Union Leader's Dismissal Sparks Strike: How Should Management Respond?

Issue with Union Leader and Strike

I have one issue, please suggest.

Three days ago, a union leader was caught red-handed while urinating near the godown. Immediately, the manager sent him outside and told him not to come to duty from today onwards.

After two days, another union leader and an external leader came to management demanding to rejoin the sacked union leader. However, management rejected their request. Subsequently, all contract laborers went on strike.

Management is not interested in rehiring that person. Kindly suggest what action should be taken to stop the strike.

Regards

Is he a contract labor union leader or a union leader of regular employees? If he is a union leader of regular employees, the punishment you have given is disproportionate, and sacking an employee without any domestic inquiry is illegal and against natural justice because you have not given him an opportunity.

If he is a union leader of contract workers, then you also have an issue because he is working for a contractor, and the contractor is his employer. Any action that is to be taken should involve the contractor, not you or the Manager.

If you have a labor license and all the required formalities are in place with respect to statutory compliance related to contract labor deployment, then this is a good opportunity for you and the management to issue a contract termination notice to the contractor. The workers of the contractor are on an illegal strike, and due to the sudden stoppage of work, your company has incurred huge losses. Hence, by terminating the contract, all the issues will be cleared. First of all, find out the management's readiness for taking such drastic action. If your management yields to the pressure and allows him to return to work, he will create a lot of nuisance for the organization.

Regards,
Kamesh

Kindly tell us, is "pissing near to go-down" considered misconduct as per your standing order? Secondly, in your case, you have not mentioned whether you served any show cause notice to him. It would be better to persuade your management to reinstate him. Otherwise, if the case is escalated to the Labour office, you will have to take him back with due payment for these non-working days.

Regards,
Ratikanta Rath

Dear Ratikanth Sir,

First of all, he is a contract laborer (contract labor union leader), and the said act is misconduct as per the Standing Order.

If he is a contract laborer, it is better to talk to the owner of the contractor and ask him not to allow him to join duty at your place but somewhere else. I feel that neither the company has issued any show-cause notice to the contractor nor has the contractor issued any show-cause notice regarding this misconduct as per your statement. Only a verbal order was given by the manager to send him outside and told him not to come to duty from today onwards. There is no official record to prove the misconduct. Therefore, it is advisable to discuss with the contractor and transfer him somewhere else rather than your company.

Regards,
Ratikanta Rath

If the union leader is a permanent workman, then terminating him in this manner is not valid. You could suspend him pending an inquiry, issue a charge sheet, and take disciplinary action. Now, your contract workers are supporting him. Tomorrow, he may gather sympathy from permanent workmen who will use this opportunity to vent their grievances and may resort to a token strike as well. The union leader can also approach the Labor Court for relief. If you are situated in Maharashtra, he can seek injunctive relief for reinstatement. Therefore, you can issue a charge sheet and conduct an inquiry to control the situation.

I do agree with Mr. Kamesh and Mr. Ratikant. One thing, Mr. Nagraj, you should first determine whether the act or matter is misconduct as per your standing order. You should proceed in accordance with the rules and clauses to avoid any potential problems. If it does not align with your standing order, convene a meeting to resolve the dispute.

Thank you & Regards,
Mansingh
BBSR

You should keep that person at work again but with a written warning and an apology letter. After all, it's your loss which you are bearing due to the strike.

I think he should be inducted into the service as soon as possible; otherwise, he may gather some strength and exploit the situation. Also, you have mentioned that he hasn't obeyed the standing rules, but if he goes to the labor court, there are chances that the judgment will be in his favor due to the unavailability of a show cause notice from the company's side.

After inducting him, consider giving him a punishment such as a salary cut for the misconduct and transferring him to a role where heavy-duty demands are present.

Correct me if I am wrong!

Thanks for your patience.

Regards,
Santosh

Misconduct and Disproportionate Punishment

Pissing near the godown is not misconduct warranting extreme punishment, no matter whether the individual is a company worker, union leader, or contract worker/union leader. Disproportionate punishment given to workers is evidence of unprofessional management. In this case, a warning memo will suffice.

Regards,
Sanu Soman