Industrial Relations and Trade Unions in India: Concepts, Evolution, Approaches, and Emerging Challenges in a Changing Industrial Landscape- ( UGC-CARE Group II, Scopus Indexed)

This research paper, authored by Mr. Ganesh Shrirang Nale (Satarkar), M.A. Sociology, Department of Sociology, Central University of Haryana, Mahendragarh – 123031, India, examines the conceptual foundations, historical evolution, theoretical approaches, and emerging challenges of industrial relations and trade unions in India.The study explores the dynamic interplay between employers, employees, and the government within India’s shifting socio-economic and legal landscape. It highlights major transitions across the pre-independence, post-independence, and post-liberalization periods, emphasizing key themes such as collective bargaining, labour welfare, conflict resolution, workers’ participation in management, digitalization, globalization, and structural reforms like the Labour Codes (2020).By integrating multiple perspectives and contemporary organizational realities, the paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the changing role of trade unions in the era of gig work, technological transformation, and global competitiveness. The findings advocate sustainable and cooperative industrial relations to achieve productivity, social justice, and human dignity in India’s evolving industrial environment.