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Meaning • Every employee has certain expectations, which he thinks must be fulfilled by the organization he is working for. When the organization fails to do this he develops a feeling of dissatisfaction. When an employee feels something is unfair in the organization he is said to have a grievance. • According to International Labour Organisation, ‘Grievance means, a complaint of one or more workers in respect of wages, allowances, conditions of work and interpretation of service stipulations covering such areas as overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, job assignment, and termination of service.’
Meaning • Employee grievance are situations in which the employees are dissatisfied with the company. • A grievance is any dissatisfaction that adversely affect the organizational relations and productivity. • Michael J. Jucious defined Grievances as “any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company that one employee thinks, believes or even feels, is unfair, unjust or inequitable.”
Meaning • It arises when an employee feels that something has happened or is going to happen which is unfair, unjust or inequitable. Thus, a grievance represents a situation in which an employee feels that something unfavorable to him has happened or is going to happen. In an industrial enterprise, an employee may have grievance because of long hours of work, non-fulfillment of terms of service by the management, unfair treatment in promotion, poor working facilities, etc.
Causes of Grievances • There are certainly some of the causes that can lead to Grievances. Some of them are listed below: ( III ) Supervision Relates to the attitude of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notions of bias, favoritism, regional feelings etc. • ( II ) Work Environment • Poor physical condition of workplace like- unsafe working conditions, illumination, poor ventilation and unsafe equipments. • Stringent production norms. • Defective tools and equipment. • Poor quality of material. • Unfair practices. • Nature of Job. • Poor quality raw material, tools, equipments.etc. ( I ) Economic Wage fixation. Overtime. Incentive. Allowances. Increments ( IV ) Work Group Employee is unable to adjust with his colleagues. Suffers from feelings of neglect. Victimization and becomes an object of ridicule and humiliation etc.
Nature of Grievances • Grievances are symptoms of conflicts in the enterprise. Just like smoke could mean fire, similarly grievances could lead to serious problem if it is not addressed immediately. So they should be handled very promptly and efficiently. • While dealing with grievances of subordinates, it is necessary to keep in mind the following points: • A grievance may or may not be real. • Grievance may arise out of not one cause but multifarious causes. • Every individual does not give expression to his grievances.
Forms of Grievances A grievance may take any of the following forms: • Factual: When an employee is dissatisfied with his job, for genuine or factual reasons like a breach of terms of employment or any other reasons that are clearly attributed to the management, he is said to have a factual grievance. Thus, factual grievances arise when the legitimate needs are unfulfilled. The problem that he has is real and not virtual.
Forms of Grievances • Imaginary: When an employee’s grievance or dissatisfaction is not because of any factual or valid reason but because of wrong perception, wrong attitude or wrong information he has. Such a grievance is called an imaginary grievance. Though it is not the fault of management, the responsibility of dealing with it still rests with the management. So the problem is not real. It is in the mind or just a feeling towards someone or something. So be careful your grievances could be very much imaginary!
Forms of Grievances • Disguised: An employee may have dissatisfaction for reasons that are unknown to himself. This may be because of pressures and frustrations that an employee is feeling from other sources like his personal life.
Identifying Grievances • Exit interview: Employees usually quit organizations due to dissatisfaction or better prospects elsewhere. Exit interviews, if conducted carefully, can provide important information about employees’ grievances. This can help the management to gather feedback and to genuinely incorporate feedback. The management should carefully act upon the information drawn from such employees .It should be careful that the discontentment is reduced so that no more employees quit the organization because of similar reasons.
Identifying Grievances • Gripe Boxes: These are boxes in which the employees can drop their anonymous complaints. They are different from the suggestion boxes in which employees drop their named suggestion with an intention to receive rewards. It is normally said that if you want to progress in life, you should be close to critics. These gripe boxes can perform the role of critics for the organization. The management should carefully act upon the information thus gathered.
Identifying Grievances • Opinion Survey: The management can be proactive by conducting group meetings, periodical interviews with employees, collective bargaining sessions etc. through which one can get information about employees’ dissatisfaction before it turns into a grievance. • Open-door Policy. Some organization extend a general invitation to their employees to informally drop in the manager’s room any time and talk over their grievances. This can be very effective because it can nip the evil in the bud. That is it can take care of the problem before it gets out of hand.
Effects of Grievances • Frustration • Alienation • De-motivation • Slackness • Low Productivity • Increase in Wastage & Costs • Absenteeism • In discipline • Labor unrest
Principles for handling Grievances • In handling grievances, a considerable amount of time must be spent in talking with employees, gathering data from them and passing on various types of information. • The management executive or representative must seek to develop an attitude towards employees, that should result in gaining their confidence. He should avoid giving the impression that subordinates are ignored. • In handling grievances, consideration should be given not only to the effect in the present but also to long run.
Principles for handling Grievances • A positive attitude of management and their representatives indicating their full awareness of and willingness to carry these burdens must be apparent to employees in order to gain their respect and co-operation.
Steps in Grievance procedure • Step-1: An employee who believes the company has violated the contract, complains to his union steward who may accept or assist in the writing of a grievance. Then the steward will present the grievances to the grievant superior who has the opportunity to answer or adjust it. • Step-2: If the grievance is denied at step-1, then the steward will pursue it to a plant industrial relations representative or the employee’s superior. • Step-3: If the grievance is likely to involve possibilities of major cost, then the IR representative may deny it and send it to step-3.
Steps in Grievance procedure • The participants at step-3 may vary substantially depending on the contract. Typical arrangements would include the following parties. • Firstly, the grievance may be settled locally with the local negotiating committee and management. • In more complex situations grievance may be settled by a corporate level of IR director. • Step-4: When a grievance is unresolved at the third step, the parties submit the dispute to a neutral arbitrator who hears evidence from both sides and renders a decision in favor of one side.
