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Ms-24 Question bank

Ms-24 Question bank (12)

Ms-24 Question bank

MS-24    june 2011

MS-24 : EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

1. Discuss the current development in industrial relations in India. Describe the influence of  theories and models on industrial relations  practices.

2.  Identify the factors responsible for the formation  of white - collar managerial unions. Briefly trace  the evolution of managerial unions in India.

3.  Define collective bargaining. Examine the unique features of collective bargaining in Indian context  with illustration.

4. Identify the factors responsible for the failure of  participative schemes in India. Discuss the  strategies for making participative forums  effective.

5.  Define discipline. Explain the process of  disciplinary action and its advantages and  disadvantages.

6. Read the case given below and answer the  questions given at the end,

   XYZ Corporation is a State Government  enterprise in which a strike occurred in the recent  past at the middle management level, causing a  loss of Rs. 100 crores.

This Corporation is an engineering industry  and has three categories of employees :

(1) deputationists from the Central and State  Governments,

(2) its own recruited officers, staff  and men; and

(3 ) officers and staff who had opted  from the Government to the Corporation' s service.

The middle management whose strength is  about 1500, includes  people  who have reached  the highest executive rank, but are not members  of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors  and Secretaries of the Corporation are on  deputation from the Central and State  Governments. Some of them are experienced  veterans of proven integrity and managerial skills.

The workforce and staff consists of supervisors  and men, who have separate unions.  The unions had many factions and were  agitating quite frequently. the top management  was generally employing the middle management  to quell strikes by the workers and staff. In most  cases, the demands of the workers were accepted.

The workers and supervisory staff had thus been  able to improve their service conditions through  agitational means.  Before the strike, the middle management  had been complaining about job - stagnation,  absence of service rules, untimely action in FB cases, and unequal treatment meted out to it by  the top management. It wanted a revision of the

pay-scales and introduction of time bound pay-scales. By this time, the deputationists at the  middle management level were asked to opt for  service in the industry or lose their jobs. There  were serious apprehensions in the minds of the  middle management people about getting perks  and retirement benefits at the same rate as their  parent departments. They held several meetings  and people at all levels of the hierarchy stood  together.  The top management issued a circular  saying that the misgivings were unfounded, and  that the industry was quite capable of giving perks  and retirement benefits at the same rate as their  parent departments. This circular was issued in  the same manner as other circulars.

Three months prior to the strike by the  middle management, a union of workers went on

strike. The middle management was directed to  have the strike called off but it  acted  half-heartedly. The top management was getting the  feedback on the situation from the Corporation's  channels and other independent services. The  middle management, however, passed on very  little information. The MIS was of routine nature,  and it only described how functioning had been  affected, and the strength that reported for duty.

The middle management was itself to some extent,  responsible for the strike and it stood by the  workers.

After this strike was called off, there were a  number of demonstrations by the middle  management people. A union had already been  formed and it was recognized by the Board of Directors. The following demands were put up :

(1) DA to be granted to people getting pay above  Rs. 900 basic,

(2) Time bound pay-scales to be  allowed,

(3) DA to be equal to that given to the  deputationists,

(4) For those not getting residential  accommodation, rent above 10'%t, should be

subsidized,

(5) Withdrawal of pre- audit checking  on purchases,

(6) The middle management people  should have promotion avenues up to the Board  level, and

(7) Timely disposal of disciplinary cases.

     The middle management complained that  there was stagnation, and that promotion avenues  were blocked.  - Ihey said, for instance, "that an  engineer entering the Corporation would cross the  first step only after fifteen years and the second  after twenty. There were five steps to the highest  executive rank (not in the Board of Directors).  hence there was no chance for an entrant to reach  the highest level in his lifetime or to get pay  advance equivalent to that at the higher echelons."  About two months prior to the strike the  Chairman went on leave for a month and a  deputationist in the Board was appointed to  officiate in his place. During this month the  agitation mounted.

The Board of Directors appointed a Pay  Commission, but it was boycotted by the middle

management. The information system of the  Board conveyed information about discontent but  it did not foresee the strike which later paralyzed  the Corporation. The Board of Directors got in  touch with the Army authorities, and were  assured that personnel would be provided to man  the works, so that functioning was not disrupted.  An impasse started developing at about this time  between the middle management and the Board OF DIRECTORS

Questions :

(a)  What is the main problem in the present  case ?

