Synopsis: Communication For Productivity
Letters written to some 7500 Workers / Managers /
Union Leaders, following a period of strike / Go slow / Murders (1979 -
1987), at Mumbai factory of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. This direct / open /
honest communication led to a remarkable atmosphere of trust between
Workers and Management, which, in turn, increased productivity at 3% per year
(ave).
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2 Nov 1982
To:
To:
Dear Friends
COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
S.R. Mohandas does
not like the word "Bargaining".
According to him
it implies, "barring-the-gain" of the
opponent and an "adversary" relationship. He prefers to
call it "Collective Negotiating" - you
negotiate a difficult terrain, jointly, to reach a common goal.
SRM also tells us that in collectively negotiated wage
settlements, there is no place for
"give and take". It has to be only "take and
take". Union "takes"
(away !) the wages from the Management and the Management must master the art (or science)
of "taking"
(extracting) the work from
the workmen !
So "take-and-take"! Extort if you like! This is the central theme of his article enclosed.
Another wrtie-up (enclosed), which I thought would interest
you, is on the
wage negotiations currently taking
place 15,000 km. away - in the
American steel industry. We are far removed from the Scene but the
subject is quite relevant.
Is there a
common thread running through the two write-ups? I do not think, SRM, anywhere
in his article, is preaching the kind of "tough" stand being
practiced by the American Steel Industry.' The toughness
is in a mess due to many reasons - one of which is high labor-cost as compared
to the Japanese.
But then SRM
neither precludes tough-methods, if situation so demands. On
the other hand
we also find that
some managers in the American
Steel industry
believe that a lasting
solution to the problems faced
by the industry cannot be
found in arm-twisting
techniques but only
in worker participation and
involvement in the problem-solving
exercises - in other words, in "decision-taking" processes.
The
blind-spot is "give and take" - perhaps even "take and take".
How do we get across to the employees that we must all "make"
before anyone can "take"?
