Dear
Sirs :
These
days , there is a lot of talk about simplification of various labour laws
There
is no doubt that Labour Law Reforms are
overdue
But
, for MakeInIndia initiative to succeed , it is
even more important for the Employers / Managers , to change their attitude
This
badly needed NEW ATTITUDE
has to be :
"
If employees are made partners in times of prosperity , they will stand by the
Management in times of adversity "
And this will happen only when the employees
are involved in decision-making process
I
invite you to read my 170+ " Letters to L&T Employees " at ,
In
the meantime , from my today's blog ( below ) , you may appreciate what kind of
managerial attitudes , made L&T , a great company
with
regards,
hemen
parekh
(M)
0-98,67,55,08,08
Mumbai
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
L&T Story - 2
Earlier
this month , General Motors announced
its intention to close down its Halol ( Gujarat ) plant
That
would render some 1100 workers , " jobless
"
News
reports say , Shri Amitabh Kant , Secretary - DIPP , called GM manager to
discuss this issue
We
will never know , what exactly Shri Kant told the GM manager
It
is possible that he said :
"
Just because you are shifting your operations to Talegaon , you cannot throw
1100 workers on the footpath !
GM
is employing some 220,000 workers
across the globe
What
is so difficult for you to absorb these 1100
into your other factories , worldwide ? Who will believe you if you say , you
cannot ?
You must protect their jobs "
Neither
will we know what GM manager assured Shri Kant
But
that reminds me when L&T decided to
stop manufacture of Diamond Core Drills and Water Well Drills , at its Madh (
Mumbai ) factory , in 1979
At
that time , I was posted at L&T Powai Works as General Manager and
responsible for all negotiations / settlements with the Labour Union
When
they heard about Management decision , C S Nakhate and S V Naik ( Union leaders
) came to me to protest against Management decision to retrench 300 odd workers
They
said :
"
Who will believe that L&T cannot
absorb 300 workers when it has a work-force of
some 7500 workers in Mumbai ? You must protect
their jobs "
I
agreed not to retrench a single worker , on condition that each and every
worker , would accept ANY other job offered in Powai - after re-skilling
, if necessary
Eventually
, all workers rendered " work-less
" were re-deployed in various departments of L&T
( - including , at some out-station factories ) , without making any one "
job-less " !
I
believe that a much more flexible labour law on retrenchment of workers , when
business is losing market , is the only assurance that employers would not
hesitate to employ a large number of workers when needed
But
it is equally - or even much more - important that Indian managers / employers
/ business owners , learn to treat workers as " Family Members " of a joint family
A
younger brother who loses his job , is not thrown out of the family !
He
is supported by other working / earning members
If
Indian employers inculcate such an attitude , workers won't need protection of
labour laws
At
the same time , there is a crying need to reduce litigation under " Industrial Disputes Act " , by removing
from its purview , dismissals / terminations of non-performing employees .
This
act should be limited to addressing only " Collective Disputes " and
non-performance related cases should be covered by simplified Model Standing Orders
In
my own small company , I have personal experience of a group of my employees
accepting a 20 % salary-cut , in order to protect the job of a colleague , till
business revived !
Employees must be made to understand that such a temporary
sacrifice will enable a Company to ride out the bad times , when the only way
out is to reduce the manpower costs
They must be told :
" If you are not ready to
accept a temporary sacrifice , Company will become
irreversibly sick and eventually , everyone will
lose their jobs ! "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hemen
parekh
22
Aug 2015
B2BmessageBlaster
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