Functioning of Adjudication Machinery under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 in West Bengal

Abstract

This study attempts to examine the functioning of adjudicating machinery under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 in West Bengal during the period from 1991 to 2015 i.e., entire post globalisation period. During the study period the mean rate of disposal per year is 16.4% which is quite low. Again, on an average, in 34 cases per year there are complaints regarding violation of award. If we deduct the cases of award violation, the effective rate of disposal comes to around 13.83%. During the same period the mean rate of award violation is 15.65% which is quite high. If the cases where the parties preferred appeal before higher Courts are considered the rate of disposal will fall further. The study shows that adjudication as a means of settling industrial disputes is not serving its purpose.