Question

Sindh Industrial Relations Act was enacted on 28th March, 2013. This law applies to
all persons employed as workers in all establishments/organizations working in the province
of Sindh. This law, however, does not apply to persons employed by few establishments/
organizations. List out such establishments/organizations.                                                 

ii) What is the objective of this law?                                                                                    
iii) Can you distinguish between strike and lock-out?    
                                                   
iv) Who is Collective Bargaining Agent and what are its rights?      

Answer 1

• (i) Objective : Passed in 2013, the Sindh Industrial Relations Act is responsible for the formulation of trade/labor unions and advancement of relationships between labor/workers and employers.
  
• (ii)

Strike	Lockout
A strike is a situation when workers as a whole body, generally stop working or reduse to continue day to day operations owing to disputes or their demands not being met by the employers.	A lockout is a situation where places of work are often closed or operations suspended and workers are denied the opportunity to continue day-to day operations absolutely or conditionally.
Strikes are usually inititated and carried out by employees	Lockouts are generally carried out by employers

• (iii) A collective bargaining agent in context of an organization or industry is a trade union composed of several workers/employees as a means of functioning as organized labor. The agent(or union) represents the workers' best interests and helps to keep relationships between employees and employers functional and amicable.
  • Rights of a collective bargaining agent -
    • To make a representation on behalf of an employee or group of employees in disputes
    • Right to sue an employer
    • Freedom of association , i.e. a group of workers would be free to associate into a group together.
    • Right to register as a trade union