GRIEVANCE MANAGEMENT

MEANING AND CONTENT

Grievance can be defined as any discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the organization. When a complaint remains unattended and the employee concerned feels a lack of justice and fair play, then the dissatisfaction grows and assumes a status of grievance. The concept grievance', has been variously defined by different authorities.

According to Prof. Jucius, Any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether

expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company that an employee thinks, believes, or even feels is unfair, unjust or inequitable".

According to Keith Davis, It is "any real or imagined feeling of personal

injustice which an employee has concerning his employment relationship."

According to Beach, "any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice m

connection with one's employment situation that is brought to the notice of the management.

The International Labor Organization defines grievance as "a

complaint one or more workers in respect of wages, allowances , conditions of work and interpretation of service stipulations, covering such areas as overtime leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, job assignment and termination of service."
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In the opinion of the National Commission on Labour, "complaints affecting one or more individual workers in respect of wage payments, overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, work assignment and discharges constitute grievances.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GRIEVANCES
Some noticeable features of grievance are as follows: i) A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with an aspect of the organization. ii) The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not due to personal or family problems. iii) A grievance may be written or verbal. iv) A grievance may be voiced or unvoiced. v) A grievance may be valid or invalid, legitimate or irrational, justifiable or ridiculous. vi) A grievance give rise to unhappiness, discontent, frustration, indifference to work, poor morale and ultimately results inefficiency and low productivity,. vii) Broadly speaking, a grievance is traceable to perceived non-fulfillment of one's expectations from the organization

FORMS OF GRIEVANCES
A grievance may take any one of the following forms: 1.Factual 2.Imaginary 3.Disguised

FACTUAL: A factual grievance arises when legitimate needs of employees

remain unfulfilled, e.g., wage hike has been agreed but not implemented citing various reasons. These grievances reflect the drawbacks in the implementation of the organizational policies.

IMAGINARY: When an employee's dissatisfaction is not because of any

valid reason but because of wrong perception, wrong attitude or wrong information he has. Such a situation may create an imaginary grievance Though management is not at fault in such instances, still it has to clear the 'fog' immediately. However, such grievances can have far-reaching consequences on the organization because the employees are likely to develop an altogether negative attitude towards the organization which decreases their effectiveness and involvement in work.

DISGUISED: An employee may have dissatisfaction for reasons that are

unknown to himself. In general organizations consider the basic requirements of
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their employees. Psychological needs of the employees such- as need for recognition, affection, power, achievement, etc., are normally unattended and ignored. For instance, an employee complaining very strongly about the working conditions in the office may in turn be seeking some recognition and appreciation from his or her colleagues. Hence, disguised grievances should also be considered since they do have far-reaching consequences in case they are unattended and ignored

NATURE OF GRIEVANCES
A grievance is a problem and submitted by an employee or several employees of different types. It may be .concerning a situation or likely to affect the terms and conditions of employment of one worker or several workers, if a problem is related to and endorsed by all or majority of employees or if trade union submits a problem as a general claim it fails outside the scope of grievance procedure and generally comes under the purview of collective bargaining. Thus, if an issue is wider in scope or general in nature it will be outside, the grievance machinery. For example, if majority of employees or the trade union in an organization demand wage revision, such issue does not come under the scope of. grievance machinery and falls within the scope of collective bargaining. In contrast, if the workers of different departments submit to the management that their wage is not in accordance with the award given by wage Boards and if they ask the management to correct the wage inequity such issue falls within the scope of grievance machinery. Thus, a grievance: i) Has a narrower perspective. ii) Is concerned with the interpretation of a contract or award as concerned to an individual or a few employees of different types. As such policy issues do not fail within the scope of grievance machinery.
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CAUSES/SOURCES OF GRIEVANCES Calhoon observes, "Grievances exist in the minds of individuals, are
produced and dissipated by situations, are fostered or healed by group pressures, are adjusted or made worse by supervisors and are nourished or dissolved by the climate in the organization which is affected by all the above factors and by the management." The main causes of grievance may be classified under the following categories:

1) Grievance resulting from working conditions:

i) Tight production standards. ii) Improper matching of the worker with the job. iii) Non-availability of proper tools, machines and equipment for doing the job. iv) Changes in schedules or procedures. v) Poor relationship with the supervisor. vi) Bad physical conditions of work places. vii) Failure to maintain proper discipline (excessive discipline or lack of it, both are equally harmful).

