The Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC) came into operation in October 1960 to deal specifically with industrial matters concerning employer-employee relations and the settlement of trade disputes.

Due to the high number of industrial disputes in the early 1960s, a second IAC was constituted in 1962. With growing industrial peace through tripartite co-operation, among other things, and the gradual decrease in the number of dispute cases, the second court ceased functioning since 1970. In recent years the number of dispute cases lodged with the Court averaged 10 per year. This is a healthy trend. It shows that employers and unions are taking heed of the awards handed down and the precedents set by the Court in their collective bargaining and negotiations.

Apart from the first President who was an academic, the other past presidents were all from the legal profession. The past presidents and their tenure of office are given as below: