A Forty-Year Journey in Learning and Practising Mediation

A Forty-Year Journey in Learning and Practising Mediation

After having completed my MSW with specialisation in Personnel Management and Labour Welfare, I accepted my first appointment as a Welfare Officer in a textile mill employing nearly 3,000 workmen. At that stage, I knew one thing with certainty that my foremost responsibility would be to act as a bridge between management and workmen. My understanding of the role of a mediator was then largely theoretical. I had yet to discover the complexities of its practical application in an industrial environment where conflicting interests, emotions and expectations frequently converged. In a labour intensive industry running 3 shifts 24/7, a new issue cropped up almost every day that was a source of learning for me and to gain firsthand experience in mediation that helped shape my professional career. The purpose of writing this article is to remind us that, long before mediation became a recognised legal discipline, many of us had already been practising its underlying principles in our personal and professional lives. Every day, we learn to manage people, understand human sensitivity, respect differences, facilitate dialogue, and resolve disagreements through understanding, patience, and mutual respect. These are the very foundations upon which mediation stands.

Indeed, mediation, as a concept, had existed ever since human civilisation evolved into organised communities, families, workplaces, villages, panchayat system, etc. Institutions had always started with dialogue, and depended upon consensus, and reconciliation to preserve relationships and maintain social harmony. The formal recognition of mediation through legislation has merely provided a structured framework to a practice that has existed for centuries. Reflecting on my own professional journey, I now realise that from the very beginning of my career I was, in essence, performing many of the functions of a mediator, although I never bore that designation. Each stage of my career demanded the gradual development of the skills that define an effective mediator—listening with empathy, remaining impartial, building trust, facilitating communication, and helping people find mutually acceptable solutions. As my professional responsibilities expanded, these experiences became the stepping stones that shaped my understanding and practice of mediation over the past four decades.

The Labour Welfare Orientation Phase

As my work continued as Welfare Officer, I fully appreciated the intent behind Section 49 of the Factories Act, 1948, and the significance of the Labour Welfare movement. The provision requires factories employing 500 or more workers to appoint a Welfare Officer to promote the welfare of workers, advise management, facilitate communication, and assist in the prompt resolution of grievances, conflicts and industrial disputes. Although the modern concept of mediation had not yet evolved into a distinct legal discipline, the functions entrusted to a Welfare Officer embodied many of its essential features. Acting as a neutral intermediary, building trust, encouraging dialogue, and facilitating mutually acceptable solutions were integral to the role. The greater challenge was to bring the owner, the occupier, and the management on board and secure their cooperation. As years passed, I learned the nuances of mediation through invaluable learning experience, making mistakes, and gradually refining from them.

The Era of Industrial Relations

As my career progressed, I served in different organisations and assumed wider responsibilities in Industrial Relations. Here, the mandate extended beyond employees’ welfare to maintaining industrial peace and fostering harmonious relations between management and employees in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947 (now Industrial Relations Code, 2020). The responsibility demanded continuous engagement with workers, trade unions and management to prevent disputes from escalating into strikes, lockouts or prolonged litigation. Negotiation, consensus-building and conflict management became an integral part of everyday matter of personnel administration. The experiences gained in drafting the Memorandum of Settlement in respect of Wage Agreement, consensual decision- making process involving unions and associations on policy matters, industrial disputes cases, disputes on unfair labour practices and employees’ service matters, had created value addition in mediation as an effective tool for disputes resolutions. The Industrial Disputes Act provides statutory mechanisms for dispute resolution through conciliation, voluntary arbitration and adjudication. Under Section 10A, employers and workmen may voluntarily agree to refer an existing or apprehended industrial dispute to an independent arbitrator of their choice before the matter is referred to a Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal. Similarly, conciliation proceedings conducted by government appointed Conciliation Officers seek to facilitate an amicable settlement rather than impose a decision upon the parties. The philosophy underlying statutory conciliation closely resembles the principles embodied in the Mediation Act, 2023. Both processes emphasise voluntary participation, impartial facilitation, confidential discussions, constructive dialogue and consensual settlement. While the statutory framework has evolved over the decades, the underlying objective has remained unchanged, enabling parties to resolve disputes through cooperation rather than confrontation. Managing relationships with recognised trade unions and officers’ associations presented another dimension of mediation. I would like to share one experience that illustrates this point.

The Industrial Relations (IR) Department of a CPSE where I worked as a Member of the Board had the challenging responsibility of dealing with several trade unions operating within the same industry. Each union was guided by its own ideology and pursued its own agenda, often resulting in inter-union rivalry and making collective decision-making difficult. This situation continued for more than four decades. Through sustained dialogue, patient engagement, and confidence-building, the separate unions gradually agreed to participate in a common bipartite forum. In that forum, all the unions presented a united position as one party, while representatives of the management constituted the other. This institutional arrangement functioned successfully for over seven years, fostering trust, cooperation, and a stable industrial relations climate. The process ultimately culminated in a historic achievement: all the unions voluntarily merged into a single Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA). Since then, the organisation has enjoyed a peaceful and harmonious industrial relations environment, demonstrating how persistent dialogue and consensus-building can transform longstanding divisions into enduring cooperation. The challenge was not merely to reconcile competing interests but to build consensus capable of sustaining long-term industrial harmony. The learning outcome in successful negotiated settlements invariably enhanced my learning curve in understanding the complicated nature of relationship dynamics.

