How Should We Handle Union Interference with HR Communication in Our Company?

We are a manufacturing company in Chennai. A union was formed last year. We have around 88 employees, with 75 of them joining the union. The employees have resorted to a go-slow approach for the past six months, producing only 60 to 65% of the daily output compared to their previous levels. Starting this month, we have begun monitoring the machines closely to understand the situation.

During our observation today, the union office bearers approached our HR head and questioned his right to communicate with the employees. The HR head responded that he indeed has every right to do so and pointed out that it is they who do not have the authority to interfere with management during working hours. We seek your advice on what actions we can take against these non-compliant employees.

You are on the crux of industrial relations of a factory. You need to consult a good labor lawyer about what action you can take on erring workmen. Managing union labor is an art where you need to know more about labor laws, people management, insider management. Keep well.

Addressing Workmen Concerns for a Peaceful Environment

The way you are dealing with your workmen will never give you a peaceful environment. Standing near machines and listening to their conversations will not solve the issue. It may lead to a decrease in production capacity, possibly dropping to less than 20 to 30% in the future. They may raise concerns about machinery, inadequate facilities, poor raw materials, the need for more manpower, etc. Therefore, finding a permanent solution seems unlikely as issues continue to arise.

Steps to Resolve Workmen Issues

The best approach is to convene a meeting with the union executives in a hotel or a suitable setting. Discuss their concerns, ask them to submit their demands in writing, and assure them that you will negotiate with senior management to meet their maximum feasible requests. Request their commitment to maintaining 100% productivity in the interim to influence senior management positively.

This strategy is likely to yield better outcomes. Once negotiations are finalized, present a settlement proposal under Section 12(3) to the Labor Commissioner and strive for a harmonious work environment.

Avoid confrontation as it will not lead to peace. Wishing you the best of luck.

You might have read the Sangam poem "இடைக்கழி புலவர்" (confrontation is the nature of mankind). For unionists, such a tendency would be more pronounced because they always strive to gain more from employers to assert their presence. Therefore, try to adopt a mindset that views this not as a threat but as an opportunity to first listen to their grievances and then convey that management is always willing to address their legitimate concerns through a formal meeting in an informal setting, as suggested by Stephan.

By the way, the objection expressed by the union leaders (likely at the plant level) within a year of unionization compels me to consider an alternative viewpoint. It suggests that you may have initially obstructed the formation of the union by all means and could possibly be deficient in statutory compliance, as well as stringent in financial demands. Therefore, engage in self-reflection and emphasize to your top management the importance of fostering harmonious industrial relations.

Thank you.

Hi to all seniors,

In my opinion, if the union or representatives are creating a problem, a "work committee" with one legal consultant can manage the issue. The go-slow practice is such a problem that needs a gradual remedy. Continuous contact with the union and employees will improve the situation. Otherwise, the go-slow approach can lead to strikes and lockouts.

Regards,
Bittu

Dear MANOJ, So far, no further elaboration from your side despite the fact that most of the responses could be viewed as an allusion to the universal fact that there is no smoke without fire. Your immediate action should be putting out the fire first rather than fanning the smoke. Though much care and caution have been exercised in the framing of the thread so as to divert one's focused attention only to the latest incident of high-handed behavior of the union office bearers questioning the authority of the Management to have direct interaction with its workforce on the issue of "go-slow" lingering for about six months' time, inadvertently it reveals the other hidden facts. Perhaps, you might be helpless as the top management might have the despicable disposition and natural apathy towards unionization of the workmen. No employer can ever fully satisfy the needs of his employees. So demands would always be there, and the continued neglect of the management would naturally culminate in unionization of the workmen. The initial apathy shown by the management towards this development and the subsequent efforts to scuttle the formation of the trade union would not only accelerate the process but also result in concerted counter-actions to tow down the management. Therefore, good sense should prevail over the management that the purpose of running an industry is not to fight with its another stakeholder. The organizational goals can be achieved only with the active participation and proactive support of the workmen employed therein. To gain this, you should first recognize the representative character of the trade union. Trade union leaders, whether external or plant-level, are not men from alien worlds. They are well aware of the industry as well as the limits of their demands. The only thing they are highly irreconcilable with is downsizing. Common sense knows the doctrine of impossibility of performance. So open the doors for negotiation.

