Grievance Handling
Grievance
•In employment there is mutual expectations and obligations of employees and
employer.
•An employer considers the employee to be indisciplined if the expectations
about the employee, arising out of employment contract, are not fulfilled.
Similarly the an employee would feel aggrieved if his /her expectations were not
fulfilled.
•Thus grievance and indiscipline are two sides of the same coin.
The ILO defines a grievance as a complaint of one or more workers with respect
to wages and allowances, conditions of work and interpretation of service
conditions covering such area as overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority,
job assignment and termination of service.
The National Commission on Labour observed that complaints affecting one or
more individual workers in respect of their wage, work assignment and discharges
would constitute grievances. payments, overtime, leave, transfer, promotion,
seniority
Features of Grievance:
1. A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the
organization.
2. The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not due to personal or family
problems.
3. The discontent can arise out of real or imaginary reasons. When employees feel that
injustice has been done to them, they have a grievance. The reason for such a feeling may be
valid or invalid, legitimate or irrational, justifiable or ridiculous.
4. The discontent may be voiced or unvoiced, but it must find expression in some form.
However, discontent per se is not a grievance. Initially, the employee may complain orally or in
writing. If this is not looked into promptly, the employee feels a sense of lack of justice. Now,
the discontent grows and takes the shape of a grievance.
Causes of Grievances:
Grievances may occur due to a number of reasons:
1. Economic:
Employees may demand for individual wage adjustments. They may feel that they are paid
less when compared to others. For example, late bonus, payments, adjustments to overtime
pay, perceived inequalities in treatment, claims for equal pay etc
2. Work environment:
It may be undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work. For example, light, space, heat,
or poor physical conditions of workplace, defective tools and equipment, poor quality of
material, unfair rules, and lack of recognition.
3. Supervision:
It may be objections to the general methods of supervision related
to the attitudes of the supervisor towards the employee such as
perceived notions of bias, favouritism, nepotism, caste affiliations and
regional feelings.
4. Organizational change:
Any change in the organizational policies can result in grievances.
For example, the implementation of revised company policies or new
working practices.
5. Employee relations:
Employees are unable to adjust with their colleagues, suffer from
feelings of neglect and victimization and become an object of ridicule
and humiliation, or other inter- employee disputes.
6. Miscellaneous:
These may be issues relating to certain violations in respect of
promotions, safety methods, transfer, disciplinary rules, fines, granting
leaves, medical facilities, etc.
List of Grievances
•Promotions •Amenities
•Supersession •Inequitable distribution
•Acting promotion •Entitlement
•Seniority Pay fixation •Medical Benefits
•Compensation •ServiceMatters
•Incentives •Transfers
•Payment •Continuity of service
•Recovery of dues •Superannuation
“Individual” and “Group” Grievances
“Individual” and “Group” grievances should be distinguished. If the issue involved
relates to one or a few individual employees, it needs to be handled through a
grievance procedure, but when general issues with policy implications and wider
interest are involved they become the subject matter for collective bargaining.
Ideally speaking, trade unions do not or should not play a significant role in
individual grievance redressal whereas they need to be involved in grievance
handling of a collective nature.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Grievance procedure is formal communication between an employee and the
management designed for the settlement of a grievance. The grievance procedures
differ from the organization to organisation.
1. Open door policy
2. Step ladder policy
OPEN DOOR POLICY
Under this policy, the aggrieved employee is free to meet the top executives of the
organisation and get his grievances redressed. Such a policy works well only in small
organisations.
STEP LADDER POLICY
Under this policy, the aggrieved employee has to follow a step by step procedure
for getting his grievance redressed. In this procedure, whenever an employee is
confronted with a grievance, he/ she presents his problem to his immediate
supervisor. If the employee is not satisfied with superior’s decision, then he discusses
his /her grievance with the departmental head. The departmental head discusses the
problem with joint grievance committees to find a solution. However, if the committee
also fails to redress the grievance, then it may be referred to chief executive. If the
chief executive also fails to redress the grievance, then such a grievance is referred to
voluntary arbitration where the award of arbitrator is binding on both the parties.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
The Second Labour Commission on Labour ((1969 ) has suggested a Model
grievance procedure that can be adopted to suit the requirement of specific
organisations.
The Six W's of Grievance Handling
1.WHO- Who is involved?
This might include the member's full name, employee's number, department,
job classification, pay rate, shift and seniority date(s) or other information for all
involved.
1.WHEN- When did it occur?
Try to identify the specific date, time or shift an incident took place. Or, you
might want to establish a chronology of events.
1.WHERE- Where did it occur?
The exact location where the incident occurred, on or off employer premises.
4.WHY- Why is this a grievance?
Contract language, work rules, policies or procedures, or laws that were violated.
5. WHAT- What kind of settlement do we want?
What does the grievant want? What is needed to restore the worker to the same
position if the injustice had not occurred? For example, if an employee was
discharged, the demands for settlement might be reinstatement with back pay and
benefits.
6. WITNESSES- Were there any witnesses?
Reach out to the individuals who may have seen or heard what took place.
Steps in Grievance Handling Procedure
1. Prompt Action
2.Identification of the Problem
3.Defining Correctly
4.Collection of Facts
5.Analysing and Solving the Cause of Grievance
6.Implementation and Follow up
Approach to Handling Grievances
•The problem solving approach has advantage over the formal legally –oriented
grievance procedure.
•It provides diagnostic data to the management about the state of affairs in the
workplace.
•It is also helpful in the development of a climate of trust, openness and mutual
concern between management and the employees
Legal Framework
•In May 1958 at its 16th session the Indian Labour Conference ( ILC ) formulated
the Code of Discipline which among others suggested a Model Grievance
Procedure (MGP ) for speedy disposal of worker’s grievances .
•The National Commission on Labour 1969 ( NCL ) took stock of the working of
MGP suggested by Code of Discipline. They endorsed the broad framework of
MGP and given interesting observations
•In 1982 The Industrial Dispute act 1947 was amended to include chapter IIB,
section 9 C concerning the reference of certain individual disputes to grievance
settlement.
•The Industrial Employment ( Standing Order ) Act 1946 clause 14 (3 ) of the Model
Standing Orders in Schedule 1 lists certain acts and omissions as misconduct.
Approaches to Dealing with Indiscipline
•Punitive approach
•Judicial Approach
•Humanistic Approach
Simplification of Labour Laws
•Creating a single window system under the common headlines/sets.
•Initially to start with reducing these to four sets of labour laws as following:
1. Laws governing terms and conditions of employment, which may
consolidate:
(a) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
(b) Industrial Employment (Standing Orders)
Act 1946
(c) Trade Unions Act. 1926
2. Laws governing wages, which may consolidate:
(a) Minimum Wages Act, 1948
(b) Payment of Wages Act, 1936
(c) Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
3. Laws governing welfare which may consolidate:
(a) Factories Act, 1948
(b) Shops and Establishments Act
(c) Maternity Benefits Act, 1961
(d) Employees’ Compensation Act, 1952 and
(e) Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970
4. Laws governing social security, which may consolidate:
(a) Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous
Provisions
Act, 1952
(b) Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
(c) Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
