The Hindu Business Line : Employers want ID Act dismantled

Mr O.P.Jagetiya (left), Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Sounthern India (AP branch), in conversation with Mr R.K. Somany (standing), President of the Employers' Federation of India, at the conference on `New employment Practices - Business and People Issues' in Hyderabad on Friday. The Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Mr Devinder Gupta, and the President, AGI Glasspac, Mr D. Arun Kumar (right) are also seen. - A. Roy Chowdhury

Hyderabad , Dec. 10

THE Employers' Federation of Southern India (EFSI) has strongly favoured dismantling of the Industrial Disputes (ID) Act from the organised sector.

The EFSI Tamil Nadu Chairman and Director of Ashok Leyland, Mr J.N. Amrolia, said the unionism in the organised sector was becoming more and more irrelevant in Corporate India and there was enough reason to consider dismantling of ID Act.

He was addressing a two-day conference of employers on `New Employment Practices - Business & People Issues' here on Friday. Mr Amrolia attributed the declining unionism to the rise in productivity and wages across all segments of employees.

"Loss of income arising out of strikes and closures are now perceptibly unwanted ailments to well-paid workers who continue to spread their budgetary spend," he said.

The limits on licensed capacities and on pricing, as existing in pricing mechanisms, have been gradually removed to enable theindustry not only to free up the economy but also to allow industry to operate like big boys, he said.

"It's time that similar legal shackles be withdrawn to enable organised industries to take care of its people in a manner that works best for them as well as for the business."

The EFSI President and Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries, Mr R.K. Somany, said that employment and HR practices have changed greatly since medieval times when the major motivational factors were basic human necessities and the role of HR was to arrange for these in proportion to the work done.

"Today, the scene has changed considerably, the old rules no longer apply and the traditional hierarchical organisation has given way to a flatter more flexible organisation."

On the need for changes in legal framework, the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, Mr Devinder Gupta, said in a dynamic society often times it would be difficult to expect that every social situation would readily be covered by one law or the other.

"Some times law lags behind social change and vice versa. However, with the active participation of employers like you and organisations like this (EFSI), it is always possible to see that law and social change go hand in hand."

More Stories on : Industry Associations | Andhra Pradesh | Courts/Legal Issues

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