Balancing HR Duties and Union Leadership: How to Request Office Space Without Risking Job Security?

We are working at an institute run by the state government. Although appointed to a particular post, we have never been given a clear job description and are always assigned different roles than those we were recruited for. The only reason for performing these jobs is the continuous threat of either termination for contractual employees or forfeiture of increments, transfers leading to non-performance, and therefore termination.

HR Management Challenges

There are two HR Managers in the Institute. One has been given most of the HR responsibilities and even estate responsibilities. This person is paving the way only for administrative decisions for his self-interest and has no concern regarding employees. I am an HR Manager myself and have been encouraging the formation of an Employees Union. However, I have been given a limited role by the Director of the Institute.

Union Leadership and Concerns

For the time being, I am acting as the General Secretary of the Union, and because of that, I have been transferred as well. Now, the president of the employees' association is asking me to write a letter to the director requesting office space for the union. I am aware that as a manager in HR, I cannot be part of any union. However, in the absence of anyone to take on the role of General Secretary, I have accepted the responsibility for the time being. I am apprehensive that if I write the letter, I may be further transferred to a distant location, or my services may be terminated on one pretext or another. Could anyone please suggest how to proceed so that both issues are addressed, namely requesting office space and ensuring job/transfer security? A draft letter would be highly appreciated.

Are you in Jammu? I have no full information about acts/laws applicable for J&K. However, on a general note, I can suggest a few things here.

Unionization in India

The bane of unionization in India is mainly the ideological differences between management and the union. We have seen many of the demands could easily be addressed provided management takes a flexible stand on certain trivial and just demands as per applicable acts. That's not happening in India. Both union office bearers and management have only ego clashes between them, and as a result, none understand each other. A go-getter achieves more than the other. I suggest you study the IR models the TATAs are adopting; frankly, I don't see much of a disturbance in their units.

Your Position as an Officer

Coming to your position, being an officer, you have no role to play in the union; therefore, you can at best give strategic inputs and guidance without straining the rapport with management. Most of the tiffs are related to wage revision and bonus issues. All other issues could be amicably settled if they are not eating into the resources of the company too much.

Signing the Letter

I don't suggest you should sign this letter. If this is a recognized union and a single bargaining agency under the TU Act, it's just to allot a suitable room for union activities, and a formal letter may be signed by the President himself; where is the necessity that only the General Secretary should sign? If the bye-laws say so, then amend them to authorize the President to sign all communications. If you continue to be the General Secretary, you should immediately resign by severing all official involvement with the union. Going by your past deeds, no one would believe that you no longer have any connection with the union; that tag will continue to linger on you. Nonetheless, you might continue to extend your suggestions and advice if you wish, safeguarding yourself from punitive action by management will only depend on how you are going to camouflage your efforts in sensitive issues. In all these efforts, your success or not will be influenced by hardliners in the ranks. Nowadays, threats from unions are not taken that seriously. If management is determined, union activities can be silenced effectively.