(b)  Analyze the basic causes which led to the  problem.

(c)  How would you deal with such a  situation ?

MS-24    dec-2007

MS-24 : EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

l.  What  is  industrial  relations ?  Discuss  the  Marxist  and  the Gandhian approach to  industrial  relations.

2-  Outline  the origin  and  growth  of  employers'  organizations in  India.  State  the  first  NCL's  observations  on  the employers'  organisations. 

3.  Discuss  the  rationale  for  workers'  participation  in management  with illustration.  What are  the issues  involved in  participative  forums  ? 

4.Define  and  describe  'Grievance'   Briefly  discuss  approaches to  Grievance Resolution. 

5.  Write  short  notes on  any  three  of  the  following  :

(a)  Strategies  in  negotiation

(b)  Productivity  bargaining

(c)  Red  Hot  Stove  Rule

(d)  Power  and Authority

(e)  Generic characteristics  of  large non-union  firms

 

6. Read the  following case  and answer  the  questions  given at the  end.

The  Andhra  Pradesh  State  Road  Transport Corporation  has been  providing  passenger  transportation facilities  since  1956.  It  has been extending  its  operation from  one  region  to  another.  by  nationalising the  private passenger  transport  companies  in  a  phased  manner. Presently it  is  operating  its  services  in  80%  of  the  routes in  the  State.  It  nationalised  two  routes  in  East  Godavari District in  the  State in  October,  1988.  Normally it  absorbs all  the  employees  working  in  passenger  transport companies  be{ore  nationalisation  and  fixes  their  wages  at par  with  the  scales  of  similar categories  of  jobs.

The  pay  scales  in  the  corporation  are determined on\ the  basis of  mutual  agreement between the  management and  the  recolnised  trade  union.  The  scales are  revised once  in  three  years.  The  recent  agreement  .came  into force  with  effect  from  September,  1988.  There  are  two classes  in  the  drivers'  category,  i.e.,  Class  I  (drivers working  on  long  distance  buses) and  Class  II  (drivers working  on  short  distance  routes). The  pay  scale of  Class II  drivers is  enhanced from Rs.  600  - 1200  to  Rs.  900 -  1600  (with  effect  from September,  1988)  in'  consequence  to  the  latest agreement.  The  agreement  further  says  that  the  pay  scales of  the  drivers drawing the  scale  of  Rs. 600  -  1200  will  be fixed in  the  scale  of  Rs. 900 - 1600.

     The  corporation  absorbed 10  drivers who  were  with the  private  passenger  transport  companies  upon  the recent  nationalisation  of  two  routes.  The  personnel department  fixed the  scale  of  these  10  drivers in  the  scale of  Rs. 600 - 7200  and it  rejected  their  plea of  fixing  their pay  in  the  scale of  Rs.  900 - 1600  saying that  only  thedrivers  drawing  the  scale  of  Rs.  600 - 7200  are  now eligible  to  draw  the  new  scale  of  Rs.  900 - 1600.  The corporation  has set up  both  the  grievance machinery  and the  collective bargaining  machinery  to  resolve employee problems.  Then  these  drivers tub-ittnd  this  issue to  the foreman  who  is  their  immediate  superior.  The  foreman told  them  to  raise this  issue  in  collective  bargaining with the  help  of  trade  union  leaders  as  it  is  a  policy  issue. These  drivers  approached  the  trade  'union  leaders  and persuaded  them  to  solve  the  issue.  The  trade  union leaders  included  this  item  in  the  draft  agenda  to  the collective  bargaining  committee  to  be  held  in  January, 1989.  But  the  collective  bargaining committee deleted  this item  from  the  draft  agenda saying that  this  issue can  be settled  through  grievance  machinery as only  10  drivers  out of  3,000  drivers  of  the  corporation  are  concerned  with this issue.

Questions :

(a)  What  are  the  core-issues   in the  case  ?

(bl  Who  is  correct  -  the  personnel department  or  the foreman  or  the  collective  bargaining committee  ?

