Workers Participation in Management Concept, Pre-requisites

WPM means different things to different people depending upon their objectives and expectations. Thus, WPM is an elastic concept. For example, for management it is a joint consultation prior to decision making, for workers it means co-determination, for trade unions It is the harbinger of a new order of social relationship and a new set of power equation within organisations, while for government it is an association of labour with management without the final authority or responsibility in decision making.

According to the ILO:

“Workers’ participation may, broadly be taken to cover all terms of association of workers and their representatives with the decision-making process, ranging from exchange of information, con­sultations, decisions and negotiations to more institutionalized forms such as the presence of work­ers’ members on management or supervisory boards or even management by workers themselves as practised in Yugoslavia”.

In Yugoslavia, WPM is governed by the Law on Workers’ Management of State Economic Enterprises and Higher Economic Association. The Act consists of a three-tier participation struc­ture: collective bargaining, workers’ council, and hoard of management.

In fact, the basic reason for differences in perception of WPM is mainly due to the differential pattern of practices adopted by various countries while implementing workers’ participation in man­agement.

For example, in Great Britain and Sweden, WPM is in the form of Joint Consultation through Joint Consultative Committees, Works Committees in France, Co-determination Committees in West Ger­many, Joint Work Council in Belgium, Workers’ Council and Management Board in Yugoslavia and Union Management Co-operation in USA.

In India, WPM is in the form of, what we call Labour Management Cooperation and Workers’ Participation in Management. It is implemented through the agencies like Works Committees, Joint Management Councils (JMCs) Shop Councils, Unit Councils and Joint Councils. Notwithstanding, these different forms of WPM differ only in degree, not in nature.

Be the perceptual differences as these may, WPM is a system of communication and consulta­tion, either formal or informal, by which the workers of an organisation are kept informed, as and when required, about the affairs of the undertaking and through which they express their opinion and contribute to decision-making process of management.

Characteristics:

The following are the main characteristics of WPM:

1. Participation implies practices which increase the scope for employees’ share of influence in decision-making process with the assumption of responsibility.
2. Participation presupposes willing acceptance of responsibility by workers.
3. Workers participate in management not as individuals but as a group through their representatives.
4. Worker’s participation in management differs from collective bargaining in the sense that while the former is based on mutual trust, information sharing and mutual problem solving; the latter is essentially based on power play, pressure tactics, and negotiations.
5. The basic rationale tor worker’s participation in management is that workers invest their Iabour and their fates to their place of work. Thus, they contribute to the outcomes of organization. Hence, they have a legitimate right to share in decision-making activities of organisation.

Objectives:

The objectives of WPM are closely netted to the ration-able for WPM. Accordingly, the objectives of WPM vary from country to country depending on their levels of socio-economic development political philosophies, industrial relations scenes, and attitude of the working class.

To quote, the objective of WPM is to co-determine at the various levels of enterprises in Germany, assign the final to workers over all matters relating to an undertaking in Yugoslavia, promote good communication and understanding between labour and management on the issues of business administration and production in Japan, and enable work-force to influence the working of industries in China, for example.

In India the objective of the government in advocating for workers’ participation in management, as stated in the Industrial Policy Resolution 1956, is a part of its overall endeavour to create a socialist society, wherein the sharing of a part of the managerial powers by workers is considered necessary.

The objective of WPM, as envisaged in the Second Five Year Plan of India is to ensure:

1. Increase in productivity for the benefit of all concerned to an enterprise, i.e., the employer, the employees and the community at large.
2. Satisfaction of worker’s urge for self-expression in the matters of enterprise management.
3. Making employees better understood of their roles in the organisation.

In ultimate sense, the objective of WPM in India is to achieve organizational effectiveness and the satisfaction of the employees.

Accordingly, the objectives of WPM in India are to:

1. Promote mutual understanding between management and workers, i.e., industrial harmony.
2. Establish and encourage good communication system at all levels.
3. Create and promote a sense of belongingness among workers.
4. Help handle resistance to change.
5. Induce a sense among workers to contribute their best for the cause of organisation.
6. Create a sense of commitment to decisions to which they were a party.

Levels of Participation:

Having known the objectives of WPM, the question then is to what extent workers can participate in decision-making process. In other words, it is important to know the extents/levels of co-determination in an organisation.

Viewed from this angle, Mehtras has suggested five levels of workers’ participation ranging from the minimum to the maximum. Since these levels of workers’ influence the process and quality of decision making in an organisation. We are therefore highlighting here these levels briefly ranking them from the minimum to the maximum level of participation.

