Human Resource Management in Information Technology Industry

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Administration of Human Resources in Organizations

Administration of Human Resources:

Human Resource Management in Hospital sector

Human Resource Management in Information Technology Industry

Human Resource Management in FMCG Industry

Human Resource Management in Liquor Industry

Human Resource Management in Aviation Industry

Human Resource Management in Electronics Industry

Human Resource Management in Banking & Insurance Sector

Automobile Industry

Human Resource Management in Pharmaceutical Industry

Human Resource Management in Hotel & Tourism Sector

Wages Definition

Wages Definition

Pay structure in india

Statutory Machinery

Voluntary Machinery

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Human Resource Management in Hospital sector

India has density of 0.5 doctors per 1000 people, country is short of 6 lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses tended to lack dental surgeons. according to the commission, Indian doctors form 5% of the medical workforce in developed countries. Almost 60,000 and Indian physicians are working in the country like the United States, United Kingdom and Australia alone. A recent paper in the Lancet said India had eight healthcare workers, 3.8 allopathic doctors and 2.4 nurses per thousand population.

Healthcare sector in Middle East creating more jobs

MAY, 2012.DUBAI: Job opportunities in the healthcare sector in the Middle East and North Africa region are expanding at the rate of 14 per cent per year, a report said.
Support occupations in the sector worldwide will expand by over 34 per cent till 2020, said the report on the growing demand for medical recruits, prepared by the Saudi German Hospital-Dubai.

Hospitals hire from hotels - for better service Bangalore

Feb. 2102. INDIA: The booming healthcare sector, which is borrowing its CRM (customer relation management) systems from the hospitality sector, is also filling its talent gaps from that sector.
Take for instance, the Fortis Hospital, Delhi, that has created a hospitality department to cater to its HNI patients and those from foreign shores. To head this department, the hospital has recruited a general manager from a five-star rated global serviced apartment chain.
“As these two sectors operate in similar ecosystems, mobility of talent too becomes easy,” says Mr N. Srinivas, Practice Head, India and West Asia , Maxima Global Executive Search.
A Bangalore-based hotel executive of an MNC hospitality chain says hospitals are looking at executives from the hospitality sector to offer a better experience to their patients and ensure that they are treated as guests and not patients. There is a scarcity of people to take care of patients and do client servicing better.
Mr Saumyajit Roy, Associate Director, Strategic Consulting (Education, Healthcare and Senior Living), Jones Lang LaSalle India, says there is a growing trend of hospitality executives being hired by hospitals not only for client servicing, but also for functional roles such as project management and construction management too. The reason is their expertise especially when it comes to attention to detail, he added.
Other roles where healthcare is hiring from the hospitality sector include housekeeping, security, and facility management, “because these skill-sets are now increasingly used in hospitals as well,” explains Mr Roy.
Another reason, he points out, is that hospitals are now looking at green buildings or energy-efficient facilities, and “the hospitality sector tread this path some time ago.” The healthcare sector is expected to add about 2.5 lakh jobs this year, across levels and verticals.
Mr Tufan Ghosh, CEO, Columbia Asia Hospitals, who moved from the Oberoi Group to head the hospital chain in 2005, says although there are similarities in the skills required in the two sectors, like people management and a service sensibility, there are stark differences in some critical areas.
“In healthcare, you don't really live in luxury and some decisions have a direct impact on patients' health and well-being.”

Healthcare, hospitality to create most jobs in 2012: Ma Foi Randstad

India: Healthcare, hospitality and IT/ITeS are likely to create the largest number of jobs in the country in 2012, according to a survey by HR services firm Ma Foi Randstad.
The three sectors are estimated to create more than 7.31 lakh new job opportunities, out of the total 1.6 million new jobs estimated to be generated in the organized sector this year.
Among the top three, healthcare is likely to create the largest number of jobs at over 2.73 lakh, while hospitality and IT/ITeS are likely to generate over 2.30 lakh and 2.27 lakh new jobs respectively.
The Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey (MetS) also revealed that around 1.4 million jobs were generated in India in 2011, while this year, the number is expected to be about 1.6 million. "Most employers are optimistic about their hiring plans for the current year as all sectors indicate positive growth outlook during the next twelve months," the survey said. The survey covered over 600 organisations across 13 industry sectors in eight major Indian cities.

