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Vol. 2 ::
No. 11 Octobeter, 2000 (Aswin-Kartik) |
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| Management |
In our earlier report we had informed the readers about on going action research program being held, as a part of broader South Asian project on tripartism called SAVPOT under the aegis of ILO/Norwegian support, in four selected enterprises in Nepal (see Business Age, July, 2000). These selected four enterprises were, Ami Apparel (garment manufactures), Raghupati Jute Mills (privatized jute mill), Mahashakti Soap and Chemicals (daily consumer goods industry) and Soaltee Hotel (hospitality industry helping to promote Nepal’s tourism). The first workshop was organized on June 8-9 in Kathmandu where the participating enterprises prepared their action plans to improve workplace cooperation and promote social dialogue. The second workshop was held on September 18-19. In the workshop the participants sat together to share their experiences on social dialogue and revise their action plans prepared earlier in light of new changes and developments taking place in the enterprises. A total of 19 representatives from management and workers sides from above four enterprises and four more government representatives participated in the workshop. This write-up briefly sketches out, as reported by the enterprises in the workshop, the progress made in the social dialogue process.
Although the participants felt that the time lapses between the first and second workshop was too short (about three months) to notice significant changes brought about by the social dialogue process, however, some definite progress were reported. First, Ami Apparels reported that with the use of an incentive scheme it was able to bring down absenteeism rate from eight percent to five percent. A training program was also introduced and ten more women workers were recruited as a broader strategy to replace male workers by female workers in the company. Secondly, in Raghupati Jute Mills also the use of incentive scheme has helped to reduce absenteeism rate from 15 percent to 8 percent. As a bold new initiative to recruit women workers in machine operation which otherwise was traditionally occupied by male workers, a total of 62 women workers were recruited. The reorganization of tasks was undertaken to reduce mass absenteeism. The clustering of employees from one village or one locality in a single department or unit has created the problem of mass absenteeism during the time of festivals. This has now changed. Due to these measures, the company was able to increase its production level from 20-21MT per day to 27MT per day. This is a record production of post-privatization period in the company. Thirdly, the management of Hotel Soaltee was able to negotiate successfully with the unions even in the absence of an authorized union. Progress is under way in the implementation of action plans prepared earlier. Fourthly, in Mahashakti Soap and Chemicals, over staffing was reduced by laying off 20 workers and loading jobs were contracted out. To ward off competition particularly from the multinationals, the company is planning to introduce new machines.
Both parties to the social dialogue, namely workers and managers, see an immense advantage in having the social dialogue process. Such advantages were conferred at three levels. At company level, there are advantages in terms of increased production and productivity, enhanced company goodwill, quality increase, employee job security, increased opportunity and maintenance of workforce discipline. At labor management relations level, there is benefit of increased understanding, mutual trust, bridging of communication gaps and enhancing the negotiating skills of the parties to the dialogue and extracting commitment and loyalty. At environmental level, social dialogue produces requisite industrial peace in the country.
However, the participants also identified a number of obstacles to initiating social dialogue process in the enterprises. These problems are: illiterate workforce, undue political pressure, groupism, lack of authority of the management, lack of awareness about the advantages of having social dialogue and the lack of enough (financial) resources. The workers’ representatives thought that management’s pressure to impose unilateral decisions dissipate social dialogue process. Delays or non-implementation of policies, sometime even government policies, were seen to be detrimental to social dialogue.
When asked to analyze the social dialogue process in terms of a structured framework, participants came up with a varying degree of responses. These responses are summarized in Table 1. If more liberal social dialogue process is underway in Hotel Soaltee, Mahashakti Soap and Chemicals exhibits the other extreme. In all the enterprises, the participants to the dialogue process are dominated by authorized trade unions in taking the initiative. The use of labor relations committee, as provisioned in the Labor Act, is found in operation only in Hotel Soaltee and Raghupati Jute Mills. The participants also suggested that they need to bring in new participants to the dialogue process like the owners, the government representatives and the members of central level trade union. With regards to issues for dialogue, again the enterprises were found to be preoccupied with traditional items of bargaining like increasing salary, benefits and perks. However, the tendency to talk about productivity and quality is slowly emerging in the enterprises. The participants noted that the outcomes from the dialogue process were beneficial both to the management as well as workers.
