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Trending: Call for Papers Volume 4 | Issue 3: International Journal of Advanced Legal Research [ISSN: 2582-7340]

IMPORTANCE OF WORKERS PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT

All forms of communication are essential to human life. One of the most common forms of communication is interpersonal communication. This happens when two or more people communicate face-to-face and share ideas and information. Interpersonal communication includes body language and physical gestures to help people better understand each other. Both organizations and individuals need to understand the importance of interpersonal communication. Organizations may not give human communication the proper importance, and as a result, face serious productivity consequences. In this research paper we will discuss about the significance of workers participation in the management of any organization. This paper covers characteristics, objective of work participation in management with that it also includes forms of participation, level of participation, evaluation of worker participation in management schemes, measures to make worker participation in management more meaningful and suggestion for effective working of workers participation in the management scheme. Workers’ participation in management is of immense value to the organization. It creates a sense of belonging among workers and makes them more responsible for their attitudes and actions. It reduces labor insecurity in and promotes labor peace. This helps maintain a balanced relationship between workersand management.

INTRODUCTION

The word participation means expressing our view points to others and discusses them in such a way that will benefit the company or the organization. So, workers participation is also enabling all the workers to take part in decision- making process of the organization in which they working. This will help them realize their importance and role in the organization. In this way they can find how their actions are helping the overall growth and development of the organization. It is also beneficial for the workers as it will enhance their working skills, decision

1Ishita Jain, B.Com. LL.B. 4th year student & Ranu Sharma, B.Com. LL.B.4th year student

making power and helps to broaden their perspective. Even the Constitution of India also provides provisions for Worker’s participation in management under the Directive principle of state policy (DPSP). The Article 43A of the Constitution of India, 1950 deals with Participation of workers in the management of industries. The article states that the state must take appropriate steps in order to secure the participation of the workers by bringing suitable legislation. This article was inserted by the 42nd amendment, of the Constitution of India. The concept of workers to take part in management discussion is related to Human Relation to Management which will bridge the gap between Labour and management.

Worker’s participation in management is of great importance as it provides a sense of belonging to the workers. This will enable them to work as they are working for their own business and not as a mere employee. Once they express their ideas, view or thoughts to each other and listening to others will eventually inculcate the sense of belongingness and loyalty toward the organization in which they working. Also increase the productivity of the employees as know they have freewill to express themselves. Thus, worker’s participation in management must be an integral part of every industrial democracy.

In earlier time, Mahatma Gandhi of the one who has introduced this concept that the workers participation in management is essential for workers as well as for the organization. This concept was introduced in 1920. There are several instances in which we can see that how Mahatma Gandhi has resolved the disputes between workers and management. Like in Ahmadabad, the workers of the textile mill and employers has agreed to resolve the quarrel with the help of joint participation in the decision-making process. Another instance was of TISCO, in 1958 the company has set up different committees for workers that they can participate in various matters related to the organization and express their idea in discussions.

According toInternational Labour Organization: It states that the term workers participation will cover all the terms and conditions of association of workers. It must include an appropriate chance to represent them in decision- making process; proper exchange of information must be there, consultation and negotiations etc. The main implications of Worker’s participation in management are as follows:

  1. The workers will express their useful ideas or views on particular topic of discussions in the meetings.
  2. The workers will work with full loyalty and trust if they know the intentions behind the decisions made during the meetings of the organization and thus work efficiently and

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF WORKER PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT

The following are the main characteristics of participation of workers:

  1. The word participation means it will increase the moral of the workers as it will allow them to speak up their own views to others and also listen to others viewpoints. It is an overall development of the workers. It also makes the workers more responsible and diligent in their
  2. Worker’s participation enables the workers to work with full responsibility and work with full sincerity. They feel like they are working for themselves and not just for the sack of doing the They enjoy doing their work.
  3. Workers can take part in decision making process and represent their ideas to the The workers participate through their representative. It is totally different from collective bargain.
  4. The aim of workers participation in the management is that the workers will put their efforts in the decisions; it will help to fill the gap between the employer and employee. The workers will get to know how they are contributing their parts in the organization and this they must have every right to express their opinions to others and to hear others as
  5. It is a way in which the workers and employers can communicate and can freely express their views without hesitating and without any fear of higher authorities. In the case of formal participation, various committee and councils can be formed, also joint management council whereas the informal participation will include consulting workers, advisory and matters related to leaves and promotion etc.
  6. The workers are psychologically satisfied as they spend a lot of time in the organization and they know their value in the organization which is why they are psychologically