Highest attrition in hospitality, aviation sectors: Survey

2012:Hospitality and aviation sectors are witnessing th
e highest attrition rates among employees, making retention of critical manpower resources a key challenge, says a survey.
According to a study by MyHiringClub.com, the average attrition rate in aviation and hospitality in fourth quarter of 2011-12 was 22 per cent across sector, a rate that has increased by 8 per cent from the from the year-ago period.
In comparison, attrition rates in IT and ITeS sector had fallen from 24 per cent in fourth quarter 2010-11 to 18 per cent in same period in 2011-12.
Similarly, in the auto sector, attrition rates fell to 10 per cent in January-March quarter from 11 per cent in the corresponding period in 2010-11.
"At the entry and mid-management level, attrition rates in aviation and hospitality industry have doubled over the last three years. This is happening due to perceptions of being poor pay masters, delay in salaries, job insecurities and little concern for employee welfare.

Nurses' strike issue: India

Chennai, March, 2012: Nurses employed at different hospitals did strike for almost 7 days against hospital managements for their demands.
Hundreds of nurses, several of them junior staff, have struck work across major private hospitals in the city – Apollo, Fortis Malar and Madras Medical Mission – demanding a hike in basic salary to Rs 15,000, besides annual increments and leave benefits.
A representative of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, which has extended support to the strike, said: “Many qualified nurses are being paid only Rs 5,000-7,000 at the entry level. They are also opposed to the two-year bonding. Hours of duty and issues relating to leave and compensatory off also need to be sorted out. The State Government should step in and settle the long pending issue.”
“Having shelled out Rs 8 lakh on our nursing course, this kind of salary is too less. It is also not easy to live in the city on this meagre amount,” said one of the striking nurses.
While admitting that labour costs in India are lower compared to countries such as the US, US and Singapore, Ms Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo, said there are no benchmarks in the industry. “Are nurses in India being paid more or less? There are no standards or benchmarks to determine this. However, as far as the industry goes, Apollo is on top of the list.”
Dr Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, said: “We are mindful of the nurses' needs; we had even reached a settlement some time ago. But if they still have issues, they should ask us again. Unfortunately, young nurses are being misled by external forces.”
Apollo Hospitals has termed the strike “illegal” and demands “unreasonable.” Mr Sathyanarayana Reddy, CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai Region, said Apollo's statement was already placed with the unions, which was the “best in industry package effective April 2012… they had reached a figure which was significantly higher than existing salaries.”
Mr Reddy, in a statement, said: “We are shocked that while the issue has been settled in the other hospitals, the nursing community continues to make unreasonable demands on Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. We are extremely surprised by the behaviour and language of the nurses which is definitely not a part of our culture and have been made to understand that they have been influenced/coerced by outside elements….”
The number of occupied beds (patient admissions) has been slightly scaled down, the statement added. “Student/trainee nurses provide bed-side support and not clinical care to patients.

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Human Resource Management in Information Technology Industry

5 ways to ensure longevity in tech career

IT professionals need to stay abreast of rapid advancements and disruptions in a continuously evolving industry in order to ensure that their skillset always remains relevant.
Stay Up to Date
Nothing will ensure your longevity in the technology industry better than keeping yourself updated on latest trends and knowhow. It is also important for IT professionals to be flexible and adopt changes as and when they come, as stagnation can occur very quickly and easily within the industry
Keep Skillset Sharpened
There are certain skills you must constantly keep sharp in order to stay in demand in a tech career. A technology professional must have good project management skills to handle projects in a precise and organised manner. Keep your communication skills sharp to put your point across to people from non-technical backgrounds in the simplest of terms.
Do More than Coding
While it is important to stay ahead of the times and keep your skills updated, you should also aim to be more than a coder, as it is increasingly being expected of technologists nowadays.
"The new buzzword is 'full stack engineer', meaning one who has the exposure and ability to develop, test, operationalise and deliver," says Pankaj Khanna, vice president of talent acquisition at Mindtree.
Use Self-Coaching
Self-coaching is as important as formal training in a technology career.
"Good companies will offer you learning platforms that contain a combination of learning e-modules, buddy-mentor programmes, internal skill-communities, workshops and sessions on upcoming IT trends. Pick a company that has a wide domain spread of industry groups and a decent market reputation," says Khanna.
Demonstrate Interest
It is not enough to keep track of changes in the technology industry. Be knowledgeable about what is going on, understand your own interest in the areas of change and be passionate about learning and developing new skills.
Every year, India produces an estimated 10 lakh (1 Million) engineering graduates, of which two lakh (0.2 Million) are recruited by IT companies. In 2010, these companies hired 1.7 lakh engineers and in 2011, they offered jobs to two lakh.
Facts
2012:Unemployment rate in the information technology is comparatively lower than the manufacturing sector in India.

