Against Thresholds: Raising Capacity and Formalizing the Economy

Dipankar Gupta ()
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Dipankar Gupta: Jawaharlal Nehru University

The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 2019, vol. 62, issue 1, No 2, 15-30

Abstract: Abstract The Industrial Disputes Act of India sets up several thresholds that encourage gaming the relationship between management and labour. The various thresholds are regarding the number of workers one can employ below which certain regulations do not apply as well as the number of days of employment below which other sets of regulations become inapplicable. In all, these laws discourage transparent practices, restrict size and skill of firms and keep labour and management in a perpetual state of tension. What the Industrial Disputes Act fails to acknowledge is that promoters and executives of industry would also like to encourage skills among workers and build a committed labour force. It also undermines the ambitions of the working classes to upskill themselves and gain recognition in the firms they are employed. Together, these factors hold back industrial development in India and create an atmosphere where there is a marked tendency on the part of the management to duck under these thresholds and escape regulations.

Keywords: Thresholds; Industrial Disputes; Strikes; Skills (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1007/s41027-019-00154-z

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