Dear All,
What happened, we all know. All have seen this issue on TV. I am not concerned with this topic "The barbarism of Authorities towards Labourers." I am thinking about what was lacking in the Honda Case. Was this the mistake of the 2000+ Labourers who demonstrated after the non-resolution of their issue? These people were expecting a solution to their issues from management for the last many months. What went wrong in today's scenario when Labourers are educated, know their rights, and Management is also well-educated (MBA's, knowledge of Labour Laws, and Labour Welfare Policies)? Are these limited to their MBA education?
After Labour Unrest, Honda lost 120-150 Cr. Rupees daily, and most importantly, their public image got stained. What should have been done in the Honda Case? What should Management do to prevent such cases?
Manu Sharma, MHRM
From India, New Delhi
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4What happened, we all know. All have seen this issue on TV. I am not concerned with this topic "The barbarism of Authorities towards Labourers." I am thinking about what was lacking in the Honda Case. Was this the mistake of the 2000+ Labourers who demonstrated after the non-resolution of their issue? These people were expecting a solution to their issues from management for the last many months. What went wrong in today's scenario when Labourers are educated, know their rights, and Management is also well-educated (MBA's, knowledge of Labour Laws, and Labour Welfare Policies)? Are these limited to their MBA education?
After Labour Unrest, Honda lost 120-150 Cr. Rupees daily, and most importantly, their public image got stained. What should have been done in the Honda Case? What should Management do to prevent such cases?
Manu Sharma, MHRM
From India, New Delhi
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hey manu, i believe after seeing the pictures on tv...govt should have been scrapped bigtime...it could have led to civil war.. u know regards scare_crow
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Actually, the whole episode needs an impartial view. It's like having two sides of the coin. The labor should have been more logical and worked on the principle of ahimsa of Mahatma Gandhi. When there is an interference of external unions in the internal matters of the company, nobody gains except the external union. At the same time, police counter-attack was not called for. They were agitated because some of their senior police officers were bashed up. This kind of behavior from the police was totally uncalled for. There was no feeling of service from their side. Both the labor and police were actually overreactive about the whole issue.
Anyways, whatever happens, happens for the best. Some lessons have definitely been learned by the admin as well as the corporates. After all, it's the nation's economy that suffers from such kind of labor unrest.
Forum open to discussion/debate, but please stay cool while reacting.
Best Regards, Alpana
From India, Indore
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Anyways, whatever happens, happens for the best. Some lessons have definitely been learned by the admin as well as the corporates. After all, it's the nation's economy that suffers from such kind of labor unrest.
Forum open to discussion/debate, but please stay cool while reacting.
Best Regards, Alpana
From India, Indore
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Hi Manu,
It is no doubt that the actions of government forces towards employees of an organization were really brutal. We watched these news clippings in Kuwait along with some Kuwaiti friends. To be honest, the scenes shocked our Kuwaiti friends, and they asked me, "Who was the Hitler of your place?" These actions not only stain Honda but the whole of India.
Now, let us examine who is the culprit. Employees might have given their memorandum, and after hectic discussions, when employees felt that they would go for agitation to press their demands, the demonstrations took place (which is usual in all industrial areas). The management also geared up to face the agitation mentally. It is pertinent to mention that neither employees nor employers ever intended for a conflict at any stage. Both of them were well aware that the maximum punishment for this agitation would be either a lockout, suspension of employees, or a difficult working culture. Usually, after such demonstrations, both parties would again go for discussion with a senior political party leader as a moderator. Hence, the outcome of the agitation was well known to both teams. So, what went wrong?
Watch the clippings again; one of the policemen was attacked by an outsider of the demo party, which provoked the police to go full force against the employees. Therefore, it was a vengeance action of the police against the public. At no point were the management or employees responsible for this issue. In fact, this incident was given a wrong dimensional story by the media. I strongly express my opinion that no employer wishes his employee to get hurt since human resources are costlier than material resources. How to segregate oil and water?
The police, who are supposed to be the lawkeepers, went out of control. These police force in charge should be severely punished to set an example for other police personnel and make them aware of industrial relations and its importance in a country's economy. None of the police officers were given any kind of HR training, and they never realized the value of resources.
Damage Control: The IR rules must be strictly adhered to by the police force. They should never interfere in any of the troubles of an industry unless demanded.
Let's hope we will learn from our mistakes.
Karunadas. P
From Oman, Muscat
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It is no doubt that the actions of government forces towards employees of an organization were really brutal. We watched these news clippings in Kuwait along with some Kuwaiti friends. To be honest, the scenes shocked our Kuwaiti friends, and they asked me, "Who was the Hitler of your place?" These actions not only stain Honda but the whole of India.
Now, let us examine who is the culprit. Employees might have given their memorandum, and after hectic discussions, when employees felt that they would go for agitation to press their demands, the demonstrations took place (which is usual in all industrial areas). The management also geared up to face the agitation mentally. It is pertinent to mention that neither employees nor employers ever intended for a conflict at any stage. Both of them were well aware that the maximum punishment for this agitation would be either a lockout, suspension of employees, or a difficult working culture. Usually, after such demonstrations, both parties would again go for discussion with a senior political party leader as a moderator. Hence, the outcome of the agitation was well known to both teams. So, what went wrong?
