Definition of the concept of

Industry, Industrial Disputes

and Workman
Arun Verma
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DEFINITION OF INDUSTRY

1. The manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a
particular field, country, region, or economy viewed collectively, or one of these
individually. A single industry is often named after its principal product; for example,
the auto industry. For statistical purposes, industries are categorized generally
according a uniform classification code such as SIC.
2. Any general business activity or commercial enterprise that can be isolated from others,
such as the tourist industry or the entertainment industry.
Industry can be defined as:
Any type of Economic Activity producing GOODs or SERVICES
It is part of a chain from raw materials to finished product, finished product to
service sector, and service sector to research and development.
It includes AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURING and SERVICES
Industry varies over time and between different countries
Industrial Linkage is:
When one Industry depends on the output of another
This can cause problems if one industry has production problems or closes down
The CAR INDUSTRY is a good example each component (engine parts, lights, body etc)
may be produced by a different company before it goes to the ASSEMBLY PLANTT
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TYPES OF INDUSTRY
There are four types of Industry:
- Primary
- Secondary
- Tertiary
- Quaternary
Primary Industry
This involves RAW MATERIALS or NATURAL RESOURCES (before
PROCESSING)
Raw Materials can be:
- Quarried
- Mined all below the earths surface
- Drilled for
- INCLUDING: Coal Mining, Oil Drilling, Gold Mining
- Grown - Collected
-INCLUDING: Farming and Forestry - INCLUDING: Fishing

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Secondary Industry
This involves a PRODUCT from Primary Industry which is PROCESSED or
MANUFACTURED into another product
Processing of Raw Materials (where raw materials are changed into something
different)
- Oil refined to make Petrol /Fish is processed to make Fish Fingers!
- Wheat ground to make Flour - Trees are sawn to make Timber Manufacturing of
Raw Materials (different parts assembled to make a finished product)
- Steel Making - Making Ships/Cars/Televisions
- Building Roads and Houses
(the FINISHED PRODUCT from one Secondary Industry may be the Raw Material
from another e.g. One factory may make tyres which are then sent on to be
used in a Car Plant)
Tertiary Industry
This provides a SERVICE
It involves a wide range of services INSTEAD of making anything and is the
LARGEST group of industries in MEDCs
Examples of so-called Service Industries
- Teaching - Nursing - Retail
- Civil Service - Police Force - Transport
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Quaternary Industry
This involves a small group of RESEARCH and
DEVELOPMENT industries
It is the newest industrial sector (often linked with
Tertiary) and is growing rapidly due to developments in
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY and COMMUNICATION
It focuses on the LATEST TECHNOLOGY
Examples of Quatenary Industries
- Designing new computers/writing computer software
- Researching new medicines and medical equipment
- Genetically modifying plants and animals for farming
- New forms of communication through satellites and
fibre optics
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SYSTEM DIAGRAM OF A SHIRT FACTORY
A factory system has INPUTS, PROCESSES and OUTPUTS
INPUTS all the items that go into making the product
anything needed before the production process can take place
PROCESSES are factory activities that transform raw materials into the
finished product
everything needed to make the product
OUTPUTS are what comes out of the factory after the production process
Some OUTPUTS are fed back into the system as inputs:
e.g. PROFIT will be put back in as investment capital
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LOCATION OF INDUSTRY
LOCATION OF INDUSTRY where industries will
establish themselves, is based upon a number of
factors:
PRIMARY FACTORS:
- RAW MATERIALS*
distance from raw materials affects transport costs
- LABOUR*
employees with different skills are needed
- TRANSPORT*
road, rail, sea and air networks are needed for the
import and export of goods
- MARKET*
access to people who will purchase the goods or
services
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SECONDARY FACTORS:
- Energy*
proximity to supplies of electricity (or coal/water in the past) to power the
industry
- Site
modern factories require large areas of flat land (esp. for assembly lines)
- Communications
reliable telecommunications are increasingly important
- Capital
money needed to up the industry
- Government Policy
industry is restricted/encouraged in certain areas by the use of grants, low
taxes, rent allowances
- Environment
attractive surroundings with good leisure facilities can be important to a
workforce
- Other
sometimes (as not all bosses are rational) industries are established in
places that someone just thinks is nice
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What is Industrial Disputes

Detailed explanation of Industrial Disputes
Industrial disputes are conflicts, disorder or unrest arising between
workers and employers on any ground. Such disputes finally result in
strikes, lockouts and mass refusal of employees to work in the
organization until the dispute is resolved. So it can be concluded that
Industrial Disputes harm both parties employees and employers and
are always against the interest of both employees and the employers.
Definitions of Industrial Disputes
As per Patterson:
Industrial strife constituent militant and organized protest against
existing industrial conditions, they are symptoms of industrial unrest
in the same way that boils are symptoms of disorder of body.
Industrial Dispute Act 1947
Industrial Dispute is any dispute or difference between the
employees and employers or between employers and workmen or
between workmen and workmen, which is concerned with the
employment or terms of employment or with the conditions of
labour of any person.

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Analysis of Industrial Dispute Definition
From the definition it may be concluded that an
Industrial Dispute means a conflict or unrest or dispute
or any sort of difference between employees and
employers which may relate with the employment or
the terms of employment or working conditions.
For a dispute to become Industrial Dispute there must
be a dispute difference between:
I. Employers and employees
II. Employers and workmen
III. Workmen and workmen
It is connected with the employment or terms of
employment or with the conditions of labour.

