COMPLAINTS AND GREIVANCES

COMPLAINTS
It is a spoken or written dissatisfaction that disturbs the worker enough to cause a
negative reaction to be brought to attention of the supervisor or management.
GREIVANCES
It may be defined as any dissatisfaction, complaint, irritation, or misunderstanding of
employee arising from his job, or his relationship with his employer, any violation of the
CBA(Collective Bargaining Agreement) or the Labour code that he thinks or feels he is
wronged or treated unfairly.
Refers to a complaint in writing which is, in the first instance and in employee’s opinion,
has been ignored, overridden or dropped without due consideration.

KINDS OF COMPLAINANTS
1. The petty gossiper or intriguer
He is a type of a person who presents complaints without foundation in fact.
2. The rebel without a cause
These are the complainants who rightly or wrongly feel they are always victims of
an inequity.
3. The champions of the oppressed
These are the outspoken members of the group who feel that they have to take up
the cudgels for others.
4. The thinkers
These complainants are so called because they do not the courage to come out to
present their complaints unless they have reach a point of great emotional strain.
5. The average complainants
The average complainant as a general rule takes careful evaluation of the situation
before he makes the complaint.

NATURE OF GREIVANCES
a. Individual Differences
 Individuals differ in physical and mental heritage, educational and work
experiences, social environment and economic circumstances. These differences
influence their attitudes, behaviour, and reaction to events in their day-to-day relations, at
their jobs, with their supervisors and co-workers. How they interpret and understand
company policies and practices may differ from what management really intends because
of these differences in their individual backgrounds, their outlook in life, and attitudes.
An aggrieved employee is less productive employee and his performance can
adversely affect the overall efficiency of his unit.
The key to handling grievances is listening and opening the door of
communication. He should be helped to feel that no ill-will is created by his telling what
he has in mind.
b. Attitudes of Supervisor
One of the major responsibilities of supervisor is to discover and settle complaints
and grievances. He should be alert to correct unsatisfactory conditions or situations
before grievances develop. The smart supervisor should welcome and listen to
complaints. He should not take a hostile attitude toward an employee and brands him as a
trouble maker. This discourages employees from airing their gripes and forces them to
keep their feelings to themselves, thereby causing employee to accumulate and lower
personal morale.

CLASSIFICATION OF GREIVANCES
a. Open grievance
It is much easier to deal with an open grievance than a hidden one because the
heart of the problem is laid bare an an immediate solution can be taken.
b. Hidden grievance
It is harder to deal with hidden grievance because it manifests itself only through
symptoms which are sometimes vague and whose causes are difficult to trace.
c. Work-related grievance
Oftentimes, grievances stem from failure of the employees to discharge the duties
assigned to them or gain personal satisfaction in performing them.
d. Non-work related grievance
 There are some individuals who get dissatisfied not because of their jobs or of
their employer but because of personal problems which they are unable to solve.
e. Valid grievance
A grievance is said to be a valid one if it has some relevance to or connection with
the work or with the relationship between the employee and his employer.
f. Imagined grievance
Some grievances are a nuisance in nature and are manifested only for the purpose
of getting attention.

CAUSES OF GRIEVANCES
Grievances usually arise from failure of the employee to derive satisfaction from his job,
from a threat to his security on the job, from failure of the supervisor to understand him, or from
the employee`s mental or emotional maladjustment.
Causes:
1. Application and interpretation of the collection bargaining agreement
Where a collective bargaining agreement exists, grievances frequently arise from the
interpretation, application, and administration of its provision. Some labor contracts, in fact, limit
the scope of grievances to those arising from the interpretation, application, and administration
of their provisions.
2. Absence of a clear-cut company labor policy
May cause some confusion or misunderstanding on the part of the employees, especially
when there is no union in the company and no effective employer-employees channels of
communication exist
3. Ineffective or inadequate supervision
Grievances generally arise from poor supervision, poor planning of schedules or
assignments, employees lack of confidence in their supervisors because lack of leadership
ability, discrimination of unfair treatment.
4. Inadequate communication
Problems and conflicts between workers and supervisors or among co-workers are almost
invariably traceable to failure in communication.
5. Personal Problem
 Grievances are also caused by personal problems of employees outside the firm, such as
family problems, financial difficulties, vices, bad living habits and personal relationship with
others.
6. Union inspired grievances
Employees sometimes bring up grievances because of union prodding. Although the
grievance may be a minor one, the union generally makes a big issue of it.
Reasons why a union may take such an attitude are:
A. As a test of union strength against management
B. As a morale booster for union support and membership
C. As an election gimmick
D. As a test of union leadership
7. Improper selection and placement
An employee is likely to be dissatisfied if he is misplaced in his job, either because his
duties and responsibilities are too difficult for him or because the job is too low for his ability,
training and experience.
8. Lack of orientation or training of new employees
Orientation of new employees is the first step in making the employee understand his
relationship with the company, his supervisor, and his fellow workers.
9. Favoritism
Discrimination against workers results in grievances.
10. Poor organization structure
A good organization structure is not a guarantee that no grievance will ever occur, but a
poor organizational structure will surely be a cause for inefficiency and grievance.
11. Poor systems and Procedures
When systems and procedures are not well integrated, congestion, backtracking,
bottlenecks and possible relations conflicts will occur and cause employees gripes.
12. Lack of appropriate facilities
If supervisors want their employees to turn out good work, they should provide their
employees with the proper facilities or equipment to use.
13. Improper implementation of policies
 Not only must policies be proper and appropriate, but they must also be administered in
such a way that they produce positive results and not resentment among the employees.

