3) Write a short note on internal leaders. 4) Briefly cliscuss the response of the trade i~nions in India to the changing

environment.

6.8 FURTHER READINGS Bliattaclinrjee , D. 1999. [)rgl~r~i,sed Lc~holrr ui~el Econoi~ri~~ L i b e ~ ' ~ ~ l i , s ~ / i o i ~ - Iiicliu:

Pus/ , Prc,seii/, L / I I L I I ~ L I / U I ~ ~ , Disci~ssioll paper, Labour and Society Programme; International Institute for Labour Stilclies. Geneva: International Labour Organisation.

IGNOU. 1993. "Leadership and Management in the Trade Unions", in MS-24, Block- 2, Unit-6. Ui~ioli A/li~re~ge~i~ai/ IIoie~~io~is, p ~ . 32-38. Josc, A. V. 2000. "The F u t ~ r e ol'the Laboi~r Movement: Some Observations on Developing Countries" in P~.oc.ceclii~gs (Vol. 3), 12"' ~Voiqlel C'oi7grc,ss c?j /lie Iiv/erno/ion~~I I~idus/rinl Rclcitio~is A.ssocia/ioii, held at Tokyo during May 29-June 2, 2000, pp.5 1-63. Ramaswamy E.A. 2002. hl~ii~~/,qii~illg HZIIIILIII RC.SOLII'CL:S : A C O ~ ~ / ~ ~ T I ~ U Y L I I : V Tcx/, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Sen, Ratna. 2003. Ii~clz~.s/rirr/ Rel~rtioi~.~ i i ~ hvdiei: LY/iiJiiti P L I I . N C / ~ ~ I ~ I S , Dellii: Macmillan India Llcl.

Sinha, P.R.N., I n c l ~ l Bala Sinha ancl Seema Priyadarsliini Selthar. 2004. Iiiclieli.i~~I R C I L I I ~ O ~ ~ S . 511eIe Uiiioii.~, L I I I ~ J L L I ~ O Z I Y Legtrl~i/io~~.s, Dellii: Pealmn Ecii~calion. Venkatc~ Ratnam, C. S. 2000. "NGOs and Trade Unions" in Venkata Ralnam, C. S. :uicl Pravin Sinha (Eds.), T Y L I ~ C U1iioi1 C'I~~iIleiiges u/ the Begi~uliiig [?f'/lie 21" C'en/~~iy, New Dellii: Indian Inclustrial Relations Association and Excel Boolts.

UNIT 7 MANAGERIAL UNIONISM

~ S t e r g o i ~ l g llirougli this unit, you slioulcl be ablc to ~~nderstand: the cvolntion ofmanagerial unionism in India;

o tlic 101) ~iianagemcnts' rc;lctions Lo managerial ~~nions ; Q llie l;lctors in i l~~encing lllc l'ormatioli oE~iia~iagcri:ll ~~l i io~is : allel

1I1c :~cli\/itics ol'lllc lnanngcrial L I I I ~ O I ~ S .

StrucLurc

7.1 I~i~roduclion

7.2 'I'lic Evol~~l ion ol'Ma~iagel.ial Unions i n India 7.3 Houndarics of'ManagcriaI Associations

7.4 Mnnagc~i~cnls ' lic;lctions to Managerial Associations

7.5 Why Mi~nagcrial llnio~iis~n'? 7 'I'lic Activities ~SManilgcrial IJnions , 7.7 Sunl~nal-y 7.8 Scll~Assessmcnl (,)~~cslions 7.9 F ~ ~ r l l l c ~ . licarlings

