Retrenchment of Contract labour - 40 contract labour trying to make a union

Hi,

Establishing a trade union is always good both for the employees as well as for employers. A registered Trade Union is not an illegal association, they too have to follow certain rules and regulations as per the Trade union Act.

But, just because one person is active in the process of establishing a trade union, the termination is never a good idea, encouraging is always better in this case, because trade union never going to hurt the organization, on the other hand not just you will have more transparency but by encouraging you are binding the strong relationship with the workers.... semi skilled laborers are more emotional responsive than analytical, So I suggest be a part of establishment of Trade union so that from the beginning you are assuring them your support treating them good. As part of the management you must think of win-win strategy being a diplomat.

And as yourself mentioned that he is a productive and when you are searching for the reasons to terminate him it shows he is neither against the organization (when he is productive and active) nor would he form a bad union (when he is hardworking and not illegal), so when such person is a lead it boosts up other worker too to follow his steps in productivity.

So think over it carefully, and realize the advantages compared with disadvantages when you are taking decisions of that sort, because you are not only affecting yourself, but giving a wrong image of management towards workers and importantly his daily food........

Thank you

Regards,

BSSV

"To do injustice is more disgraceful than to suffer it".......

In this situation be positive and give such worker/leader an undue reward/promotion and you will see the result that the worker will stop listening to him as he will be branded the man of the management.always listen favourably to other workers also, promise them favour with some conditions. But remember always fulfill the promises you made.your aim shall be to create atmosphere of participative magt.working/ N K SHARMA

Dear Sir,
CONTRACT LABOUR SYSTEM IS MEANT FOR THE FACILITY OF EMPLOYER TO AVOID ALL THESE UNION AND OTHER
PROBLEMS. WHEN IT GOES IN WRONG TRACK, IT WILL BE A HEADACHE. YOU CANNOT TERMINATE THE CONTRACT
LABOUR DIRECTLY. THE CONTRACTOR SHOULD DROP THE LABOUR BELONG TO HIM. OR ELSE YOU HAVE TO TERMINATE
THE CONTRACTOR ITSELF AND ENGAGE NEW CONTRACTOR .
D.Gurumurthy
LL.HR&IR Consultant
Hyderabad.

It is surprising to note that the company has a contract laborer in a key position in production line that they are scared to change him etc. First train some more people in the name of general training activities. No person should be become indispensable to the company. It will be wrong planning to allow dominance by any body.
try and find out why the labor is tying to create trouble. observe him and try to change mental attitudes. if all fails then keep him under watch and build up a case against him which can stand scrutiny and give the firm a good reason for removal from job.If he is contractors man gently and carefully try and have him replaced by contractor.

We had the same problem in our organization five years back. We don't engage contract labour ourseselves and hence we will take up with the contractor who engages such contractors who go against the principal employer.

As rightly said by Priya Panneerselvam, you need not take any direct action against the workman but through the contractor who engages him.

I have come out of that organization now but the sequence of incidents still remains green in my mind. Statement such as starting up an union is not illegal and all may be good just to talk... only the person who handles the labor problem alone knows the difficulties. Hence no management will take such matters lightly.

We called the contractor who engaged him and compelled him to remove this worker. We asked the security not to give entry pass to this workman. As rightly opined by another member here, we have to ascertain the background behind that person, his basic nature/character, support within and outside the industry. We have to look for the person who is holding the strings.

We sought the help of our own unions, contractors, local elite, police and those who can influence that person. At last we were successful in stopping formation of contractors' union.



ganesh ramanchandran

@Naveen Chahar

Youe advise is ill-advise. Forming Union is a lawful right of the workers under Trade Union Act.

All Organisations have Trade Unions, yet they are functioning normally.

@Parimal It seems that the You have missed the crux of the problem. First the anti Union mindset that is disturbibg you most. Without going into the cause as to why they want to form a Union at all, you cannot get rid of the issue. Afterall what company earn is owing to the worker and company should take well care of their workforce. A content workforce works better for the productivity and profitability of the company. By rtying to remove the kingpin, you will be creating more trouble. You should dole out the benefits to the workers linked to good productivity based on Quantity and Quality (Q&Q). Please remeber the lowly paid worker will get job at that salary anywhere, but your company cannot get the trained force HR at that price. By adopting the policy of vendata your will only be triggring the chain reaction that will be unheathy to your company. IT is not a good HR practice.

TALK TO THE LEADER.

TALK TO THE WORKERS.

TALK TO EACH INDIVIDUAL WORKER.

KNOW THE CAUSE OF THEIR RESENT.

SATISFY THE CAUSE.

KEEP CONTENT EACH WORKER AND DISUADE HIM TO INDULGE IN THE ANTI-COMPANY ACTIVITIES.

SOME CALL IT DEVIDE AND RULE POLICY. BUT GIVE IT A HUMANE TOUCH.

I am sure that your company needs to rethink about the Management-Worker relations and step up effeorts to keep the other demand (non-financial) of the workers satisfied.

A distrub worker disturb others, impacting a slide in the company's performance.

Dear Parimal,
Harmonious IR relations cannot be form by firing workman,
it will only create negative image, again not good for productivity.
without understanding the situation, it's not correction to comment on this situtatiom.
Santosh Joshi
(MLL & LW)

As advised the labor union can be tackled through ongoing communication through the contractor only. Also it is advisable to talk and find out their genuine requirements and try to meet these. Proper verbal mutual communication can help solve most problems. I can give you my example.

My boss received a letter of complaints by labor from the Labor Commissioner with an instruction to attend his office on a designated date. This was a new development to me. So my boss desired me to tackle the issue. I went to the Labor Commissioner's office to attend the meeting on the designated date. I saw few union leaders also there. Labor Commissioner posed certain difficult questions about the problems faced by the labor. Immediately I replied that the union leaders never contacted me with any problems and that was the truth. Labor commissioner had no reply. He in fact scolded the union leaders for bypassing me. I invited them to my office next day. Next day the union leaders came to my office. I offered them seat in my office with a cup of tea and biscuits. I talked very nicely and promised all help. That was the first and the last meeting with them. We never received any letter from the Labor Commissioner thereafter. They never created any problem with me since I was always on talking terms with the labor with sympathy and displayed practical empathy. I used to talk collectively with the labor once every month. And that is the trick.

Ops115 has offered good case study
I really appreciate ur effort and approach towards the problem
Probably it may help parimal to resolve his problem.

Well said Eli
If you are a good employer, you will have a good union.
If you are a bad employer, you will have a bad union.