Harassment by Union - involving various government bodies

Union-Related Challenges and Legal Recourse

Some of the workers have built up a union with 1/10 of our employee strength. Before putting forth any demands, they started sending letters to all labor departments, i.e., GLO, Fact. Inspector's office, PF & ESIC office, Labor Ministry, and CM office, stating that there is unfair labor practice (ULP). After discussions and negotiations, they reached an agreement on wage settlement. In the agreement, they clearly mentioned that all issues were resolved, and they are withdrawing all letters plus court file cases against the company, signed by all members.

The union has informed all respective labor departments that all matters have been cleared with no outstanding issues. They submitted an acknowledged copy duly stamped by the concerned department to us. However, problems arose when, based on the complaint, the PF raised a 7A case, the Ministry of Labor initiated an inquiry under 'Shram Suvidha' to the ESIC department, and they requested the production of all records for the past four years. GLO visited and raised queries under different acts, and the Factory Inspector's officer is expected to visit next, though the exact timing is unknown.

We have presented all records to the departments, and all officers have indicated that their visits were solely due to the union's letters, which they acknowledge as nothing more than a nuisance or harassment to the company.

Ours is an engineering unit. Do we have any recourse against the union? Please guide us.

Regards

Dear Dixit, this is a normal case. They tried their luck by writing to all the relevant authorities. Now, authorities will try to get something from this. This will continue for some time until you build a good relationship with such authorities. You must handle the union in a very professional manner and ensure that they keep all records of meetings, etc. Of course, they will falter and identify who the troublemakers are. I am sure they must have received some outside support, either from political parties or local leaders. It is important to know what their next step is. If you do not manage this well, you are sure to have problems in the future...

Dear Ajit, Your query has come too late. What you would be doing is "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted." You or your management could have been a little more cautious in finding out who is fomenting trouble in the company. You could have nipped union activities in the bud.

Industrial Relations Environment

How is the overall Industrial Relations (IR) environment where your company is located? Does any labor union want to spread its wings and take your company under its fold? With the union already formed at this stage, I doubt whether you will be able to do anything. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining to the entire episode. With all inspections over, you can be tension-free for at least the next 3-4 years.

Why Workers Join Labor Unions

Workers form or join labor unions because of estrangement or disconnect with the HR or management. Labor unions fill the gap caused by the disconnect between management and the workers.

Intransigence is the hallmark of labor unions. Hereafter, you have to put up with this chronic disease. Occasionally you may apply the liniment to ease the pain, but you cannot eradicate the disease per se.

Managing the Labor Union

Hereafter, you need to "manage" the labor union. As of now, just a tenth of employees are members of the labor union. Act covertly to ensure their membership does not grow further. Secondly, your management has a great responsibility in ensuring that employees are properly engaged with the company. For this, develop career plans for the employees. Encourage upward communication. Develop a healthy interpersonal environment in your company by training your managers on interpersonal skills.

All the best!

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

Company Overview and Compliance

How old is your company? How many workers do you have? In which industry does your company operate? What is the rate of attrition in your factory or company?

Every company is expected to comply with certain regulations based on the state in which it operates. It is essential to maintain your records in a proper and presentable manner. If you are compliant with laws, there is not much to worry about.

If you have a Shram Suvidha account, use it to generate all returns filed and present them for checking by the labor office staff.

Industrial Relations and Trade Unions

Having said this, conduct an in-house review of how your Industrial Relations (IR) is progressing. Do not hesitate to contact Trade Union (TU) leaders for a discussion to understand their needs.

Explain to them that by involving regulatory agencies, they may encounter more problems than they anticipate. When regulatory authorities find that the company is generally compliant, they will start disregarding TU leaders who may have personal grievances rather than genuine concerns for labor welfare.

If the TU genuinely cares about labor welfare, they should first attempt to engage with management. Only when all attempts fail should they consider resorting to strikes or filing complaints with the labor office.

Your organization needs to identify the root cause of the issues raised by the TU. Managing and engaging with TUs is a crucial aspect of any company's operations. Pay close attention to TUs and strive to build a positive relationship with them.

Engagement with Workers

Interacting with workers at the ground level is an effective way to understand their sentiments. Stay connected with labor and promptly resolve issues to minimize the relevance of unions.