5 biggest employers of Indian IT

TCS
TCS is among the world's largest employers in the technology sector, with over 3 lakh employees. According to the company, it has over 319,000 employeesspread across 46 countries. The company is also expected to hire about 60,000 employees in its current financial year.
Infosys
Infosys is the second-largest India-based IT services company going by 2014 revenues and has a 1,76,187-strong workforce. Globally, Infosys has 85 sales and marketing offices and 100 development centers (as of March 31, 2015).
IBM
Tech giant IBM has over 4.3 lakh employees worldwide. The company's Indian subsidiary, said to be among one of the biggest IT employers, is reported to have over 1.5 lakh employees in the country.
Wipro
IT consulting company has 158,217 employees (as of March 31, 2015). It was incorporated on December 29, 1945, in Mumbai by Azim Premji as 'Western India Vegetable Products Limited, later abbreviated to Wipro.
The company entered IT services industry in 1990s and today serves clients in 175-plus cities across six continents.
Accenture
Accenture recently shot past Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in headcount in its latest quarter. According to the company's chief financial officer, David Rowland, Accenture ended the quarter with a global headcount of about 336,000 people, and it now has approximately 237,000 people in its global delivery network.
The company also plans to hire 95,000 in FY2015. Though India-specific figures are not available, Accenture is counted among top tech employers in the country.

Facebook hires software engineers from India to fill US posts

Mar, 2012,: Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, is doing something that no domestic or multinational company has done before - hire software engineers from India for positions based in the United States.
Typically, global firms such as IBM and GE hire in India for positions here and send some of these recruits abroad for specific projects. However, Facebook's open invitation in a newspaper advertisement last week seeking applicants "to work in the US" is being regarded as a first.

Mobile phone applications creating jobs

The demand for Mobile phone applications has created 466,000 jobs in the U.S. since 2007. That's based on an analysis released Tuesday by technology trade group TechNet.

Paper resume could be thing of the past

WASHINGTON: Two young Indian-American entrepreneurs are attempting to make the traditional paper resume a thing of the past by connecting the job seeker and the employer through video resumes.
The Palo Alto Mayor, Yiaway Yeh, and several other top corporate leaders of the city - which is known as the heart of the Silicon Valley -- lined up last Thursday in its downtown to inaugurate the new office of GetHired.Com, which currently has just 14 employees.
GetHired.com is the first job board to embed video capabilities directly into its social recruiting platform so that job seekers can record and submit personal, dynamic responses to an employer's most pressing pre-screening questions at the start of the hiring process.
As a result, employers are able to quickly find top candidates with good communication skills who are a culturally fit for their organisation, he notes.
"GetHired.com combines the visibility of a job board with the functionality of an applicant tracking system - allowing employers to find and pre-screen candidates using audio and video, conduct interviews in real-time and manage the entire on boarding process," he said.

