Facing Union Challenges in Chhattisgarh: How Can We Manage This Tense Situation?

We are facing issues almost every day, raised by the union. If these are not fulfilled, they threaten to stop the plant. All employees are with the union, and there have been some instances of violence as well. The union is supported by the local MLA, and the police do not even take our complaints seriously.

The show cause notices and warning letters are being refused by employees. When sent to their home addresses, the management does not receive any reply.

What are your suggestions to control this union?

Handling Trade Union Militancy Carefully

The trade union militancy should be handled very carefully. This type of illegal act by members of the trade union is often seen in companies where the leaders themselves are immature and not aligned with the objectives of the trade union. When the President or General Secretary of the Union is a member of the Assembly or Parliament, the situation becomes very sensitive.

There are many strategies used to handle such situations, and the members of this site are very good at describing how the situation should be handled. Though giving advice on such matters is easy, its enforcement or implementation is difficult and rests with us. Still, many suggestions can be analyzed in light of your actual scenario and tried.

Steps to Handle a Militant Trade Union Situation

In a militant trade union situation like yours, the first thing I would suggest is to let the employees go on strike for a few days or even weeks. If you initiate disciplinary action against a leader of the trade union (who is also an employee) for any act of misconduct, the members will call for a strike. When they stop work, they will reasonably expect that you will call them for a meeting. Instead of calling them for a meeting, declare the strike as illegal, quoting the relevant clauses of your Standing Orders or the Industrial Disputes Act, and publish your findings of the strike in leading newspapers. Also, inform the Labour department of the illegal strike.

During this time, if you can get mandates from some employees who are very junior concerning their date of joining, probationers, or those not directly involved or weak in trade union involvement, stating that they were forced to participate in the strike by intimidation by the other striking persons, then that will be beneficial. That can be used against the striking employees.

A meeting with the trade union can be announced only if they stop the strike. Also, involve the Labour department in the conciliation proceedings. Since an MLA is involved, it will always be in favor of the employees, but you will get an opportunity to highlight the goondaism or arrogance of the trade union members and the loss caused to the company due to their attitude. If any settlement arises in the course of conciliation, naturally, we can include the condition that in the future, the employees will adhere to the rules of the company and maintain decorum.

Role of Media and Management Strategy

Media can also play a vital role in your fight against the unfair practices of the trade union. You should be very specific about the execution part. I understand that you might have held many formal and informal meetings with your employees and their trade union leaders. Therefore, holding another meeting without a Labour Officer or any conciliation person outside the company would be fruitful. Therefore, if the management agrees to let the plant be closed for a few weeks, I would suggest that we should allow them to strike and lose their wages.

I would request others who have faced similar situations to provide insights on this issue.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K.

You have not mentioned the area, the number of employees, and the nature of the industry. There are many factors for union militancy:

1. Wage level and the disparity between your wage level and the levels in industries around.
2. Work nature.
3. Qualification/age mix.
4. Your approach to the union.
5. Top management's approach to the union.
6. Affiliation to the union and affiliation to a political party.
7. Experience of the external leader.
8. Age of the factory and working conditions inside.
9. Sometimes, community-based unions.
10. Intra-union rivalry.

Study these aspects. There is no theoretical solution. Study these factors and analyze whether any of these factors contribute towards militancy. Based on your analysis, work out a methodology.

I agree with T. Sivasankaran that there is no ready-made solution to problems that are the result of collective actions. My point is that without a socio-economic analysis of the collective forces working against the organization's objectives, any action's ultimate outcome will be of lesser value for those involved.

Corporate Image and Collectivity

Corporate image is another area one should always keep in mind when dealing with collectivity. Unless the people involved in the functioning of an organization realize that they are working for a common cause, differences in opinion, if handled casually, will lead to militancy. In my view, convincing is the best policy. Militancy is the effect; causes are much deeper.

Steps to Establish Credibility and Transparency

1. First, establish your organization's credibility as worker-friendly in workers' eyes.
2. Be transparent in dealings when dealing with unions.
3. Every deal must be inked before it goes public.

Regards.

