Industrial Relations / Trade Union Cases CASE 1 S.K. Ltd.

. is an electronic company with production units in five different locations in India operating for more than 20 years. The company employs a total of about 15,000 workers and other supervisory and managerial employees. There are 3-5 trade unions each in a each of the units, and on an average 10-15 per cent of the workers are actively involved in trade union work, though most workers pay the nominal union subscription. The leaders of the unions are a combination of outsiders and inside workers, though decision-making in the unions is often dictated by politically motivated external reasons. In the past, S.K. Ltd. had to face difficult industrial relations situations leading to three major strikes lasting for more than two weeks each. All the three strike had started soon after the company had signed an agreement with one of the unions and invariably the strike was ended by the intervention of the Labour Commissioner who was able to bring all the unions of the concerned unit together for a settlement. The current agreement in on of the units is coming to a close in December this year. Questions 1. In what respects can political leadership of trade unions jeopardizes industrial peace? 2. How do multiple unions in a plant disturb industrial peace? 3. Suggest suitable measures for improving the industrial relations climate in the company. CASE (2). In one state, the Chief Minister was invited to the annual conference of a union where union elections were also scheduled. The Chief Minister inaugurated the conference and observed as follows: I propose that you elect Mr. XYZ as your president and the president in turn elect his team. Before the members could understand the significance of what the Chief Minister had said there was a big round of applause from the audience presumably orchestrate by supporters of the Chief Minsters nominee for presidentship of the union. Before anyone could say anything, quite a few queued up and began to garland Mr. XYZ. Mr. XYZ then rose and announced the names of his nominees. The elections concluded. Those who were elected were happy about the smooth and cordial manner in which the election has been held. Referring to two cases in the recent past in neighbouring factories, they said, in one the rival union spent a lot of money in elections. From where had the money come? Would the ones who had spent so much money not want to recover it in one form or another? Another elected person was talking about how management manipulated the elections to have a company union. Some of the people who have aspired to contest the election were dismayed but could not do much because of the atmosphere in which the whole thing had happened. Questions: Q. 4. What suggestion do you have to make, trade unions truly for the members, of the members, and by the members?