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Principles assigned by courts for judging the nature of
disputes
The term Industrial Disputes has been interpreted
differently in different situations by courts. So the court
has assigned some principles for judging the natures of
Industrial Dispute, these principles are as follows:
The dispute must affect large number of workmen
The dispute should be taken up by the Industry Union
The parties involved in dispute must have direct
interest
The consulted demand must become grievance
Workmen can raise Industrial Dispute himself under
Section 2A of Industrial Disputes Act -1947
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A Workman under the Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947

Principal Nature of Duties and Functions
Whether or not an employee is a workman
under Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act is
required to be determined with reference to his
principal nature of duties and functions. Such
question is determined with reference to the
facts and circumstances of the case and materials
on record and it is not possible to lay down any
strait-jacket formula which can decide the dispute
as to the real nature of duties and functions
being performed by an employee in all cases (S.
K. Maini v. M/s. Carona Sahu Company Ltd. &
Ors., reported in 1994 2 CLR 359).

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Workman: Section 2 (s) of the Industrial Dispute Act,1947 defines
"workman" means any person (including an apprentice) employed in any
industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational,
clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of
employment be express or implied, and for the purposes of any
proceeding under this Act in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any
such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in
connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal,
discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include
any such person
(i) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act,
1950 (46 of 1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957); or
(ii) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other
employee of a prison; or
(iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or
(iv) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws wages
exceeding one thousand six hundred rupees per mensem or exercises,
either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or by reason of
the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature.
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The complexity in commercial organizations
When an employee is employed to do the types of work enumerated
in the definition of workman under Section 2(s), there is hardly any
difficulty in treating him as a workman under the appropriate
classification. But in the complexity of industrial or commercial
organizations quite a large number of employees are often required
to do more than one kind of work. In such cases, it becomes
necessary to determine under which classification the employee will
fall for the purpose of deciding whether he comes within the
definition of workman or goes out of it.
The meaning of Workman Held: A person to be a workman under the
IDA must be employed to do the work of any of the categories as
mentioned under the Section 2(s). The same must be established
even if a does not perform managerial or supervisory duties. It must
be established that he performs skilled or unskilled, manual,
supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire or reward. It is not
enough that he is not covered by any of the four exceptions to the
definitions (Mukesh K. Tripathi v. LIC, (2004) 8 SCC 387).

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Supervisory and Managerial Duties
Where the employee possess the power of assigning duties
and distribution of work such authority of employee may be
indicative of his being supervisor doing supervision. In a broad
sense Supervisor is one who has authority over others:
someone who superintends and directs others. An employee
who in the interest of the employer has responsibility to
directly control the work done by the other workers and if the
work is not done correctly to guide them to do it correctly in
accordance with norms shall certainly be a Supervisor. A
supervisory work may be contra-distinguished from
managerial and administrative work and, so also a supervisor
from manager and administrator. Supervisors predominant
function is to see that work is done by workers under him in
accordance with the norms laid down by the management: he
has no power to take any disciplinary action (G. M. Pillai v.
A.P. Lakhmikaf Judge, III Labour Court, 1998 LLR 310).

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Test to determine Workman-
Following points are not at all relevant in deciding
whether or not a person is a workmen within the
meaning of the Section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act
(Devinder Singh v Municipal Council, (2011) 6 SCC 584).
1. Source of Employment
2. Method of Recruitment
3. Terms and Condition of Employment/Contract of
Service
4. Quantum of Wages/Pay
5. Mode of Payment
Once the test of employment for hires or reward for
doing the specified type of work is satisfied, employee
would fall within definition of workman.

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Full Time or Part Time
What is also important to note is that the definition of workmen
doesnt make any distinction between fulltime or part time
employee or a person employed on contract basis. Labour/Industrial
Court must determine whether a person is employed in an industry
for hire or reward for doing manual/ skilled/ unskilled/ operational/
technical/ or clerical work in an industry (New India Assurance Co Ltd.
v A Sankaralingam, (2008) 10 SCC 698).
In Case the person regarding whom the dispute is raised is not a
Workman?
Where the Workmen raise a dispute as against their employer, the
person regarding whose employment, non-employment, terms of
employment or conditions of labor the dispute is raised, need not be,
strictly speaking, a workman within the meaning of the Act, but
must be one in whose employment, non-employment, terms of
employment or conditions of labor the workmen as a class have a
direct or substantial interest.
The expression any person in section 2(k) of the ID Act must be read
subject to limitations and qualifications.

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The Section 2(k) of the ID Act states that:
Means any dispute or difference between employers
and employers, or between employers and workmen,
or between workmen and workmen, which is
connected with the employment or non-employment
or the terms of employment or with the conditions of
labor, of any persons;
The two crucial limitations are (1) the dispute must be
a real dispute between the parties to the dispute so as
to be capable of settlement or adjudication by one
party to the dispute giving necessary relief to the
other; and (2) the person regarding whom the dispute
is raised must be one in whose employment, non-
employment terms of employment, or conditions of
labor, the parties to the dispute have a direct or
substantial interest (Workmen of Dimakatch Tea Estate
v. Management of D.T.E., AIR 1958 SC 353).

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