The main concern of labor relations is on the relationships that exist between the employer and the employee, and the labor practices that arise from the interests of such relationships. Labor relations can be of both international and domestic firms. All deal with matters such as remuneration, job security, minimum wages, health and safety, social security, and working time. Therefore, any form of violation of such laws by employers or unions is termed unfair labor relations.

Unfair Labour Practices
Section 25-T:
Prohibition of unfair labor practice:- No employer or workman or a trade union, whether registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926, or not, shall commit any unfair labor practice.

Section 25-U:
Penalty for committing unfair labor practices:- Any person who commits any unfair labor practice shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both.

A new schedule V has been added by the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982. In this Schedule, unfair labor practices have been defined. It contains a list of such practices as are treated unfairly on the part of the employers or their Trade Unions, or the part of workmen and their Trade Unions.

Clause (ra) of Section 2 of the Industrial dispute Act defines unfair labour practice to mean the practices specified in the fifth schedule and the fifth schedule was also inserted by the said Amending act. The fifth schedule has two parts. The first part refers to unfair labour practices on the part of the employers and trade union of employers and the second part refers to unfair labour practices on the part of the workmen and trade union of workmen. However, there is some difference between the provisions relating to unfair labour practices in the Maharashtra act and those in Central act i.e. industrial disputes act. The industrial disputes act prohibits an employer or workmen or a trade union from committing any unfair labour practice while the Maharashtra act prohibits an employer or union or an employee from engaging in any unfair labour practice. The prohibition under the industrial disputes act is aimed at preventing the commission of an unfair labour practice while the Maharashtra act mandates that the concerned parties cannot be engaged in any unfair labour practice.

Any unfair labour practice within its very concept must have some elements of arbitrariness and unreasonableness and if unfair labour practice is established the same would bring about a violation of guarantee under Article 14 of the Constitution. Therefore, it is axiomatic that anyone who alleges unfair labour practice must plead it specifically and such allegations must be established properly before any forum can pronounce on the same. It is also to be kept in mind that in the changed economic scenario, the concept of unfair labour practice is also required to be understood in the changed context. Today every State, which has to don the mantle of a welfare state, must keep in mind that twin objectives of industrial peace and economic justice and the courts and statutory bodies while deciding what unfair labour practice is must also be cognizant of the aforesaid twin objects.

I. On the part of employers and trade unions of employers

1- To interfere with, restrain from, or coerce, workmen in the exercise of their right to organise, 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–
(a) threatening workmen with discharge or dismissal, if they join a trade union,

(b) threatening a lock-out or closure, if a trade union is organised,

(c) granting wage increase to workmen at crucial periods of trade union organisation, with a view to undermining the efforts of the trade union organisation.

2.  To dominate, interfere with or contribute support, financial or otherwise, to any trade union, that is to say-

(a) an employer taking an active interest in organising a trade union of his workmen; and

(b) an employer showing partiality or granting favour to one of several trade unions attempting to organise his workmen or to its members, where such a trade union is not a recognised trade union.

3.  To establish employer sponsored trade unions of workmen.

4.  To encourage or discourage membership in any trade union by discriminating against any workman, that is to say-
(a) discharging or punishing a workman, because he urged other workmen to join or organise a trade union,

(b) discharging or dismissing a workman for taking part in any strike (not being a strike which is deemed to be an illegal strike under this Act),

(c) changing seniority rating of workmen because of trade union activities,

(d) refusing to promote workmen to higher posts on account of their trade union activities,

(e) giving unmerited promotions to certain workmen with a view to creating discord amongst other workmen, or to undermine the strength of their trade union,

(f) discharging office-bearers or active members of the trade union on account of their trade union activities.

5.  To discharge or dismiss workmen-

(a) by way of victimisation;

(b) not in good faith, but in the colourable exercise of the employer’s rights;

(c) by falsely implicating a workman in a criminal case on false evidence or on concocted evidence;

(d) for patently false reasons;

(e) on untrue or trumped up allegation of absence without leave;

(f) in utter disregard of the principles of natural justice in the conduct of domestic enquiry or with undue halt;

(g) for misconduct of a minor or technical character, without having any regard to the nature of the particular misconduct or the past record or service of the workman, thereby leading to a disproportionate punishment.

6.  To abolish the work of a regular nature being done by workmen, and to give such work to contractors as a measure of breaking a strike.

7.  To transfer a workmen main fide from one place to another, under the guise of following management policy.

8.  To insist upon individual workmen, who are on a legal strike to sign a good conduct bond, as a pre-condition to allowing them to resume work.

9.  To show favouritism or partiality to one set of workers regardless of merit.

10.  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.

11.  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.

12.  To recruit workmen during a strike which is not an illegal strike.

13.  Failure to implement award, settlement or agreement.

14.  To indulge in acts of force or violence.

15.  To refuse to bargain collectively, in good faith with the recognised trade unions.

16.  Proposing or continuing a lock-out deemed to be illegal under this Act.

II-On the part of workmen and trade unions of workmen.

1.   To advise or actively support or instigate any strike deemed to be illegal under this Act.
2.   To coerce workmen in the exercise of their right to self-organisation or to join a trade union or refrain from joining any trade union, that is to say :-
(a) for a trade union or its members to picketing in such a manner that non-striking workmen are physically debarred from entering the work places;

(b) to indulge in acts of force or violence or to hold out threats of intimidation in connection with a strike against non-striking workmen or against managerial staff.

3.   For a recognised union to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with the employer.
4.    To indulge in coercive activities against certification of a bargaining representative.

5.   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 managerial or other staff.

6.  To stage demonstrations at the residences of the employers or the managerial staff members.

7.  To incite or indulge in wilful damage to employer’s property connected with the industry.

8.   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.

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