GrievancesBy- Unnati Shah

• Dissatisfaction :Anything that disturbs an employee , whether or not the unrest is expressed in words.

• Complaint : A spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention of the supervisor.

• Grievance : A complaint that has been formally presented to a Management representative or to a Union Official.

• A grievance can be defined as any sort of dissatisfaction, which needs to be redressed in order to bring about the smooth functioning of the individual in the organization.

• Broadly, a grievance can be defined as any discontent of dissatisfaction with any aspect of the organization.

• It can be real or imaginary, legitimate or ridiculous, rated or unvoiced, written or oral, it must however, find expression in some form of the other.

• Discontent or dissatisfaction is not a grievance. They initially find expression in the form of a complaint.

• When a complaint remains unattended and the employee concerned feels a sense of lack of justice and fair play, the dissatisfaction grows and assumes the status of grievance.

• Usually grievance relate to problems of interpretation of perceived non-fulfillment of one’s expectation from the organization.

• The grievance procedure can be divided into two parts:-

• A formal grievance redressal process and • An informal process of grievance handling

It is required that the grievance must fall under the following category to be considered one: 1. Compensation 2. Conditions of work 3. Continuity of service 4. Disciplinary action 5. Fines 6. Leave 7. Medical benefits 8. Nature of job 9. Payments 10.Promotions 11.Safety environment 12.Super Annuation 13.Supersession 14. Transfers • There is need for deeper analysis of the

policies, procedures, practices, structures and personality dynamics in the organization to arrive at the real causes of grievances

FORMS OF GRIEVANCES

1. FACTUAL.

2. IMAGINARY.

3. DISGUISED.

REASONS FOR GRIEVANCES1. Economic : Wage fixation, wage computation, overtime, bonus. Employees feel they are getting less than what they ought to get

2. Working Environment : Poor working conditions, defective equipment and machinery, tools, materials.

3. Supervision : Disposition of the boss towards the employee, perceived notions of favoritism, nepotism, bias etc.

4. Work Group : Strained relations or incompatibility with peers. Feeling of neglect, obstruction and victimization. 5. Work Organization : Rigid and unfair rules, too much less work responsibility, lack of recognition

EFFECT OF GRIEVANCES

a. Loss of interest in work and consequent lack of moral and commitment b. Poor quality of production c. Low productivity d. Increase in wastage and costs e. Increase in employee turnover f. Increase in the incidence of accidents g. Indiscipline h. Unrest, etc.

DISCOVERY OF GRIEVANCES

• a) Observation.• b) Grievance procedure.• c) Gripe Boxes.• d) Open Door Policy.• e) Exit Interview.• f) Opinion Survey.

HANDLING GRIEVANCES• when a grievance is held by an employee, he/she has the right to

declare a grievance in terms of a particular procedure usually laid down by the company. “This would require the employee initially attempting to resolve the grievance informally by discussing the nature of the grievance with his/her supervisor or manager.

• However, if the grievance is not able to be resolved by the supervisor, then the grievance is raised more formally by escalating it to a manager one level higher than the level of management to which the grievance was informally raised, possibly even involving a representative of the HR department, where the organisation has its own dedicated HR department.

• If the grievance remains unresolved, it can be raised to levels as senior as those at Chief Executive and Managing Director levels within the organisation.

• In the event that the grievance raised by the aggrieved party is not resolved to their satisfaction, they have the right, once all steps laid down in the company grievance procedure have been exhausted, to declare a dispute to a dispute resolution body such as a bargaining council or the Council for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

STEPS IN GRIEVANCES PROCESS

• Oral grievance.• Written grievance.• Grievance advanced to

employee/industrial relations.• Arbitrations.

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE

• The manager should immediately identify all grievances and must take appropriate steps to eliminate the causes of such grievances so that the employees remain loyal and committed to their work.

• Effective grievance management is an essential part of personnel management.

• The managers should adopt the following approach to manage grievance effectively-

• Quick action- As soon as the grievance arises, it should be identified and resolved. Training must be given to the managers to effectively and timely manage a grievance. This will lower the detrimental effects of grievance on the employees and their performance.