The Emergence of the HR Perspective in Mediation

The evolution of personnel management from welfare orientation into modern Human Resource Management significantly broadened the role of professionals responsible for managing people. Human resources came to be recognised not merely as an administrative function but as a strategic partner in organisational development. The emphasis shifted from resolving disputes after they arose to preventing conflicts through effective communication, participative decision-making, leadership development, performance management and organisational culture. My education in law and business management during mid-career stage helped conceptualise things from a broader perspective understanding human rights issues, constitutional rights and various other relevant provisions of laws falling within the purview of mediation. Realistically, it enabled me to keep the human factor in mind in the decision making process, apply analytical skills in cost-benefit dynamics, recognise the time value for money, and trade-off opportunities as an important advantage in proposing and guiding the closure of cases that required consensus from both parties. My learning in management education also helped me critically make assessment based on human behaviour, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, which ultimately contributed to an effective decision by the concerned party on a win-win basis. The experiences I gained in these roles shaped my mediation aptitude to remain conciliatory, maintain neutrality, exercise patience and focus on resolving problems. These are prerequisites for mediation process.

I also had the distinctive experiences of handling employees’ personal matters impacting their lives. Even family disputes were often brought to me because employees and their family members trusted me to keep matters confidential and help them navigate difficult situations. These were challenging tasks handled at personal level and not as a course of official duties. However, the experiences gained added values in sharping mediation skills on matters pertaining to family disputes, understanding people, their problems, the values of trust factor, confidentiality, neutrality and the ways to resolve them. My learning from the experience: Trust and Truthfulness complement each other, forming the bedrock of every enduring relationship.

Community-Related Issues and Commercial Disputes

Another significant dimension of my professional experience involved addressing the concerns and grievances of local communities in and around major project sites. This was an especially challenging responsibility, as disputes with local stakeholders frequently resulted in substantial cost escalations and time overruns, adversely affecting the timely and efficient execution of critical infrastructure projects. The role required balancing a wide range of diverse and often competing interests, including demands for local employment, award of contracts to local entrepreneurs, allocation of CSR funds, compensation-related issues, and various other stakeholder expectations. Successfully managing these competing interests called for a balanced, impartial, and consultative approach, supported by continuous engagement with project authorities, community representatives, and the district administration. The objective was not merely to resolve disputes but also to build trust, foster cooperation, and create an environment in which projects could progress without compromising legitimate community interests. In this context, I would like to share two instances. One of the most demanding assignments of my career was handling community-related issues during the construction of Asia’s largest ±800 kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission project in Assam. The assignment was particularly challenging due to the complex socio-political environment surrounding the project. Following a serious law-and-order incident in which two local residents lost their lives, all construction activities came to a complete standstill, and the project office remained closed for several weeks. I was deputed to the above project site on a long-term basis from Gurgaon to facilitate dialogue and restore confidence among all stakeholders. Through sustained negotiations, confidence-building measures, and consensus-oriented engagement involving community leaders, project authorities, and the district administration, the impasse was gradually overcome. Construction resumed within three months, and the project was subsequently completed within its scheduled timeframe. In this extensive three-months period, I learned the nuances of negotiation skills and out-of-box thinking to handle multiple interest groups taking full support and cooperation from the district administration and political leadership.

Another matter related to the closure of commercial leases in connection with the shifting of the office from New Delhi to Gurgaon. About 200 flats occupied by the CPSE in two of the office buildings, namely Hemkund Chambers and Skipper House in Nehru Place, New Delhi, were to be handed over to their respective owners on an “as is where is” basis. Through continuous dialogue with all the flat owners and members of the Flat Owners Association, the matter was resolved amicably, resulting in the satisfactory handing over of the flats without resorting to litigation. Ultimately, the organisation was able to shift smoothly to the new location and save substantial rental expenditure that would otherwise have continued until the flats were handed over in accordance with the lease agreement. The lesson learned was invaluable, as it demonstrated that problems are not always visible from the outside; only by going into the details and maintaining sustained dialogue, with inputs from the flat owners, could an amicable solution be found.

The ADR Phase

In addition to various provisions of laws on mediation the emergence of the concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) further reinforced the philosophy of modern day mediation. Today, mediation is recognised not merely as a legal process at the court referral stage, but as a structured approach to preserving relationships, restoring trust and creating durable, mutually beneficial outcomes.

Conclusion

Looking back over four decades of learning and professional practice, I realise that mediation was never confined only to a courtroom or a mediation centre. It was, and continues to be, a different way of thinking, a different way of working, a different way of leadership, and above all, an ultimate way of understanding people, their concerns, the nature of their problems and helping them resolve disputes while preserving relationships. My professional journey, from Welfare Officer to Industrial Relations and Human Resource practitioner, has, in essence, been a continuous journey in mediation. Long before mediation received statutory recognition under the Mediation Act, 2023, its core principles had already become deeply embedded in my professional life. This lifelong experience ultimately inspired the conceptualisation and establishment of the first institutional mediation centre in the North-East Region in 2019. What began as a vision has steadily evolved into a Centre of Excellence dedicated to promoting dialogue, consensus, and peaceful dispute resolution. The Mediation Act, 2023 has now given formal legal recognition to what countless professionals have quietly practised for decades that the enduring solutions are best achieved through dialogue, understanding, and consensus rather than confrontation.

The next step in India’s mediation journey lies in strengthening the culture of pre litigation mediation across civil, family, consumer, and community disputes, in addition to commercial disputes as already covered under the provision of laws, Mediation should become not merely an alternative to litigation but the first choice for resolving disagreements. This calls for necessary additions in the Mediation Act, 2023. Let us work together to build mediation as a complementary institution to the justice delivery system and foster a culture in which dialogue replaces discord, consensus prevails over confrontation, and peaceful dispute resolution becomes a way of life.