OBJECTIVES OF WORKER PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT

The objective of workers participation in management will always be different from country to country or organization to organization or state to state as it depends on various factors such as better-quality manpower, advancement of industries in high – tech technologies, skilled or unskilled labours, working hours and relationship between employee and employer and many more. Some of the aspects can also affect the variance in objective that is societal aspect, soundness of economy, better political background and friendly environment workers. All these factors affect the objective of one place or industry as no two industries has same protocols. Some of the common objects of workers participation in management are explained below:

  • In order to protect the workers from being exploited and manipulated by the employers or higher authorities or by the management. So, when the workers will also get their stand in the management, they got well aware and no one can treat them
  • The participation will eventually help in developing the labors or working class as their views are now being
  • By workers participation there will have a democracy in the organization where everyone knows about their rights and
  • Through genuine participation of workers in the meetings of the organization, there will be fewer chances of conflicts and if one has arisen then the conflict or disputes can be resolved there and then in democratic manner or in civilized
  • It will help workers to create a sense of belongingness toward the
  • This will benefit the employer as well as the workers. The workers will benefit by better working and living conditions. Also, they also got a chance to give suggestions in the The employers will eventually get better overall results in the business as the workers are satisfied with their jobs and happy worker means better productivity.
  • There will be fewer issues in the organization and better understanding between each
  • The workers or labourers will get to know about their role in the organization and how they have contributed in total
  • The workers will learn to co- operate with each other and with the
  • Hence, it will lead to the feeling of peace and harmony between employee and

FORMS OF PARTICIPATION

There are various forms of the participation some of the participation can be done together and

some are individually. Some of the forms of participation which are practiced in India are explained below:

  • Collective Bargaining – It is the process where the two parties negotiated with each other and come to a decision. In other word it is the negotiation between a group of employees and one or more employers either in deciding the salary of the workers, proper working conditions, healthcare, old age pension and other benefits and rights. This can only be successful if there is some mutual understanding between the employer and Also, the relation of give and take makes collective bargain work properly. In Indian workers usually prefer this method.
  • Work Councils: In India the concept of work council was started from the Industrial Dispute Act 1947. According to the act in India many industries and organizations are following a set of rules and regulation. In the act it is said that every employer has to form a work committee or council if they have more than 100 employees in the The aim of these committees or councils is to maintain a harmonious relationship between the worker and the management. This council must consist of representatives of both employer and employee. The members must consist of equal number of workers and individual employers. The prime need for work council is to eliminate the differences of both parties and eventually establish understanding between the employer and employee.
  • Joint Management Councils – It is similar to work councils, here also the representatives of both the parties come together and solve the disputes or conflicts. The nature of the joint management council is consultation and advising both the parties in relevant These councils work majorly for the betterment of workers in the matter of better working conditions, sanitation, ventilations, proper drinking water facility and adequate canteens with good quality food etc.
  • Board Representation: In this form of participation only few of the employees are elected to be board of directors. In India it is the greatest form of participation as its aim is to safeguard the interest of the employees and built a relation of trust and solidarity between the employer and
  • Workers Complete Ownership: In this form the workers are at self-management. By self-management it means that the employee gets the full control over the management through the elected board specific in these types of form the participation the work is done two different set of people where they perform two different types of function such as managerial and
  • Co – partnership: In this type of partnership the workers take participation in the share capital of their own company in which they are working as employees. The workers buy the equity shares of the company and become one of the shareholders of the company. They can make payments in which ever form either in instalments, advance, loan or any other forms. As the workers also have the position of shareholders then they full rights in either voting and part in discussion in management

LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION

There are different levels and certain extent in which the workers can participate in the decision-making process. The working part is different in different organizations and so as the participation of workers have different levels, degree and nature of participation. The following are the level of participation:

  • Informative Participation: In this management shares information related to balance sheet, overall profit and loss incurred by the organisation to the workers. So, the main aim of this level of participation is to provide information to everyone who is working in the organisation.
  • Consultative participation: The workers can give their views on the matters related to the decisions of the management but the acceptance and non-acceptance of them is totally depended on the employers. In that situation the workers can’t say that his is not heard by the employers as each and all decisions are made with due diligence.
  • Associate participation: Unlike consultative participation, in associate participation the employer has the moral duty to recognise the idea given by the employer. This the improved and corrected form of consultative
  • Administrative participation: Here the decision is already made by the workers and also it is being implemented. The power of worker and responsibility is comparatively higher as compared to other levels of
  • Decisive Participation: In this level of participation the decisions based on production, welfare and safety of workers are taken into consideration. All the matters are jointly taken by the workers and

EVALUATION OF WORKERS PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT SCHEME

Instead of having good results workers participation in management scheme has not shown the satisfactory results. This concept of participative management is supported by government, employees and employers. The government launch variety of schemes time to time but this scheme the workers participation in management scheme has failed miserably.

  • No spirit of participation between employee and employer- one of the major reason responsible for the failure of the scheme is lack of the spirit of participation between the The employer creates councils to substitute for trade unions, while employees consider it as a rival act and because of the unfavorable working conditions they cannot focus on the work and spirit of participation ended.
  • Materialistic differences between employees and employers regarding the degree of participation- there is a clash between employees and employers related to the level of participation of
  • Unfavorable industrial relations- as per the industrial history of the country the industrial climate has created disturbance to the laborers and the government has also launched the schemes related to participation of workers in such climate when it became total
  • Absence of Strong trade union- In India if we look upon the factories there is not a one strong trade union but multiple unions so, that create inter-union rivalry and this make workers participation in management scheme
  • Illiteracy – Illiteracy is also one of the important reasons for the failure of this scheme. Most of the workers are illiterate and sometimes the employers are also illiterate so they cannot make a balance between level of the participation and because of lack of knowledge, they are unable to participate
  • Delay in implementation of decisions- one of the major difficulties is to implement the decision taken by the various authorities basically delay in execution and implementation of decision according to the planning leads to failure of worker participation in management scheme.
  • Non cooperative attitude of workers – sometimes because of the attitude of workers it creates unfavorable working environment and employer also does not cooperate with So, because of non-cooperative attitude of both the parties. WPM scheme fails.

MEASURES      TO     MAKE     SCHEME     OF     WORKERS                           PARTICIPATION                   AND MANAGEMENT MORE MEANINGFULL

  1. Strong Trade Unionism- The most important aspect to make the WPM scheme more meaningful is to have strong trade union instead of multiple councils or small and unorganized The one strong and organized trade union can solve the organizational problems between the employer and employee and can tackle any problem arises in industry with that it also improves the participation.
  2. Literacy- To make worker’s participation management scheme successful the education of worker is very important. When workers get appointed on various councils, they must have knowledge to understand the laws, the amendments made by the government and the reasons for the establishment of the act. In absence of knowledge, they cannot participate effectively without knowing the object to participate meaningfully and they are not able to take decisions because of lack of
  3. Quick implementation of policies – for proper functioning of the scheme there should be proper and rapid execution of plans and decisions made by panel and authority. If there is any kind of delay in implementation of scheme than there are possible chances that employees will lose interest and faith and this will lead to disappointment and scheme will
  4. Favorable working conditions – one of the main measures to make workers participation in management scheme more successful is to make the atmosphere or working environment favorable. The environment should be compatible to do work. It should be highly motivating because in case of poor relations between employer and employee the execution of policies becomes difficult. So, the industrial relationships should be maintained.
  1. Faith & trust – faith and trust are most important factor for management. Both Employer and employee must have faith and trust in the scheme. A relation is developed between employer and employee with faith and trust. Faith and trust create good industrial relations by boosting communication. Scheme should be executed with confidence not only for the object of execution of worker participation. Target set should be
  2. Collective bargaining and worker participation- the method of workers participation in management should be used in each and every organization as supplementary to collective bargaining. The management should frame such policies that can avail they advantages of collective bargaining as well as workers
  3. Evaluation of the work- To make this scheme more successful the management should take effective measures to draw a scheme for the evaluation of the work of the workers. The scheme should be checked on time basis and work of the workers should be evaluated periodically and can also alter or modify the scheme if
  4. Worker and management must have the positive attitude towards the schemes of worker They should have faith in scheme and presume that its very beneficial and strong expanding productivity, educating workers and growing labor management cooperation

ADVANTAGES OF WORKERS PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT SCHEME