Only 17% engineers are fit to enter IT services, says report

Feb 2012, India: Less than one-fifth of the total numbers of engineering graduates are fit to be employable in the IT services sector, said the National Employability Report 2011, released by Aspiring Minds.
"India has a sizable engineering talent pool. However, only 17.45% are fit to enter the IT services industry," Himanshu Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO, Aspiring Minds said. The country produces about five lakh engineers every year.
The report also revealed the percentage of ready-to-deploy engineers for IT product jobs is dismally low at 2.68%. This is because jobs in IT product companies require a strong understanding of computer programming and algorithms, besides soft skills and cognitive skills.
But the study found that the candidates strongly lacked the required skills. "The skills required by the IT product companies at the entry level are very much a part of the curriculum of engineering colleges, which is a worrying sign for higher education," according to the report.The Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) industry is likely to find 9 out of every 100 engineers employable, while in hardware and networking profiles, the employability stood at 36.75%.
It was found that 50% of employable candidates for IT services companies and 28% of employable candidates for IT product companies are not even in the top 750 colleges, and thus form an invisible pool to most employers, the report said.

Temporary staff - the in-thing in IT companies

BANGALORE: The number of temporary staff employed by tech firms has gone up dramatically in the past two years. In fact, they've been quietly hiring more temp staff for many quarters now. That's the key reason why they don't talk about wellstocked benches (bench refers to employees not currently on a project).
Temp workers account for 10% to 15% of the actual employee base of IT companies today, against 2% to 5% a few years ago. This share is expected to go up to 20% to 25% in the coming quarters, say temp staffing experts.
A quick check run by the Indian Staffing Federation, an apex body of temp staffing firms in the country, among its eight key members at its recent board meeting indicated that the demand for temp staffing by tech providers would go up by 40% to 45% in the next couple of years. Mafoi Randstad, TeamLease, Kelly Services, Adecco India, Manpower and GI Staffing Services, Alegiss and Global Innovesource are the leading players in this space which includes 20 small and medium firms too.
Vipul Prakash, vice-president, Indian Staffing Federation, told reporters, "Temp staffing helps tech firms maintain a healthy bench position, while still having quick access to a large pool of talent."
There is buoyancy in temp hiring among IT companies, confirms E Balaji, CEO, Ma Foi. In fact, there could be a time when IT companies start giving a break-up of employee bases under core-headcount and temphead count categories. Enterprises across business domains, mostly IT firms, seem to be quickly adopting temp staffing to beat margin pressures , maintain lean benches and also facilitate just-in-time hiring in a highly volatile market. Sudhakar Balakrishnan , MD, Adecco India says, "Ttemp staffing is fast catching up among tech firms in India. The space is witnessing a bullish growth."
Domestic companies didn't believe much in temp staffing until recently. Temp staff account for 20% to 25% of the global workforce. This is having a rub-off effect on their Indian counterparts, say staffing experts.
"The trend has been registering a steep growth. Temp staffing is slowly maturing with more sectors opening up to it and more job seekers shedding their inhibitions about the nature of temp jobs," says Vinay Grover, CEO, Symbiosis Management Consultants. Globally, temp employees are valued on a par with the mainstream workforce. They've been treated as "springboards" in good times and "shock absorbers" in bad times in India. "This outlook has been changing rapidly in the past three quarters," says Ashok Reddy, managing director of TeamLease.
NOTHING IS PERMANENT
Largely, temp talent paid on a par with permanent employees Given provident fund, gratuity, etc Normal temp tenure between 6 months and 9 months, but extendable Assignments include sales, marketing, accounts, HR, administration, customer support, hardware support and software development * Temp workforce around 100 million of which around 10% in organized sector BFSI, telecom, retail, FMCG and hospitality hire temps in large volumes.

IT slowdown leaves engineers without work.

July, 2012: IT industry is expected to slowdown in coming months as its revenue came down. According to the IT industry analysers, due to the shortage of projects from the USA and Europe most of software engineers sit without any work from more than six months. Due to this new recruitment is expected to dip in the coming months.
Few IT companies have decided to sent thousands of their employees to training program for which salary shall not be paid.
A software engineer working on a telecom project of a Bangalore-based Tier-I IT major said some of his peers on bench were being pressured to quit.