Watch the clippings again; one of the policemen was attacked by an outsider of the demo party, which provoked the police to go full force against the employees. Therefore, it was a vengeance action of the police against the public. At no point were the management or employees responsible for this issue. In fact, this incident was given a wrong dimensional story by the media. I strongly express my opinion that no employer wishes his employee to get hurt since human resources are costlier than material resources. How to segregate oil and water?
The police, who are supposed to be the lawkeepers, went out of control. These police force in charge should be severely punished to set an example for other police personnel and make them aware of industrial relations and its importance in a country's economy. None of the police officers were given any kind of HR training, and they never realized the value of resources.
Damage Control: The IR rules must be strictly adhered to by the police force. They should never interfere in any of the troubles of an industry unless demanded.
Let's hope we will learn from our mistakes.
Karunadas. P
From Oman, Muscat
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Hi All,
There is a lot to be rethought about the working style of the Honda Management, the Gurgaon Government & Police.
Hero Honda Management
Some of the issues the Hero Honda management didn't take into consideration before the Lock-out:
1. Didn't Adhere to the Labour Laws: As per Indian labour laws, the lock-out is not allowed until cleared by the government. This was an illegal lockout. The management should always adhere to the law of the land, which somehow Honda management failed to do.
2. Were not Diplomatic Enough: The main issue revolved around the suspension/dismissal of some mischievous employees. Before dismissal, the management should have done the analysis of the possible outcomes and should have dealt with it in a more diplomatic way. Maybe a counseling session, transfer, VRS, or some other action would have been a better solution, as these were labour union leaders.
3. Failure of Public Relations Department: The Hero Honda Management has not handled the PR well. Almost all the press and televisions were projecting the Honda Management as a culprit. With the budget Hero Honda has for PR, they should have clarified their stand in front of all the national televisions and newspapers before the actual dismissal of the first 8 employees took place. It has been a failure of the PR department of Hero Honda as well.
These are some of the points, which if taken into consideration before the dismissal of the said 8 employees, the event would not have taken place in the first place.
Haryana Government / Police
The Government and Police failed on the following fronts:
1. Failed to Administer the Law: The Hero Honda company didn't adhere to the Labour laws and had an illegal lock-out. The Chief Minister / Industry Minister / Labour Minister should have immediately intervened and should have resolved the matter as it is one of the biggest firms of the state and the country. Further, as this lock-out being illegal, the management should have been dragged to court by the government, even before the employees took to the street.
2. Failure to Handle the Employees' Agitation: The violence which erupted during the agitation can be attributed to the failure of the government/police to handle the rally situation. They were quite aware of the dimensions the rally could take, still instead of water guns and tear gas to disperse the crowd, they used lathis. The major problem with lathis is that it may and did actually injure people. The purpose was to disperse the crowd and not cause injury to them.
3. No Proper Training to the Police Force: Only the IPS officers get proper training to handle difficult situations and are trained to understand the psychology of the crowd. But it is the ground units which actually require it. The police constables should have understood that the agitating employees are agitating against their employers and are as much a citizen as anybody else in India. They are not terrorists or criminals. If the ground police personnel would have understood this and would have taken this into consideration while dispersing the crowd, a lot of unnecessary injury to the Hero Honda Employees could have been avoided.
From India, Ahmadabad
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There is a lot to be rethought about the working style of the Honda Management, the Gurgaon Government & Police.
Hero Honda Management
Some of the issues the Hero Honda management didn't take into consideration before the Lock-out:
1. Didn't Adhere to the Labour Laws: As per Indian labour laws, the lock-out is not allowed until cleared by the government. This was an illegal lockout. The management should always adhere to the law of the land, which somehow Honda management failed to do.
2. Were not Diplomatic Enough: The main issue revolved around the suspension/dismissal of some mischievous employees. Before dismissal, the management should have done the analysis of the possible outcomes and should have dealt with it in a more diplomatic way. Maybe a counseling session, transfer, VRS, or some other action would have been a better solution, as these were labour union leaders.
3. Failure of Public Relations Department: The Hero Honda Management has not handled the PR well. Almost all the press and televisions were projecting the Honda Management as a culprit. With the budget Hero Honda has for PR, they should have clarified their stand in front of all the national televisions and newspapers before the actual dismissal of the first 8 employees took place. It has been a failure of the PR department of Hero Honda as well.
These are some of the points, which if taken into consideration before the dismissal of the said 8 employees, the event would not have taken place in the first place.
Haryana Government / Police
The Government and Police failed on the following fronts:
1. Failed to Administer the Law: The Hero Honda company didn't adhere to the Labour laws and had an illegal lock-out. The Chief Minister / Industry Minister / Labour Minister should have immediately intervened and should have resolved the matter as it is one of the biggest firms of the state and the country. Further, as this lock-out being illegal, the management should have been dragged to court by the government, even before the employees took to the street.
