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NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 24:

        How to harness good relations between employees and employers at the workplace was the focus at the seminar on Changing Dimensions in Employee Relations organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here recently.

        It was the duty of a government to work for conciliation and strike a balance between the employees and the employers, said Tamilnadu Labour Commissioner V Varaprasada Rao.

        He said the Indian government had fixed an amount of Rs 66 as a minimum daily wage for an unskilled worker. But it could not be implemented in various fields like in beedi sector.

        In the past when minimum wages were strictly enforced in Tamilnadu, the plantation work came to a standstill, he recalled. Though many labour laws existed in Tamilnadu, they were not applicable for an employee in an apprenticeship, Rao pointed out.

        Most of the trade unions were concerned about their interests only, rather than striving to promote the welfare of the working class, he said.

        R P K Murugesan, deputy general secretary, INTUC, in his special address said that publicity was a must for the growth of a company. But long term success of a company was possible only through efficiency and preparing to face competition.

        Political parties and the economic conditions influence the relationship between an employee and employer in an organisation, Murugesan said.

        He asked the employers to accept their staff and workers as partners in decision making for a peaceful industrial relation.

        Mutual trust and confidence must be created and developed among the employees.

        Most of the strikes and lock-outs carried out by the trade unions in a legal way ended in a failure and only those held in violation of laws and accepted norms proved to be successful, he pointed out. S Nagarajan, executive director, Ashok Leyland, also spoke on the occasion.