(c) How  would  you  redress  this  grievance if  you  were the  C.E.O. of  the organisation  ?

 

MS-24    dec-2008

MS-24 : EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

1. Present  a  brief account  of industrial  relations  (IR) in  India. Discuss  the  current developments  in  IR.

2. Explain  how  internal  affairs  of  the  union  are managed.  Outline  the factors  responsible  for persistence  of outside  leadership  in  the  unions in India.

3. Explain  the  concept  of  collective  bargaining (CB)  and  discuss the  emerging  issues  of  CB in India.

4. Describe different  approaches  to.  Grievance resolutions.  Discuss  the recommendation  of National  Commission  on labour  for  effective grievance  procedure.

5. Write  short  notes  on  anY  three  of  the following  :

(a)  Arbitration.

(b)  Activities  of managerial  associations.

(c)  Red  hot  stove  rule.

 (d)  Craft union.

(e)  Misconduct

 

6. Read  the  case  carefully  and  answer the questions  given at the  end.

V.  J.  Textiles  is  a  leading  industry having a workforce  of  more than  1200  employees, engaged  in  the  manufacture  of cotton  yarn of different counts.  The company  has  a well-established  distribution  network  in  different parts  of the  country. It  has  modernised  all its plants,  with  a  view  to  imProve  the productivity  and  maintain  quality.  To maintain good human relations  in  the plants and  the  organisation as a whole,  it  has extended  all  possible  facilities  to  the employees.  Compared to  other mills,  the employees  of  V.  J.  Industries  are enjoying higher  wages  and  other  benefits. The company has a Chief Executive, followed  by Executives  in-charge  of different functional  areas.  The  Industrial  Relations Department is  headed by  the  Industrial Relations Manager.  The  employees are represented  by five trade  unions  -  A,B,  C,D and E  (unions  are alphabetically  presented based  on membership)  -  out of which  the  top three  unions  are  recognised  by  the management  for  purposes  of  negotiations.  All the  unions  have  maintained  good  relations with  the  management individually  and collectively.

For  the  past  ten years,  the  company  has been  distributing bonus  to  the  workers  at  rates more than  the  statutory minimum  prescribed under  the  Bonus  Act.  Last  year,  for  declaration of rate  of  bonus,  the  management  had  a  series of discussions  with  all recognized  unions and finally  announced  a  bonus,  which was  in turn agreed  upon by  all  the  recognized  unions. The very  next  day  when  the  management  prepared the  settlement  and  presented  it  before  the  union representatives,  while  Unions  A and  C  signed the  same,  the  leader  of Union B  refused  to do so  and walked out,  stating that the  rate of  bonus declared was not  sufficient.  The next  day, Union  B  issued  a  strike  notice  to  the management  asking for  higher  bonus. The

 management  tried  its level  best  to  avoid  the unpleasent  situation,  but in vain.  As a  result, the  members  of Union B  went on strike.  They were  joined  by the  members  of Union D. During the  strike,  the  management  could probe  the  reason  for the  deviant  behaviour  of Union  B leader;  it  was found  that  leader of Union A"  soon  after  the  first  meeting,  had  stated in  the  presence  of a group  of workers, "  It  is because  of  me  that the  management has  agreed to  declare  this  much amount of bonus to the employees;  Union  B has miserably failed  in its  talks  with  the  management for  want  of initiative  and  involvement".  This  observation somehow  reached  the  leader  of Union  B as  a result  of which he  felt insulted, Soon  after identifying  the  reason  for

Union  B's  strike call,  the Industrial  Relations Manager  brought  about  a  compromise

between the  leaders of  Unions  A  and  B. Immediately  after  this  meeting  the  strikers

(members  of Unions B  and D) resumed  work and  the  settlement was  signed for the same rate of bonus  as  was originally  agreed  upon.

  Questions:

(a)  Was the  leader of  Union  A  justified  in making remarks  which  made  the  leader of Union B  feel  offended ?

(b)  What  should  be management's long  -term  strategy  for  avoiding  recurrence  of inter-union  differences  on such  issues  ?

(c)  If  you  were  the  Industrial  Relations Manager what  would  you  have done had the  Union  B resorted  to  strike for  a reason  other than that mentioned in  the case  ?

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