India accounts for half of global IT-BPO outsourcing

2012, NEW DELHI: India is the global leader in the outsourcing industry with half of the world's back office being located here. Indian outsourcing revenue at $59 billion for 2011, accounts for 51% of the global offshore market share, says a report from Tholons Research, a Bangalore based advisory firm.
The report further notes that over the past decade, developing economies such as India and the Philippines have propelled themselves to become leaders in the global outsourcing industry - making them the top two countries in terms of global offshore revenue share and employment. The total direct employment by Indian IT-BPO sector (as of 2011) was 1.98 million and indirect employment was 7.5 million.
Similarly for Philippines, where total outsourcing revenue was $11 billion in 2011, direct IT-BPO employment was 640,000 and indirect at 1.3 million. Philippines has gained a lot in recent years as lot of voice work (call center type of work) has shifted from India to Philippines.

Cloud computing to create 2 million jobs in India by 2015, says study

Cloud computing will generate some 14 million new jobs worldwide by 2015, and India alone will create over 2 million, predicts a study commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC).
Pointing out to a strong linkage between cloud, innovation and entrepreneurship, the study said most companies look at migration to cloud computing as a way to free up existing resources and work on more innovative projects. Freeing up budget allows organisations to shift some of their legacy work to the cloud and invest such freed budget in IT innovation that supports business innovation and in turn create new jobs.
"A common misconception is cloud computing is a job eliminator, but in truth it will be a job creator - a major one," said John F Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice-president at IDC in a statement.
The Microsoft-IDC study estimates that the revenues from cloud innovation could reach as high as $1.1 trillion a year by 2015 from $400 billion in 2011, where some $28 billion was spent worldwide on public cloud IT services (as compared to over $1.7 trillion of spending on total IT products and services industry) creating 1.5 million jobs.
The study predicts over two million jobs each to be generated in the communications and media and manufacturing sectors, followed by banking at over 1.4 million. Though there is no such break-up available for the Indian market, the footprint is expected to be more or less similar to global markets, said Ramkumar Pichai, general manager, customer and partner experience, Microsoft India.

Microsoft, Amazon among top recruiters in IIM-C laterals

Feb, 2012. NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) has received a total of 116 job offers from 54 companies during the lateral placement process at the campus, a placement coordinator from IIM-C, who did not wish to be named, told .
This includes five international offers from IT services giant Infosys. The institute has received about 100 pre-placement offers (PPOs) so far, taking the total number of students placed to 210 plus.
Software and Internet technologies company Microsoft has made the largest number of offers to candidates at IIM-C. The company has recruited nine people, across three different profiles- Microsoft IT, India Development Centre ( IDC) and Microsoft Finance.
Internet companies like Snapdeal.com, Zynga, Flipkart.com and Amazon have also recruited candidates in large numbers, the placement coordinator said. The institute, however, did not reveal specific number of candidates hired by these companies.
Amazon offered 10 profiles at IIM-C, which includes job profiles such as business development manager and operations manager. However, not all profiles were taken and the final number of candidates hired was less than 10.
Google, too, has hired across different profiles like industry manager, account manager and account strategist from IIM-C this year. The international positions offered by Infosys are for its client-servicing group. All these candidates will be based in the US or London. Other recruiters include GE Capital and Baring Private Equity.
The institute, which begins its final placement process on Monday, has a batch of 355 students this year, compared to about 388 last year. The institute has already received PPOs from firms like McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL).

HCL Technologies to create 10,000 jobs in US & Europe over 5 years

Jan, 2012, Indian IT major HCL Technologies on Thursday said the company will create 10,000 local jobs in Europe and the US over the next five years.

Job offers in Indian software industry already top 100,000

Feb, 2012.MUMBAI: The Indian software industry continues to add jobs at a fast clip despite the threat of a slowdown. The industry is estimated to close fiscal 2012 with an addition of around 230,000 jobs.
For FY12, IT industry revenues are set to grow at 16% but the number of people added is likely to grow only by 10%, says the industry body.
Over the last many years, the Indian software companies have also added over 25,000 jobs in the US for local citizens. "The kind of numbers Indian companies are adding is unprecedented. They will have to hire from every part of the world," said Nasscom vice-chairman and TCS CEO N Chandrasekaran.
Over the last 20 years, the Indian IT industry has grown from $ 100 million to $ 100 billion, recording a phenomenal growth. Allocation for IT in India by central and state governments stands at whopping $ 10 billion but so far only $1 billon-$ 1.5 billion has been spent, said Pawar. Nasscom has also submitted a list of recommended procurement processes to the government, so the government projects don't become unviable.