A couple of interesting workplace related gender issues were raised in the workshop discussion. These were: (1) the issue of having child care center as workers’ rights vs needs; (2) the replacement of male workers by female workers and its impact on absenteeism, unionism, productivity and quality; (3) the possibility of having legal provisions to protect women workers’ rights may go against the interest of female employment. Some specific gender related issues in the participating enterprises, as reported by the participants, were: (1) how to address increased access to women’s employment in Mahashakti Soap?; (2) how to address child care center in Hotel Soaltee?; (3) how to replace male workers by female workers in Ami Apparels?; and (4) what are the gender implication of using women in an unconventional jobs like machine operators in Raghupati Jute Mills?
More information on these will be revealed after the next round of meeting in December.
| Social Dialouge | Mahashakti Soap and Chemicals | Ami Apprales | Raghupati Jute Mills | Hotel Soaltee |
| 1.Participants to the dialogue | Board of Directors, Supervisors and Trade Union Leaders | Departmental Heads and Management | Trade Union Representatives, Labor and Welfare Officer, Foreman, Supervisors and Skilled workers | Authorized trade union, concerned employees, supervisors, outsiders, representatives from central level union |
| 2. Issues for dialogue | Salaries and allowances, facilities, occupational health and safety | Allowances, bonus medical expenses, leaves, quality improvement, | absenteeism, productivity, occupational health and safety, | Salaries, facilities, discipline, quality improvement, welfare measures, occupation health and safety |
| 3. Process of dialogue | It is the authorized trade union that initiates dialogue, there is lack of transparency in the dialogue process | Initiated by the affected person, freedom to express dissatisfaction | Responsibility of management and union, meetings are held once a week, freedom to express dissatisfaction | Initiated by the affected person, the dialogue can be carried to the extent problem is being solved, transparency is being maintained |
| 4. Outcomes from dialogue | There is no unintended consequences, gradual change is being observed in management attitude and understanding | Decline in the rate of absenteeism, development of mutual trust, outside pressure often acts as obstacles or causes tension in dialogue process | Mutual understanding, decline in absenteeism, introduction female workforce, increased production | Compromises are reached, gradual increase in women' participation. |
Some people work for money and some for other reasons. When we are poor the relation between work and money is extremely close because human beings need money for food and cloths in order to live. However as our lifestyles become more affluent and society matures, the value of money in relation to work decreases rapidly. If, in spite of this, we persist in the belief that work consists of nothing more than earning money, it will lead to an increased absenteeism at workplace.
What is it, apart from money, which spurs us on to do good, worthwhile work? Of course, it is motivation. There are two ways to motivate people : one is external and the other is internal. Money may be one external factor for motivation whereas job satisfaction is the key for internal motivation, which is more powerful than money. People get job satisfaction in many ways. If the job they are doing is the area of their interest they may get job satisfaction. If their job is socially respectable one that also may give immense job satisfaction to the person. That’s why social workers work voluntarily but happily.
I have observed that in some of Nepali big corporate houses the staff turnover is very high in spite of having much higher salary and better facilities than in similar other companies. Whereas in many small companies also employee turnover is almost zero although they could get far better facilities in other companies.
For example business houses like Jyoti Group, Khetan Group have very low staff turnover whereas companies like Mount Everest Brewery, Fulbari Resort have very high staff turnover. This shows that people work not only for money. They should be satisfied with the working environment.
A housewife is responsible for a great variety of jobs around the home, including clearing and tidying, training and educating her children, preparing meals and clearing up afterward, and washing and ironing. She works from dawn to dusk on behalf of her family. But housewives do not get paid for their work. If we define work as being merely something one does for money, we reach at to startling conclusion that housewives do not work. As the idea that work in nothing more than a means of earning money is widespread in western advanced countries, married women employ someone else to do their housework while they themselves take outside jobs in order to earn money. But the question arises: Are these women equally motivated and work as creatively as they do at their homes?
Let’s look at the amateur sportsmen who play not for money but for fun, therefore they indulge in them voluntarily. It is enjoyable to them. They play on their own and they need not work under compulsion from any superior or boss. Today many Japanese companies use the elements of sports to motivate their employees rather than using money. Here is one example of how Japanese motivate people without the involvement of money.
"After a conference starts, each presentation is photographed, and the photograph is mounted at the top of the first page of an album. The president writes a short note of thanks under the photograph and awards the album to the circle at the end of the presentation. This method of commendation gave immense pleasure to the employee, which they could not buy with money. Sometimes, just a word from a thoughtful manager who values his subordinates can be a tremendous encouragement.
Sometimes only patting people on the back will be enough to motivate them to work more productively. However there are not any standardized methods for motivation. Depending on individual interests and their human nature one is motivated accordingly.
Therefore, it can be said that the relation between work and money is always not closer if not very far.
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