Management of Industrial relations concept grievance

          “Grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, whether valid or not arising out of anything connected with the company that an employee thinks believes, or even fell is unfair, unjust, or inequitable”  ___Prof.Jucius.

          “grievance is any real or imagined feeling of personal injustice which an employee has concerning his employment relationship.

                                                                   ____ Keith Davis.

Form of employee grievance:A grievance may take any one of the following forms.

Factual:       A factual grievance arises when legitimate needs of employees remain unfulfilled.

Ex: Hike in wages, Drawbacks in implementing organizational policies.

Imaginary:            Grievance arises because of wrong perception, wrong attitude, wrong information he has.

Disguised:            In general organization consider basic required of employees were as psychological needs like recognition, affection, power, achievement etc are normally unattended & ignored.

          For example an employee complaining strongly about working conditions may in turn be seeking same recogisation & appreciation 4M his colleagues. Hence, disguised grievances also be considered.

Causes if Grievances:

●      Demands for individual wage adjustments.

●      Complaints about the incentive system

●      Complaints about the job classification

●      Complaints against a particular foremen

●      Transfer for another dept or another shift

●      Disciplinary discharge or layoff [misconduct of person]

●      Violation of contracts related to collective bargaining

●      Non-availability of material in time

●      Improper job assignment

●      Undesirable or unsatisfactory working conditions

●      Changes in schedules & procedures

●      Complaints related to overtime, leave, etc..

●      Hostility towards labor-union

●      In adequacy of safety and welfare measures

●      Social distance between management and workers

●      Unsatisfactory interpretation of agreements.

Pre-requisites of a Grievance procedure:

          The efficiency of a grievance procedure depends upon the full filament of certain pre requisites those are

a.       Conformity with prevailing legislation

b.       Clarity simplicity

c.        Promptness

d.       Training

e.        Follow-up

Grievance procedure:

                                      Voluntary                               6^th stage

                                      Arbitration                              with in 7 days

                                      N.S

                             Committee of union                          5^th stage Appeal to

                             & mgt representatives                       mgt for revision

                                     N.S

                                       Manager                                  4^th stage communi-

                                     N.S                                   cates the decision with in 7days     

                             Grievance committee

                                                      N.S

Departmental                              Head of the                   3^rd stage decision

Representatives                       department                    with in 3days

N.S

Department                    supervisor                        2^nd stage Answer

Representatives                                                    to be given in 48 hrs     

N.S

                                                Formation  

                                                                                           1^st stage conveys

                                                                                                verbally

          Grievant employee

Industrial dispute

Definition: 

          According to industrial disputes act 1947. Sec 2(K), industrial disputes means any dispute or difference between employers, or between employers and workmen or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or terms of employment or with condition of labor of any person.

Causes of industrial disputes:          causes of industrial conflicts may be grouped into four categories.

Industrial factors: Employment, work, wages, hours of work, privileges, terms and conditions, obligations of employee and employer, dismissals etc...

Mgt attitude towards labor:    

not willing to talk over any dispute

un willingness to recognize T.U’s

delegate enough authority to their officials.

unjustifiable decisions which leads to strikes, locality

services & benefits offered by mgt.

Government machinery: unsatisfactory cancellation or arbitration, adjudication procedures.

Other causes:                          

affiliation of T.U with political parties.

political instability, centre-state relations

corruption & public life

Break down in social values etc..

                                      Forms of industrial disputes

Strikes                                                                                     Lock outs

Primary                             secondary                              other

                                                                                           General

                                                                                           Particular

                                                                                           Political

                                                                                           Bandhs

Stay away     sitdown    go slow    work    token or    lightening   picketing  gherao  simpathy

Strikes          stay-in                       to rule   protest      cat-cal

                 Tool-down                            strikes          strikes  

                 Pen-down

                 strikes

Lightening or wildcat strike:   

          In this the strikers undertake the strike without any prior notice or with a shortest notice.

Go-slow:

          In this, workers intentionally reduce the speed of work.

Work the rule:

          The strikers undertake the work according to rules or job description

Picketing:

          It is an act of posting pickets & implies machinery or patrolling of the workmen in front of the premises of employer.

Boycott:

It aims at disrupting the normal functioning of enterprise.

Gherao:

          It is a physical blockade of a target either by encirclement, intended to block the regress & ingress from and to a particular office workshop etc..

Secondary strike:

          Secondary strikes are against a third party. These are sympathetic strikes.

Stay – away strike:

          In this, workmen stay away from the workplace. They stay at the work place but they don’t work.

Taken or protest:

          It is a very short duration & is in the nature of signal for the danger ahead. Here workers do not work for an hour or a day.

Tool down or pen down:

          Here strikes lay down their tools, in case of factory workers, lay down their pens in case of office workers and shunt their mouth in case of the cheers.

Prevention of industrial disputes:

          The preventive machinery ensures that there is no disputes i.e. these cover these entire field of relation between industry and labor and include enactment and enforcement of legislation. It aim is creating an environment in which the employees are allowed to participate and there are less chances of conflicts. The preventive measures may be broadly outlined as below.

                                               

                                      Preventive measures of disputes

Labor   trade  grievance      joining       collective   mediation   code of   standing     negotiation

Welfare  union  procedure consultations   bargaining               discipline

Officer

Disputes settlement machinery:

          The methods of the settlement of conflicts generally include

                                                Settlement of conflicts

Investigation           mediation            conciliation            arbitration              adjudication

Conciliation:

          Conciliation is a process by which representative of both workers and employers are brought to gather before a third party with a view to persuading them arrive at some sort of settlement.

          It consists of conciliation officer and board of conciliations. Here conciliator acts as a safety value and a communication link. Between parties to reduce the extent of their differences.

Arbitration:

          When conciliation proceedings fail to settle the dispute, the conciliation officer may persuade the conflicting parties to voluntarily refer the dispute to a third party known as arbitrator appointed by the parties themselves.

          Arbitration is the process in which neutral third party listens to the disputing parties, gathers information about dispute and makes a decision to be binding on both the parties. It differs from conciliation in the sense that in arbitration the arbitrator gives a decision on a dispute while in conciliation the conciliator merely facilitates the disputing to arrive at a decision.

adjudication:

          adjudication is the ultimate remedy for settlement of disputes in India. It consists of setting disputes through a third party appointed by government the industrial disputes act 1947 provides three – tier adjudication machinery namely

A.      Labor courts

B.      Industrial tribunals

C.      National tribunals

Labor court:

          A labor court shall consist of person only such a person

a.       Is or has been a judge of a high court

b.       Has been for a period of not less than 3 years a district judge

c.        Has held any judicial office in India for not less than 7 years

Industrial tribunals:

          The government may appoint one or more industrial tribunals for adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matter which are in the form of new demands.

          These have a wider jurisdiction than a labor court.

National tribunals:

          It is the third one man adjudicatory body to be appointed by the central government to deal with disputes of national issues which are likely to affect the industrial establishments in more than one state.

          It consists of one person not below the rank of high court judge & not below 65 years if age national tribunals appointed by central government for adjudication of industrial disputes.

Investigation:

          It is conducted by a board or court appointed by the govt. Investigations do not aim at bringing about the settlement of disputes directly, but by analyzing the facts they aim at bringing amicable solution.

Mediation:

          In this an outsider assists the parties in their negotiations, it take place with the consent of both the parties. The main aim of mediation is the settlement of disputes by bringing about a voluntary agreement. He performs the messenger’s job for both the parties & he neither imposes his will nor his judgment upon them.