Managers antl:ol'licc~.s in India belonging to sucli clivcrse org:lnisalions as ma~luIhcIuri~ig cuterpriscs, commercial b:~nlts, insurance companies, researcli and c I~vc I~ j )~ i~~* l i t 1:11~0r:1tori~'s, clcct~~icity boards, trading corporations, ~ncrcliant navy and 1 lic civil scl-vice arc incrcasi ng bancling thcmsclves into collectivities of associations, which arc paining the uspccls of traclc unio~iism. 'The worcl 'mruiagcr' is not tlie only possible label li)r this diverse group ol'people. Inclusl~~y cliiploys 'nianagess', the civil scrvicc :lnd mcrclinnt navy have 'ol'licers', as clo the banks and insurance companies; ~.csct~rcli inslii~ltcs and lilhorntorics employ ' scientists anti tcclinologists', electsicity bo:~rcls allel scclio~is ofcolnmcrcial airlincs liave ' engineers'. Although called by cliP'ercnt nawes, ancl cloing vririedjobs, it is quitc clear tli:~t tliesc nien ancl womcn lin\lc :I gr.c:11 deal in comnion. 'l'liey belong to tlie liiglier ecliclons ol'orpanisatio~ial liicr:l~.cliy. 'l'licy are rliSSc~.cnt from the white-collar groups (sucli as clerlcs, drartsmen, technicians, salesmen ancl laboratory assistants whose lnslts are routine and repetitive, altliough lion-manual) and tlic bluc-collar cmployees (who are paid Sor exertion of pliysical cl'li)rt). l'licy may be simply be titled '//~anugel:s '. In Inclia, collcctiviticsl ~ ~ ' g a n i s n t i ~ n s of managers arc ~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ ~ l a r l y Icnown as 'officers' associations'. 'I'lic ofticcrs' associations as ~vell as trade unions exist to protect and aclvance llic work ilitercsts of theis nicmbers. As sucli. the tcrms 'association' and 'tracle union' can be usetl synony~nously. - 3 llic fill lowing sections cover the cvolution of managesi:il unions in Indiw, tlie reasons I'or tllc l i~r~nal ion oI'nianageriaI unions, ruid the activities of these unions.

7.2 THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGERIAL UNIONS IN INDIA

In I~lclia, no coherent chronological account is available ofthe evolution of managerial ~~nionism, rn~lcll less its spread or clensity. Organisations of managers appear to have been in existence for decades, with associations of merchant navy officers, airline pilots and flight engineers dating back to tlie period around Independence. Civil servants liave si~nilarly been organised for a long time. Mamkottam (1 989) believes tliat the first impetus for managerial ~~nionisation came from worlcers' ~~nions , with the first having been formed among supervisors and pronioted officers, who Ilad heen acc~~stomecl to ~~riionisation. But, with the phenomenal expansion in banking and insurance sector, and tlie massive investment in tlie public sector enterprises in the country d~~r ing tlie sixties, there was a spurt in the number of managerial ~111ions. TIILIS, perhaps there is allnost no p~~bl ic sector entesprise today whose managers are not organised. Tlie managerial union movement is reported to have grown and spread during the seventies, especially in the coal, steel, petrole~~m, engineering, cliemical, textile, electronics, banking and insurance industries. Managerial ~~nions, like trade ~~nions in general, suffered a minor setback towards tlic mid-seventies on acco~~nt of national emergency ( 1 975-77). I-lowever, immeclia~ely after lifting oftIielVationaI Emergency, managerial ~~nionism gained its momentum. In fact, d~~ring the Janata Government regime that followed the Emergency, several officers' associations were registered as unions ~ ~ n d e r tlie Trade Unions Act, 1926, and some oftlie~n were formally recog~iised by tlie top managements. I n 1978, the associations ofoff;cers in the p~~bl ic sector witnessed a rnajor shift in their clia~*acter and direction from a rather passive and lion-assertive stature to an active and assertive style. Many existing associatio~is merged during tliis period, thus consolidating tlie movement. This also led to a change in tlie relations between these associations and the management, which became more corclial i n general, tliougl~ bitterness continued in several cases. Together with consolidation, many senior level managers also began tojoin these associations. In the p~~blic sector, the ~iianagerial union ~novement e~iterecl a new phase i~i the eighties. 111 the year 1983, tlie National ConFederation of Officers' Associatio~is (NCOA) was formed mainly to protect tlie interests of the ofticers in tlie Central Public Sector Undertalcings (CPSUs). Tlie year 1983 witnessed another significant deveIop~nent in the managerial association movement. 111 tliat year, tlie Gover~ime~lt of India asked all the CPSUs that were following the Central Dearness Allowance (CDA) patter11 to switcli over to the Inclustrial Dearness Allowance (IDA) pattern. The officers' association ol' one of tlie 69 CPSUs affected by tliis decision of the Gover~iment filecl a case i n the S ~ ~ p r e ~ i i e Courl against tlie Government. Tlie clecision ofthe Governme~it regarding change of Dearness Allowa~ice pattern from CDA to IDA and the filing of a suit against it in tlie Supreme Court acted as a spur for the for~natio~i of officers' association not only in all affected CPSUs, but also in many others. Subsequently, in 1986, the officers' associatio~is of the 69 affected CPSUsjoi~ied hands to form a separate confederntio~l of associations of officers. Tlie econo~i~ic and industrial policies of the new Government that came to power in June 1991 have created pressures and insecurities for all public sector employees irlcluding officers. As such, the role of theNCOA lias become all the more important as well as challenging. Officers 1 managers of giant corporations lilce coal , steel, oil and power sector enterprises are not members of tlie NCOA, but they liave come closer to the NCOA through their respective industrial federations of officers 1 managers 1 executives after tlie introduction of tlie New Economic Policy in 199 1 .