You have to analyze the cause for the formation of the union. As indicated by Mr. Sivasankaran, there could be several reasons:

1) Wage parity/benefits extended for confirmed and contract workers.

2) Methodology of handling workers by the superiors (Sometimes workers are let loose by a manager who is unwilling to confront them, and when another manager takes charge and tries to discipline them, he faces stiff resistance). Has there been a change in the manager managing the workers?

In some instances, we have come across industries where workers are observed reading newspapers, chatting, and conversing over their mobile phones while on duty. When one tries to curb these practices overnight, it can spark conflicts.

3) Have you modified their working conditions? (Permission, late-coming grace time, etc.)

4) In some instances, office bearers of the union carry out union activities inside the factory, such as distributing pamphlets, writing slogans against management, etc., and refrain from carrying out their work. These are considered misconducts if listed in your certified standing orders.

I agree that it will be agonizing to handle such union activities. Be patient, identify loyal workers through informal channels, and find out the brain behind these militant activities and the cause for such an attitude. Once you have identified the real cause, arriving at an amicable solution may not take a long time. You can informally initiate the intentions of the management through the same channel without publicizing too much. Over a few weeks, you will find that the heat will dissipate as loyal workers will try to persuade coworkers to refrain from going against management.

Have a grievance redressal machinery where legitimate grievances are sorted out on a fast track. Once the workmen see your genuine concern, they will come around.

As you walk through the shop floor, you will find different categories of workers:

a) Some will try to raise their voice before you and vociferously place their views. (They try to show their weight before their coworkers.)

b) Some others will place their views supporting the views of the workers cited in a) above when other workers are not around, on a low tone. This category is quite deceptive and dangerous and cannot be depended upon.

c) Some others will discreetly tail you, place their views on a low tone when other workers are not around, and try to find out your reaction to their views. Their body language will indicate anxiety, job security, etc. These workers generally turn out to be your informal channel.

I was advised by one of the consultants to minimize the issue of charge sheets. He quoted that charge sheets, if issued constantly over a period, become "CHAR SHEETS" (FOUR SHEETS OF PAPER) and will lose their value. Maybe this has happened in your case.

If you have production norms, find out whether they fulfill the norms. If they are unable to achieve it, analyze the causes for not achieving it (Man, Material, Method, Machines). If the cause is constantly due to Man, then address the issue through informal channels.

IR is like a fragile glass tumbler; you need to handle it carefully. You can neither crush it nor hold it loosely and allow it to slip and fall down.

We share our views based on our past experiences, but each situation is different. You will appreciate that the same solution does not work out for different situations.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

Let me try to simplify your problem.

1. Meet and establish good contact with the MLA and police. Explain what will happen if there is a strike.
2. Have a core leaders meeting along with the MLA, and explain the potential consequences.
3. Suspend a few employees after obtaining consent from the MLA and ensure the factory runs smoothly by keeping the striking workers outside.

Mr. Kannan advised you on how to analyze and take corrective steps. Mr. Sanjeev Saxaina spoke about proactive management. Mr. T. Shivasankaran has provided you with a plan. Mr. Madhu has given you a strategy—use it as a last resort if nothing works out.

Regards, Vivian Chandrashekar
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

There are a lot of strategies to deal with such situations, but all such strategies are just on paper or in the PPTs of experts and consultants and will not work in a situation like this. As already pointed out by me, most of these suggestions will not work in an actual practical situation. Also, if my suggestion seems dangerous, please tell us what the course of action is that will solve this problem. Remember that the members of the trade union in this case are very immature (I believe, we all have to believe what is posted), and the management and HR have done their best to bring them into the mainstream but failed. Moreover, the person expected to teach them the objectives of the trade union, the president/Gen Secretary himself, is immature.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Madhu.T.K, your suggestion is excellent but should be done as a last resort if other strategies don't work. In Kerala, where most communist unions dominate, this strategy will work. It is the order of the day in some states. However, in the rest of India, the union is not as strong but can be controlled by educating the workers about the pros and cons. Your line of thinking is perfectly fine.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Everything has happened so fast that now the plant has been stopped by the union, and they are not allowing the plant to be restarted. Everybody comes to work, but they attend the duty in such a way that always one or two key members are missing from the shift, so the plant could not be started.

