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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31 Dec 1986
To:
Corporate
Management Members (Individually)
SUB : "EMPLOYEE SEMINAR" AT
LONAVLA"
I have
been continually discussing with our Union, the need to maintain an on-going process of relationship between the Management on the one
hand and Union and employees on the other, since I
believe that management of
productivity in the coming years will
depend increasingly on the single crucial factor
of employee motivation through harmonious employee-employer relations.
The response from our
Union has been very
encouraging and as an important step towards this end, it was jointly decided by us and the Onion to hold a
seminar, away from the
work environment, to generally discuss important issues
which require solutions
in the coming years and to invite
the Union Committee Members (Shop
Representatives) as well as
the JGMs and DGMs of
Manufacturing Units to participate.
The Union suggested that the
seminar should be held at
a facility with the bks, which was
recently commissioned at Lonavla
- "SWAPNA POORTI" where
seminar
hall and other facilities are
available. Management agreed
to bear the expenses for
the seminar. We
also invited Shri Dattaji Salvi and
Shri Ramakant More,
president and General Secretary of
the parent BKS Body,
to participate in the seminar, and they also accepted the invitation.
The final list of. participants comprised the President
and General Secretary 'of the parent body of
the Union, the Joint Secretaries of
the L&T Unit, and the committee
Members (Shop Representatives) of
Powai, Madh
and City Offices, totally numbering about 165 persons. From Management
side, Messrs, A.Y. Divekar, V.S. Kaushikkar, S. Samu, R.B. Bhambhani, P.M.
Mehta, J.P. Madan, Kalyan Chakravarti, A.M. Deshmukh,
V.P.Singh
and the undersigned participated.
The
participants left for Lonavla
in our buses on Friday, the 19th December, 1986 after the end of the 1st shift, and spent
the night in
Lonavla. The seminar
was held on Saturday (weekly off), the 20th December 1986, between 8.00 a.m. and 4.00
p.m. The stated objectives of this joint seminar were :
1.
to
educate the Shop Representatives regarding the Company, its
operations and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
(SWOT),
2. to
throw up for discussion
and debate, issues which in
the perception of the Management and the
Union representatives, are or
will be vital for the continued prosperity of L&T in general and the
Powai Unit in particular,
3. to accelerate the PARTICIPATIVE
PROCESS.
The seminar
programme was designed
to devote as much time as possible to
discussion and debate
of vital issues
and therefore, 3 1/2 hours were
allotted for this purpose. The rest of
the time was devoted to a
presentation on L&T as a
Company, the employer-employee participative process
in Japan, and talk by the Union leaders as well as Management Representatives on issues
before the Company.
The enthusiastic response from
the Union leaders and the Shop Representatives was beyond
expectation and to a large extent,
this seminar objectives have
been fulfilled. This has
laid the ground for further
seminars of this nature at which
the shop-supervisors and workmen
can also be brought together to
strengthen ' the bonds
of the participative process.
Our immediate plan is to conduct
2 seminars, covering the Foremen and Production/Assistant Production
Managers. These are scheduled
for 3rd January 1987
and 4th April
1987. These will be followed by joint seminars at
which Foremen and Shop Representatives/workmen shall participate.
A video recording of
the seminar proceedings has been
made and I would request that I
may be permitted to present
a part of
the video tape at the next Policy Review Committee Meeting, alongwith a
part of the video tape which we
shall make for the proposed
Foremen's seminar.
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