The Hindu Business Line : The new corporate jingle

RECENTLY, one came upon John working in a business process outsourcing unit located in Malad. A college drop out, the fellow earns over Rs 10,000 per month working six days a week, eight hours every night with extra hours put in and paid for to handle any rush in work load.

The fellow is joyous with his pay packet though not with the working conditions. "Uncle, it is worse than being at primary school. If you are late at work by five minutes, a punch on one's card informs the boss of the delay and will go against me when the time comes for my work appraisal. You are not allowed to chat at work. Seniors, like monks, walk around to keep the silence. There is a 15-minute break after every four hours, and if you take 16 minutes, the boss is upset, barks at you and marks you down. Two of my friends have been handed memos for spending extra time on tea and snacks. Three memos and one is out. Every deed of yours counts on the day you are appraised. I have to switch off my mobile while at work. It is work, work and more work," the 20 year-old told me and added, "We are entitled to annual leave but your appraisal will have black marks if you enjoy the benefit. My boss once told me that those keen on holidays have a poor attitude to work and those who do not take leave are in line for a double hike in salaries. Only then, you can become a Team Leader and then a Group Leader with free training at the foreign offices of the company. So, I have decided not to take any leave."

On May 1, International Labour Day, the fellow was not in a particularly good mood when he set out for Malad. The day came and went without a mention in the Indian media. One did not see trade unions and trade union leaders on rallies. Trade unions in India have withered away as most foreign and private sector outfits employ workers on short-term contracts. These days one rarely comes across edits or articles analysing the demise of trade unions. Till the 80s, corporate managements had at least a page in their annual reports wailing over labour unrests and the consequent revenue losses.

Today, job seekers have become a "cost to the company" and not reckoned as a benefit. At interviews an applicant is measured by his cost to the company by managers mimicking their American counterparts. Chartered and cost accountants, analysts and managers cannot finish their lunch without arriving at the "cost to the company" as if the owners of corporate entities are not a cost. The cost to the company is the price one's head carries and is a one-way argument with the job-seeker being just a price taker. Cost to the company is the soft, new jingle wafting from music channels lining corporate corridors. It is scary, diabolic music. Apart from provident fund, gratuity and basic pay there are other costs: occupying a chair in the office is a cost; friendly chat is a cost. There are no workers or managers, there are no humans or emotions. Only costs. There were times it was not so. Labour was an item of cost and benefit.

R.M. Lala in Beyond the Last Blue Mountain, A Life of J.R.D. Tata, dwells on labour in a chapter appropriately titled "Cultivating Trust." Tata Steel (Tisco) opened in 1911, establishing an eight-hour working day when steel mills in other parts of the world operated for 10 to 12 hours. In 1920, Tisco introduced leave with pay, another first. On labour relations JRD is quoted saying: "I came long ago to the conclusion that the three most important requirements for getting along with people were, first, communication. The importance of frank and sometimes, continuous discussion between people or groups is clearly seen in the example of the splendid relationship established and maintained, year after year, between the steel company and the union at Jamshedpur... The second is the need for total honesty in dealing with people... The third is to trust and, if possible, to like the people with whom one deals and to inspire a similar response in them."

Russi Mody as Managing Director sat with workers on the steel shop floor and any worker could go to him with his complaint. One is not sure whether these basics are taught in management schools inside and outside India. Now, many want to ease labour laws to allow for quick closures by managements forgetting the fact that many have shut down operations without the law's nod.

Textile mills in Mumbai have become malls, while most of the workers have not even been paid their statutory dues. The British sailed into India to rule the country. Americans have made it simpler. They rule the Indian economy from Washington by turning everything into a cost entry in the books. Willingly, India has agreed to be in step with globalisation. Wonder who benefits?

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Country Club acquisition

The new corporate jingle

Paico offer for child shoppers