2. Failure to Handle the Employees' Agitation: The violence which erupted during the agitation can be attributed to the failure of the government/police to handle the rally situation. They were quite aware of the dimensions the rally could take, still instead of water guns and tear gas to disperse the crowd, they used lathis. The major problem with lathis is that it may and did actually injure people. The purpose was to disperse the crowd and not cause injury to them.
3. No Proper Training to the Police Force: Only the IPS officers get proper training to handle difficult situations and are trained to understand the psychology of the crowd. But it is the ground units which actually require it. The police constables should have understood that the agitating employees are agitating against their employers and are as much a citizen as anybody else in India. They are not terrorists or criminals. If the ground police personnel would have understood this and would have taken this into consideration while dispersing the crowd, a lot of unnecessary injury to the Hero Honda Employees could have been avoided.
From India, Ahmadabad
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Dear Mizra,
Nicely analyzed. But all these incidents are emotion-driven. I could call this whole case a failure in managing emotions. The root cause of the event is mainly attributable to this. If HMIL would have properly analyzed this situation at the shop floor, this would not have been faced. Police and the government had come in at later stages. I feel personally it was a definite failure in HR or PR at Honda Motors as well. If they had properly addressed the issue at the shop floor, this situation would not have arisen.
Regards,
Srinivasu
From India, Hyderabad
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Nicely analyzed. But all these incidents are emotion-driven. I could call this whole case a failure in managing emotions. The root cause of the event is mainly attributable to this. If HMIL would have properly analyzed this situation at the shop floor, this would not have been faced. Police and the government had come in at later stages. I feel personally it was a definite failure in HR or PR at Honda Motors as well. If they had properly addressed the issue at the shop floor, this situation would not have arisen.
Regards,
Srinivasu
From India, Hyderabad
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Well, I would like to add another perspective to it. Is it the organization that is to be blamed, or is it individuals (with their own prejudices and ego tussles) who are to be blamed for such events? I am referring to the ego tussle between individuals from both sides of the 'fight.' No organization wants to trouble employees, nor does any employee or group of employees want to create trouble for the employer. More often, it has been observed that it is individuals (with or without vested interests) who are the actual cause behind such incidents. The situation is often aggravated by untrained individuals or company officials who have no idea of industrial relations or HR/PR/Change management, etc.
Another point is, the police faces such mob hostility every now and then in different cases. Is there a scientific and well-organized training of the Police Force in Mob handling and Mob Psychology, or are they only trained to 'control' the mob using arms and ammunition? Things to ponder on!
From Switzerland, Geneva
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Another point is, the police faces such mob hostility every now and then in different cases. Is there a scientific and well-organized training of the Police Force in Mob handling and Mob Psychology, or are they only trained to 'control' the mob using arms and ammunition? Things to ponder on!
From Switzerland, Geneva
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Hi all,
I agree with Shoonya that the case could be the tussles of individual egos. I was going through some studies on why such situations arise when I came across this theory by Gurr & Runciman. It states that the main cause of social unrest is a person or group of people believing that they deserve better than their current situation allows them. This could better explain if we see that the workers at HHML perceived that some unjust actions were taken against them. At the same time, the HHML management thought that their actions were justified. Now it is difficult to judge who was right as both of the groups have their own perceptions. But personally, I feel that HHML employees should not have taken to the streets and should have discussed with management or fought out in the labor court.
From India, Ahmadabad
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I agree with Shoonya that the case could be the tussles of individual egos. I was going through some studies on why such situations arise when I came across this theory by Gurr & Runciman. It states that the main cause of social unrest is a person or group of people believing that they deserve better than their current situation allows them. This could better explain if we see that the workers at HHML perceived that some unjust actions were taken against them. At the same time, the HHML management thought that their actions were justified. Now it is difficult to judge who was right as both of the groups have their own perceptions. But personally, I feel that HHML employees should not have taken to the streets and should have discussed with management or fought out in the labor court.
From India, Ahmadabad
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No organization wants to trouble employees, nor do any employees or groups of employees want to create trouble for the employer. More often, it has been observed that individuals (with or without vested interests) are the actual cause behind such incidents.
I think you are right! This could be a main reason. I believe it accounts for 90% of the issues in the Honda case. Personal issues may be at play because Honda is a well-known brand and thus cannot simply lack ethics in business management. Nevertheless, Honda is now stained, and they are running an advertising campaign to overcome this with their slogan "How much we touch your life!"
From India, New Delhi
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I think you are right! This could be a main reason. I believe it accounts for 90% of the issues in the Honda case. Personal issues may be at play because Honda is a well-known brand and thus cannot simply lack ethics in business management. Nevertheless, Honda is now stained, and they are running an advertising campaign to overcome this with their slogan "How much we touch your life!"
From India, New Delhi
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Hi everybody,
Could anybody forward me the case study of Hero Honda issue that occurred at Gurgaon? I am not able to get it. I need it for my industrial relations students to discuss over the issue. I need the entire composed case study.
Thanks a lot,
K. Rajan
From India, Vadodara
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Could anybody forward me the case study of Hero Honda issue that occurred at Gurgaon? I am not able to get it. I need it for my industrial relations students to discuss over the issue. I need the entire composed case study.
Thanks a lot,
K. Rajan
From India, Vadodara
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