I wish to understand the provisions and clauses in Indian Labour Laws, which protects Indian employees working in India from being treated irrationally illogically. The work pressure in Telecom is increasing every year, and employees are forced extra hours, and are not given leaves, which eventually get lapsed by year end. The work culture is to obey to Manager, else Employees get negative ratings in PMS. The work practice is not PMS oriented, rather it is Manager oriented, and working on KPI is not at all an option.
1
Work pressure is increasing in modern work culture, because of modern technology and downsizing of manpower. Pressure can be changed in change in attitude. Pressure is the state of mind, it should be changed with relaxation techniques. Speed communication is increasing in personal life as well as in work. Work load should understand by all, not only by higher ups. Work should be shared, not to bypassed or thrown on others.
From India, Visakhapatnam
From India, Visakhapatnam
Dear Chetan,
Yours are the woes of fading or diminishing influence of the labour unions. After economic liberalisation that the then Prime Minister Mr PV Narasimha Rao unleashed in 1991, businesses started growing leaps and bound. Lot of foreign companies entered in India and Indian workers started getting salary that was unthinkable in the preceding generation. However, along side an unhealthy development that took place was rampant violations of the labour laws. Since business houses provided revenue in the form of direct or indirect taxes, labour department started ignoring the excesses of the employers. Working for 10-12 hours became norm. Employers started dangling carrot of future promotions with the astronomical salaries. Allured by this carrot, employees started working for 16-18 hours on their own. In the warp of "commitment towards organisation", questions on the efficacy of these long working hours were buried deep.
The problems that you are facing are also because of the lack of culture of assertiveness in India. Indian workers are expected to be submissive and standing for one's rights is considered as haughtiness. Overall we are expected to be obedient but this obedience takes toll of critical thinking that is necessary for the development of the personality of the individual.
The workplace challenges that you have mentioned cannot be handled single-handedly. For this, you need to have collective voice. This can happen only if you form a labour union. But the problem is that the young generation is averse in forming the labour union. They have a strong distaste for labour union. Offshoot of this distaste a silent suffering of you or your colleagues. Nothing goes on time immemorial but how long this suffering will this continue that cannot be estimated.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Yours are the woes of fading or diminishing influence of the labour unions. After economic liberalisation that the then Prime Minister Mr PV Narasimha Rao unleashed in 1991, businesses started growing leaps and bound. Lot of foreign companies entered in India and Indian workers started getting salary that was unthinkable in the preceding generation. However, along side an unhealthy development that took place was rampant violations of the labour laws. Since business houses provided revenue in the form of direct or indirect taxes, labour department started ignoring the excesses of the employers. Working for 10-12 hours became norm. Employers started dangling carrot of future promotions with the astronomical salaries. Allured by this carrot, employees started working for 16-18 hours on their own. In the warp of "commitment towards organisation", questions on the efficacy of these long working hours were buried deep.
The problems that you are facing are also because of the lack of culture of assertiveness in India. Indian workers are expected to be submissive and standing for one's rights is considered as haughtiness. Overall we are expected to be obedient but this obedience takes toll of critical thinking that is necessary for the development of the personality of the individual.
The workplace challenges that you have mentioned cannot be handled single-handedly. For this, you need to have collective voice. This can happen only if you form a labour union. But the problem is that the young generation is averse in forming the labour union. They have a strong distaste for labour union. Offshoot of this distaste a silent suffering of you or your colleagues. Nothing goes on time immemorial but how long this suffering will this continue that cannot be estimated.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Work pressure or environment pressure is the slogan of modern life style/culture. we should take break to relax or adjust for the same. No other option. However, you can look for a job change which suitable to you or be on your own.
V.MURALI
From India, Madipakkam
V.MURALI
From India, Madipakkam
My views on the issue.
