TOPIC- Unfair Labour Practices &

Victimisation

SUBMITTED TO: SUMBITTED BY:

Ms RAVEENA SARAO BUNKIM KANDHARI (6026)
LABOUR LAW PALAK AGRAWAL (6094)
COURSE- B.Com., LLB (H)
SEMESTER- 5
BATCH- 2016-21

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to Ms Raveena Sarao our professor who guided
me through the project and also gave valuable suggestions and guidance for completion of the
project. She helped us to understand and remember important details of the project that I would
have otherwise lost my project has been a success only because of his guidance.

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 UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES

A new Schedule V has been added by the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982. In this
Schedule unfair labour practices have been defined. Unfair Labour practices means any unfair
act or omission that arises between an employer and employee, involving:
 The unfair conduct of the employer relating to the promotion, demotion or training of
an employee or relating to the provision of benefits to an employee.
 The unfair suspension of an employee or any other disciplinary action short of dismissal
in respect of an employee
 The failure or refusal of an employer to reinstate or re-employ a former employee in
terms of any agreement.
 An occupational detriment other than dismissal in contravention of the Protected
Disclosures Act, 2000 on account of employee having made a protected disclosure as
defined in that act.

According to Article 43 Under Indian Constitution Act the state endeavour to secure by
suitable legislation or economic organisation or any other way, to all workers
Agricultural, Industrial or otherwise work a living wage, condition of work ensuring a
decent standard of life.

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 CATEGORIES OF UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES

Schedule V contains the list of unfair labour practices. It consists under two categories:

(I)Unfair Labour Practices On Part Of Employers Or Trade Union Of

Employers:

1. Established employer sponsored trade union of workmen: It is termed as

unfair on the part of employer to support financially to any trade union either in setting
up that union or otherwise.

2. Favouritism and Partiality: To show favouritism and partiality to one set of

workers regardless of merit.

3. Refuse to Bargaining: An employer cannot refuse to bargain collectively with the

workmen, if they are willing to settle the dispute either by way of negotiation or
otherwise. But, an employer can refuse to bargain if it would not in a good faith.

4. Continue lock-out: If an employer is proposing or continuing a lock-out deemed to

be illegal under this Act.

5. Indulgent in Violence: If an employer is indulge in acts of force and violence it

will be deemed as unfair labour practice. Nor an employer neither a trade union of
employer can indulge in any act of violence with employees of an industry.

6. Failure to Implement Rewards: Employer has to be abide by rewards,

settlements, or agreement (if any) resulted of decision of competent authority.

7. Recruit workmen during Strike: An employer cannot recruit another set of

workmen during an ongoing strike provided that, the strike prima facie seems to be
illegal.

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 8. Discharge or Discriminate workmen: To discharge or discriminate against any
workman for filing charges or testifying against an employer in any enquiry or
proceeding relating to any industrial dispute.

9. Employ workmen as ‘badlis’ or temporary: To employ workmen as

“badlis”, casuals or temporaries and to continue them as such for years, with the object
of depriving them of the status and privileges of permanent workmen.

10.Favour by Bond: An employer cannot insist upon workmen (if they are on legal
strike) to sign a bond of good conduct which allows them to resume the work.

11.Transfer of workman: It will be deemed unfair if an employer transfer mala fide

a workman to some other place in the guise of management policy.

12. Give the work to Contractor: An employer cannot abolish the work of regular
nature being done by workmen and give the same work to another contractor to completion of
such work, in a measure of breaking the strike.

13. To discharge or dismiss workmen:

 by way of victimization;
 not in good faith, but in the colorable exercise of the employer’s rights;
 by falsely implicating a workman in a criminal case on false evidence or on concocted
evidence;

14. Interfere with Workmen: To interfere with, restrain from, or coerce, workmen
in the exercise of their right to organize, form, join or assist a trade union or to engage in
concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,
that is to say.-

 threatening workmen with discharge or dismissal, if they join a trade union;

 threatening a lock-out or closure, if a trade union is organized;
 granting wage increase to workmen at crucial periods of trade union Organization, with
a view to undermining the efforts of the trade union at organization

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(II)Unfair Labour Practices On Part Of Workmen Or Trade Union Of
Workmen:

1. Support Illegal Strike: A workmen and the union of the workmen cannot advise
nor can actively support the illegal strike. A workman shall not allow to go on a illegal
strike. Support or assist an illegal strike is also termed as Unfair Labour Practice on the
part of workmen.