INVESTIGATING THE GRIEVANCE

Investigating a grievance involves three phases:
1. The background
2. The subject of the grievance
3. The solution or settlement

METHODS OF SETTLING GRIEVANCES

Some of the methods used in dealing with grievances are:
1. By supervisors assuming an autocratic attitude, imposing his opinion, and disregarding the
grievance.
2. By the human relations approach and counseling which regards the grievance as an
opportunity to help the employees.
3. By the legalistic approach, applying strictly the provisions of law or the company policy or
rule.
4. By the corrective action of removing the cause of the grievance.
5. By compromise.
6. By formal method of submitting the matter to the grievance procedure set by the companyand
the union, observing the prescribed steps.
7. By submitting the grievance directly to voluntary arbitration.

The Supervisor`s Role: Guidelines in Handling Grievances

The main objective in handling grievances is to give every employee a chance to explain
and discuss his problem, and arrive at a fair an prompt solution with or without union
intervention.
The following guidelines will prove helpful in discharging this function effectively:
1. Accept the responsibility for handling the grievance
2. Listen to the complaint.
3. Get all the facts.
4. Know your employees
5. Study the settlement desired
6. Supervisors should know the company policy and regulations, union agreement, and the labor
code
7. Communicate the facts to your superior
8. Make you decision and take action promptly
9. Keep records of all grievance
10. Follow-up

Personnel Manager`s Role

Personnel manager should furnish the supervisor with any information relevant to the
problem, such as how similar problems were settled in the other departments of the company, or
if there are no precedents in the company, what others companies in the industry.

Union Responsibility in Handling Grievances

A union officer also has an important responsibility in the handling of grievances. He
must able to recognize the difference between a valid grievance and an unjustified one and how
to refuse to take up the case of an employee gracefully if he finds it not meritorious.

The Role of Management in Minimizing Grievances

Management should accept certain responsibilities which include:
1. A definite plan for handling grievances in the organization
2. Simple, clear-cut and concise grievance procedure communicated to all levels of personnel
3. Strong, responsible management in handling personnel problem
4. Careful selection and placement
5. Effective training of supervisors and employees
6. Right attitude toward the aggrieved party and his gripes
7. Fairness in the settlement of grievance
8. Employee counseling
 Company Policies on Complaints and Grievances

Example of company policies

If you have a personal problem, you are cordially invited to discuss it with the Personnel
Counselor in the Personnel Department. He is a capable, friendly, and sympathetic confidant. He
is sincerely desirous of helping you solve your problem. We assure you that any discussion you
may have will be treated in strictest confidence and will have no effect on your service record.

Grievance Procedure

Defined as an orderly process whereby the employer, the employee, and the union present to
each other a complaint or dissatisfaction, in the hope of getting it settled quickly.

Grievance machinery which lays down a formal process for settling complaints and stresses
an employee’s right to air his gripes and expect redress, is one of the chief tools to employee
relations.

In all cases, grievances require fair, open minded, and considerate treatment;

1. By the foreman, supervisor or department manager concerned

2. By the personnel manager, or industrial relations director

3. By the management

Steps in a Grievance procedure

Step 1- Presentation by the employee of problems to the foreman or supervisor who would listen
to the employee and record the facts of the problem. The supervisor should settle the problem
within three (3) days.

Step 2- Discussion of the problem between the employee, the supervisor, and the department
manager takes place. If no satisfactory solution within seven (7) days.

Step 3- Discussion of problem between the supervisors, the department manage, the complaint,
and the top management (president or general manager). If no satisfactory solution within ten
(10) days.
Step 4-The problem or case may be taken to arbitration for final decision.

Voluntary Arbitration (VA)

Represents the final stage in the dispute resolution process.

All grievances submitted to the grievance machinery which are not settled within specified
period from the date of its submission are, under the Labor Code, automatically referred to a
voluntary arbitrator or panel of arbitrators specified in the collective bargaining agreements.

Factors determining the cost of voluntary arbitration are the following:

A.) nature of cases

B.) time consumed in hearing the case

C.) Professional standing of voluntary arbitrator

D.) Capacity to pay of the parties,

E.) fees provided for in the Revised Rules of Court

Schedule of fees which parties can use in the absence of agreement on the VA fee:

A. Collective bargaining deadlock- from P5,000 to P10,000

B. Disciplinary actions - from P3,000 to P5,000 (in condition to to this the cost would include
P500, which is the equivalent of one hearing for the preparation of the award/decision)

C. Contract interpretation- from P3,000 to P5,000.

MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 1

COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES

(Topic)

KENNY T. CABUGAO
(Leader)

GENE AILEEN A. CUBELO

JUNVY ABORDO
(Members)

BS ACCOUNTANCY 1 - C
PROF. ROSSANE TAN