How Should Companies Respond to Violent Worker Strikes? Insights from the Nasik Incident

Incident Report: Assault on Managers at Nasik

According to newspaper reports, an incident of workers assault on managers occurred at Nasik (Maharashtra) on 26th August at Everest India Ltd. The details are as follows:

• The incident happened at Everest Ltd, situated at Village Lakmapur, Tal. Dindori, Dist. Nasik.

• The organization is a listed company on the Stock Exchange, with a few more plants in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal as well.

• The workers' union, which is affiliated with CITU and led by Dr. Karad, was on strike for the last 290 days for wage settlement.

• During the negotiation process, six workmen were suspended on account of misconduct.

• A meeting was scheduled in the Labour Commissioner's Office on 24-Aug-12 at 14:00, but it ended without any solution.

• After this meeting, around 20 to 30 workers brutally manhandled and injured management representatives, including seniors, three of whom are said to be in critical condition.

• Shockingly, this incident occurred at the Labour Commissioner's office premises, right after the meeting. The Manesar incident had occurred in the plant premises after a meeting on similar issues.

• The entire Nasik Industrial Belt is in shock, and all concerned have condemned this brutal attack on the company officials.

Regards,
Anil Kaushik

What has happened is condemnable. The incident at the Maruti factory was unfortunate and is setting a dangerous trend.

However, the way the news is framed appears to be one-sided. What provoked the workers to confront senior managers? Did some senior manager provoke the workers? There cannot be a fire without some spark. Who lit that spark? We need to know this as well.

The incident at Manesar or Nasik highlights the invisible "Us and Them" culture in the company. The violent acts of workers allow management to put a lid on the boiling pot of the organization's culture. Violence garners undue attention, and the invisible issues remain invisible forever.

Dinesh V Divekar

Understanding Labour Unrest

Labour unrest nowadays has become very frequent. The reason is that our industrialists forget that these are workers who bring success to the business front. Exploiting and not providing benefits to the workers has become a habit. Please understand that no worker wants to stay at home as they do not have enough resources to sustain their lives. In most cases, it is when exploitation becomes unbearable that they resort to strikes or such types of violence. In some cases, it is union-motivated and unnecessary, but that is very rare.

Please observe in your own organization how many companies adhere to honest overtime wages, accurate shift timings, and provide PF or ESI to all eligible employees. It is a two-way street. There are companies that have been operating for decades without facing such unrest. Please understand that these workers are the foundation of any business.

Regards

I do not agree with you on some points. Our company pays the workers minimum wages, bonus (17%), leave encashment, medical LTC, PF, WC compensation/ESIC, HRA, education allowance, and even covers all transfers. Despite these benefits, our workers go on strike due to political influences over trivial issues. Some local leaders manipulate the workers for financial gain, instigating disputes, halting work, and intimidating workers. They misguide the workers by promising non-statutory benefits, leading to unrest.

This emerging trend among Maharashtrians and Vidharbiyans involves political leaders receiving money from companies for their programs, which is entirely beyond our control. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Regards,
Sacheein

Dear Sacheein, please read my post carefully. I also mentioned that sometimes it is union-motivated and unnecessary. What you are describing is a clear case of the politicization of labor unions, which is worse. I deeply condemn this kind of practice as the poor worker gains nothing. Dear Sacheein, you and I are on the same side, and I truly feel sorry for your organization. It is the unfortunate reality of this country that such practices prevail here.

I am also reminded of a joke where a person holds his newly born son and looks worried. His friend asks what happened, as he looks worried. He replied, "Yes, I am worried because I am confused about what to do now. Should I try my luck with various schools, hoping for admission in any of them? He may study and become an IAS officer, or should I keep him illiterate and make him a leader."

Regards,
Kamal Sir

In my opinion, management sometimes considers favors as rights. When management decides to withdraw these favors to ensure discipline, workers become reluctant to change, and their union leaders often support them without properly educating them.

Now, changes are happening very fast, and the industry needs to align itself accordingly. In this change, management alone cannot bring about change if the workers remain stuck in traditional working methods rather than putting in their best efforts. They resist anything performance-linked. In many organizations, workers' or unions' demands are always more than the previous ones, regardless of the company's performance. Sometimes, companies compromise by agreeing to these demands, leading to expectations of similar responses in the future.

Considering this, industrial associations should take action against such unions to cancel their recognition for unfair practices. Industries should pressurize unions to educate their members to understand the industrial scenario. It is also true that a few organizations might not offer rights to the workers; these organizations must extend benefits to all eligible employees.

Regards,
Nitin

The Importance of Non-Violence in the Workplace

Whatever may be the reason, no employee is licensed to physically hurt anyone. If anyone feels the solution lies in physically hurting someone, then that is the beginning of the end of civilized living. This attitude would lead us nowhere, and you would have no solution constructively except destruction.

Regards,
Sanjay

I agree with Shweta. Proper communication is the best tool to ensure your communication is going through a proper channel. In one of the organizations where I was working, we had to retrench the workers. That organization had a violent IR in the past, but we had communicated to the employees from the stage of filing the application. The workers were uneasy, but there was no single violence case in this organization after filing or after retrenching the workers. Thus, I think communication is an important tool.

Regards,
Shekhar

I believe the incident occurred due to miscommunication or influential individuals from the union encouraging workers to go on strike, throw stones, etc., for the benefit of the union members. In such instances, the company's image in the market and externally is portrayed negatively. Management must consistently communicate with employees to understand their problems and resolve them to prevent such incidents from happening.

Frequent communication with employees is the best solution to address the issues.

Regards,
Vivekanand Sondekere

The Importance of Transparent Communication in Industrial Relations

Better industrial relations can prevail only with strong, unambiguous communication from management. Being transparent may initially face opposition, but it will set the right expectations rather than falsely promising and relying on grapevine communication for business continuity.

We in HR should not push aside or ignore any issue, no matter how trivial it may seem from management's perspective. Since the worlds of management and employees are not the same, there is a need for communication to bridge the gap. Management needs to convey that they are listening and, if possible, address issues promptly without waiting for exhaustive agreements.

The core point is to create transparent communication and set the right expectations from management.