States can

freely and openly debate and elaborate labour standards and policies.( http://www.ilo.org)

The International Labor Organization has raised and resolved employee grievances since it was

established in 1919. It has played a crucial role in the development of employees and the unions

that represent them and has passed many resolutions and devised international laws on issues

such as employment and income standards, working conditions, employee discrimination, forced

and child labor etc.

GRIEVANCES IN THE NATIONAL ARENA:

The total labor force of Pakistan is comprised of approximately 37.15 million

people, with 47% within the agriculture sector, 10.50% in the manufacturing and

mining sector and remaining 42.50% in various other segments.

The below stated laws are taken from the constitution of Pakistan which illustrates

the rights and freedom given to the Pakistan labor force:

1) Article 11 of the constitution prohibits all forms of slavery, forced labor andchild labor.

2) Article 17 provides for a fundamental right to exercise the freedom ofassociation and the right to form unions.

3) Article 18 proscribes the rights of its citizens to enter upon any lawfulprofession or occupation and to conduct any lawful trade or business.

4) Article 25 lays down the right to equality before the law and prohibition ofdiscrimination on the grounds of sex alone.

5) Article 37 (e) makes provision for securing just and humane conditions ofwork, ensuring that children and women are not employed locations unsuited

to their age or sex and for maternity benefits for women in employment.

Since the emergence of Pakistan there have been many amendments in the labor

laws section of the Constitution of Pakistan, many have strived for the better


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working of the labor industry but until now we have only seen mere changes in the

documentation but no actual working when it comes to implementation. Thus with

such ignorance many grievances of the labor industry have been aroused.

As previously provided information tells us that Pakistans 47% labor force worksin the agriculture sector, it is the highest number of labor representation in the

labor industry but many grievances are seen here. This labor force has a very low

standard of living and also contains the highest number of child labor, their food

consumption relies on their employer and even their houses are made of sand.

These are the same people who are affected the most when an economic change

takes place and also the one who are directly in the face of floods. In the previous

year 2011 the floods which came all across the country destroyed many of the

fields and with them the households and even the hopes of these people. Within

these people are the women who are exposed to the cases of karo kari, in many

such cases innocent women are blamed to be guilty of having an affair with

someone who has some property entitled to him and then it turns out to be a

massacre all around the village.

The other 10.2% work in manufacturing and mining industry, this area is also

ignored by the federal and provincial governments. Their health and safety

procedures are not provided and the conditions in which this labor is exposed to

work are extremely hazardous; it affects their health, mind and body. Even afterworking in such conditions they are forced to do overtime in exchange of some

compensation but that compensation is not worth anything when it comes to their

health and safety. The employer ignores all their rights of being a labor and uses

them just to his advantage and own economic benefits.

Finally the last 42.50% work in different factories, commercial industries,

governmental offices, government firms, private organizations and others. Again

the bottom line labor deals with the hardest of time and less of the pay. The middle

level works the most but in decent offices and respectable designations where asthe top management enjoys the most of the revenues generated and superiority

designations and also the highest level of prestige. Ill working conditions are

provided to labor and discrimination is their biggest source of demotivation, which

also sometimes turns an honest worker into a thief by stealing of some appliance.

The extent of discrimination is that lady workers who are just at the age of their


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education are working in private firms which prepare clothes for other people. For

their work they are provided a very little amount of money through which they

cannot live a proper life style.

CONCLUSION:

In details of the facts and laws provided it is my personal opinion that a grievance

arises when a labor doesnt gets his worth, in every organization there are

hardworking employees who try their best to prosper the organization but such

forces like discrimination, personal jealousy, poor working conditions which

demotivates the employees and give a wrong perception of the organization. Also

some employees who choose the way of corruption give a massive loss to theorganization through which the entire labor force suffers where as in agriculture

sector there is a big problem of illiteracy and people are unknown of the rights they

even have.

It is strongly recommended that the government should implement the rules which

they themselves have listed, free education should be provided to the labor

specially in agriculture sector and one thing more I would like to add here is that

the private organizations which do not increase the wages of labor as by

government order must be scrutinized and proper pay scale should be provided to

every employee through which he could at least satisfy his basic needs and if any

economic change occurs it is the responsibility of the organization to help the labor

to tackle the economic trend.


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REFERENCES:

1. http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution2. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/grievance.html#ixzz1vizzi69C3. http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/39070/1/Unit-10.pdf4. www.mbaknol.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/grievence-

procedure.jpg&w=657&h=616&ei=pGi9T47WH4H0-

gaZo81D&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=833&vpy=346&dur=1049&hovh=217&hovw=232&tx=108&

ty=86&sig=116931366191269095158&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=146&tbnw=156&start=0&ndsp=2

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5. http://galluppakistan.blogspot.com/2012/02/rising-fear-of-labor-unrest-and.html6. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---

webdev/documents/publication/wcms_082367.pdf

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union
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ream/123456789/39070/1/Unit-10.pdfhttp://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution

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