FIRE@X, the Forum for Industrial Relations at XLRI- Xavier School of Management recently organised the Third National IR Summit. When XLRI was founded in 1949, one of the objectives was to shape an institute that approached labour issues with sensitivity, and with a wholesome view across the negotiation table that many corporate managers distinctively lacked. The Third National IR Summit was an extension of that same vision, with this year’s theme “Changing Landscape of Labour Workforce” placing special emphasis on gig workers, independent contractors and contract workers.
Intended as a platform to cast light on how industrial relations is evolving as a field and to generate greater sensitivity among participants towards labour issues, the summit also featured competitions like Legal Eagle , Trial By Fire. Bury The Hatchet, Compulsio and Guilty or Not for students to compete in and measure themselves against their peer group.
Legal Eagle, Trial By Fire and Bury The Hatchet were competition events carried on from the preceding year, Labour Parliament, now in its second iteration, stood out as a marked difference from conventional tests of negotiation capacity, while Compulsio and Guilty or Not were new additions. The Dhyuti magazine, the annual IR journal unveiled on day two of the festivities, featured an exclusive interview with Dagmar Walter, Director of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia and Country Office for India.
The Forum for Industrial Relations at XLRI, founded as a discussion forum in 1996, is responsible for the promotion of industrial relations at XLRI. Fire@x is the hub of all IR-related activities in XLRI and aims to inculcate a dialogue among the student community about key aspects of Employee Relations/ Industrial Relations. It helps the students foray into the dynamic world of industrial disputes, resolutions, bargaining and agreements.
Fire@x undertakes a multitude of activities throughout the academic year, such as industry interfacing sessions, live projects/case studies, and has two publications, a monthly e-newsletter and an annual journal, aimed at keeping Labour Law and the IR culture alive at XLRI, something the institute’s roots are steeped in and that remains, till date, its distinguishing factor.