A m:!io~ clcvelopment tliat occurred in June I992 was the formati011 of a new o ~ a n isa tion ca I led the Pr(?fi '~~ionul Workers ' Trade Union Cent18e ( P WTUC) to look after tlie inlercsts oftlie managerial and supervisory staff, officers and scientific wor1ce1.s. Among tlie major. o~.ganisations tliat liave joined together to form i:he PWTllC ase : All Indian Bank Officers' Confederation, NCOA, All India Life Insurance (Il-ficers' Association, National Confederation of General Insurance Corporation Officers' Associations, and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Scientific Worliers' Association. These l'ive organisations together represent about 4.5 lalil~ prol'essional workers. Thc most important ol?jcctive of tlie PWTUC is security of service 1'0s tlie managerial and supervisory staff. Tlie tleveloplnents occurring in !:he managerial union lYont in tlie public sector industsics hacl their. iliipact on tlie private sector. As a result, the private sector managers both i n the MNCs and tlie family-controllecl enterprises, have formed their associations. '1-lie inclustries in which managerial ~~n ions formed in tlie MNCs include pliarmaceuticals, engineering, chemicals, and consumer products (Glaxo, Guest Iceen Willia~ns, (;cnel.nl Electsic). Among Llie incligenously owned companies which have (,j.~iccrS- associations are: Grasim, 'Tnta Electric, Mafatlal Group, Icamanis, etc. 7'hc cstim;~lcs oI'lhc number of managerial associalions ant1 their membership even in the mid-eighties were a~.ouncl two li~~nclred ancl3,00,000 respectively. Tlie more intcnscly organised arc l>i~bIic xctor wliilc-collar l~~idcrlalci~igs like government cleoc~~.tmanls. banlis, insurance, clc. 'l'lic Slate Sanlc Ofiicers' Association was cstinlotctl Lo be about 50,000- strong.

7.3 BOUNDARIES OF MANAGERIAL ASSOCIATIONS I t is ~vohlemaLic to cletermine tlie limits ofassociz~tion constituency ofmanagesial associatio~ls in Iliclia. Ramaswanly ( 1985) clescl.ibes tlie bou~ldaries of managerial associatio~ls with tile caveat that liis clescription presenlsonly ageneral picture ofthe bounclal.ies o.fa typical managerial association, ancl, as sucli, vast clif'fcrences do exist in rlle m~uiagerial association bounclaries in clifferent organisations oreven in different cnlerprises williin tlie sanle inclustry.

According to Ramaswamy, at the bcrse the managerial associations take up from wliel-e white-coI lar clcrical and staff unions stop. At the (ipex, the managerial associations \vo~~ld evicle~ltly leave out the top layer ofmanagers who may notjoin, or be acceptable to tlic associations. What lies in between these two points is c~.s.socir~tion territory.

pex (where top layer of managers are left out)

Base (where white-collar clerical and staff unions stop)

Figure 7.1: Mi~nagerinl Associatioil Territory.

