Explanation:

Voluntary arbitration as a method of resolving industrial conflicts came into prominence in India with the advocacy by Mahatma Gandhi of it application to the settlement of disputes in the textile industry in Ahmedabad.

The Bombay Industrial Disputes Act and the Bombay Industrial Relations Act 1946, recognized voluntary arbitration along with the machinery set up by the State for composing differences between employers and workers. The I.LO. also suggested voluntary arbitration as a better mode of settlement of disputes. This suggestion influenced the opinion of the Government of India and in consequence, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, was amended in 1956 to provide for a supplementary method of settlement of industrial disputes by voluntary reference of disputes to arbitration.