FEBRUARY 2014
|
MAGIS
15
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| THINKING ALOUD |
In his keynote address K Ramkumar, Executive
Director, ICICI Bank Ltd, stressed upon the importance
of managers having a liberal outlook — by being cus-
todians of the shareholders, of the workers who create
the capital and of the customers. He also raised concern
over the increasing use of contract labour in organisa-
tions and the rise in hire and fire policies.
The view was shared by secretary of FIRE@X Sunil
Kamath, who said “Over time, the aspirations of the
workforce have changed drastically. Workers have
become more individualistic and their needs are also
growing with time.”
PANEL DISCUSSION
on Changing Workforce —
their Aspirations and Expectations was moderated by
Prof. Santanu Sarkar, Chairperson HRM area XLRI,
on the first day of the conference. Executive Vice-Pres-
ident Mahindra & Mahindra Alfred Osta emphasised
on the importance of HR practices amidst globalisation
and increasing competition. Dr. Debi Saini, professor
and Chairman HRM area MDI, Gurgaon, informed
the gathering of various types of trade unions and how
psychological contract can lead to success.
Adding to the discussion Dr. Prasenjit Bose, a PhD
scholar on economics from Centre of Economic Stud-
ies and Planning, JNU, argued for the relevance of
trade unions in India in spite of the changing nature of
work and the changing aspirations of the work force.
The theme for discussion on the second day was
Management in an Era of Globalisation. Speakers like
Dharm Rakshit, AVP, Mondelez International, Prof.
Jerome Joseph from IIM-A, Karthik Shekhar from
UNITES, N Vasudevan, President, NTUI, Salil Lal,
Head ER, Maruti Suzuki, Manesar plant, Prof. Ratna
Sen, HOD, IISWBM and PN Prasad, Chief-HRM,
TATA Steel, at the event delved in enthusiastic ex-
change of ideas and also raised some pertinent
questions on the role of managers.
Sameeksha, the final round of an inter B-School
paper presentation competition, was also held during
the conference. IIM-Ranchi won the first prize and
XLRI bagged the second, while FMS secured the third
position.
Please write to us at
The IR conference,
organised by FIRE@X,
saw industry experts,
union activists &
students participation
PROF. EA RAMASWAMY,
FORMER PROFESSOR OF
SOCIOLOGY AND IR, DELHI
SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS,
QUESTIONS THE EXISTING
SLACK IN MANUFACTURING
SECTOR. EXCERPTS FROM
AN INTERVIEW.
GIVEN THE CHANGING
INDUSTRIAL SCENARIO, IS
THERE A NEED TO REVISE
LABOUR LAW?
Certainly there is a need to
revise labour laws but there is
no political will for it.
IS THERE DISCONNECT
BETWEEN HR AND IR?
In India HR started as a welfare
organisation and IR started off
as a communist union. Today
the focus of the management
has changed and the question to
ask is why manufacturing is not
taking roots in India. Manufac-
turing is the largest employ-
ment creation sector. But the
manufacturing sector cannot
grow because of the contract
labour scenario in India. The is-
sue is blocking the sector from
growing and the inadequate
approach towards the problem
is creating a burning situation.
It can blow out anytime.
THERE IS A TREND FOR
INDIVIDUALISTIC HRM
APPROACH OVER COLLEC-
TIVISM. HOW DOES THE
APPROACH IMPACT INDUS-
TRIAL RELATIONS?
In the level of managers there
is a shift from collectivism to
individualism. But it is not
the same for the
workers. They are still treated
as a class and not as individu-
als. In the supervisory level
they feel that workers don’t
need growth but in today’s
changing scenario workers seek
growth; they want opportuni-
ties.
SINCE IT IS DIFFICULT TO DO
AWAY WITH CONTRACTUAL
HIRING, WHAT SHOULD
BE THE APPROACH IN THE
MANAGERIAL LEVEL?
Contractual labour is a prob-
lem. Attention should be given
to core and periphery workers.
If the core is 10 percent and the
periphery 90 percent then there
is bound to be an outburst.
ROLE OF MANAGEMENT
INSTITUTES IN THIS CHANG-
ING SCENARIO?
Most institutes don’t care for
industrial relations or ethics,
barring a few like XLRI. Most
institutes focus on marketing.
I feel the teaching should be
more liberalism/ socialism
driven. There should be empa-
thy for the workers.
AN ACADEMICIAN’S VIEW
ON LABOUR ASPIRATIONS
MA
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