Worker's participation in management-Industrial law -UPSC commerce and Accountancy optional

Worker’s participation in management is related with Industrial relation of Paper 2 of UPSC Commerce and Accountancy optional


Introduction of  Worker’s participation in management (WPM)
Worker’s participation in management (WPM) is essentially a step in promoting industrial democracy.The concept of workers’ participation in management is based on Human Relations approach to Management which brought about a new set of values to labour and management. Traditionally the concept of Workers’ Participation in Management (WPM) refers to participation of non-managerial employees in the decision-making process of the organization. Workers’ participation is also known as ‘labour participation’ or ‘employee participation’ in management.

Article 43A of the Constitution of India deals with 'Participation of workers in management of industries' and falls under Part IV - Directive Principles of State Policy
"The State shall take steps, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to secure the participation of workers in the management of undertakings, establishments or other organisations engaged in any industry".
The Industrial Disputes Act 1947 section 3 created a right of participation in joint work councils to "provide measures for securing amity and good relations between the employer and workmen and, to that end to comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and endeavour to compose any material difference of opinion in respect of such matters".

Definition
According to International Institute of Labour Studies
WPM is the participation resulting from the practices which increase the scope for employees’ share of influence in decision-making at different tiers of organizational hierarchy with concomitant (related) assumption of responsibility.
 As per ILO
The main implications of workers’ participation in management as summarized by ILO:
1.Workers have ideas which can be useful;
2.Workers may work more intelligently if they are informed about the reasons for and then intention of decisions that are taken in a participative atmosphere.

According to Keith Davis, Participation refers to the mental and emotional involvement of a person in a group situation which encourages him to contribute to group goals and share the responsibility of achievement.

Objectives of Workers Participation in Management
The objectives of workers’ participation in management are as follows:
1.To raise level of motivation of workers by closer involvement.
2.To provide opportunity for expression and to provide a sense of importance to workers.
3.To develop ties of understanding leading to better effort and harmony.
4.To act on a device to counter-balance powers of managers.
5.To act on a panacea for solving industrial relation problems.

Levels of Participation

Workers’ participation is possible at all levels of management; the only difference is that of degree and nature of application. For instance, it may be vigorous at lower level and faint at top level. Broadly speaking there is following five levels of participation:

1. Information participation: It ensures that employees are able to receive information and express their views pertaining to the matters of general economic importance.

2. Consultative participation: Here works are consulted on the matters of employee welfare such as work, safety and health. However, final decision always rests at the option of management and employees’ views are only of advisory nature.

3. Associative participation: It is extension of consultative participation as management here is under moral obligation to accept and implement the unanimous decisions of employees.
4. Administrative participation: It ensure greater share of works in discharge of managerial functions. Here, decision already taken by the management come to employees, preferably with alternatives for administration and employees have to select the best from those implementation.

5. Decisive participation: Highest level of participation where decisions are jointly taken on the matters relation to production, welfare etc. is called decisive participation.

Limitations of Participation:

Participative management suffers from many limitations, these are:
1. Technology and organisations today are so complex that specialised work-roles are required, making it difficult for people to participate successfully if they go very far beyond their particular environment. This means that low-level workers can participate successfully in operating matters, but they usually have difficulty participating in policy matters.
2. Another issue is an employee’s right not to participate there is no evidence that participation is good for everybody. Many people do not want to be bothered with participation.
3. Another problem is that participative situations can be used covertly to manipulate employees. This manipulation is not necessarily done by the management. It may be by the union or by undercover cliques led by members skilled in group dynamics, the social engineers of consent.
4. The feudalistic concept of the master and the servant is still prevalent among industrial workers, especially in India. Workers have an innate feeling that they are born to serve and not to rule. Participative management, naturally, is of little interest to such workers.
5. The role of trade unions in promoting participative management is far from satisfactory. Most of the unions indulge in politicking and have little time to think about participation and development work.
6. The unwillingness of the employers to share power with the worker’s representatives, the disinterest of the workers and the perfunctory attitude of the Govt, towards participation act as strolling shocks in the way of promotion of participative management.

Worker Participation in Management in India:
Participative management has been an integral part of the Indian labour policy. This is due to the emphasis on industrial democracy. That a number of legislative measures have been taken to provide necessary structure and form for managers and workers to interact with each other.
The purpose is as much to prevent the conflict as that of resolving the same with minimum bitterness. Several studies on WPM in India have concluded that participative forms of statutory and voluntary one have failed in Indian industries.

Some of the reasons are given below:
1. Mere introduction of participative structure does not ensure desired result.
2. Legislative measures or legalistic attitude has its own limitation.
3. Industrial environment is not quite conducive for effective WPM in India.
4. A great deal of misconception exist to differences in attitude and approach of persons at different levels of management and among union leaders on WPM. For e.g. some perceive WPM as a tool of management, while to some other WPM is a non-financial form of extending democratic practices to industry.
To a large number of union leaders WPM is a socialist alternative to the institutions for resolution of conflicts under capitalism.
5. Lack of clarity on the objectives of scheme and workable form of such participation.

In short a change of “mind set” is called for making WPM effective in India.


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