When was the last wage hike implemented? Providing proper care and fostering a friendly atmosphere can facilitate the resolution of such issues. Challenges like these are common in all organizations; learning to address them calmly is key.

Regards

Dear Ajit, To me, the entire episode seems to be the negative impact of poor handling of industrial relations by the management right from the very beginning. The fact mentioned in your conspectus of the case that 10% of your workmen, by forming a trade union, had taken the management for such a successful ride, though which resulted in an amicable settlement (maybe bilateral?) that their earlier sling-shots started hurting you now. Do you really think that the mere 10% of the unionized labor was the sole reason behind all the negotiations that culminated in a wage settlement? No, the genuine necessity of the revision of the wages and the fairness behind the other demands, plus the tacit sympathy of the rest of the labor force, might have played a larger part in this. I have to concur with the view of Mr. Dinesh that intransigence is the hallmark of trade unions of labor. Not only the disconnect or estrangement of the relationship between the labor and the management regarding certain lawful expectations and obligations, the initial apathy towards the genuine grievances of the employees coupled with the tacit efforts of the management to stall the formation of the union are also the reasons for the unions' intransigent attitude in the matter of grievance redress. Of course, it is true that if we scratch our heads, we'll find ego. The management's psyche will not easily accept the presence of a third party, particularly a vociferous outsider in between their labor and themselves. No other go - you have to recognize such a person along with his ego for the simple reason that forming a trade union is a fundamental right. If you develop a mindset that a trade union is a parallel institution bridging the gulf between the employer and employees, certainly you will be more interested in convincing and getting convinced rather than puncturing others' ego and precipitating matters thereby. Coming to the complaints filed by the union earlier and pursued by the government agencies now. Though the union agreed to withdraw the complaints it filed earlier, if the complaints are genuine involving money like that of a proceeding under sec. 7A of the EPF Act, you cannot avoid further action until the monetary commitments are fulfilled by you together with penal interest if any. If not openly, every management should honestly admit at least to itself that most of the managements are not complying with certain legislations like EPF, ESIC, CLRA Act, MW Act, PW Act, provisions relating to working hours of establishment-related legislations to some extent for the sake of economy as well as practical convenience which is otherwise called flexibility of employment. Our central, state, and local trade unions know it well, of course. So, don't try to do anything 'against' the trade union now. Just 'manage' it as suggested by Dinesh.

I need to add one point.

Please inform whether 12(3) settlement is signed with the Union or not. If the 12(3) settlement is signed, then by default, it disqualifies any fresh demands/disputes to be raised during the settlement period.

Sometimes, we need to transfer wisdom to both government agencies and the union apart from top management.

Please clarify this point.

Regards,
Dr. Sureshkumar

1. Sir, eminent experts and seniors have already expressed their views in this thread as above. However, I would like to indicate that, in my opinion, various visits of officers and inspectors from various departments should not be treated as "nuisance or harassment to the company." When a trade union or a group of workers has complained to any department of the Government of India or the appropriate State Government, it is the duty of such a department to investigate and verify the truth of the allegations leveled against the said unit or employer. If the issue has now been settled between the group of workers or trade union, even then, the appropriate departments will want to have the reports or investigations by their field staff. Therefore, in my opinion, the employer or his HR officials should consider such actions by authorities as necessary consequences of a conflicting situation with such a union or group of workers.

2. However, the main point to note is that the employer or his HR officials, in the future, should work in such a way that there may not be any scope for a similar situation in the future. It is better to follow all applicable labor laws and give workers/employees their due benefits under the laws as applicable. I hope that while working in a peaceful environment, the unit/establishment will grow in size and productivity, resulting in the betterment of the employer as well as the workers.

As this was a case of mismanagement by your predecessors, the only option left in your hands is to diligently face all the department audits and prove to them that there have been no lapses. Also, keep your doors open for any Union discussion and keep the management in the loop. Had the previous HR taken an active interest in the IR on the shop floor and amended the ways, the situation could have been different.

Handling Harassment by the Union

Coming to the point of harassment by the Union, there is really very little that we can do once a complaint has already been registered. The only way out to prevent this from happening is a "blow hot, blow cold" method and an open dialogue with the Union leaders.

Regards,
Ashutosh Thakre