Based on what you mentioned, it definitely seems that there are strong and valid reasons as the background pre-last year which led to the formation of the Union. While there's nothing illegal in forming a Union for a manufacturing premises of about 90 staff, it does indicate that there's something very drastically wrong in the working environment. I know of manufacturing plants with around 1000 employees without any Union and things running smoothly.

Like the other members suggested, first get to the bottom of the situation... figure out reasons why. Only then can you even think of possible solutions... implementation would come much later in the cycle.

Most likely, you would need to go back into the work environment history of your organization to get to the genesis of the issue. Such situations don't develop overnight... they evolve over a period of time. That the Union was formed last year was only the symptom that manifested.

And also let's get one thing right... once anyone (you, me, and everyone included) wants to disrupt, he/she will find a way to do it since such decisions are taken on the emotional plane and not the logical plane. The employees now don't seem to care even if their salaries may get affected.

Even if you place a policeman behind each machine, they will still find a way to disrupt... albeit in different ways. And like other members pointed out, things will only get worse with such acts by the management... don't take it to a point of no return.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Dear Monoj, so many practical solutions are given that can work better for your problem. Neglecting the workforce and denying their basic rights will create such a situation. The fact that the majority of the workforce joins a union within a year of start-up is not healthy for any organization. Sometimes management puts a lot of pressure on HR to implement their design, but as HR professionals, it is our duty to convince and move things in a positive direction. The "go slow" mentality cannot be rectified unless we eliminate that thought from the workers' minds. Start negotiation; otherwise, it may be too late, and things may go out of your control.

Thank you.

Addressing the Union's Go-Slow Approach

The union is formed for the very first time, and a go-slow is in place from the past six months or more. You are aware, from existing systems, that there are demands being made, but your organization is not acknowledging, addressing, or paying attention to the union and labor force. With the majority being in favor, you should promptly arrange a meeting with the top management to prepare your responses and solutions as required from the management's perspective.

It is crucial to convey to management that engaging in dialogue with the Union is the only viable solution, and any further delay could escalate the current situation, making it more challenging. Presently, they are obstructing HR operations, and in the future, individuals or the entire group could be affected. The go-slow approach is akin to a slow poison that will inevitably lead to severe consequences but gradually over time. This gradual effect provides an opportunity for the organization to rectify the issues promptly and manage the situation effectively.

Seeking guidance from an Industrial Relations (IR) consultant is advisable to ensure a seamless course of action and assistance in addressing potential underlying issues contributing to the go-slow. Management must proactively tackle these issues and offer appropriate solutions.

Regards,
RDS Yadav Labour Laws Adviser, Director - Future Institute of Management and Technology

Thank you all for your valuable comments. The issue we have is that this is the third change of union in the past year. Every time we are on the verge of reaching a settlement, the workmen change the union. This month, the workmen have gone back to the union that represented them in January and February. In March, a new union, read as the third union, submitted to us a copy of its registration in the labor office. From April, we started to deduct the union subscription and held five rounds of talks with this union. When things were getting to a level of acceptance from the Union General Secretary's side, the workmen went back to their previous union. All this while, we have constantly been urging them not to resort to go-slow activities, but the workmen are not heeding our request. We have now filed a dispute with the labor department.

Disciplinary Actions Inquiry

The thing I wanted to really know was what disciplinary actions can be taken against the erring workmen.

Regards

Handling Employee Go-Slow Tactics in Industrial Relations

Excellent discussion by all the learned members on your thread. Thanks to them. It seems to me that your management is mishandling the situation. Handling such a situation is a skill, and HR has to play a major role in it.

HR has to play its role not by standing near the machines to find out what is happening. HR has to invite the statistics and complaints from the plant supervisory level on Go-Slow. Mind you, the Go-Slow tactic by employees is very difficult to prove even with statistics and complaints from the plant level. HR has to highlight these statistics and complaints in front of erring employees and the union as well. HR has to highlight the incidents of employees that have contributed to the drop in production levels. HR has to display various notices mentioning all these statistics, complaints, and incidents of employees that have contributed to the drop in production levels, advising the employees to bring normalcy in the production levels and create a conducive atmosphere for healthy Industrial Relations. All such notices should be forwarded to the Labor Commissionate office. This may help the company in conciliation and in labor court in the future.

At times, HR has to take disciplinary actions against some of the erring employees. Play the divide and rule policy but be fair and firm in maintaining balance.

Handling IR is a skill that I find the new generation of HR is lagging behind in; perhaps, according to them, this is not their job. I am very sorry to say that.

Kind regards