  1. Increase sense of responsibility – it’s the best way to get the support of the worker. When workers take interest in implementation of program in which they themselves are It provides them a sense of achievement and it’s a best way to get cooperation from the workers and this increase sense of responsibility among workers.
  2. Common understanding – it develops common understanding between the worker and the Participation creates the bond between employer and employee they understand and solve the problems together. It develops faith and trust. By this employee understand their role in production.
  1. Acceptance of change- if any change launched by the management any new technique or method is adopted then generally the workers refuses to accept the change. They want to do the work in the way they are familiar with but participating of workers with the management they can get to know about what actual change is about to create and they can take part in the decision making jointly with the Can effectively participate with the management and it also facilitate acceptance of change.
  2. Improvement in the decision making- when the workers help the superior authority it does not only create a mutual understanding but also improve the planning carried by The workers can suggest the effective measures to improve the working conditions or if management want to change any procedure or method of working because worker is the part of that work. They can provide best alternative and solution to the superiors and that will improve the decision making.
  3. Increasement in the moral of workers- everyone needs motivation to do something. Here the workers also want the satisfaction and motivation from their job and working The employer should invite the employees to participate this will increase their job satisfaction and will also increase the moral of the employees. Basically indirectly discussion with the workers shows that leader has believed in workers and by giving them reorganization that’s results to moral and motivation.
  4. Give recognition to capable employees- sometimes management cannot identify the talent of employees and highly skilled employees remained unrecognized. So, it is the responsibility of management to provide various opportunities to the workers to show their ability, knowledge, talent and leadership skill. Participation is the only method which helps to identify the capability of
  5. Avail proper training opportunities- Participation does not only include to take part in meeting or discussion but here proper training opportunities should be provided to the workers to resolve the So, that they can also understand the different –different projects and problems and can become capable to tackle these problems through discussion, arguments, consultations etc.
  1. Increase in the productivity – Participation of workers increases the common understanding and cooperation between the workers and the management that increases the productivity. It leads to better production, good industrial relations, and also increase the efficiency of workers to participate. With the cooperation it leads to reduce in the wastage of land, labor and By this way overall productivity increases.

SUGGESTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE WORKING OF WORKER PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT SCHEME

The following suggestions can be made for effective working of the workers participation management-

  1. There must to total contribution from both the parties to make this scheme successful. There must be various participative schemes and the agreement should be done by the parties to work on the schemes at different
  2. The work environment should be friendly and compatible for employees to work there. This will create the cooperation from the side of the workers and ensure the operation. The environment of industrial conflict led to unfavorable working environment so, the working environment should be favorable to cultivate healthy working culture.
  3. The publication of worker participation is necessary so, that those who have any ideas they can share them. By way of lectures, seminars, shows, conference the enthusiasm of worker can be
  4. Both employee and employer should cooperate and give their best for the development of the They should use their talent and resources to achieve their goal.
  5. The participation should be real by workers. It is not just to show they are enthusiastic towards work but it should be shown in their work. There ideas of strategy, policy and decisions should be given for proper They should work with the will.
  6. The participation of worker system should be supplementary to the collective bargaining
  7. The objective should be clear in the mind of parties which need to be achieved within
  8. The participation scheme should be developmental it should start from the lower level and at the initial stage of this scheme should not include worker at board level. There should be step by step division of work between the
  9. For effective participation of worker’s participation must base on mutual trust and ability of
  10. The program of training and education should be given time to time basically labor education is necessary for thinking, planning and execution of
  11. There must be proper communication between worker and the organization basically free flow of information between both the
  12. Suspension of workers may create an ineffective working environment and obstacles to participation
  13. Whatever the decisions are being taken work should done according to the decision as per proper planning the execution should take
  14. The management should draft a proper scheme so, that in future if necessary to alter any provision, then it should be possible.

CONCLUSION

According to various research it shows worker participation scheme has played a major role in increasing the productivity of workers and organization. Some research shows that this scheme has not shown proper results but if overall we see it leads to increase in productivity of labor and the production too. With that it ensures the labor that they are also the integral part of the organization. They also play a significant role in the organization. By WPM scheme they have opportunity to show their talent. They can also contribute into the organization by giving consultation to the labor management decisions. Here management should also cooperate with the workers they should not consider trade union as a barrier but also consider the decisions or consultation given by them. To increase the production and achieve the goals and target both the employee and employer should work together continuously. The government has taken steps to setup WPM scheme by Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. There object was to raise the economy by raising the productivity but somehow WPM scheme didn’t work as per plan. Now it’s a high time government should take few steps for the proper implementation and effective working of this scheme government should ask the organization to create Democratic environment, the object of planning should be clear basically no delay in implementation and execution of decisions and the major reason by which this scheme lacks in illiteracy the government should plan education programs and seminar’s so, that they can educate work and the workers participation scheme can work effectively and can show its positive outcomes.