2. Refuse to Bargain: A workmen cannot refuse to bargain collectively with the

employer, if they are willing to settle the dispute either by way of negotiation or
otherwise. But, workmen can refuse to bargain if it would not in a good faith.

3. Indulge in coercive activities: A workmen indulge in any act of coercive measure

with the bargaining representative of the employer it will be deemed as ULP on the part
of the workmen.

4. Indulge in Violence against workmen: To indulge in acts of force or violence

or to hold out threats of intimidation against any workman with a view to prevent him
from attending work.

5. Assemble at Employers residence: Gathering outside the personal premises of

an employer or any other managerial staff in order to protest the industrial dispute it
will be termed as ULP.

6. Encourage bad practices: To stage, encourage or instigate such forms of coercive

actions as willful, ,”go-slow”, squatting on the work premises after working hours or
“gherao” of any of the members of the managament or other staff.

7. Coerce other workmen: To coerce workmen in the exercise of their right to self-
organization or to join a trade union or refrain from, joining any trade union, that is to
say for a trade union or its members to picketing in such a manner that non-striking
workmen are physically debarred from entering.

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 CASE LAWS

In Devendra Kumar C. Solanki V. State of Gujarat and Others,1Gujarat High Court has held
that the work done by the concerned workmen was same as that of permanent workmen and
the also worked workmen was same as that of permanent workmen and they also worked for
similar number of hours. But, discrepancy in payment of wages between permanent and non-
permanent workmen is alarming , same to be construed as unfair labour practices as defined
under Section 2(r a) of the Act.

In Eveready Flash Light Company V. Labour Court Bareilly, 2the company appointed a
workman on daily rate basis on 18th January, 1958 after trying him for four days. On April 12,
1958 he was appointed on probation for 6months which could be further extended by the
company at its discretion. He was elected a member of the working committee of the union on
September 9, 1958. On 10th September the management served him with a notice of warning
that in spite of repeated warnings he had shown no improvement in his work. The warning was
repeated an industrial dispute and the Labour court found no justification for putting the
workmen on probation after he had been tried and that the condition of putting him on probation
after he had been tried and that the condition of putting him on probation as communicated by
letter of 12th April was just to delay making him a permanent employee. The company preferred
a petition in the Allahabad high court. It was held that a condition of employment which is
designed to invest the employer with arbitrary power to keep the workmen at his mercy as
regards his chance of being made permanent and to eventually lead to deprive him of such
chance would amount to unfair Labour practices.

In the case of L.H. Factories and Oil Mills, Pilibhit V. State of U.P., some of the workers were
promoted while the workers are senior in service and also better qualified were not promoted.
The matter leads to an industrial dispute and refers to the Labour Court. The Labour Court was
of the view that “promotions were not given on merits, but one given to pamper one association
at the cost of the rival association. A writ was filed in the Allahabad High Court it was held
that promotions were made to please one trade union and strengthen it against the rival trade
union. Further, it was held that unjust dismissal, unmerited promotion, partiality towards one
set of workers are some illustrations of Unfair labour practice.

1
2015 III LLJ 493 (Guj).
2
(1962) II LLJ 204.

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 VICTIMIZATION

It means either of the two things-

 A workman is innocent but at some point of time he had displeased the employer.
Example, by participating actively in strike or in joining of a workmen’s trade union.
 Where an employee has committed an offence, but the punishment given to him is not
in proportion with the act or the gravity is too high.

For Example, by being an active member of a union of workmen who were acting prejudicially
to the interests of the employer. The second instance is where an employee has committed an
offence but is given a punishment quite out of proportion to the gravity of the offence, simply
because he has incurred the displeasure of the employer, or where the punishment is shockingly
disproportion to the misconduct or is such as no reasonable employer would impose under the
circumstances.

Detriments Which Could Amount To Victimisation

If you are subjected to any form of “detriment” by your employer because you have done a
“protected act” then you may have been ‘victimized’.

A “detriment” can be any one (or more) of the following, individually or in combination (the
list is not exhaustive):

 Bullied or harassed
 Ostracised in the workplace
 Rejected for promotion
 Denied opportunities for training
 Disciplined; or
 Dismissed

Essentially, it can be any act or omission which disadvantages you or reasonably changes your
position for the worse.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

 S.N. Mishra

WEBSITES:

 http://www.scribd.com/.../58759943/Unfair-Labour-Practice
 http://www.legumlocus.com/unfair-labour-practices
 https://www. legalhero.co.za › CCMA
 https:// www.legalbites.in/cyber-victimization-india
 https://www.labourprotect.co.za/harrasment.htm