• Acknowledging grievance- The manager must acknowledge the grievance put forward by the employee as manifestation of true and real feelings of the employees. Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the manager is eager to look into the complaint impartially and without any bias. This will create a conducive work environment with instances of grievance reduced.

• Gathering facts- The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient facts explaining the grievance’s nature. A record of such facts must be maintained so that these can be used in later stage of grievance redressal.

• Examining the causes of grievance- The actual cause of grievance should be identified. Accordingly remedial actions should be taken to prevent repetition of the grievance.

• Decisioning- After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course of actions should be thought of to manage the grievance. The effect of each course of action on the existing and future management policies and procedure should be analyzed and accordingly decision should be taken by the manager.

• Execution and review- The manager should execute the decision quickly, ignoring the fact, that it may or may not hurt the employees concerned. After implementing the decision, a follow-up must be there to ensure that the grievance has been resolved completely and adequately

• An effective grievance procedure ensures an amiable work environment because it redresses the grievance to mutual satisfaction of both the employees and the managers.

• It also helps the management to frame policies and procedures acceptable to the employees.

• It becomes an effective medium for the employees to express their feelings, discontent and dissatisfaction openly and formally.

DIFFERENT STAGES FOR REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCES

• Grievance Redresseal Procedure is followed at 3 levels for prompt action.

1. FIRST STAGE (MINE/DEPARTMENT LEVEL):  2. SECOND STAGE (AREA LEVEL):  If the employee is not

satisfied, he may request the Manager/HoD to forward his Grievance to the Grievance Committee constituted at Area level.

3. THIRD STAGE (CORPORATE LEVEL):  If the employee is not satisfied with the reply given by the Grievance Committee at Area level, he can represent the matter to the Director at Corporate level.

BENEFITS OF GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURES

1. It encourages employees to raise concerns without fear of reprisal.2. It provides a fair & speedy means of dealing of grievances.3. It prevents minor disagreements developing into more serious disputes.4. It saves employer’s time & money as solutions are found for workplace problems.5. It helps build in organizational climate based on openness and trust.

• THE "WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY" OF GRIEVANCES  

• One of a supervisor's most important jobs is to handle, and settle grievances. • Often, however, supervisors fail to document a grievance properly with the

result the City may lose factual information. When this happens, the employee may not get the relief he is entitled to, or, the City may be faced with unnecessary costs. If every supervisor knew and understood the basics of grievance investigation, they would be more effective supervisors. Always check for the following:

 • WHO is involved in the grievance, name or names, check or department

number, and seniority date? Don't forget the steward or Union representative who may be involved.

 • WHEN did the grievance occur? Date and time, day of week, exact time when

act or omission took place, which created the grievance. • WHERE did the grievance occur? Exact location, department, machine, aisle,

etc. • WHY is this a grievance? What has been violated the contract, supplement,

past practice, law, ruling or awards, personal rights, etc.? • WHAT happened that caused the violation?

ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITES OF A GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE

• 1. Conformity with statutory provisions- Due consideration should be given to prevailing legislation.

• 2. Unambiguous- should be clear and unambiguous.• 3. Simplicity- simple and short.• 4. Promptness- should be promptly handled and

necessary action should be taking immediately.• 5. Training- supervisors and the union representatives

should be properly trained in all aspects.• 6. Follow up- personnel department should keep track of

effectiveness and the functioning of grievances handling.

STEPS IN GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE

• 1. Identify grievance at the earliest.

• 2. Define the grievance correctly.• 3. Collect data.• 4. Prompt Redressal.• 5. Implement and follow up.

REFERENCES

• http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/grievances-what-employers-need-to-know-to-avoid-or-deal-with-them/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grievance• http://scclmines.com/GRIEVANCE%20PROCE

DURE.html• http://meecl.nic.in/pfc/Vol5_GRIEVANCE_RED

RESSAL.pdf• http://www.businesspartners.co.za/knowledg

e-hub-cat/industry-focus/advice/posts/handling-grievances-in-the-workplace-819/#sthash.sMeLHGoO.dpbs

• http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/s/o/Acas-Guide-on-discipline-and-grievances_at_work_(April_11)-accessible-version-may-2012.pdf

• http://www.managementstudyguide.com/employee-grievance.htm

THANK YOU