2) Grievances resulting from personal Maladjustment:

i) Excessive self-esteem. ii) Over-ambition iii) Impractical attitude to life, etc.
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3) Grievances resulting from Management Policy:

i)Overtime ii) Transfer iii) Leave iv) Hostility towards a labour-union v)Wage payment and job rates. vi)Seniority vii)Promotion, demotion and discharge. viii)Lack of career planning and employee development plan,

Grievances resulting from alleged violation of:

i) Past practice. ii) Management's responsibility. iii) The collective bargaining agreement. iv) Company rules. v) Central or state laws. Two American experts are of the view that there are three main factors which contribute to the employee grievances. They are:
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I)

MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

a) The style of management followed, be it autocratic at one end of the scale or totally participative at the other, would need to be related to the sociocultural orientation of the workforce. b) Grievance is also caused because the social distance between management and workers, their class and cultural orientations are widely different. c) Much also depends on the implementation of personnel policies-it the implementation falls short of the intended policy then the resultant gap could give rise to grievances. d) Poor communication between management and its employees is another cause of grievance. e) Supervisory practices are a major source of grievance.

II)UNION PRACTICES
a) Multiplicity of unions. b) Political affiliation.

III) INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY TRAILS

a) An individual's personality also has a bearing on the usage of the grievance machinery. Some are basically predisposed to grumble and find fault with every little matter, seeking and looking out only for faults. b) Sometimes mental tension, caused perhaps by ill health, also contributes to this, in the sense that a tense mind finds an outlet in voicing a spate of grievances. c) On the other hand, there are employees who are willing to outlook minor
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issues and discomforts and get on with the job. d) Notwithstanding personality traits, the atmosphere or the culture that prevails could also contribute to this phenomenon. An antagonistic atmosphere could result in even a trivial matter being blown out of proportion, which in more co-operative times would not even have been noticed. It should be noted here that there is no single factor which causes a grievance; many factors combine to generate a grievance; and both employer and employees have grievances, the one against the other. Tosum up, employee grievances may be due to: i) ii) Demands for individual wage adjustments. Complaints about the incentive system.

iii) Complaints about the job classifications. iv) Complaints against a particular foreman. v) Complaints concerning disciplinary measures and procedures. v) Objections to the general methods of supervision. interpretation of agreements. viii) Improper job assignment. ix) Disciplinary discharge or lay-off. x) Non-availability of materials in time. xi) Undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work. xii) Promotions.
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vi) Loose calculation and interpretation of seniority rules, and unsatisfactory

xiii) Violation of contracts relating to collective bargaining xiv) Inadequacy of safety and health services/devices. xv) Transfer for another department or another shift.

DISCOVERY OF GRIEVANCES
Grievances can be uncovered in a number of ways. Gossip and Grapevine offer vital clues about employees grievances. Gripe boxes, open door policies, periodic interviews, exit surveys could also be undertaken to uncover the mystery surrounding grievances. These methods are discussed below:
1)

Observation: A manager/supervisor can usually track the behaviours of

people working under him. If a particular employee is not getting along with people, spoiling materials due to carelessness or recklessness, showing indifference to commands, reporting late for work or is remaining absent-the signals are fairly obvious. Since the supervisor is close to the scene of action, he can always find out such unusual behaviours and report promptly.

2)

Grievance Procedure: A systematic grievance procedure is the

best means to highlight employee dissatisfaction at various levels. Management, to this end, must encourage employees to use it whenever they have anything to say. In the absence of such a procedure, grievances pile up and burst up in violent forms at a future date. By that things might have taken an ugly shape altogether, impairing cordial relations between labour and management. If management fails to induce employees to
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express their grievances, unions will take over and emerge as powerful bargaining representatives.
3)

Gripe Boxes: A gripe box may be kept at prominent locations in the

factory for lodging anonymous complaints pertaining to any aspect relating to work. Since the complainant need not reveal his identity, he can express his feelings of injustice or discontent lankly and without any fear of victimization.