Informative Participation:

This refers to management’s information sharing with workers on such items those are concerned with workers. Balance Sheet, production, economic conditions of the plant etc., are the examples of such items. It is important to note that here workers have no right of close scrutiny of the information provided and management has its prerogative to make decisions on issues concerned with workers.

Consultative Participation:

In this type of participation, workers are consulted in those matters which relate to them. Here, the role of workers is restricted to give their views only. However the acceptance and non-acceptance of these views depends on management. Nonetheless, it provides an opportunity to the workers to express their views on matters involving their interest.

Associative Participation:

Here, the role of the workers’ council is not just advisory unlike consultative participation. In a way, this is an advanced and improved form of consultative participa­tion. Now, the management is under a moral obligation to acknowledge, accept and implement the unanimous decision of the council.

Administrative Participation:

In the administrative participation, decisions already taken are implemented by the workers. Compared to the former three levels of participation, the degree of sharing authority and responsibility by the workers is definitely more in this participation.

Decisive Participation:

Here, the decisions are taken jointly by the management and the workers of an organisation. In fact, this is the ultimate level of workers’ participation in management.

The success of workers portion in management depends upon the following conditions:

(1) The attitude and outlook of the parties should be enlightened and impartial so that a free and frank exchange of thoughts and opinions could be possible. Where a right kind of attitude exists and proper atmosphere prevails the process of participation is greatly stimulated.

(2) Both parties should have a genuine faith in the system and in each other and be willing to work together.

(3) The experiment of labour participation in management must be given a wide publicity in order that the idea of participation is ingrained in the minds of those who are to implement the scheme.

(4) Participation should be real. The issues related to increase in production and productivity, evaluation of costs, development of personnel, and expansion of markets should also be brought under the jurisdiction of the participating bodies. These bodies should meet frequently and their decisions should be timely implemented and strictly adhered to.

(5) Objectives to be achieved should not be unrealistically high, vague or ambiguous but practicable of achievement and clear to all.

(6) Form, coverage, extent and level of participation should grow in response to specific environment, capacity and interest of the parties concerned.

(7) Participation must work as complementary body to help collective bargaining, which creates conditions of work and also creates legal relations.

(8) Institutional participation should be discouraged but such participation should be encouraged through changes in leadership styles, communication process, and inter-personal and inter-group relations.

(9) There should be a strong trade union, which has learnt the virtues of unit and self- reliance so that they may effectively take part in collective bargaining or participation.

(10) Multiple unions in one enterprise should be restricted by legislative measures. Similarly, there should be no multiplicity and duplicacy of bipartite consultative machinery at the plant level.

(11) A peaceful atmosphere should be there wherein there are no strikes and lock-outs, for their presence ruins the employees, harms the interest of the society, and puts the employees to financial losses.

(12) Authority should be centralised through democratic management process. The participation should be at the two or at the most three levels.

(13) Programmes for training and education should be developed comprehensively.

(14) Progressive personnel policies should ensure growth of individual workers within industry and proper policies should exist for selection, promotion, compensation, rewards and discipline.

(15) Management should be prepared to give all information connected with the working of the industry and labour should handle that information with full confidence and responsibility.

(16) The workers should become aware of their responsibilities. The leaders should initiate this in them. Similarly, the top management should make the lower echelons to show a new attitude in the light of the new relationship.

(17) The follow-up action on the decisions of the participating forums should be ensured. The government may also set up machinery to act as a watch-dog for implementing the scheme.

(18) Effective two-way communication is a must for the success of the programme. The shorter is the time for communication, the greater is the probability of correct Interpretation.

Workers’ Participation in Management (WPM) Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites for the successful functioning of the schemes of workers’ participation in management Managements, trade unions and the workers should be concerned with these prerequisites-

(1) There should be mutual trust, faith among all the parties concerned.

(2) There should be progressive management in the enterprise and should recognise its obligations and responsibilities towards workers and trade unions.

(3) There should be strong, democratic and representative union which should represent the cause of workers without neglecting the management’s interest.

(4) There should be closely and mutually formulated, objectives for participation by trade unions and management.

(5) All parties concerned with participative management should feel that they should participate at all levels.

(6) There should be effective communication between workers and management and effective consultation of the workers by the management.

(7) Both the parties should develop a favourable attitude towards the schemes of participative management.

(8) Management and Government should provide training to all the parties concerned to prepare them for participative management.

(9) Both the parties of anticipative management should be conscious of the benefits of the schemes.