If we turn OLIS nttelitio~l to the differences in the boundaries of the managerial associations in clifferent organisa1:ions / inclustries, we may notice white-collar workers (at the base) teami~ig up with managers in some banks. Si~iiilarly, at tlie apex tlie reach o.fthe managerial association varies fsom one organisation to another. In some co~nme~-cia1 banks, association me?nbersliip normally stops at the Regional Manager,

Mnnngerial Unionism

wliicli is a middle management position. Officers ofthe level oi'the Assistant or Dep~~ty General Manager \vo~lld normally Iceep out. In the Life Ins~~rance Corporstion, tlie membership extencls a little fill-tlier, with tlie Zonal Managers also .joining the associntioll. 'The steel plants and coal mines probably represent the ~~Iti~iiate, with tlie association membership reaching right LIP to the level ol'Cjenera1 Ma~iagcr.

7.4 MANAGEMENTS' REACTIONS TO MANAGERIAL ASSOCIATIONS

- - - - --

I ) Managements' rcsponse to officers' / managers' associations in p ~ ~ b l i c sector have varied over time, l'lie initial response i n almost all cases was oue of antagonism ancl liostility (res~~lting eitliel. in clismissal or transfer ol'activists, wliicli conlinued till tlie mid-seventies). I-lowever, in tlie late-seventies i.e. in the Post-Emergency period there was a clialige in tlie a t t i t~~de of the managements towards managci.ial nssocintions. I n most cascs, tliese associations wcre accepted as so~tiething to be toleratecl. Tlius, tlie earlicl- hostility gave way to a new relationsliip based on a mixture oS love and hate.

2) As tlie Iiianngcliients started dealing with tlie managerial associations, they discovered that the association ofoflicers / managers is not an evil force. As such, many of them gave l i e ~ L I C / O rccog~ii t io~~ to tliese associations and n worlcing relationship got establislicd between managements and managerial associations. A few c~iliglitencd employees sllecl their inhibitions and gave formal recognition to tlieil.oSficers' / 11ianage1,s' associations fortlie purpose of liavi~ig tlisc~~ssioris/ co~is~~l ta t io~i in respect of issues s ~ ~ c l i as salaries ;lncl benefits. Examples are: HAL, SAIL,, BHEL, HMT. IOC, IPCL, I-lindustan Cablcs, Indian Airlines, ancl Air India.

3) In the private sector, the attitucle ol'the top management towartls tlie managerial associations was in general hostile till early nineties. Many private sector organisations mercilessly sacked tlie ol'ficer activists. Altliough the ~iianagerial associations do continue to exist in this sector, reportedly, they are not quite co~iifo~-table with ilieir top nlnnilgements.

4.5 WRY MANAGERIAL UNIONISM? Some of tlie major causes for the formation of managerial unions in India are:

1) Narrowing Wage Differentials There is a wiclc-spl-eacl feeling among tlie managers that compared to unionisecl cadre of worlcmen they are gettinga raw deal from their elnployers in terms of rem~~~ierat ion. They complain about the narrowing differentials between the elnol~~ments of- j~~nior officers and the wages of the senior workmen. This feeling of relative cleprivationl comparison Ilas contributed significantly to tlie elnergence of managerial unionism. The managers hope that collectively tliey can exert enough pressure on the management to give them a colllparable salary hilee whenever worlcers' wages are raised.

2 ) Loss of Identity Lilce worlters, managers too experience a loss of power, a facelessness among tlie changes alicl reorgallisation of enterprises in the lnoder~i world. Many managers, especially, the jul~ior ones have little access to information pertaining to the company.

3) Job Insecurity While one ol'tlie liardesl things in Indian ind~~stry is LO terminate !lie services of a \vorker, it is not very clil'ficult to r.emovc Llie managers from tlieirjobs. Eve11 in the ~ ~ l b l i c sector. 1 l i c j ~ ~ n i o r and midclle level malingers do not have tlie job security. [Jliclcr tlie Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the \vo~-kmen c~ijoyjob security; and they are elltitlet1 to: a) l.ny-ol~~'compensatio~i, if laid-off; 11) retrenclimenl compensation, if retrcncliccl : ancl c ) some sort ofstatutory cornpens;ltion iu case the establishment is closccl clo\v~io~. its o\v~lersliip is tra~isferrcd. The managerial employees are not entitled to sucli secutaity and benclits. I f a worl,nian is terminated l'rom service or suspended or retl-enclied, liis dispute connectccl to [his issue will be treated as industrial clisputc. 011 tlie other hand, iftlie service 01.a ~nnnagerial employee is tcrminatecl, lie cannot raise an industrial dispute. The job security issue is, therefore, one oStJie major causes for the formation of ~iianagerial ~ ~ n i o n s .