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Human Resource Management in FMCG Industry

Jobs increasing in retail industry: Recruitment index

Apr, 2012: TimesJobs.com Bureau
The Retail industry registered 5% growth in the demand index during March'12, highlights TimesJobs.com recruitment index, RecruiteX. The index has moved from 106 in February'12 to 113 in March'12. Whereas, other key industries including high-volume sectors such as IT/Telecom, BFSI and ITeS failed to maintain encouraging hiring momentum. "Retail sector always lend a piece of itself to create employment opportunities across levels and locations.
By 2018, the total worth of the industry will rise to $520 billion combining organised and unorganised sector", stated Riju Vashisht, Executive Vice President-Human Resources, Bharti-Walmart in an interaction with TJinsite, research and knowledge arm of TimesJobs.com.
Retail giant Tesco to create 20,000 jobs in Britain
Mar, 2012,LONDON: Britain's biggest retailer Tesco announced that it will create 20,000 new jobs over the next two years, despite a recent set of poor results.
The supermarket giant will generate the positions through investment in customer service, refreshing existing stores and opening new ones.
"As well as providing a crucial first rung on the career ladder for each individual, this move will be a major step in tackling the current record levels of youth unemployment," the supermarket said in a statement.
Prime Minister David Cameron called the announcement: "a massive confidence boost for the UK economy."
"Their commitment to creating jobs and opportunities for young people at what is a difficult time for the economy is fantastic news for the UK as a whole and for those people they will help into work," he added.
Tesco UK CEO Richard Brasher said major businesses "have a big responsibility to step forward" and provide employment as Britain's economy struggles to recover from recession.
Tesco is the country's largest private sector employer with over 290,000 staff.
P&G to cut about 10 percent of non-manufacturing jobs
Feb, 2012,BOCA RATON: Procter & Gamble Co plans to cut a total of 5,700 non-manufacturing jobs as part of a new plan to reduce costs by $10 billion by the end of fiscal 2016, Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald said .
The world's largest household products company has about 57,000 non-manufacturing employees among its total workforce of about 129,000.
P&G had already said it would cut 1,600 positions in the current fiscal year. It said it would cut another 4,100 jobs during fiscal 2013, which begins in July.
The company expects to save a total of $800 million from the job cuts, executives said at the annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York, or CAGNY, conference in Boca Raton, Florida.
In total, P&G aims to trim $10 billion of costs, including $1 billion in marketing costs and $3 billion in overhead costs.
After years of expanding, bringing products such as Gillette Guard razors to India and Pantene shampoo to Brazil, P&G realized that it needs to be more nimble in order to ensure strong growth, especially in emerging markets, at a faster clip.
P&G is still the largest consumer products maker but it has been hit by some performance issues lately. For example, it could not make enough of its new Tide Pods detergent for a major in-store marketing push and it had to rescind price increases on items such as Cascade dishwasher detergent after competitors decided not to raise their prices.
P&G lowered earnings per share expectations by 2 cents for the current third quarter and by 7 cents for the fiscal year due to the pending sale of Pringles. It now expects to earn 89 cents to 95 cents per share in the third quarter, which ends in March, and $3.93 to $4.03 per share in the fiscal year ending in June.

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Human Resource Management in Liquor Industry

