Coming together is a beginning,

Keeping together is progress,

Working together is Success.

Workers Participation in Management

 Self

management in Yugoslavia
Co determination in West Germany
CB in Anglo American countries
JMC and WC in India

Definition:

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 in the responsibility
to achieve them.

Features
It

consists of mental and emotional

involvement .
Participation is collective .
It is based on mutual trust ,information
sharing and mutual problem- solving and
decision making.
Four levels of participation : shop floor
,Plant ,Department and Corporate level.

Cont.

a.
b.

c.
d.

Four degrees of participation:

Communication :It involves sharing information
about all management decisions with workers.
Consultation: workers express there views . Final
decisions are taken by management after
consultation.
Co-determination: Joint decision.
Self Management: Complete autonomy in hands
of workers..

Objectives
Economic

Objective :Increased Productivity

by increasing job satisfaction and improving
industrial relations.
Social objective: Human dignity and
respectable status .
Psychological objective: Changed attitude
by satisfying non economic needs .

Importance

Mutual Understanding: It increases awareness

about employers and employees problems .
Higher Productivity: It Increases motivation, Job
satisfaction which leads to higher productivity and
lower cost per unit and greater profits.
Industrial Harmony :It increases workers loyalty
because of continuous dialogue between workers
and management .

Cont.
Less

Resistance to change :Readily adapt

the change because they understand the
need of change by participation in decision
making.
Creativity and innovation: Participation
encourages worker to think and take
initiative.

Forms of Workers Participation in

Management:
Depends

on differences in level of
management
Subject matter of participation
Strength of union
Pattern of IR

employer

Scope, extent, form and successful

working depends on the 3 actors of IR
employee

state

Forms of Workers
Participation in Management:
1.Suggestion Scheme :
A suggestion box is installed .
Periodical scrutiny by suggestions
committee .
Rewards are given to concerned workers .
Example: Satyam Computers
Idea Junction-Web based Portal ,where
employees participate .

Cont
30

Circle Idea Leaders who evaluates those

ideas
4 senior officials to further scrutinize those
ideas.
Those employees whose ideas have been
selected are rewarded from a company Tshirt to a holiday trip to Promotion.

2.Works Committees:

History:
The Works Committee set up under the Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947
Features:
Acc. to Indian Labour Conference(1959) Works
Committees deal with day to day functioning at the
shop floor level.
Equal number of representative from employer and
workers .
Mandatory for every organization having 100 or more
workers.

Functions:

Health

:Ventilation, Lighting ,Temperature

and sanitation facilities .
Safety: Accident Prevention ,Occupational
diseases and protective equipments .
Welfare: Rest rooms ,medical and health
services ,drinking water .
Administration of welfare and fine funds .
Educational and recreational activities.

Cont
E.g.:

Health, Safety and Welfare committee .

Such committees were made In TATA Iron &
Steel Works, Jamshedpur , Carnatik Mill in
Madras in 1922 .
Limitations:
Such committees are not that much effective
in maintaining industrial peace and harmony.

3.Joint Management Councils:

History:
In 1920 Mahatma Gandhi had suggested that workers contributed
labour and brains, while shareholders contributed money to
enterprise, and that both should, therefore share in its prosperity.
The influence of Mahatma Gandhi bore fruit and for the first time
Joint Consultation was adopted in the Cotton Textile Industry.
The Industrial Policy Resolution had suggested that labour should
be consulted in all matter concerning industrial production.
Further the scheme of Joint Management Council was formulated
in 1957.

Features:

It

consists of equal number representatives

from workers and management .
The Number should not exceed twelve.
It is applicable for organization consisting of
at least 500 workers.

Functions:

Modes of production ,production schedule ,general

administration problems .
State of the market, production and marketing
programs, methods of production and work, long
term capital budgeting ,plans for expansion,
modernization and development.
Administering welfare measures ,absenteeism,
scheduling of working hours ,breaks and holidays.

Limitations:

Trade

unions fear it will weaken there

strength as workers come in influence of
these councils .
Managers feel it is difficult to convince
uneducated and inexperienced
representative of workers.

4.Workers Directors :

History:
Sachar Committee In June 1977, a high-powered expert
committee on Companies and MRTP Acts was set up by the
Government of India under the chairmanship of Rajinder
Sachar. The terms of reference for the Committee were:
Representation of Workers on Board of Directors
To suggest measures by which workers participation in the
share capital and management of companies can be
brought about.

Features:
One

or two workers are nominated as Board

of Directors .
Highest form of workers participation.
He or she can serve as a guide- and a
control element.
Presence of Worker Director on the Board
shall not lead to any breach in the
confidentiality of the information required .

Cont
This

practice have been initiated by :

Hindustan Antibiotics (Pune)
HMT (Bangalore)
TATAs
DCM
Limitations:
Difference in educational and cultural
background.

Cont

Such representatives of workers on the Board,

places them in a minority .
Such an employees representative may feel inferior
to the other members .
Focus of workers representatives is different from
the focus of the remaining members of the Board .
Decisions of the Board are arrived at on the basis of
the majority vote.

5.Co Partnership:

Workers

are made share holders in the

company
They participate in the management of the
organization.
They share the companies profits in the form
of dividends.

Limitations:

Effect

on participation is limited because

ownership and management are two different
things .

Is workers Participation in
Management works???
Coch

and French's study was centered

around women tailors working in Harwood
Co. producing pajamas.
The factory was facing problems of reduced
production after transfer of its employees.
An experiment was designed in which there
were three levels of participation .

Cont..

(i) no participation by employees in planning the

changes though an explanation was provided;
(ii) participation through representation of the worker
in designing the changes to be made; and
(iii) total participation by all members of the group.

Estimated Changes in Output vis-a-vis

Degree of Participation
Production units per hour at five-day Intervals after
minor changes

Total participation

64

65

75

71

71

72

Representation Participation

50

53

60

68

64

66

53

55

51

49

55

No participation

45

Reasons for Failure in India:

Ideological differences between the employer and

the employees regarding the degree of participation.
Failure to imbibe the spirit of participation by the
parties .
Lack of strong trade unionism.
Illiteracy of workers .
Non co-operative attitude of the working class.
Delays in the implementation of the decisions of the
participative bodies .

Measures for making WPM successful:

Strong

and truly representative trade unions .

Employers and workers should agree on the
objective of industry and respect the rights
and obligations of each other.
Workers should be provided training to make
them aware about benefits of participation.

Cont.
An

atmosphere of trust must be created on

both the sides.
It should be a continuous process and
adequate time must be given to establish the
roots.