4) Pcl.ccivctl Neecl for Protection from Mi1it:lnt Trade Unionism As the junior ancl the ~iiidclle level managers are resl~onsible for translating managerial decisions into action, tliey are in tlic clirect line o f ~ ~ n i o n fire. The unionised worlinie~i and stall'could make it cliftjcult for the managers to talce work from them due to their ~~nions ' sul1po1.t and tlie protection they e~i~joy l'rom labour legislation. Because ofthis the managcrs are unccrlain as to how to go about witli tlie ~~nionised labour. If tlie young manager clecicles to charge-sheet an oll'enclcr, his boss may drop the charge on grouncls ol'cxl)ccliency (clue to tlic plessurcs from the ~~nions) . Laxity on liis part, might on the otlicr li:~ncl, cvolie tlic comment that lie is not sul'l?ciently t?rm. As such, !lie mitlrlle ranlcs oFm:uiagers seem convinced that tliey cannot count on support i'rom ahovc wil I1 rcgnrcl to the L I I I ~ O I ~ S eve11 wlie~i tliey have acted in goocl Ihilli towards tlie organisalion,

'rhc bureaucratic culture which cliaracterises tlie working environment of all public enterprises is anotlicr factor contributing to tlie emergence of managerial ~~nionism. In these organisations, tlit.j~inior ancl tlie midclle level managers feel lost, as tliedccisioris are taken unilaterally by tlie liiglier authorities or concerned Ministries. It is to make tlicir presence lblt ancl to liavc some say in matters afi'ecting them that these managers I oI'['iccrs arc organising ancl Ihrming their associations.

6) Abscncc of I'i~rticipative Forum The government ancl tlie manngements who are so concernecl with the worl

Tradc II~iio~~ism though there is no explicit co~npulsion. Another colnmon practice is to attack the problem of stagnation tllro~~gh a change of designation while letting the job itself unchanged. These 'promotee officers' have often bee11 in the forefront of association formation. These e~nployees find it difficult to reconcile to the loss of power they have experienced as union activists and members, and association formation natura'l ly comes to them. However, the promotion polices in some organisations have a flip- side-discrimination in promotion processes; promotions not based on merit etc. Thus, the promotion or lack of it or discrimination in the promotion process has been a major source of dissatisfactio~l among managers, pal-titularly. p ~ ~ b l i c sector Inanagers. All this justifies the for~nation of managerial associations. 8) To be a Third Force between the Working Class and the Management Being denied the protection of labour laws, and the privilege of a real manager, the junior and middle level managers havegolle for the only option left to them, illat is, the formation ofthe officers' associations. They would not like to be considered as part and parcel of either of the working class or the management, but as a 'third force' bctween these two gl-OLI~S.

Activity A What is youropi~iio~l about managerial unions, wlietlier these unions are requircd or not req~~ired? If yes, why. If not, why not, s~~bstantiate your stand supportecl by reasons.

7.6 THE ACTIVITIES OF MANAGERIAL UNIONS The activities of managerial associations reflect the character and personality of managerial ~~nionism. The day-toiday activities ofmanagerial activities may be categorised as: a) protection, preservation, and improvement of occupational interests; b) welfare activities; c) organisatiorlal interests; and d) channel of con~~nunication.

a) PI-otection, Preservation and Illlprovemel~t of Occupational Interests The main thrust of managerial associations is on protection, preservation and improve~llent ofthe occupational interests of their members, which include, alnong other things, opportunities for promotions, pay revision, grievance redsessal, improvemeiit ofworl

of tl .~l~tS, ~ 0 1 lecli011 of a certain amoullt as part of managerial associatioll Managerial Unionism and financing the same for a Group Insurance Scheme of the Life

Ins~ll.ance Corporation. etc.

c) Orgi~nisational Interests One of the impo~tant activities of managerial associations is to suppleme~ittlie efforts ~ f t ] l e management that are aimed at professional develop~nent of managers, by way of organising seminars, and tallts 011 various topics. Another important activity is to help the inanagewent in improving the productivity of tlie organisation.

d) Clli~l~l~cl of Communication Managerial associations are proving to be an effective channel of communication in their respective eslablisliments. By raising tlic concerns of officers before the management and by presenting tlic views of tlie management to the officers (members), a managerial association operates Iilte a bridge for two-way communication.