4)

Open door Policy: This is a kind of walk-in-meeting with the manager

when the employee can express his feelings openly about any work related grievance. The manager can cross-check the details of the complaint through various means at his disposal.

5)

Exit interview: Employees usually leave their current jobs due to

dissatisfaction or better prospects outside. If the manager tries sincerely through an exit interview he might be able to find out the real reasons why 'x' is, leaving the organization. To elicit valuable information, the manager must encourage the employee to give a correct picture so as to rectify the mistakes promptly. If the employee is not providing fearless answers, he may be given questionnaire to fill up and post the same after getting all his dues cleared from the organization where he is currently employed.

6)

Opinion Surveys: Surveys may be conducted periodically to elicit the

opinions of employees about the organization and its policies.

It is better to use as many channels as possible, if the intention is to uncover the truth behind the curtain.

APPROACHES TO THE GRIEVANCE MACHINERY

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Various approaches have been documented reflecting the attitude of management and employees to the grievance machinery. Management could take a legalistic view and follow the negotiated contract, or it need not have a contract but have a grievance machinery oriented towards a human relations approach to its workers. Or, alternatively, management could, with or without a contract, have an open-door policy. We shall now examine some of these approaches. i) The labour contract approach is a wholly legalistic approach. The management and the worker, categories covered by the contract, follow the provisions therein. Grievances are those defined by the contract, and the process for dealing with the grievance is clear to all concerned and specified with the time span for each stage. The provisions and the interpretations thereon of the contract are of paramount importance, more than concern for specific exceptions depending on the circumstances of the case. ii) The human relations school is the antithesis of the legal contract school. The employee and his specific problem is the major concern. The concern is for understanding and doing something to help overcome the individuals' problem, the fundamental assumption being that individuals are more important than production targets. It is quite likely that understanding their needs and grievances will help in attaining production targets, but primarily individuals are the end rather than a means to the end. Obviously, these are two extreme situations; many organizations have practices some-where in between. It is possible to envisage a contract with a human relations approach, infact, in the final analysis, it amounts to the "spirit" in which the grievance procedure is implemented in an organization involving both managerial and worker attitudes.
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EFFECTS OF GRIEVANCES
Grievances, if they are not identified and redressed, may affect adversely the workers, managers and the organization. The effects are:

i)On production:- It includes

a) Low quality of production b) Low quality of productivity. c) Increase in the wastage of material, spoilage/leakage of machinery, d) Increase in the cost of production per unit.

ii)On the employees

a) Increases the rate of absenteeism and turnover. b) Reduces the level of commitment, sincerity and punctuality. c) Increases the incidence of accidents. d) Reduces the level of employee morale.

iii)On the managers

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a) Stains the superior-subordinate relations. b) Increases in indiscipline cases. c) Increase in unrest and thereby machinery to maintain industrial peace. d) Increases the degree of supervision, control and follow-up.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE The grievance procedure is one of the more important means available for employees to express their dissatisfaction. It is also a means available to management to keep a check or relevant diagnostic data on the state of the organization's health. The formal mechanism for dealing with worker's dissatisfaction is called the grievance procedure. It is generally a formal system of several steps through which an affected employee can take his grievance to successively-higher levels of management for redressed. A grievance procedure is necessary in a large organization which has numerous personnel and many different levels with the result that the manager is unable to keep a check on each individual, or be involved in every aspect of the working of the organization. In a small organization, communication, knowledge and contact is possible to a much greater extent, thus reducing the need for a formal grievance procedure.

