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).
To:
A
COUNTRY FIGHTS BACK 3 Aug. 1986
Bob Hawke became
Prime-Minister of Australia in March
1983. Until 1980, he was
head of "Australian Council of
Trade Unions". That makes
him a strong labour-leader.
Before Bob
became Prime-Minister, Australian
economy was in a bad shape.
Unemployment was close to 10% and inflation had crossed 11%
But within
2 years of Bob taking
over the Govt, economy
started growing by 5% every year, inflation came down to 5% and unemployment dropped below 8%, the budget
deficit came down from $ 6 billions to $ 3.5
billion.
But things
started getting bad again in 1985.
Unemployment
again went upto
7.8%
Inflation
climbed back to 9.2%
Export
deficit rose by 14%
So Bob
has decided that his country must fight back - and he is telling his
countrymen,
"As a
consequence, we have, for the time being,
to accept reduced
standard of living
and, permanently increased standard of-effort".
Although
Bob runs the risk of becoming unpopular (especially with his
trade-union friends) he has
taken the following
decisions :
1. In
place of two big
wage increases every
year, the workers will get only one wage increase this year - and
that too a small 2.3% I
2. An appeal
to the Directors and Senior
Managers not to raise their own salaries.
3. income-tax to
continue at present
level. Reduction promised in September to be postponed.
4. public services (such as transport, hospitals, education, etc) will be reduced.
5. To get
their benefits, unemployed persons will
have to clean streets and
parks.
6. imports will be
reduced.
We don't
know from where
Bob got these
ideas. One possibility is that he got these from
Prime-Minister Lee of Singapore.
Lee
announced a freeze on wages a few months
ago, in his tiny country. Singapore is a small
country - about the size of
Andheri + Vile-Parle + Santacruz ! Well, may be you can add Goregaon !!
But
it's exports are more than the exports of the
whole of India I Singapore's economy was growing by
12% - 15% each year for the last 15 years
(against 4% - 5% growth of our economy). But
1985 turned out to be a bad -
very bad-year for Singapore too. There was
no growth in economy I - a
round 0 (zero) % !
But Prime
Minister Lee is
a tough man.
He has ruled Singapore with an iron-hand for
the last 25 years. He begins each day
by running 4 kms. And
he keeps
his 40 lakh countrymen running
for survival. Because,
like Japan, Singapore has no
natural resources and
therefore it must import all
raw materials, process them and
export finished products.
What
Singapore adds to the imported
raw-materials is its own labour -
the labour of 40 lakh citizens. And if
this labour becomes expensive, Singapore is doomed !
So Lee has
ordered one-year wage-freeze.
Fighting for
survival is never sweet - it is always bitter.
And what
works for a country also works for a company.
If we don't implement a few tough decisions right away, we too may not be far from a
wage-freeze !
What are
these decisions ?
-
Stop all
overtime, everywhere.
in
Powai - Rs.
48 lakhs
in
Canteen - rs. 27. lakhs
Rs. 75 lakhs
- Madh/Tengl/Ewac/City Offices,
I am sure
the figure could add-up to Rs. 85 lakhs/year.
Let us get
rid of this evil completely in 1986-87.
All that we
have to do is to make sure that we do not waste those 20-30 minutes during change
of shift! - and we save Rs. 85
lakhs per year !!
As
simple as that !
Unless some employees want
to make it tough !
H.C. PAREKH
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