THE JURISDICTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF LABOUR COURT AND INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL IN INDIA -A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH EMPLOYEMENT TRIBUNAL IN BRITAIN
AUTHOR – HEMASHREE A, LAW STUDENT
BEST CITATION – HEMASHREE A, THE JURISDICTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF LABOUR COURT AND INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL IN INDIA -A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH EMPLOYEMENT TRIBUNAL IN BRITAIN, ILE LABOUR LAW REVIEW, 2 (1) OF 2023, PG. 30-38, APIS – 3920 – 0009 | ISSN – 2583-6161.
INTRODUCTION
In India, the wide category of “Industrial Legislation” is largely used to describe the law pertaining to labour and employment. This country’s industrial legislation is very new, and it has evolved in response to the workers’ greatly enhanced awareness of their rights, notably following the declaration of independence. The complex of connections between employees, companies, and the government known as “industrial relations” is primarily focused on determining the terms of employment and working conditions for employees.
The Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 established three different courts to resolve industrial disputes: the Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal, and National Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal1.
The labour courts work under Section 7 of the Industrial Dispute Act of 1947, individual workers bring an industrial dispute. Which states: One or more Labour Courts may be established by the competent government. Its purpose is to resolve labour disputes involving any of the items listed in the second schedule2.
Industrial Tribunal [Sec. 7A]: The appropriate Government may establish one or more Industrial Tribunals by publication in the Official Gazette for the purpose of arbitrating industrial disputes relating to any matter, whether one that is listed in the Second Schedule or the Third Schedule, as well as for carrying out any other duties that may be delegated to them under this Act3.
The second and third schedule of the Industrial Dispute Act of 1947, defines the jurisdiction of labour court and industrial tribunal4, if the labour court is merged with industrial tribunals then the effectives of labour court and the industrial tribunals effectiveness range increase and it may even lead to an effective solution towards the cases5. To aid in prompt settlement, the tribunals might also develop its own procedures and norms. Before a hearing, certain tribunals will seek to resolve a dispute through mediation.
The paper is going to focus on the effectiveness and jurisdiction of labour courts and industrial tribunal in India with the comparison to the Britain’s employment tribunal and the effectiveness in Britain.
Tribunals were first established to provide a relatively rapid, informal means of resolving disputes involving employment rights between employees and employers. Although they are still less formal than civil courts, they have gotten more legalistic and formal as the law has become more complex.
The Britain labour courts are Tripartite which is the bench have one professional judge, one employee judge and one employer judge and sometimes unipartite, with the professional judge sitting alone. The British Labour Court is a legal system for resolving labour disputes in the United Kingdom. The court has exclusive jurisdiction over all matters relating to employment and welfare rights, including equal pay for work of equal value, occupational safety and health etc..
The two countries have very different systems for dealing with labour issues at the workplace
– India uses an independent national level forum while Britain uses a national level body with exclusive jurisdiction over employment law and other areas affecting workers’ rights.
Keywords– labour courts, industrial tribunal, jurisdiction, industrial relations, Britain, employment court.