NEED FOR A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Grievance procedure is necessary for any organization due to the following reasons:
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i) Most grievances seriously disturb the employees. This may affect their morale, productivity and their willingness to cooperate with the organization. If an explosive situation develops, this can be promptly attended to if a grievance handling procedure is already in existence. ii) It is not possible that all the complaints of the employees would be settled by first-time supervisors, for these supervisors may not have had a proper training for the purpose, and they may lack authority. Moreover, there may be personality conflicts and other causes as well. iii) It serves as a check on the arbitrary actions of the management because supervisors know that employees are likely is see to it that their protest does reach the higher management iv) It selves as an outlet for employee gripes, discontent and frustrations. v) The management has complete authority to operate the business as it sees fit-subject, of course, to its legal and moral obligations and the contracts it has entered into with its workers or their representative trade union. But if the trade union or the employees do not like the way the management functions, they can submit their grievance in accordance with the procedure laid down for that purpose. A well-designed and a proper grievance procedure provide: i) A channel or avenue by which any aggrieved employee may present his grievance. ii) A procedure which ensures that there will be a systematic handling of every grievance. iii) A method by which an aggrieved employee can relieve his feelings of dissatisfaction with his job, working conditions, or with the management. iv) A means of ensuring that there is some measure of promptness in the handling of the grievance.
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BASIC ELEMENTS OF A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The basic elements of a grievance redressed procedure are: i) The existence of a sound channel through which a grievance may pass for redressed if the previous stage or channel has been found to be inadequate, unsatisfactory or unacceptable. This stage may comprise three, four or five sub-stages. ii) The procedure should be simple, definite and prompt, for any complexity or vagueness or delay may lead to an aggravation of the dissatisfaction of the aggrieved employee iii) The steps in handling a grievance should be clearly defined. These should comprise: a) Receiving and defining the nature of the grievance. b) Getting at the relevant facts, about the grievance. c) Analysis the facts, after taking into consideration the economic, social, psychological and legal issues involved in them. d) Taking an appropriate decision after a carefui consideration of all the facts. e) Communicating the decisions, to the aggrieved employee iv) Whatever the decision, it should be followed up in order that the reaction of the decision may be known and in order to determine whether the issue has been closed or not.

ESSENTIAL PROCEDURE

PREREQUISITES

OF

GRIEVANCE

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The efficiency of a grievance procedure depends upon the fulfillment of certain pre-requisites. These are as follows:

1.Conformity

with

Statutory

Provisions:

Due

consideration must be given to the prevailing legislation while designing the grievance handling procedure.

2.Unambiguity:
procedure should

Every aspect of the grievance handling be clear and unambiguous. All employees

should know whom to approach first when they have a grievance, whether the complaint should be written or oral, the maximum time in which the redressed is assured, etc. The redressing official should also know the limits within which he can take the required action.

3.Simplicity: The grievance handling procedure should be

simple, and short, if the procedure is complicated it may discourage employees and they may fail to make use of it in a proper manner.

4.Promptness: The grievance of the employee should be

promptly handled and necessary action must be taken immediately. This is good for both the employee and management because if the wrong doe is punished late, it may affect the morale of other employees as well.

5.Training: The supervisors the union representatives should be

properly trained in all aspects of grievance handling beforehand or
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else it will complicate the problem.

6.Follow-up: The personnel department should keep track of the

effectiveness and the functioning of grievance handling procedure and make necessary changes to improve it from time to time.

Steps in the Grievance Procedure

1)

Identify Grievances: Employee dissatisfaction or grievance should

be identified by the management if they are not expressed. If they are ventilated, management has to promptly acknowledge them.

2)

Define Correctly: The management has to define the problem

properly and accurately after it is identified/acknowledged.

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Steps in the Grievance Procedure

3)

Collect Data: Complete information should be collected from all the

parties relating to the grievance. Information should be classified as facts data, opinions etc.

4)

Analyze and Solve: The information should be analyzed, alternative

solutions to the problem should be developed and the best solution should be selected.

5)

Prompt Redressal: The grievance should be redressed by

implementing the solution.

6)

Implement and follow-up: implementation of the solution must be

followed up at every stage in order to ensure effective and speedy implementation

MODEL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The model grievance procedure suggested by the National Commission on Labour involves six successive time-bound steps each leading to the next, in case of dissatisfaction.

