8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

1/17

LABOUR PROTEST, AGITATION &

VIOLENCE: SOME RECENT TRENDS,

LESSONS AND REMEDIES

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

2/17

Presentation Content:

Introduction to the poetics of protest,agitation & violence

Forms of protest, agitation & violence

Factors responsible for protest & violence Indian Cases

Global Cases

Aftermath of protest and violence Role of Management

Conclusion

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

3/17

Poetics of Protest, Agitation

and Violence Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events

or situations: sometimes in favor, though more oftenopposed. Protesters may organize a protest as a wayof publicly and forcefully making their opinions

heard in an attempt to influence public opinion orgovernment policy, or may undertake direct actionin an attempt to directly enact desired changesthemselves.

Agitation is referred as emotional state ofexcitement and restlessness,

Violence is the expression of physical or verbal forceagainst self or other, compelling action against one'swill on pain of being hurt

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

4/17

Forms of Protest & Right to

Protest Public demonstration and public rally

Direct action- protest march, picketing, streetprotests, lockdowns , strikes

Written demonstration- petitions, letters Boss-snapping

The right to protest is a perceived human rightarising out of a number of recognized human

rights. The right to freedom of assembly caninclude the right to protest. No human rightsinstrument or national constitution grants theabsolute right to protest.

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

5/17

Factors behind protest,

agitation, and violence Insensitive handling of labor by management

(Un)Failed Mergers & Acquisitions

Restructuring &Downsizing- lay-offs

Wage inequality & deteriorating workingconditions

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

6/17

What happened at Rico, Cummins

& Pricol? The gruesome killing of Lalit Choudhary, Chief

Executive Officer and Managing Director ofGraziano Transmissioni India Pvt Ltd, inSeptember 2008 allegedly by dismissedemployees

And the more recent murder of the VP HR ofPricol, Joy George, under similar circumstancesin September 2009

Another such shocking incident which capturedglobal attention was the beating to death of theCEO of another car parts company situated inthe Noida Industrial Zone near Delhi a year ago

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

7/17

Contd..

Sanjiv Arya, a deputy general manager atRico, was attacked as he was leaving thefactory under police escort.

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

8/17

Contd...

At Cummins India Ltd, Kothrud Plant, oneGeneral Manager was injured and hospitalized

At Omax Autos about 700-800 workers are stillon strike

At Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HSMI),Gurgaon workers were on strike

50 union members were arrested in Coimbatore,

India, at a plant that makes parts for Toyota andGM, after anger over a wage freeze, resulted inthe iron rod attack (and death) of the 46 year oldHR manager.

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

9/17

Global Incidents

Violence in Coca-Colas Labor SubcontractingSystem in China

Lack of ethics and transparency from themanagement has resulted in kidnappings ofmanagers at 3M, Caterpillar, and Nortel inFrance

Nortel announced 1,300 layoffs after postinga $ 3.4 billion quarterly loss and as aconsequence the employees threatened to

blow up their plant with gas canisters

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

10/17

Contd..

Regardless of whether it is the high or low productionseason, a significant body of subcontracted ordispatched workerswho face frequent wage arrearsand even cutbacks on their payexists in Coca-Colas

Chinese factories. Dispatched workers are employed by agencies, which

send them to fill temporary, supporting or replaceablepositions, according to Article 66 of Chinas Labor

Contract Law. Referring to the Implementing Rules forthe Chinas Labor Contract Law, effective September2008, it further stipulates that companies shall not usedispatched workers for more than six months, otherwise,they must sign full labor contracts with them.

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

11/17

Contd..

In practice, Coca-Colas blatant violations of Chineselabor laws are systemic. The interviewed Coca-Coladispatched workers are responsible for core orindispensable processing positions. Some of them have

toiled in the bottling factories for as long as 10 yearsfarexceeding the legally allowable limit.

Worse yet, many dispatched workers are forced to doovertime work, frequently clocking 12 hour shifts

including weekends, with some working more than 300hours a monthalmost doubling the normal workinghours. Worker interviewees also reported dangerousworkplace conditions, particularly around the way forklifttrucks were being used.

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

12/17

Aftermath of strikes

At HSMI the strike has resulted in a loss of 100crore with production unit slowing down from2000 units per day to 600 unit

Monthly sales at HSMI which had been postingone-lakh two wheelers had slipped to 85,000units

Apparently, vendors such as Rico Auto, SunbeamAuto, Microtech, Endurance and HemaEngineering, with facilities in the region havebeen feeling the heat over the past few months

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

13/17

Contd..

When India is on a growth path, incidents ofthis nature will dampen investor confidence.We need to reflect this seriously and put inevery effort to prevent such happenings infuture. When foreign investors are looking atus, this is not a good sign. Industrial growth

will get affected and will in turn affectemployment.

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

14/17

Proactive role of

management-labor relations Setting up of Joint Management Council

To hold joint meetings of representatives of

labor unions at monthly intervals Exhaustive employee surveys across all

facilities to understand what employees thinkand conduct workshops on implementing

changes wherever necessary

Managing diversity and inclusiveness ofemployees

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

15/17

Contd..

Establishing two-way communication

Any issue can be resolved through a tri-

partite discussion involving the employer,union or workers and the Government

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

16/17

"Violence can be justifiable, but it never willbe legitimate ... Its justification loses inplausibility the farther its intended endrecedes into the future. No one questions theuse of violence in self-defence, because thedanger is not only clear but also present, and

the end justifying the means is immediate".

8/2/2019 Labour Protest, Agitation & Violence

17/17

Thank You