We tried to depute employees from other plants to start the plant, but they have also been threatened, and one person from another plant was beaten. We have filed a police complaint, but the employee who was beaten is afraid to file an FIR. Nonetheless, we have approached the police to arrest the main person so that he can be terminated.

As rightly pointed out, implementation is very difficult as there is always a danger of senior people being manhandled.

The plant has been stopped since 16th April. We do not want to pay anybody. What should we do?

I am pro-worker always, but this situation has forced me to change my approach.

Key Issue: Increment

The key issue is the increment, which we informed that we will not be able to give due to losses. After a lot of persuasion, we were able to get approval from management for a 3% increment, but this was also refused by workers.

Declare a Lockout Before Issues Arise

Declare a lockout before something goes wrong. It is better than keeping them idle inside. Then take a tough stance before the commissioner. Safeguard your management staff. Do not meet individuals before the commissioner. Just insist on your inability to give any increase. Keep repeating the same. Ensure that other staff members are safeguarded from any violence.

Start conciliation proceedings immediately without any delay and inform the Labour department about incidents that are against the public and employees. Under the ID Act, the respective Government has the power to ban the strike or approach the Civil court, which can also prevent the striking workmen from entering the factory premises. Meet with senior Police officials for help.

Like T. Sivasankaran mentioned, a lockout at this stage seems to be the right step before any factory property gets damaged or sabotaged. Sometimes, it's always better to allow the situation to escalate; that way, things would be in your control. If the situation escalates while the management looks the other way or remains in a reactive mode rather than a proactive mode, the management tends to hand over control to the striking workers.

Needless to mention, your labor lawyer needs to be in place, and not a single step by the management is advisable without him being in the picture. Also, I presume care has been taken to select the lawyer who has the management's interest at heart, rather than allow any situation where he is among the quite a few who play double games.

Another step you could probably take is to first cover your legal position and then involve the media to counter the Union's points of view.

Also, suggest waiting for Madhu TK's suggestions.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

With due respect to both of your views, I understand that the workers are inside the factory and on strike. Even if a lockout is declared, if these workers refuse to come outside the factory or engage in physical altercations with management due to their support from the local MLA, do you not think that the situation may spiral out of control and lead to the escalation of other new issues?

Mr. T. Shiva and Mr. Taj,

With due respect to both of your views, I understand the workers are inside the factory and striking. Even by declaring the lockout, if these workers refuse to leave the factory or engage in a physical altercation with management, given their support from the local MLA, don't you think things may escalate into other issues?

It will not. As long as you are afraid, the Union takes advantage. Work out a correct strategy, timing, etc., to implement the lockout. In a similar situation, I declared a lockout, and except for myself, the works manager, and the Managing Director, no one in the company was aware that there was going to be a lockout. Keep it confidential. Then I literally disappeared, and the management was not available for any discussion for two months. It was not legal, but I took a stand that we would not participate in any discussion. I even told the Commissioner that if they wanted, they could declare the lockout illegal. Fortunately for me, the Deputy Commissioner issued a letter declaring the lockout illegal. We took advantage of it, stating that the Commissioner has no power to declare a strike or lockout illegal. Either the court or the government can declare it. Even if the government declares it illegal, we can go to court, and the government's decision is not final.

At this stage, strategy, courage, and conviction play a critical role.

Declare the lockout, send copies to the police station, and lodge a police complaint that they are staying inside illegally. Ask your management staff to be away and to be careful.

Regards,
Vivian Chandrashekar

I have a suggestion here. Why declare a lockout and get into legality? Suspend the operation of the factory until workers give an undertaking that they will work efficiently and until such time, i.e., two or three months' wait. In either case, i.e., lockout or suspension of operation, the effect and legality will be the same. But in the case of an illegal lockout, the management may be directed to pay wages, and in the case of the suspension of work due to a strike by workmen, there may be some bargaining knowing well that both are illegal.

Regards,
T. Sivasankaran