Women executives flying high in Indian liquor industry

Feb-2012.India,MUMBAI: Women breaking the glass ceiling in financial services, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and media sectors are a common sight today. But the picture is fast evolving in traditionally male-dominated industries too. The Indian alcohol industry is for the first time seeing women manage the show in some companies, an unthinkable idea five or 10 years ago.
The world's largest liquor company, Diageo, has uncorked a bevy of women to run its Indian operations following a quiet organizational rejig in recent days. Twelve of the top 30 managers are women. Four women directors, including a deputy managing director, spearhead Diageo's ambitions in the local alcoholic beverages sector.
The company promoted former Tata Global Beverages executive Abanti Shankaranarayanan as deputy managing director and brought in Zanita Kajiji as its new marketing director. Kajiji, an expat of Indian origin, has been with Diageo's overseas operations and has been driving the company's powerful whiskey portfolio in Asia Pacific. These two, along with Mamta Sundara (legal) and Sarah Walton (HR), make up Diageo's women leadership under managing director Roland Abela in India.
Women are beginning to drive key responsibilities for many global drinks brands in the domestic market. Scotch maker William Grant & Sons cherrypicked Aparna Batra to head their India unit. Polly Yim has been in charge of finance at Moet Hennessy's Indian office, where women comprise 25% of the staff. At rival Pernod Ricard, women executives make up almost one-third of the brand and marketing team.
Lifestyle consumption has driven India's rapidly growing drinks industry where on-premise sales (through upmarket restaurants and high street lounges) account for much of the profitable market. MNCs like Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi and Beam have built their presence at the top end of the market, expanding the job market and asking female executives to lead the business vertical.
The broader alcobev sector has been attracting women from Nestle and Coca-Cola as it takes on the character of an FMCG business. Advertising and hospitality are the other favourite recruiting grounds.
Amit Nandkeolyar, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Indian School of Business, said that as certain male-dominated industries become more socially inclusive, women go-getters would increasingly become visible. However, compared to the representation in other businesses, this sector with complex regulations and state interferences still has some way to go.

FMCG sector tops MBA graduates wish list; Hindustan Unilever as most-preferred recruiter

Jan, 2012,:The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has emerged as the sector of choice for business school graduates with Hindustan Unilever topping the list as the preferred recruiter, according to a Nielsen survey. Thirty six per cent students preferred a career in the FMCG sector.
In its 12th year, the study took the views of 1,100 final year students from the top 35 B-schools in India in October-November last year. A majority of students also felt that FMCG has the highest growth potential.
After FMCG, top sectors of choice are management consulting, IT consultancy and services, investment banking, foreign and domestic banks, IT product and development, financial institutions, retail and conglomerates. Amongst the recruiters of choice, HUL was followed by Google, Aditya Birla Group, Accenture, McKinsey & Co, Infosys, P&G, BCG, Citi Group, Microsoft, TAS and Axis Bank.
"With the FMCG growth in the country being driven by consumption, the sector continues to find favour with students who see it as a sector with huge growth potential," says Nielsen executive director Dinesh Kapoor.
HUL's executive director (HR) Leena Nair said the economic environment has helped FMCG to be the sector of choice amongst the future talent.
"The finance sector probably lost out due to the environment. There is also excitement and speed of working in the FMCG sector, which do attract young talent. Companies like HUL have big leadership practices and brands which is yet another major attraction," says Nair.
Nair says HUL has undertaken a lot of work to become the destination for the best of talent. "We are constantly identifying and grooming the next generation and leaders. We also invest a lot on training and mentoring talent," she said. HUL won the number one position after a decade.
HUL was also ranked the 'dream company' amongst B-school companies for the third year in a row, followed by P&G and McKinsey & Co. ITC also made it into the list of dream companies.
The average salary expectations of the students from their dream company remained the same as compared to the last year at Rs 16 lakh per annum, reflecting students gave more value to their role and job.
However, the salary expectation from a foreign company continues to remain almost double than that from an Indian company.
The 2011 Nielsen survey also showed that the top five dimensions students considered when it comes to seeking employment were high degree of independence at work, salary package, learning on the job, growth prospects and standing of the company in the market respectively.

Top executives' exit gives PepsiCo

Feb,2012. NEW DELHI: At least three senior officials have exited PepsiCo India at a time when its global parent has announced 8,700 job cuts, potentially impacting the beverages and snacks maker's performance in the crucial summer season.
"There's a lack of roles in leadership positions; and growth opportunities are limited," a PepsiCo official said, requesting not to be named.
PepsiCo insiders said besides lack of growth opportunities within India and lesser number of roles being created for PepsiCo India officials in its US headquarters compared to the past, the company pushing diversity to accommodate more women in leading roles may have also played a role in some exits.