Learned senior Mr Dinesh has explained well the prevailing culture in new age industries like I,T and telecom. Depending up on your establishment being a factory or a commercial establishment, a/factory worker/an employee is eligible for over time for working beyond 48 hours a week at double the rate of ordinary wages.But it is a .simplistic statement to make.because you cannot expect managements to accept your claim of sitting beyond 48 hours a week with the help of some document/biometric recording with feelings of sanctity and dig into their pockets to pay O.T.It has cost implication to the organisation.Firstly work pressure is a subjective feeling. One employee may enjoy work pressure and other may resent it. O.T s cannot be paid on the basis of what an employee feels about work.
Secondly, a question arises as to how to measure what quantum of work can be done in 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week.While an employee can do particular quantum of work in 8 hours, another employee may take ten hours to do the same quantum of work.There shall be quantifiable and objective methods to measure work and time.. Thirdly it is not the employee who can sit on his own late and then claim O.T. as O.T tends to become a regular means of a additional income if such practice is allowed.That's why O.Ts are discouraged by industry.These are the issues that surround an O.T issue.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Navi Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
Learned senior Mr Dinesh has explained well the prevailing culture in new age industries like I,T and telecom. Depending up on your establishment being a factory or a commercial establishment, a/factory worker/an employee is eligible for over time for working beyond 48 hours a week at double the rate of ordinary wages.But it is a .simplistic statement to make.because you cannot expect managements to accept your claim of sitting beyond 48 hours a week with the help of some document/biometric recording with feelings of sanctity and dig into their pockets to pay O.T.It has cost implication to the organisation.Firstly work pressure is a subjective feeling. One employee may enjoy work pressure and other may resent it. O.T s cannot be paid on the basis of what an employee feels about work.
Secondly, a question arises as to how to measure what quantum of work can be done in 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week.While an employee can do particular quantum of work in 8 hours, another employee may take ten hours to do the same quantum of work.There shall be quantifiable and objective methods to measure work and time.. Thirdly it is not the employee who can sit on his own late and then claim O.T. as O.T tends to become a regular means of a additional income if such practice is allowed.That's why O.Ts are discouraged by industry.These are the issues that surround an O.T issue.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Navi Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
When we say that the Personnel management of the past has no significance today and today is the period of human capital strategies, we forget to see the other side of the token, a discontented . When we say ours is an employee friendly organisation which gives importance to work life balance, we forget that we do not care employees. The employees, in turn, keep silent because they fear that their PMS rating will come down and if they take a step against the management they will be blacklisted by the Association of Employers like NASCOM. Again there happens to be a feeling that Trade Union is for manufacturing workers and not for employees in IT or Telecom sector where the pay is considered to be high even though many are paid even less than the statutory minimum rates of wages and that also without following the Payment of Wages Act. It is true that individual bargaining rather than collective bargaining play an important role in new generation industries. In fact this is the real cause for discontentment among employees.
Forming trade union is not a wrong thing and the employer should also understand that it is from the dissatisfaction that employees chose a platform like this for collective bargaining. Therefore, if you fee that the management is not just, you have to voice and for that trade union is a better option than individually raising the issues.
Limiting working hours to 8 or 9 hours is a requirement in order to maintain our health and therefore, it is to be considered as our right. Ask for that.
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Forming trade union is not a wrong thing and the employer should also understand that it is from the dissatisfaction that employees chose a platform like this for collective bargaining. Therefore, if you fee that the management is not just, you have to voice and for that trade union is a better option than individually raising the issues.
Limiting working hours to 8 or 9 hours is a requirement in order to maintain our health and therefore, it is to be considered as our right. Ask for that.
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Dear friends,
The problems raised by Mr. Chetan Agrawal are entirely of different natures which I see from different perspectives .. Performance measurement System (PMS) is a scientific way of assigning KRAs time ahead for the next year related to individual and Team KRAs .When you know that for a specific but difficult KRA, stretch factor is also high, its not justified to name it" work Pressure" .There are star performers they burn their midnight lamp and they excel in their performance, enjoying challenges at work places. If they are not recognized, they are if treated at par with average employees how HR can justify PMS OBJECTIVITY.The team KRAs , are really providing far better opportunities to champions to learn, grow and develop real leadership qualities.
