This incident has happened in one of the largest manufacturing company in North Bangalore.
There was a small clash between the Contract employees and the Shop Incharge w.r.t. wages paid to technical & non-technical contract category employees in the said industry. The shop incharge has used arrogant language and said " you come and join our company like beggars, sneak in through the gate and now open your tails, just shut up and go and work, you will be kicked out, you are contract employees,,, beware!!" Then the contract employees have gone and indicated same to senior permanent employees of the company. Furiated the Shop Incharge has shouted "you buggars, have gone and told to these people,,, fine I know how to tackle you". Now this incident has come to HR, who are supposed to support the Shop Incharge. Kindly suggest.
Name of the company is kept confidential. Your views, please.
From India, Bangalore
3There was a small clash between the Contract employees and the Shop Incharge w.r.t. wages paid to technical & non-technical contract category employees in the said industry. The shop incharge has used arrogant language and said " you come and join our company like beggars, sneak in through the gate and now open your tails, just shut up and go and work, you will be kicked out, you are contract employees,,, beware!!" Then the contract employees have gone and indicated same to senior permanent employees of the company. Furiated the Shop Incharge has shouted "you buggars, have gone and told to these people,,, fine I know how to tackle you". Now this incident has come to HR, who are supposed to support the Shop Incharge. Kindly suggest.
Name of the company is kept confidential. Your views, please.
From India, Bangalore
Dear Anonymous,
Why has the HR to support something which is wrong? IF the company management has done something wrong, then its HR's responsibility that we do the damage repairs.
This is not, whose side has to be taken, it is about how to improve the relations. There is need to have an open communication. Taking any side will lead to agitation and thats not good.
So speak with the management, form a team, where people can go for a better clarity for their questions. The top management has to speak with the managers and refrain them from using rude or abusive language. This is not a case where the Shop Manager has to say sorry to the workers, but a case where there is need to create a buffer between the management and the workers for day to day issues.
From India, Mumbai
Why has the HR to support something which is wrong? IF the company management has done something wrong, then its HR's responsibility that we do the damage repairs.
This is not, whose side has to be taken, it is about how to improve the relations. There is need to have an open communication. Taking any side will lead to agitation and thats not good.
So speak with the management, form a team, where people can go for a better clarity for their questions. The top management has to speak with the managers and refrain them from using rude or abusive language. This is not a case where the Shop Manager has to say sorry to the workers, but a case where there is need to create a buffer between the management and the workers for day to day issues.
From India, Mumbai
Dear, Let us not draw conclusions hastily, such situations are legion in any industry. But the poor HR guy has to hold both the baby and the bath water.!!!!!! However the situation needs to be handled tactically. Without rocking the boat, first try to defuse the situation. At any rate the contract workers cannot call the shots and the shop in charge cannot be belittled. So try to talk to all concerned to bring normalcy. Secondly the genuine concerns of contract labour needs to be addressed and you need to persuade the management to make some concessions as deserved.. Thirdly, may be there is some thing is wrong with the shop in charge, he needs to improve on his inter personal relations. You can send him to the next training programme available. Once again let us not outright condemn the shop in charge, it will definitely hurt the overall organisational morale. KK
From India, Bhopal
From India, Bhopal
There is no rule that you should support Shop floor incharge. You should support the fact/truth and forward the matter to management. You have to look at the both sides.
1. What made shop floor incharge to speak like that?
2. There is a repeated carelessness in the contract worker past performances which made shop floor incharge to talk like that?
3. Check / get the feedback of the shop floor incharge tackling of workers..!
If you find the truth from both sides.. analyze it and give a strict warning to both.. Warn worker as well as shop floor incharge across the table and talk to them separately. Tell them that management sees this issue seriously, If it repeats again, action will be taken seriously.
Create an healthy atmosphere to betterment of the industry development.
Thanks,
From India, Chennai
1. What made shop floor incharge to speak like that?
2. There is a repeated carelessness in the contract worker past performances which made shop floor incharge to talk like that?
3. Check / get the feedback of the shop floor incharge tackling of workers..!
If you find the truth from both sides.. analyze it and give a strict warning to both.. Warn worker as well as shop floor incharge across the table and talk to them separately. Tell them that management sees this issue seriously, If it repeats again, action will be taken seriously.
Create an healthy atmosphere to betterment of the industry development.
Thanks,
From India, Chennai
This is a situation where HR has to play the role of a fire brigade to douse the flames and not as an inflammable gas to fuel the fire.A more or less similar kind of behavior of a supervisor with a workman in an automobile factory led to large scale violence.HR shall not approach such issues with a pre -conceived notion that it has to support a particular side.It needs to get at the facts with an open mind and look at various options to deal with the problem and weigh each option against an IR situation in the factory. However whatever may be a provocation, the Shop Floor in-charge's behaviour is in bad taste. Behaviour plays a very important role in interpersonal relations which are vital for peaceful industrial relations.If a workman -whether contract worker or permanent- indulges in indisciplined behaviour, it needs to be dealt with professionally by either talking to him on one to one basis or counselling and in habitual cases by resorting to disciplinary action.Responding to an indisciplined behaviour with an equally indisciplined behaviour is no answer to the problem. Two wrongs do not make it right. It seems that the supervisory staff need to be trained by a behavioural specialist in communication and conduct to avoid similar events..
