Industrial Relations - Essay Example

Running Head: Industrial Relations Industrial Relations [Institute’s One method to aid developing societies in improving indigenous standards of living, promoting democracies, supporting AIDS abatement, resolving regional conflicts and guaranteeing environmental awareness would be the development of a steel industry within each. Iron ore and scrap are universally available and one common process design could be applied everywhere.  Each society could fulfill its internal need and/or trade with regional neighbors. Industries using steel as raw material would enable a middle-class to develop. Such would be an achievable goal for impoverished denizens in have versus have-not societies and would therefore lessen the likelihood of insurgencies and lessen support for groups advocating chaos. Industrial Relations In this paper, we will discuss one of opportunities provided to a society for improving their living standards, indirectly achieving a state of mental stability which influences the character traits depicted by a society. Providing people job opportunities gives a profound moral advantage to the rulers to gain access to their minds. This results in a decrease in the extent of insurgencies and lessens support for groups advocating chaos. One way of gaining such advantage is to create job opportunities in a society or local area, rich in the raw and scrap material utilized in the production of steel in the industry. Steel industries are preferred to be located at localities rich with these materials. This gives the local peoples a rare opportunity to earn greater money for their family and improve their living standard. Mostly areas enriched with raw materials are isolated areas where living standard of people is way below the permissible level according to Society of Environmental Ethics. Thus setup of a steel industry helps these people in great extent to bring them up to living level well above permissible line. The decision for the construction of steel industry in an area is not only based on economical background but also on political grounds. For the steel industry, important areas are those with abundance of basic raw materials like coking coal, scrape material, power coal, a proper railway network. Such localities, with the domination of middle class having conservative minds, who turn a deaf ear to new solutions, existence of steel factory, then changes the social structure of the region by properly utilizing the working force, who, thereby provides political support for the new system. (Interrelationship between the basic character of human rights and development of traditional technologies, n.d.) In past, one of the best examples found is of Nowa Huta steel factory. The people of Cracow, an industrial city in southern Poland on the Vistula, got fairly large opportunities of employment and thus, indirectly, raised their standard of living. According to the facts found from article “Interrelationship between the basic character of human rights and development of traditional technologies.” a total of 30,000 were employed in the factory. In addition, thousands of people were also linked indirectly through provisions. More than 60,000 apartments were built for the people to reside. As a member of housing-building cooperatives, people received their apartment either at zero cost or at reduced amount. All the apartments were provided with all the basic facilities thus maintained a satisfactory level in terms of standard of living. It was the sheer effort of Nowa Huta Steel Factory, that there were 50 nursery schools with the capacity of 6000 students, 4 primary schools for 27,000 students and 7 secondary schools with 3,000 pupils. (Interrelationship between the basic character of human rights and development of traditional technologies, n.d.) Job creation or employment is not only the way to facilitate and upgrade the people of a society. The government and the corporate sector as their societal obligation, should allocate a specific percentage of the profit for people of the locality who are displaced rightful owners of the mineral wealth. It is the primary duty of the government to ensure regular income to these people by making them co-sharers due to the utilization of the minerals in their lands. This way would then decrease the extent of insurgencies and the uproar of non-peaceful elements, to create political instability. The people will only be satisfied when they are assured that the development of the industry is for their advantage in the sense that it improves their living conditions and their share in the profit is secured. Only then the discontent found among people of deprival of their due rights will disappear. (Radhakrishna, 2007) On one side, the construction of steel industry seems to be all beneficial for all norms of life. But the existence of an entity cannot be justified before considering its both sides. Let us consider the other side as well. Industries expel an ample amount of harmful chemicals and waste material usually into the river which in turn results in water pollution while it also possess a threat to the natural and cultural assets by the expulsion of dark, black, environment unfriendly smoke. Back in nineteenth century, industrial revolution in Europe was based on coal as an energy resource while iron ore for steel industry. Natural resources were exploited to a greater extent until it was realized that it is not merely a resource but a global womb for life to evolve, survive and prosper. It is a resource to be used judiciously and in conformity with the laws of ecology. There are laws which prohibit the setting of new industries without environmental clearance. Supreme court of India has ordered closure of not a few but hundreds of factories which pollute rivers and other natural assets. (Singh, & Misra, 1996) Steel is regarded as a “green” material, meaning totally “recyclable”. Any steel product gone through all the industrial processes can still be reused completely of ample times, in the end of. The best environmental perquisites of iron and steel industry is its recyclability feature, since the process of steel and iron sector parallels the concepts of sustainable development (The Iron and Steel, 2009) The Government website of Shaanxi Province best explains the concept of environmental protection and resource utilization in the 5th article of “Policies for development of iron and steel industry”, (2005) as: According to the concept of sustainable development and recycling economy, we should elevate the comprehensive level of environmental protection and resource utilization, and should save energy and lower consumption. We should elevate the comprehensive utilization capacity of waste gases, water and rubbishes to the largest possible extent, strive for the goal of realizing "zero discharge" and establish iron and steel factories of the recycling type. A steel industry has a greater significance in the economy. It must have further development potential. In addition, the operating cost as well as the raw material should be rand-based. This gives a competitive advantage to the industry from the raw material stage. An example of such industry is found in South Africa. The South African steel industrys downstream sector is a potential candidate as a creator of new jobs. About 300,000 sustainable jobs are provided in downstream industry due to the consumption of about 5-million tons of steel a year. The contribution of the steel industry to SA’s GDP is about 3.5%. (Driving force for revival, 2009) Conclusion Thus by considering the environmental restrictions and utilizing the natural resource in conformity with the laws of ecology, steel industry could revolutionize the live of societies belonging to areas enriched with raw and scrap material, having large reserves of iron ore. It could dramatically bring a vital change in the standard of living of people, as depicted by example set by Nowa Huta Steel Factory. Indirectly, it also neutralizes any uproar from people if the social and moral rights of people are secured and they are given their due share of profit from the industry. The iron and steel industry is of great important for the national economy. It supports the realization for industrialization and is a source of introducing new technologies, capital, and production of energy. Steel is considered to be a large resources in business and productive world and helps in the the technological development of our civilization. Therefore, ruling bodies prefer to remain strongly involved with the downstream steel industry. The ratio of the amount of investment and the job creation is very small for this industry as compared with the primary sector. References A driving force for revival of SAs industry, (n.d.). Business Times. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.btimes.co.za/98/0628/survey/survey7.htm Interrelationship between the basic character of human rights and development of traditional technologies., (n.d.). United Nations University. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu08ie/uu08ie0k.htm Policies for development of iron and steel industry, (2005, July 8). Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://english.shaanxi.gov.cn/articleAboutgov/aboutgov/govannouncement/200507/7301_1.html Radhakrishna, B.P., (2007). Boom in India’s iron and steel industry. CURRENT SCIENCE, 92(9), 1210-1212. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/may102007/   Singh, Ram Babu, & Misra, Suresh. (1996). Environmental law in India: issues and responses [pp, 5]. The Iron and steel industry and steel. (2009, May 4). Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.articlesbase.com/online-business-articles/the-iron-and-steel-industry-and-steel-899251.html Read More