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Introduction
Maintaining
quality of work life for its employees is an important concern for the any
organisation. The grievance handling procedure of the organisation can
affect the harmonious environment of the organisation. The
grievances of the employees are related to the contract, work rule or
regulation, policy or procedure, health and safety regulation, past
practice, changing the cultural norms unilaterally, individual
victimization, wage, bonus, etc. Here, the attitude on the part of
management in their effort to understand the problems of employees and
resolve the issues amicably have better probability to maintain a culture
of high performance. Managers must be educated about the importance of the
grievance process and their role in maintaining favorable relations with
the union. Effective grievance handling is an essential part of
cultivating good employee relations and running a fair, successful, and
productive workplace. Positive labor relations are two-way street both
sides must give a little and try to work together. Relationship building
is key to successful labor relations.
Precautions
and Prescriptions
The
management should take care of following aspects to develop a culture of
trust and confidence upon the employees.
1. Always ensure that the managers involved in the grievance handling
procedures have a quiet place to meet with the complainant.
2. Always ensure that managers have adequate time to be devoted to the
complainant.
3. Explain manager's role, the policy and the procedures clearly in the
grievance handling procedure.
4. Fully explaining the situation to the employee to eliminate any
misunderstanding and promote better acceptance of the situation complained
of.
5. Try to let employee present their issues without prejudging or
commenting
6. Do use a positive, friendly ways to resolve the crisis than punitive
steps, which disturb the system.
7. Do remain calm, cool, collected during the course of the meeting.
8. Always focus on the subject of the grievance than allied issues.
9. Don't make threats manage the grievances.
10. Never make use of allegations against personalities.
11. Be aware of the staff member's potential concerns to the possible
repercussions of raising a grievance.
12. Don't become angry, belligerent, or hostile during grievance handling
procedure.
13. Do listen for the main point of arguments and any possible avenue to
resolve the grievance.
14. Listen and respond sensitively to any distress exhibited by the
employees.
15. Eliminating the source of the irritation or discomfort being
complained of.
16. Reassure them that the managers will be acting impartially and that
your hope is to resolve the matter if possible.
17. Don't "horse trade" or swap one grievance for another (where
the union wins one, management wins one). Each case should be decided on
its merits.
18. Avoid usage of verbosisms like "it will be taken care
of."
19. Ensure effective, sensitive and confidential communication between all
involved.
20. Take all possible steps to ensure that no victimization occurs as a
result of the grievance being raised.
21. The investigator or decision maker acts impartially, which means they
must exclude themselves if there is any bias or conflict of interest.
22. All parties are heard and those who have had complaints made against
others are given an opportunity to respond.
23. Try to look upon the problem on different angles for appropriate
understanding.
24. Ensuring that there is proper investigation of the facts and figures
related the problem under concern.
25. Consider all relevant information in the investigation process.
26. Ask the staff member their preferred resolution option, although it is
important to make it clear that this may not be a possible outcome.
27. Be aware of the limits of authority of the person who involved in the
grievance handling procedures.
28. If the manager feels that he/she is not the appropriate person (senior
manager) to deal with the issue refer the complainant to the appropriate
person as soon as possible.
29. Try to get a better idea of whether the alleged discrimination or
harassment happened or didn't happen.
30. Tell them exactly what they are supposed to have done, to whom and
explain, why this may be seen as discrimination/harassment or as
inappropriate.
31. Grievances are preferably to be settled informally at the level of the
employee's immediate supervisor.
32. Try the level best to involve team members to resolve the crisis at
unit level itself.
33. Avoid as far as possible the union involvement in conflict resolution
situation process.
34. Follow documentation the procedures, of all necessary steps taken to
resolve the problem/complaint.
Conclusion
To a
great extend the aggravation of industrial problems depends on manager's
approaches and attitude in effective handling of employees grievances.
Care should be taken in the way managers approaches the problem and
perceiving the pros and cons of the situation. The conflict management
approaches include the win-win strategy that help in the healthy
organisational practices and which reflects the strong organisational
culture. The cooperation from both parties is the pre-requisite to handle
the problem and effective settlement of the grievances. Conscious use of
professional self can help managers in the conflict handling situations
grievance redressal process.
References
1.
European Trade Union Institute (1989) Collective Bargaining in Western
Europe
2. Ozaki (1987), 'Labour Relations in the Public Service,' IL Review, July
– Aug.
3. Schregle J (1991)'Workers Participation in Decisions Within
Undertaking' IL Review Jan – Feb.
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