B.Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor
From India, Mumbai
B.Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor
From India, Mumbai
The views expressed and the suggestions given by M/S Ashutosh, K.K.Nair,Stephan and Saikumar certainly show their equanimity of minds and practical wisdom. I am sure that by this time the Questioner would have realized the importance of approaching such a sticky problem dispassionately and handling it deftly to avoid further escalation. It is true that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. It is also equally true that if you scratch your head, you will find ego. Uneasyness arises out of inability and inability in turn arouses ego in its disguised form as anger. The natural corollary is shabby and negative response to the situation. A word and a stone, once thrown, cannot be called back. So, persons in the position of grievance handling should be very careful in their language both verbal and non-verbal. At times, of course anger is a form of inevitable response but it should be kept within the limits of managability. So, executives such as the shop-floor-in-charge should know anger management.Managers should realize the fact that indirect engagement of labour such as Contract Labour, Casual Labour is only a stop-gap arrangement for iincidentally intermittant nature of activities rather than a cheap and uncared for source of employment for core activities. If they do have that realization, they will certainly change their perception and adopt more humane attitude and approach to the grievances of such people.
From India, Salem
From India, Salem
Dear,
As we believe, HR is link between employee & employer, as HR need to maintain the harmony & decorum within the organization.
supporting such behavior shall be cause to indirect influence to such kind of event in future as well as gain the confident of employee in wrong way..
Therefore, it should be control on that step itself. there are many question raised by members for better understanding the exact history or cause of such anger, may be behavior of that, contractor staff's cause of occur such anger.
But, HR should take step without been as bias & conduct the domestic inquiry on the same. as per the result of inquiry, HR should take the appropriate action on guilty person. which create the good example for all employees. Otherwise, it may cause of big problem in future for employee as well as for employer.
In legal ground, such behavior can't be Tolerate in Contract labour Act. its may called as exploitation of contract employee, that the reason,The Contract Labour Act (REGULATION AND ABOLITION) ACT, 1970 is made. it is made for save the basic rights of Contract labour & prevent from exploitation by employer.
If Opponent approach the ALC or Conciliation officer in labour Dept. then it will be unavoidable excise for the company.
From India, Mumbai
As we believe, HR is link between employee & employer, as HR need to maintain the harmony & decorum within the organization.
supporting such behavior shall be cause to indirect influence to such kind of event in future as well as gain the confident of employee in wrong way..
Therefore, it should be control on that step itself. there are many question raised by members for better understanding the exact history or cause of such anger, may be behavior of that, contractor staff's cause of occur such anger.
But, HR should take step without been as bias & conduct the domestic inquiry on the same. as per the result of inquiry, HR should take the appropriate action on guilty person. which create the good example for all employees. Otherwise, it may cause of big problem in future for employee as well as for employer.
In legal ground, such behavior can't be Tolerate in Contract labour Act. its may called as exploitation of contract employee, that the reason,The Contract Labour Act (REGULATION AND ABOLITION) ACT, 1970 is made. it is made for save the basic rights of Contract labour & prevent from exploitation by employer.
If Opponent approach the ALC or Conciliation officer in labour Dept. then it will be unavoidable excise for the company.
From India, Mumbai
We need to look a bit in depth in this case. What was the grounds and what was the situation for Shop In Charge to use abusive language? As such considering the fact that Contractual Workers are also workers and are covered under various acts, it is completely necessary to look into both the sides of the Coin. But still the fact remains persistent. As an HR Professional after evaluating the scenario things needs to be taken care.
1. Shop In Charge in any case should not have used the abusive language and is already at fault.
2. Was the Shop in Charge's behavior in the said act correct because of the fault of the Contractual Worker? What was the fault? Any Serious in Nature? If yes, then support the Shop In Charge.
3. If the shop in charge had behaved unethically and without any reasons, support the contractual worker.
In my opinion, only after what both the parties have to say, a solution can be reached.
Regards,
Dr. Urjit Kavi
From India, Delhi
1. Shop In Charge in any case should not have used the abusive language and is already at fault.
2. Was the Shop in Charge's behavior in the said act correct because of the fault of the Contractual Worker? What was the fault? Any Serious in Nature? If yes, then support the Shop In Charge.
3. If the shop in charge had behaved unethically and without any reasons, support the contractual worker.
In my opinion, only after what both the parties have to say, a solution can be reached.
Regards,
Dr. Urjit Kavi
From India, Delhi
Hi
I need to add something more here, see this is a case where ego and super ego classing,, where one is a contract labour and other hand is a Manager whose responsibility to make inline everything for better output like maintaining harmony relation at work, good working environment etc.
First you need to report to your higher authority about the incident and ask permission for one by one discussion along with inquiry of their past attitude from their colleague, pears & seniors, make records, if found same behavior in past , start counseling session saperatly put the evidence in front of them and ask for reason. When they provide the output about the incident, identify and match from evidence which you have, and accordingly start disciplinary action or training program.
And yes if it is found that this is the first time such incident happen no need to do any thing call both and give one verbal Waring about the violation of industrial dispute and said them if such kind of incident will repeat or any violation of industry harmony management will take serious action on your act.
From India
I need to add something more here, see this is a case where ego and super ego classing,, where one is a contract labour and other hand is a Manager whose responsibility to make inline everything for better output like maintaining harmony relation at work, good working environment etc.
First you need to report to your higher authority about the incident and ask permission for one by one discussion along with inquiry of their past attitude from their colleague, pears & seniors, make records, if found same behavior in past , start counseling session saperatly put the evidence in front of them and ask for reason. When they provide the output about the incident, identify and match from evidence which you have, and accordingly start disciplinary action or training program.
And yes if it is found that this is the first time such incident happen no need to do any thing call both and give one verbal Waring about the violation of industrial dispute and said them if such kind of incident will repeat or any violation of industry harmony management will take serious action on your act.
From India
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