Roopali Agarwal_HRLP040_Transformational Industrial relations_Jan 2013

The Maruti Story

There has been an increase in the labour unrest in India. The Manesar incident has shocked everyone in the business fraternity. There are various reasons as to why the management prefers contract labour, it saves production cost, seasonal nature of business, & create employment opportunities for the unskilled labour force. But managing the temporary workforce is even more difficult than the permanent employees. It becomes very difficult to build that trust between the management & the labour union. And it is this reason that led to the death of Mr. Awinash Kumar Dev, General Manager HR, MSIL.

There are various factors that help in building the trust:

Basic needs- the toilets & water coolers far from the working area, less time for break, low salaries which led to low motivation. The hygiene factors were not taken into consideration. The workers were asked to work for long hours.

Communication gap- supervisors were hurt on management & associates direct communication, no clear instructions about holidays.This led to lack of transparency

Work culture- This plays a vital role in building relationships at the work place. There was too much pressure on the Manesar workers for business, the Japanese management being more task oriented put more pressure on the Indian management to increase productivity. Workers told that if the management trusts them then why there is a usage of camera,& leaves were not granted even incase of emergencies. The involvement of family members on get-together parties can help in strengthening the trust.

Systems & policies- It should be simple & easy to understand. Internal & external equality is important for no conflict. There should be no disparity in policies for permanent & contract labours on certain matters.  Profit sharing should be justified, implementation of changes recommended in feedback.

Conclusion: Urgency needs to be created to solve the issue. The management should be proactive & not just term the labour force as part of the family but also act in such a way.