IIPM

Desk Project On
Study of the model of grievance redressal in the Indian Railways

Subject: Industrial Relation

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Prof. Robin Thomas IIPM,Ahemedabad. Bhavin Rayka FW/9-11/ISBE/FIN

INTRODUCTION OF GRIEVANCE

Grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction that affects organizational performance. As such it can be stated or unvoiced, written or oral, legitimate or ridiculous .If the dissatisfaction of employees goes unattended or the conditions causing it are not corrected, the irritation is likely to increase and lead to unfavourable attitude towards th e management and unhealthy relations in the organization. The formal mechanism for dealing with such workers dissatisfaction is called grievance procedure.

Causes for Grievance

Grievance may arise due to the following reasons :

1. Grievance arising out of working condition: Poor physical work of work place. Very tight production standards. Non availability of proper tools and machines. Unplanned changes in schedules and procedures. Failure to maintain proper discipline. Mismatch of the worker with the job. Poor relationship with the supervisor.

2. Grievance arising from Management policy: Wages rate and method of wage payment. Overtime and incentive schemes. Seniority. Transfers. Promotion, demotion and discharge. Lack of opportunities for career growth. Penalties imposed for misconduct. Leave. Hostility towards trade unions.

3. Grievance arising from Alleged Violation of: The collective bargaining agreement. Company rules and regulations. Past practice. Central or State Laws. Responsibility of management

4. Grievance arising out of Personal Maladjustment: Over-ambition. Excessive self esteem. Impractical attitude to life.

EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE

Every employee has certain expectations, which he thinks must be fulfilled by the organization he is working for. When the organization fails to do this, he develops a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction. When an employee feels that something is unfair in the organization, he is said to have a grievance.

According to Julius,

a grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or, even feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable.

The best approach towards grievance is to anticipate them and take steps to tackle them before the grievances assume dangerous proportions. Any ordinary manager redresses grievances as and when they arise. An excellent manager anticipates and prevents them.

Managers can know and understand grievance with the help of the following methods:

1. Exit Interview. An interview of every employee who quits the organization can reveal employee grievances. Most of the employees quit the company due to some dissatisfaction. Great amount of care and empathy is necessary for a successful exist interview.

2. Opinion Surveys. A survey may be conducted to elicit the opinion of employees regarding the organisation and its management. Group meetings,interviews with workers and collective bargaining sessions are also helpful in knowing employee discontent before it becomes a grievance.

3. Gripe Boxes. In these boxes employees can drop there complaints. There are different from the suggestions boxes in which employees drop their suggestion with their names written on them.

4. Open Door Policy. It implies a general invitation to the employees to informally drop in the managers room any time and talk over their grievances. This policy is useful in keeping touch with employees feelings.

But it suffers from the following limitations:

(a) This policy is workable only in very small organizations. In big organizations, top managers do not have the time to meet the large numbers of employees daily.

(b)Under this policy the front line superior is bypassed. He should first of all know the grievance of his subordinate.

(c) This policy does not permit the top management to assess a superiors skill in handling grievance.

(d)Top management is not familiar with the work situation in which the grievance developed. It cannot, therefore, correctly evaluate the information provided by the aggrieved employee.

(e) Lower level employees hesitate to enter the room of a top manager and speak freely. In large organization, management by, walking around might be preferable to open door policy. In this system the managers walks through the employees, observes them and if necessary listen to their problems.

How to handle a grievance?

Do -Investigate and handle each and every case as though it may eventually result in an arbitration hearing. -Talk with the employee about his or her grievance; give the person a good and full hearing. -Require the union to identify specific contractual provisions allegedly violated. -Comply with the contractual time limits of the company for handling the grievance. -Visit the work area of the grievance. -Determine whether there were any witnesses. -Examine the grievants personnel records. -Treat the union representative as your equal. -Hold your grievance discussion privately. -Fully inform your own supervisor of grievance matters. Dont

-Discuss the case with the union steward alone- the grievant should definitely by there. -Make arrangements with individual employees that are inconsistent with the labour agreement. -Hold back the remedy if the company is wrong. -Admit to the binding effect of a past practice. -Relinquish to the union your rights as a manager. -Settle grievance in the basis of what is fair. Instead, stick of the labour agreement, which should be your only standard. -Bargain over items not covered by the contract. -Treat as subject to arbitration claims demanding the discipline or discharge of managers. -Give long, written grievance answers. -Trade a grievance settlement for a grievance withdraw. -Deny grievances on the premise that your hands have been tied by management. -Agree to informal amendments in the contract.

PROCEDURE OF REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCE

Grievance Redress Procedure

Every organization requires a permanent procedure for handling employee grievance. Grievance handling procedure is a formal process of settling grievance and it usually consists of a number of steps arranged in a hierarchy.

The number of these steps may vary with size of the organization. In small organizations, grievance procedure may consist of only two steps while in big organizations there may be five or six steps.

As shown in the figure, the front line supervisor is given the first opportunity to handle grievances. If the company is unionized, a representative of the trade union also joins the supervisor in handling the grievance. This step is essential for preserving the supervisors authority. But all grievances cannot be settled here because they may be beyond the authority and competence of the supervisor. In the second step, the human resource officer or some middle level executive along with a high level union officer attempt to tackle the grievance. In the third step, the top management and top union leader sit together to settle grievances involving companywide issues. If the grievance remains unsettled it is referred to an outside arbitrator for redressal.

