Grievance Management

A grievance is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice having connection with

one’s employment situation which is brought to the attention of management.

1. Dissatisfaction is anything that disturbs an employee, whether or not the

unrest is expressed in words.
2. Complaint is a spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention of the
supervisor or the shop steward.
3. Grievance is a complaint that has been formally presented to a management
representative or to a union official.

DEFINITION :
According to Michael Jucious, ‘grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction
whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything
connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even feels
to be unfair, unjust or inequitable’.

FEATURES :

1. The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not due to personal or
family problems.
2. The discontent can arise out of real or imaginary reasons. When employees
feel that injustice has been done to them, they have a grievance. The reason for
such a feeling may be valid or invalid, legitimate or irrational, justifiable or
ridiculous.
3. The discontent may be voiced or unvoiced, but it must find expression in
some form. However, discontent per se is not a grievance. Initially, the
employee may complain orally or in writing. If this is not looked into promptly,
the employee feels a sense of lack of justice. Now, the discontent grows and
takes the shape of a grievance.
4. A grievance is traceable to be perceived as non-fulfillment of one’s expec-
tations from the organization.

NEED FOR GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE:

(i) Identification and analysis of grievances, nature nod causes.

(ii) Helps at formulating and implementing the policies and programmes.
(iii) It is problem solving, dispute-settling mechanism.
(iv) Strengthen good industrial relationship.
(v) It detects the flaws in working conditions and helps to take corrective
measures.
(vi) Build good morale, maintains code of discipline.
(vii) Brings uniformity in handling grievances.
(viii) It develops faith of employees.
(ix) Reduces personality conflicts.
(x) It acts as a pressure valve.
(xi) Provides judicial protection to the employees.
(xii) Provides avenues to present the problems.

CAUSES OF GRIEVANCES :

1. ECONOMIC :
Employees may demand for individual wage adjustments.
They may feel that they are paid less when compared to others.
For example, late bonus, payments, adjustments to overtime pay, perceived
inequalities in treatment, claims for equal pay, and appeals against performance-
related pay awards.

2.WORK ENVIRONMENT :
Undesirable or unsatisfactory conditions of work.
For example, light, space, heat, or poor physical conditions of workplace,
defective tools and equipment, poor quality of material, unfair rules, and lack of
recognition.

3. SUPERVISION :
The attitudes of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notions
of bias, favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliations and regional feelings.

4.ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE :
Any change in the organizational policies can result in grievances. For example,
the implementation of revised company policies or new working practices.
5.EMPLOYEE RELATIONS :

Employees are unable to adjust with their colleagues, suffer from feelings of
neglect and victimization and become an object of ridicule and humiliation, or
other inter- employee disputes.

6.MISCELLANEOUS :
Violations in respect of promotions , Safety methods, transfer, disciplinary
rules, fines, granting leaves, medical facilities, etc.

GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURE:

THE TRIPARTITE COMMITTEE HAS SUCCESSIVE TIME BOUND

STEPS :

1. An aggrieved employee would first present his grievance verbally to

designated officer who would give a reply within 48 hours.

2. In case employee dissatisfied or fails to get an answer within stipulated

period, he would personally or accompanied by department representative,
present his grievance to HOD.

3. If HOD fails to give a decision within 3 days or if his decision is

unsatisfactory, the aggrieved worker can meet “grievance committee
(gc)”. Gc will communicate its recommendations to manager within 7
days ofthe grievance reaching it.

4. If recommendation is not made within stipulated time, reason would be

recorded and they will be placed before manager.
Manager . is expected to communicate his decision within 3 days.

5. Worker would have a right to appeal to higher authorities for revision of

manager’s decision.
All such appeals have to be decided within a week of the worker’s petition.
6. Failure to settle grievance , labour union and management may refer it to
voluntary arbitration within a week of receipt of the management’s final
decision.

Effects of Grievance:
Grievances, if not identified and redressed, may adversely affect workers,
managers, and the organization.

The effects are the following:

1. On the production:
a. Low quality of production
b. Low productivity
c. Increase in the wastage of material, spoilage/leakage of machinery
d. Increase in the cost of production per unit
2. On the employees:
a. Increase in the rate of absenteeism and turnover
b. Reduction in the level of commitment, sincerity and punctuality
c. Increase in the incidence of accidents
d. Reduction in the level of employee morale.
3. On the managers:
a. Strained superior-subordinate relations.
b. Increase in the degree of supervision and control.
c. Increase in indiscipline cases
d. Increase in unrest and thereby machinery to maintain industrial peace
Grievance Handling Procedure

Grievance procedure is a formal communication between an employee and the

management designed for the settlement of a grievance.
The grievance procedures differ from organization to organization.
1. Open door policy
2. Step-ladder policy

Open door policy:

Under this policy, the aggrieved employee is free to meet the top executives of
the organization and get his grievances redressed. Such a policy works well
only in small organizations. However, in bigger organizations, top management
executives are usually busy with other concerned matters of the company.
Moreover, it is believed that open door
policy is suitable for executives; operational employees may feel shy to go to
top management.
Step ladder policy:
Under this policy, the aggrieved employee has to follow a step by step
procedure for getting his grievance redressed. In this procedure, whenever an
employee is confronted with a grievance, he presents his problem to his
immediate supervisor. If the employee is not satisfied with superior’s decision,
then he discusses his grievance with the departmental head. The departmental
head discusses the problem with joint grievance committees to find a solution.
However, if the committee also fails to redress the grievance, then it may be
referred to chief executive. If the chief executive also fails to redress the
grievance, then such a grievance is referred to voluntary arbitration where the
award of arbitrator is binding on both the parties.

The Model Grievance Procedure specifies the details of all the steps that are to
be followed while redressing grievances. These steps are:
STEP 1: In the first step the grievance is to be submitted to departmental
representative, who is a representative of management. He has to give his
answer within 48 hours.
STEP 2: If the departmental representative fails to provide a solution, the
aggrieved employee can take his grievance to head of the department, who has
to give his decision within 3 days.
STEP 3: If the aggrieved employee is not satisfied with the decision of
departmental head, he can take the grievance to Grievance Committee. The
Grievance Committee makes its recommendations to the manager within 7 days
in the form of a report. The final decision of the management on the report of
Grievance Committee must be communicated to the aggrieved employee within
three days of the receipt of report.
An appeal for revision of final decision can be made by the worker if he is not
satisfied with it. The management must communicate its decision to the worker
within 7 days.
STEP 4:
If the grievance still remains unsettled, the case may be referred to voluntary
arbitration.