Industrial Labour Relations Report: Wages, Unions, and Unemployment

This report provides a comparative analysis of industrial labour relations across Japan, Mexico, India, China, Italy, and Germany. It examines key parameters including average manufacturing wages, minimum wage policies, restrictive work rules, the influence of labour unions, and unemployment rates. The analysis includes specific data points such as wage levels, minimum wage regulations, and union membership. The report highlights the impact of unions on company results and discusses each country's unemployment rate. The recommendations section suggests that for businesses looking for cheaper labour and limited taxation, India could be a favorable market for expansion due to lower wages and welcoming policies, while China's high unionization could pose a challenge. The report concludes with references to various research papers and publications used in the analysis, offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of industrial labour relations in the selected countries and providing a basis for strategic decision-making.

Running head: INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
Industrial Labour Relations
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Running head: INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
Countries/
parameters
Japan Mexico India China Italy Germany
Average
manufacturing
wage
Labour wages in
Manufacturing in Japan
increased to 827161
JPY/Month from
374978JPY/Months
(Kiyota, & Maruyama,
2017)
Labour wages in
manufacturing
sector of Mexico
is US $2.3 on per
hour. Monthly
wages is on
average $552
(Broecke, Forti,
& Vandeweyer,
2017)
Wages in
manufacturing in
India is projected
to be around
457.07INR/day in
2021 and it would
be around
495.00INR/day in
2022 (Belser &
Rani, 2015)
Average wages
in manufacturing
in China is 72088
yuan/year as per
the data provided
by statista 2018
(Song, Yang &
Yang, 2016)
Wages in
manufacturing in
Italy is around
1724 Euro while
in the long-term,
hourly wage
index is projected
increase by 2%
(Garnero, 2018)
Labour wages
in
manufacturing
sector of
Germany is
$36.06 on per
hour. Monthly
wages is on
average
$8656.8
(Ahlfeldt,
Roth & Seidel,
2018)

1INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
Country's
minimum wage
The existing nationwide
average hourly
minimum wage is
¥874.20. However, in
2019, the government
panel proposed the hike
in minimum wage
which is projected to be
around ¥901
(Shinozaki, 2015)
The minimum
wage in Mexico
is averaged
USD$21.72.
However, this is
projected to be
around
USD$102.68 in
2020 (Moreno-
Brid, Garry &
Krozer, 2016)
The minimum
wage in India is
going to reach
178.00 INR per
day. However, in
2021 the National
Level Minimum
Wage could be
around 190.00
INR/Day (Sahoo
& Sahoo, 2019)
It has been
identified that
Beijng the capital
city of China is
most likely to
increase the
minimum wages
to 2200 yuan per
month for the full
time employees,
while the hike is
also there for part
time employees
(Mayneris,
Poncet & Zhang,
2018).
In Italy, the
scenario is little
different as some
sectors of the
economy have
minimum wages
governed by the
unions and these
unions have
made it to be
around 7 Euro
per hour.
Furthermore, as
of 2020, the
minimum salary
for agriculture
It is noted that
minimum
wage in
Germany is
around
1557.00 € per
month as of
2019
(Ahlfeldt,
Roth & Seidel,
2018)

2INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
worker in Italy is
87465€ per
month and
among all
industries in the
country, that
wage is the
lowest (Garnero,
2018)
Typical
restrictive work
rules where
there are unions
Influence of labour
union is less in Japan
and employment
contract is managed as
per the country’s
regulation. In Japan, if
people work more than
Influence of
labour union is
less in Japan and
employment
contract is
managed as per
the country’s
In India, there
have been some
changes in the
labour regulations
in India, as the
country is seeking
to reduce the
In China,
independent
trade unions are
discouraged and
abused labours
usually have no
legal recourse.
As per the Italian
Department of
Labour limits the
maximum hours
to 48 hours a
week and
thereby, the
The
involvement
of labour
union and
external
parties are
relatively less,

3INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
eight hours a day and
reaching 40 hours per
week, or on holidays
and if the labours work
on weekend, they are
entitled to overtime
pay. This policy is set
under the Labour
Standards Act 1947
Article 37. So there
would be 35% of
overall daily wage on
per day (Watanabe,
2015)
regulation .As
per Economic
Cooperation and
Development,
Mexico has an
average working
week of 43 hours
and it is legally
capped at 48
hours per week.
This means
everything that
goes above 48
working hours in
a week can be
considered
number of
informal workers
(SN & Sasidharan,
2015). However,
in India the
government and
the trade unions
fundamentally
focus on equal
payment for both
men and women
in the industry.
Moreover, as per
Industrial
Employment
Standing Order
Sometimes if
workers stand up
for their rights
and they are
often beaten up
by thugs, while
capitalists and
cadres have good
and cooperative
relationship
(Feng, Hu &
Moffitt, 2017).
employees
should take one
day off against
every six days.
Labours are
entitled to
national holidays
and usual
holidays. In
addition, the
standard of
number of
working hours
per week is 40
and a worker
working in
but as per the
Working Time
Ac, the regular
working
should not
exceed 8 hours
(Goerke,
Jeworrek and
Pannenberg,
2015). The
hours working
in days can be
extended to a
maximum of
10 hours.
Employees are

4INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
overtime. The
additional
working hours
claims additional
hours. These
hours must be
waged at 100%
of the usual rate
(Covarrubias, &
Bouzas Ortiz,
2017).
Act 1946, any
establishment
employing 100 or
more workmen
should be required
to regulate and
codify the
conditions of the
service (Sahoo &
Sahoo, 2019).
excess of 40
hours per week is
certainly eligible
for over time at a
rate specified
according to
applicable
collective
bargaining
agreement (De
Stefano, 2015)
entitled to paid
vacation
which is
governed by
Federal
Vacation
Entitlement
Act
How unions
enhance or
detract from
company results
It is particularly noted
that Japan union
organisation is almost
unique in the world
unlike the other nations.
It is noted that in
Mexico, almost
90% of Mexican
production
workers in
It is noted that
India has the
largest number of
trade unions and
the same is
It is noted that in
China, the
workers
unionisation has
steadily
It is noted that
the effect of
labour union in
Italy is mostly to
take a larger
It is noted that
there are some
7.4 million
trade union
members in

5INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
It can also be
mentioned that the
range if unionisation is
relatively high in the
country in spite of the
consistent decline in
membership. It can
also be mentioned that
almost 41.5% of the
medium firms were
unionised against
89.3% and 44.9% in
1999 correspondingly
(Kiyota & Maruyama,
2017)
industrial
organisations
employ at least
25 employees
should be
unionised. It is
also identified
that the large
majority of
labour unions in
Mexico is
considered under
the umbrella of
Confederation of
Mexican
Workers which
reflected
particularly in the
manufacturing
sector. However,
the growth of
trade union in
India is slow.
Trade unions
when considered
from economic
perspective it is
noted that unions
economically
helped the
workers. In India,
degree of
increased since
the beginning of
2007 and
Chinese domestic
firms and foreign
invested brands
operating in
China. As put
forward by Song,
Yang & Yang
(2016), some
Chinese
organizations
turn to union
members to deal
with the
shape in the
coming days. It
can be mentioned
that powerful
labour unions are
able to influence
policy decisions
in several ways
that other unions
cannot. Italian
trade unions have
more than 12
million members
and probably it
can be as many
as 15 million.
Germany and
this also
involves a
substantial
number of
retired trade
union
members
(Paul, 2016).).
The major
trade union
confederation
in Germany is
the DGB
which
fundamentally

6INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
further consists
of 11000 labour
unions, remains
the primary
member of the
organisation
(Guerrero-López,
Molina &
Colchero, 2017).
unionisation can
very; for example,
In mining, there is
51% of
unionisation,
while the
percentage is 37%
in transport and
56% in Cotton
textile (SN &
Sasidharan, 2015).
increasing
number of
workers strikes
but overseas
organisations are
being asked by
Chinese
governments to
open the doors to
government
unions.
However, a
greater
proportion of
them are retired.
On the basis of
this, ICTWSS
database of union
membership can
put the density at
35% (Geromel,
2016).
focus on
recruiting all
types of
workers
Country's
unemployment
rate
Unemployment rate in
Japan increased to 2.4%
from 2.3% and the job
application ration
Unemployment
rate in Mexico is
3.42% and this is
0.44% decline
As per the data
published 2017 to
2019, the overall
unemployment
Rate of
unemployment in
China is
consistent with
In Italy the rate
of unemployment
is relatively
higher than other
In Germany,
the rate of
unemployment
in Germany is

7INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
deceased to 1.57% from 2016
(Covarrubias &
Bouzas Ortiz,
2017).
rate is 6.1%
(Sahoo & Sahoo,
2019).
the percentage of
3.8% (Feng, Hu,
& Moffitt, 2017)
nations. The
current
unemployment
rate of 9.7%
(Naccarato et al.,
2018)
around 3.1%
(Goerke,
Jeworrek, and
Pannenberg,
2015)

Running head: INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
Recommendation
The above presented data findings in the table gives a detailed overview along with factual
data. There is a dramatic growth and decline in the wage, unionisation, unemployment and
minimum wages. The table gives an overview of the suitable markets that brand can think of
expanding in future. However, when it comes to expansion of business, it can be mentioned
that there are certain parameters that brands must to be considered. For example, if the
business is looking for a market where it can make use of cheap labours and limited taxation,
India can be a favourable market for the business expansion because presently the average
manufacturing wage in India is 457.00 INR which is certainly less compared to other
developing nations. In addition to this, the rate of employment in India is 6.1% which is
relatively higher than other markets. As unemployment rate is high, demands of new jobs can
be significantly higher. Moreover, to reduce the employment pressure, the government in
India is welcoming Foreign Direct Investment by making some favourable changes in the
taxation policies. On the contrary, even though China is economically supporting its nations
by increasing the wage to some a moderate level but the Chinese unionisation is relatively
high. Thus, Unionisation can be a challenge to the new business.

1INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
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2INDUSTRIAL LABOUR RELATIONS
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