Model Grievance Procedure

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i) The aggrieved worker in the first instance will approach the foreman and tells him of his grievance orally. ii) The foreman has to redress his grievance and if the worker is not satisfied with this redressal, he can approach the supervisor. iii) The supervisor has to provide an answer within 48 hours. In the event of the supervisor not giving an answer or the answer not being acceptable to the worker, the worker goes to the next step. iv) At this stage the worker (either alone or accompanied by his departmental representative) approaches the Head of the Department who has to give an answer within three days. v) If the Departmental Head fails to give an answer or if the worker is not satisfied with his answer, the worker may appeal to the Grievance committee, consisting of the representatives of the employer & the employees vi) The recommendations of this committee should be communicated to the manager within seven days from the date of the grievance reaching it.
vii)

Unanimous decisions, if any: of the committee shall be implemented by the management. If there is no unanimity, the views of the members of the

viii)

committee shall be placed before the manager for his decision. The manager has to take a decision and inform the worker within three days. ix) The worker can make an appeal against the manager's decision and such are appeal has to be decided within a week. A union official may accompany the worker to the manager for discussion and if no decision is arrived at this stage, both the union and management may refer the grievance to voluntary arbitration within a week of the receipt of the managements decision. The worker in actual practice, may not resort to all the above mentioned steps.
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For example, if the grievance is because of his dismissal or discharge he can make an appeal against dismissal or discharge.

Grievance Machinery in Indian Industry

At present, there are three legislations dealing with grievances of employees working in industries. i) The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. ii) The Factories Act, 1948,
iii)

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 requires that every establishment employing 100 or more workers should frame standing orders. These should contain, among other things, a provision for redressal of grievances of workers against unfair treatment and wrongful exactions by the employer or his agents. The Factories Act, 1948 provides for the appointment of a welfare officer in every factory ordinarily employing 500 or more workers. These welfare officers also look after complaints and grievances of workers. They will look after proper implementation of the existing labour legislation. Individual disputes relating to discharge, dismissal or retrenchment can be taken up for relief under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 amended in 1965. However, the existing labour legislation is not being implemented properly by employers. There is lack of fairness on their part. Welfare officers have also not been taken for protecting the interests of workers in the organized sector. In certain cases, they are playing a dual role. It is unfortunate that the public sector,, which should setup an example for the private sector, has not been implementing the labour laws properly.
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In India, there is a model Grievance Procedure which was adopted by the Indian labour conference in' its 16m session held in 1958. At present, Indian industries are adopting either the model Grievance Procedure or procedures formulated by themselves with modifications in the Modes Grievance Procedure. In other words, at present, the grievance procedures are voluntary in the Indian industry.

GUIDELINES FOR HANDLING GRIEVANCE

The following guidelines may help a supervisor while dealing with grievances. He need not follow all these steps in every case. It is sufficient to keep these views in mind while handling grievances (W. Baer. 1970). i) ii) Treat each case as important and get the Grievance in writing. Talk to the employee directly, encourage him to speak the truth. Give him a patient hearing. iii) Discuss in a private place Ensure confidentiality, if necessary. iv) Handle each Case within a time frame. v) Examine company Provisions in each case. Identify violations, if any. Do not hold back the remedy if the company is wrong. Inform your superior about all grievances. vi) Get all relevant facts about the grievance. Examine the personnel records of the aggrieved worker. See whether any witnesses are available. Visit the work area. The idea is to find where things have gone wrong and who is at fault. vii) Gather information from the union representative, what he has to say,
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what he wants, etc. Give short replies, uncovering the truth as well as provisions. Treat him properly. viii) Control your emotions, your remarks and behaviour, ix) Maintain proper records and follow up the action taken in each case

Guiding Principles of Grievance Procedure

The guiding principles under the Model Procedure:
i)

Conformity with Existing Legislation: A procedure should form part of an integrated scheme which should promote satisfactory relations between employees and management.

Need for Simple and Expeditious (Machinery: it was laid down that, as far as possible, a) A grievance should be settled at the lowest level; b) No matter should ordinarily be taken up at more than two levels;
c)

Different types of grievances should be referred to appropriate bodies or authorities.

iii) Workmen Should Knew Whom to Approach: For this purpose, it should be essential for the management to designate the authority or body to be contacted at various levels

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Conclusion

grievance management is an important element of sound industrial relation machinery. Prompt and effective disposal of workers grievance management is the key to industrial peace. The grievance procedure set up by agreement with a union provides a medium for the workers to transmit his grievance to management in an orderly manner and get the answer as soon as possible.

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Bibliography

Dynamics of industrial relations Industrial relations concepts and issues

by by

Mamoria & mamoria & Gankar T N chhabra & R K suri

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