In India, which one of the following compiles information on industrial disputes, closures, entrenchments and lay-offs in factories employing worker?

(a) Central Statistics Office

(b) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

(c) Labour Bureau

(d) National Technical Manpower Information System

Explanation

In India, the Labour Bureau compiles information on industrial disputes, closures, retrenchments and lay-offs in factories employing workers.

The Labour Bureau is an attached office under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It was set up on 1st October 1946.
It is entrusted with the work of compilation, collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics on different aspects of labour.
The Labour Bureau releases an annual publication titled ‘Industrial Disputes, Closures, Retrenchments and Lay-Offs in industries in India’.
This report provides statistics on work-stoppages, closures, retrenchments and lockouts which is useful for policy making to maintain cordial relations between management and workers.
The Labour Bureau has two main wings stationed in Shimla and Chandigarh.
The functions of the Labour Bureau include:
- Labour Intelligence: Compilation and maintenance of Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers, Agricultural/Rural Labourers etc. It also conducts Employment-Unemployment surveys.
- It compiles information on industrial disputes, closures, retrenchments and lay-offs in factories employing workers.
- Labour Research
- Monitoring and evaluation studies under the Minimum Wages Act 1948

Other options:

(a) The Central Statistics Office does not compile this information. It is responsible for coordination of statistical activities in India, and evolving statistical standards.
(b) The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is concerned with formulation of industrial policy. It does not compile this information.
(d) The National Technical Manpower Information System maintains a database of technical manpower availability in the country. It does not compile this information.

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provides the framework for investigation and settlement of industrial disputes. It also provides certain safeguards to workers against arbitrary actions by employers.
An ‘industrial dispute’ under the Act means any dispute or difference between employers and employers, or between employers and workmen, or between workmen and workmen.
The Act prohibits strikes and lock-outs unless certain pre-conditions are met. It regulates layoffs, retrenchments, and closures in establishments employing at least 100 workers.
The Act established Works Committees, Conciliation officers, Boards of Conciliation, Courts of Inquiry, Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals and a National Industrial Tribunal for investigation and settlement of industrial disputes.
The Labour Bureau was established in 1920 as the Directorate of Labour Intelligence. It serves as a repository of statistical and economic information on labour and employment in organized and unorganized sectors.