Advantage of a Grievance Procedure

Grievances are natural in any organization. These should be solved as early as possible; otherwise they can create serious problems for the organizations, the industry and society. A systematic procedure should, therefore, be developed to settle all grievances. Such a procedure provides the following benefits: It brings grievances into the open so that management can know them and take necessary action to settle them. It helps in preventing grievances from assuming dangerous proportion. Management can solve a grievance before it becomes a dispute. It is an orderly and expeditious means for redressal of grievances. It enables the management to know the attitudes and feelings of employee concerning the policies, rules and practices of the organization. It provides the workers a formal opportunity for expressing their fears, anxiety and dissatisfaction. Such release of emotions helps to improve the morale and productivity of employees. It helps to maintain cordial relations in the industry. It brings uniformity in the handling of grievances. It also stimulates confidence in employees and builds a sense of security among them. It enables both the parties to settle the grievances to their mutual satisfaction. It serves as a check upon arbitrary and biased action on the part of management. Managers know that their actions can be reviewed and challenged and, therefore, become more careful.

Essentials of a Sound Grievance Procedure

1. Legal Sanctity. The procedure should be in conformity with the existing law. It should be designed to supplement the statutory provisions. Wherever possible, the procedure should make use of the machinery provided under legislation. The procedure may be incorporated in the standing orders or collective bargaining agreement of the organization.

2. Acceptability. The grievance procedure must be acceptable to all and should, therefore be developed with mutual consultation among management, workers and the union. In order to be generally acceptable, the procedure must ensure:

(a) A sense of fair play and justice to workers; (b) Reasonable exercise of authority to managers; and (c) Reasonable participation to the union.

3. Promptness. The grievance procedure must aim at speedy redressal of grievances. This can be ensured in the following ways:

(a)As far as possible the grievance should be settled at the lowest level; (b)There should be only one appeal; (c) Time limits should be prescribed and rigidly enforced at each level; (d)Different types of grievances may be referred to appropriate authorities.

1. Simplicity. The procedure should consist of as few steps as possible. Channels for handling grievances should be carefully developed. Employees

must know the officers to be contacted at each level. Information about the procedure should be communicated to the employees.

2. Training. Supervisors and unions representatives should be given training in grievance handling. This will help to ensure effective working of the grievance procedure.

3. Follow-up. The working of the grievance procedure should be reviewed at periodical intervals. Necessary improvements should be made to make the procedure more effective.

What is the Public Grivance Redresal Machinery? Being a customers-oriented establishment, South Central Railway has its own Public Grievance Redressal Machinery, which has been constituted to receive, process and take remedial action on all complaints received from passengers. Heading this organization is the Director, Public Grievance, who is also the Addl. General Manager. Assisting him is the Secretary, Public Grievances at the Zonal Headquarters level at Secunderabad. To ensure smooth functioning of the Public Grievance Redressed Machinery at the Division Level, each of the five Divisional Headquarters of South Central Railway has a Chairman heading the Public Grievance Unit, who is also the Additional Divisional Railway Manager.

How to lodge a Complaint 1. You can record it in the Complaints Book that is easily available at any station. You can also find the Complaints Book at: * Out Agencies* Parcel Offices

* Town Booking Offices*Enquiry/Reservation Offices * Major Goods Sheds* Refreshment Rooms

These are also available on trains,in Pantry Cars, Airconditioned Coaches and with the Guards of all passenger carrying trains,excluding suburban trains.
2.

The system of lodging a complaint at major Railway Stations over South Central Railway has been computerized . This facilitates faster communication and quicker solution to the problems of Rail user. The computers installed at various locations are interconnected with the Divisional and Zonal Headquarters.

3.

You can mail your complaint to : Director ,Public Grievances Secretary,Public Grivances Addl. General ManagerSouth Central Railway South Central RailwayHeadquarters Office Headquarters OfficeRail Nilayam Rail NilayamSecunderabad-500071 Secunderabad-500071Tel: 7830098 Tel: 7824216

4.

You can fax your complaint to : 040-7824216

5. You can write to the Divisonal HeadquartersOffices of South Central Railway.

These offices are at Secunderabad ,Hyderabad,Vijayawada ,Guntakal, Guntur and Nanded. Address your complaints to : The Addl. Divisional Railway Manager at the respective Divisional Headquarters.

Lodging a Complaint. Does it really help? Yes, of course! Every complaint received is registered acknowledge and responded to, promptly. A detailed investigation will be done before the complainant is addressed. You can be rest assured that corrective action will be taken on your complaint. This will not only help you, but also prevent recurrence of such lapses.Inthe process ,the Public Grievance Redressal Machinery acts as a Public Response System,giving us feedback to help us serve your better.

MONITORING CELLS South Central Railway has set up Special Monitoring Cells to provide better Railway services. These Monitoring Cells, have been set up at south Central Railway Headquarters and Divisional Headquarters. You can report your problems regarding Catering, Passenger amenities, cleanliness and late running of trains, either to the Zonal Monitoring Cells or the Divisional Monitoring Cells. Senior officials have been nominated as Nodal Officers to look into passenger complaints and supervisor the functioning of Monitoring Cells. Complaints of a serious nature can be brought to their direct notice if the passengers so desire. Passengers may contact the Monitoring Cells for general suggestions and problems.

Nodalofficers nominated for the above cells

PassengerChiefCommercial Manager Amenity and(Passenger Services) Cleanliness Cell*Tel.040-7830736 e-mail:ccmps@scr.railnet.gov.in Chief Medical Director *Tel.040-7821373 e-mail:cmd@scr.railnet.gov.in