‘Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is Success.’

Workers Participation in Management Presented by: Priyanka Nagori

Definition: According to “Keith Davis” “Participation refers to the mental and emotional involvement of a person in a group situation which encourages him to contribute to group goals and share in the responsibility to achieve them”.

Features It consists of mental and emotional involvement. Participation is collective. It is based on mutual trust,information sharing and mutual problem- solving and decision making. Four levels of participation : shop floor,Plant,Department and Corporate level.

Cont…. Four degrees of participation: a. Communication :It involves sharing information about all management decisions with workers. b. Consultation: workers express there views. Final decisions are taken by management after consultation. c. Code-Termination: Joint decision. d. Self Management: Complete autonomy in hands of workers..

Objectives Economic Objective :Increased Productivity by increasing job satisfaction and improving industrial relations. Social objective: Human dignity and respectable status. Psychological objective: Changed attitude by satisfying non economic needs.

Importance Mutual Understanding: It increases awareness about employers and employees problems. Higher Productivity: It Increases motivation, Job satisfaction which leads to higher productivity and lower cost per unit and greater profits. Industrial Harmony :It increases workers loyalty because of continuous dialogue between workers and management.

Cont…. Less Resistance to change :Readily adapt the change because they understand the need of change by participation in decision making. Creativity and innovation: Participation encourages worker to think and take initiative.

Forms of Workers Participation in Management: 1.Suggestion Scheme : A suggestion box is installed. Periodical scrutiny by suggestions committee. Rewards are given to concerned workers. Example: Satyam Computers “Idea Junction”-Web based Portal,where employees participate.

Cont… 30 Circle Idea Leaders who evaluates those ideas 4 senior officials to further scrutinize those ideas. Those employees whose ideas have been selected are rewarded from a company T- shirt to a holiday trip to Promotion.

2.Works Committees: History: The Works Committee – set up under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 Features: Acc. to Indian Labour Conference(1959) Works Committees deal with day to day functioning at the shop floor level. Equal number of representative from employer and workers. Mandatory for every organization having 100 or more workers.

Functions: Health :Ventilation, Lighting,Temperature and sanitation facilities. Safety: Accident Prevention,Occupational diseases and protective equipments. Welfare: Rest rooms,medical and health services,drinking water. Administration of welfare and fine funds. Educational and recreational activities.

Cont… E.g.: Health, Safety and Welfare committee. Such committees were made In TATA Iron & Steel Works, Jamshedpur, Carnatik Mill in Madras in Limitations: Such committees are not that much effective in maintaining industrial peace and harmony.

3.Joint Management Councils: History: In 1920 Mahatma Gandhi had suggested that workers contributed labour and brains, while shareholders contributed money to enterprise, and that both should, therefore share in its prosperity. The influence of Mahatma Gandhi bore fruit and for the first time Joint Consultation was adopted in the Cotton Textile Industry. The Industrial Policy Resolution had suggested that labour should be consulted in all matter concerning industrial production. Further the scheme of Joint Management Council was formulated in 1957.

Features: It consists of equal number representatives from workers and management. The Number should not exceed twelve. It is applicable for organization consisting of at least 500 workers.

Functions: Modes of production,production schedule,general administration problems. State of the market, production and marketing programs, methods of production and work, long term capital budgeting,plans for expansion, modernization and development. Administering welfare measures,absenteeism, scheduling of working hours,breaks and holidays.

Limitations: Trade unions fear it will weaken there strength as workers come in influence of these councils. Managers feel it is difficult to convince uneducated and inexperienced representative of workers.

4.Workers Directors : History: Sachar Committee – In June 1977, a high-powered expert committee on Companies and MRTP Acts was set up by the Government of India under the chairmanship of Rajinder Sachar. The terms of reference for the Committee were: Representation of Workers on Board of Directors To suggest measures by which workers participation in the share capital and management of companies can be brought about.

Features: One or two workers are nominated as Board of Directors. Highest form of workers participation. He or she can serve as a guide- and a control element. Presence of Worker Director on the Board shall not lead to any breach in the confidentiality of the information required.

Cont… This practice have been initiated by : Hindustan Antibiotics (Pune) HMT (Bangalore) TATA’s DCM Limitations: Difference in educational and cultural background.

Cont… Such representatives of workers’ on the Board, places them in a minority. Such an employees’ representative may feel inferior to the other members. Focus of workers’ representatives is different from the focus of the remaining members of the Board. Decisions of the Board are arrived at on the basis of the majority vote.

5.Co –Partnership: Workers are made share holders in the company They participate in the management of the organization. They share the companies profits in the form of dividends.

Limitations: Effect on participation is limited because ownership and management are two different things.

Is workers Participation in Management works??? Coch and French's study was centered around women tailors working in Harwood Co. producing pajamas. The factory was facing problems of reduced production after transfer of its employees. An experiment was designed in which there were three levels of participation.

Cont….. (i) no participation by employees in planning the changes though an explanation was provided; (ii) participation through representation of the worker in designing the changes to be made; and (iii) total participation by all members of the group.

Estimated Changes in Output vis-a-vis Degree of Participation Production units per hour at five-day Intervals after minor changes Total participation Representation Participation No participation

Reasons for Failure in India: Ideological differences between the employer and the employees regarding the degree of participation. Failure to imbibe the spirit of participation by the parties. Lack of strong trade unionism. Illiteracy of workers. Non co-operative attitude of the working class. Delays in the implementation of the decisions of the participative bodies.

Measures for making WPM successful: Strong and truly representative trade unions. Employers and workers should agree on the objective of industry and respect the rights and obligations of each other. Workers should be provided training to make them aware about benefits of participation.

Cont…. An atmosphere of trust must be created on both the sides. It should be a continuous process and adequate time must be given to establish the roots.

Thanks!!!!