(a) Strike vs. Lockout 10 (b) Performance Management 10 (c) Philosophy of Workers' Participation in Management 10 (d) Scope of…

(a) Strike versus lockout

Both are forms of industrial action that stop work. A strike is a cessation of work by a body of workers acting together, or a concerted refusal to continue work. A lockout is the temporary closing of the workplace, suspension of work or refusal by the employer to continue employing workers (earlier defined in Section 2(q) and 2(l) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, now in the Industrial Relations Code, 2020).

• Initiator: workers in a strike; the employer in a lockout.
• Purpose: a strike is a weapon of labour to press demands such as pay or conditions; a lockout is a weapon of management to resist demands or enforce its terms.
• Nature: a strike is a refusal to work; a lockout is a refusal to give work, but the employment relationship continues.
• Legal position: neither is illegal in itself, but both are illegal if they breach the Code's conditions (notice, and no stoppage during conciliation or adjudication). The Code requires 60 days' notice for strikes in every industrial establishment and a similar notice for lockouts. A lockout is different from a layoff or closure, which arise from business reasons.

An example of a strike is the stoppage of work by factory workers over a wage dispute, and of a lockout is the shutting of a plant by management after indiscipline.

(b) Performance management

Performance management is a continuous process of setting goals, monitoring, developing and rewarding the performance of individuals and teams so that they contribute to the objectives of the organisation. It is wider than performance appraisal, which is only the periodic review of one step.

The main components are:

• Planning: agree on goals, KPIs or targets with each employee, in line with organisational strategy, as in management by objectives.
• Monitoring and coaching: continuous tracking of progress with feedback and support.
• Appraisal: a periodic, fair review of results and behaviour against the agreed measures.
• Development: training and career plans to close gaps.
• Reward and recognition: pay, promotion or bonus linked to results.
• Review and improvement of the system itself.

A performance metric could be sales per employee, defect rate or customer satisfaction. Its purposes are to improve individual and organisational performance, to align effort with strategy, to inform pay and promotion decisions and to build employee engagement.

(c) Philosophy of workers' participation in management (WPM)

The philosophy of WPM is industrial democracy: workers are partners and not mere hired hands, and people who are affected by decisions should have a say in them. It rests on human dignity, the belief that participation raises responsibility and motivation, and that harmony serves both sides. In India, it is reflected in the Directive Principle of Article 43A (inserted in 1976).

Its benefits to workers are job satisfaction, dignity, a voice and ownership. Benefits to management are better decisions using shop-floor knowledge, acceptance of change, less conflict and higher productivity.

The forms of participation include works committees, joint management councils, shop councils, joint councils, worker directors on the board, employee ownership (such as ESOPs), quality circles and collective bargaining. Germany's co-determination is a well-known model. In practice, participation in India has been limited by weak unions and managerial reluctance, and succeeds only where there is mutual trust.

(d) Scope of industrial relations

Industrial relations (IR) covers the relationships between employers, employees and their organisations, and the role of the state, in the workplace. Its scope includes:

• Employer-employee relations: communication, grievance handling, discipline and participation.
• Labour-management relations through unions: recognition of unions, collective bargaining and settlements.
• Prevention and settlement of disputes through conciliation, arbitration and adjudication, and the right to strike and lock out.
• Labour legislation: the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (which replaced the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Trade Unions Act, 1926 and the Standing Orders Act, 1946), wages, social security and safety codes.
• Working conditions, wages, welfare and workers' education.
• The role of the state and tripartite bodies such as the Indian Labour Conference.

A wage negotiation between a union and management is a typical IR matter. The scope is therefore wider than disputes alone, and it is tripartite, involving workers, management and government.

(e) Labour absenteeism

Labour absenteeism is the failure of an employee to report for work when scheduled to do so. It can be authorised (sanctioned leave, sickness) or unauthorised, and the second kind is the real problem. It is measured as man-days lost ÷ man-days scheduled × 100.

Causes:

• Personal: illness, accidents, family responsibilities and social or religious events.
• Work-related: poor conditions, low wages, monotony, harsh supervision and low morale.
• Social and environmental: transport problems, housing, the migrant worker's links with the village, and agricultural seasons.
• Others: alcoholism, indebtedness and weak discipline.

Effects:

• Loss of output and delays, idle machines and higher overtime and cost.
• Poor quality, disruption of production and an extra burden on present workers, which lowers team morale.

Remedies include better working conditions, fair wages, attendance incentives, a sound leave policy, health and housing facilities and counselling.