Regds,
RDS Yadav
From India, Delhi
The problems raised by Mr. Chetan Agrawal are entirely of different natures which I see from different perspectives .. Performance measurement System (PMS) is a scientific way of assigning KRAs time ahead for the next year related to individual and Team KRAs .When you know that for a specific but difficult KRA, stretch factor is also high, its not justified to name it" work Pressure" .There are star performers they burn their midnight lamp and they excel in their performance, enjoying challenges at work places. If they are not recognized, they are if treated at par with average employees how HR can justify PMS OBJECTIVITY.The team KRAs , are really providing far better opportunities to champions to learn, grow and develop real leadership qualities.
Regds,
RDS Yadav
From India, Delhi
It is okay that we have certain KRAs and it is on the basis of these KRAs that we structure the PMS objectives. But the objectives should be SMART and if not the entire PMS will become useless. Therefore, if the targets are not achievable, do not fix that targets. It should not be to create an image for HR but to see whether employees get any benefit. Remember that we have offered only CTC to them and not Benefit to Company or BTC.
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Madhu.T.K
From India, Kannur
Thanks to all for sparing time and sharing the golden words on this subject. My past experiences with ITES & Telecom companies are that the PMS is a tool, not a method to inculcate any sense of performance measurement. In today's fast moving time, where revenue growth is challenged every quarter - annual PMS as a tool/method becomes joke. And since, organization can’t do away with it, it has become a playground. PMS has become like carrot - like you do this to get score, else negative ratings. Pile of work is so much that there is always a pile of work which is pending and stinking, and when same comes to light, the focus on PMS is shown again. I consider, some people don’t have enough of what it takes to move organizations/ departments/ functions towards results/ success, and hence they abuse PMS and annual assessment method.
Long extended work hours, on routine fashion, can’t be accepted, while the personal & family life goes completely unnoticed.
I continue to wish to understand if there is a way to at least empower ourselves (employees), if not unions. Yoga and all are the ways to accept the work pressure and digest, and release same.
After all, most large enterprises have to obey Laws.
Regards
Chetan Agrawal
Long extended work hours, on routine fashion, can’t be accepted, while the personal & family life goes completely unnoticed.
I continue to wish to understand if there is a way to at least empower ourselves (employees), if not unions. Yoga and all are the ways to accept the work pressure and digest, and release same.
After all, most large enterprises have to obey Laws.
Regards
Chetan Agrawal
Hi Chetan,
Its PMS normally settles down over a three years time, Bosses also learn en route as to what is members stake in terms of all of them using combined potentials for organization's success and individual's succession not there then out side .The whole game of work performance is of total transparency and objectivity in System. The next generation, futuristic organizations have been already marching with SMART KRAs on together with other manufacturing tools making employees practicing Six Sigma, Lean management, TPM etc and creating employees to work using Yoga, fitness club, cafeterias etc that has been proving right course to all of us.
Best regads,
RDS Yadav
From India, Delhi
Its PMS normally settles down over a three years time, Bosses also learn en route as to what is members stake in terms of all of them using combined potentials for organization's success and individual's succession not there then out side .The whole game of work performance is of total transparency and objectivity in System. The next generation, futuristic organizations have been already marching with SMART KRAs on together with other manufacturing tools making employees practicing Six Sigma, Lean management, TPM etc and creating employees to work using Yoga, fitness club, cafeterias etc that has been proving right course to all of us.
Best regads,
RDS Yadav
From India, Delhi
Community Support and Knowledge-base on business, career and organisational prospects and issues - Register and Log In to CiteHR and post your query, download formats and be part of a fostered community of professionals.
Work Pressure.jpg
Labour laws.ppt
A-Role of labour contractors in global production networks -A-1 Imp..pdf