Activity I3

Briefly cliscuss Ihc activities of managerial unions and how these ~~n ions are being ~ ~ s e d for improving cmploymc~~t relations in your organisation or any orpnisation you are familiar ~ii t l i .

7.7 SUMMARY In this unil, we have ol~tlinctl the evol~~t io~i o1'1iianagel.ial unions in India. We have attempted to givc n gcncrnl picture of the boundaries of a typicill manngcrial association. Wc liavc briclly clescribed the manage~nents' reactions to tlie milnagerial associalions. We have cxamincd tlic main causes for tlie formation ofmanagerial ~~nions. We have given s b~~icl'account oft lie activities of the managerial associatio~~s in genera I.

7.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT QLTESTIONS 1) Who are managers? Ou[:line the evolution c~fmanagerial unions in India. 2 ) Briefly discuss tlie 'fi~ctors influencing the formation ol'manngerial unions. 3) Give a brief account ofthe various ilctivities ofa managesial association with

which you are .fami liar. 4) "The general reaction of~i~anagements towards managerial associations in India

is one of antagonism". Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer. 5 ) Distinguish between the wo~.kers' trade unions and managerial trade unions.

Trade Unionism 7.9 FURTHER READINGS IGNOU. 1993. MS-24, Block-2, Unit-7. "White-collar and Managerial Trade Unions", pp. 39-49(~arch'2004 Reprint). Mamkottam, Kuriakose. 1989. "Emergences of Managerial Unionism in India", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol; XIV, No. 43. Ramaswamy, E.A. 1985. "Managerial Trade Unionism", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XX,No. 21, pp. M-75-M-88. Ramaswamy, E.A. 1986. Worker Consciozaness and Trade Unions, New Dellii: Oxford University Press. Sen, Ratna. 2003. Indz~strial Relations in India: Shifring Paradigms, Dellii: Mamillan India Ltd. Shar~na, Baldev R. 1993. Managerial Unionis~lz: Issues ilz Perspective, New Delhi: Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.

UNIT 8 EMPLOYERS' ORGANISATIONS Objectives After going thl-ough this unit, you should be familiar with:

. tlie origin and growth ofemployers' organisations in India;

e tlle structure of employers' organisations;

e the ai11ls and ol?iectives ofemployers' organisations ;

e tlie h~nctions ofemployers' organisations; and the role of employers' organisations in employment relations.

Structure Introduction 01-igin ant1 Growth of Employers' Organisations Stri~cti~re of Employers' Organisations Aims and Ob-iects of Employers' Organisations Functions of Employers' Organisations Membership, Organisation Stri~cturc and Functioning of Employers' Organisations in India Legal Status of Employers' Organisations

Observalions ol'the First Nntional Commission on Labour on Employers' Organisations Summary ScI 1'-Assess~nent Questions FUI-tlier Read ings

8.1 INTRODUCTION While \ Y ~ ~ I < C ~ S get togclhcr for-joint action through a union, an employer is in many cascs a n organisation in l~imsell'ancl mects the i~nion on equal temls. At the same time, employers Fincl themselves in furtherance of common ob.jectives of evolving attitudes to labour or approaclles Lo national policies, as also for standardisation of wages and other conclitions ol'cmployment in an industry within a local area (National Commission on Labour: 1 969). Thus, Employers' Organisations (EOs) are for~nal groups of cmployers set LIP to clefencl, represent or aclvise affiliated employers and to strengthen their position in society at large with ~~espect to labour matters besides economic malters. While trade unions, which are composed ~Findividual persons, employers' organisations are composecl of enterprises. Nevertheless, the Trade Unions Act, 1926 i~icludcs in its purview both associations orworkers and employers.

8.2 ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF EMPLOYERS' ORGANISATIONS

The first employers' association in the for111 of the Chamber of Commerce was established in Marseilles in France in 1599. Such chambers arc voluntary