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Human Resource Management in Aviation Industry

US online jobs index gains in May

June, 2012.NEW YORK: A monthly gauge of online labor demand in the United States rose in May, led by higher recruitment in the transportation and warehousing sector, the operator of a job search website said on Friday.
Monster Worldwide Inc, an online careers and recruiting firm, said its employment index rose 0.7 per cent to 147 points last month from 146 in April. The index was up 2.8 per cent from 143 a year ago.
The index saw annual growth in 13 of the 20 industries and 17 of the 23 occupations monitored last month.
The transportation and warehousing sector held the top spot, rising 27 per cent from a year ago, while finance and insurance picked up momentum, up 9 per cent.

Unpaid Air India pilots to fly 'cash & carry'

Mar, 2012,NEW DELHI: Unpaid for months and fed up with hollow promises of getting their dues, pilots of Air India-domestic have decided to put the airline on "cash-and-carry " from April 1,2012.
After a meeting of their union, it has been left to individual pilots to tell the management that they will fly from next month only if their dues - five months' performance-linked incentive (PLI) and three months' salary - are paid fully or at least substantially.
While many agitated members wanted some immediate action, the union, Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), decided against giving a strike call as such protests have only led to promises from the government in the past, which were never kept.

Highest attrition in hospitality, aviation sectors: Survey

2012:Hospitality and aviation sectors are witnessing the highest attrition rates among employees, making retention of critical manpower resources a key challenge, says a survey.
According to a study by MyHiringClub.com, the average attrition rate in aviation and hospitality in fourth quarter of 2011-12 was 22 per cent across sector, a rate that has increased by 8 per cent from the from the year-ago period.
In comparison, attrition rates in IT and ITeS sector had fallen from 24 per cent in fourth quarter 2010-11 to 18 per cent in same period in 2011-12.
Similarly, in the auto sector, attrition rates fell to 10 per cent in January-March quarter from 11 per cent in the corresponding period in 2010-11.
"At the entry and mid-management level, attrition rates in aviation and hospitality industry have doubled over the last three years. This is happening due to perceptions of being poor pay masters, delay in salaries, job insecurities and little concern for employee welfare.

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[ 6 ]

Human Resource Management in Electronics Industry

Apple creates & supports half a million jobs in US: Study

Mar, 2012,the company published the results of a study it commissioned saying that it had "created or supported" 514,000 US jobs. The study is an effort to show that Apple's benefit to the US job market goes far beyond the 47,000 people it directly employs here.
Apple, which has recently become the most valuable company in the world and holds nearly $100 billion in cash, has created more jobs overseas, approximately 700,000 through a network of suppliers that make iPhones, iPads and other products.
The Analysis Group, the consulting firm Apple hired, concluded that 257,000 jobs were in companies that work directly with Apple, including employees in Kentucky and New York at Corning Inc., a company that creates glass for the iPhone, and people at a Samsung plant in Texas that makes computer chips for its devices.
While several economists and employment experts agree that Apple has an economic impact that goes beyond the people it directly employs, they said it was difficult to conclude from Apple's study what the company's benefit is to the overall jobs market. "They certainly have a big economic impact, as does every other firm," Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania said. "If you say, 'if there had been no Apple, those people would not have jobs,' that's not true."
iPad maker Foxconn lifts China workers pay again
Feb,2012.TAIPEI: Foxconn Technology Group, the top maker of Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads whose factories are under scrutiny over labour practices, has raised wages of its Chinese workers by 16-25 per cent from this month, the third rise since 2010.
In a statement on Friday, Taiwan-based Foxconn said the pay of a junior level worker in Shenzhen, southern China, had risen to 1,800 yuan ($290) per month and could be further raised above 2,200 yuan if the worker passed a technical examination.
It said that pay three years ago was 900 yuan a month. "As a top manufacturing company in China, the basic salary of junior workers in all of Foxconn's China factories is already far higher than the minimum wage set by all local governments," the statement said.
"We will provide more training opportunities and learning time, and will continuously enhance technology, efficiency and salary, so as to set a good example for the Chinese manufacturing industry."
The announcement comes after Apple, criticised over working conditions at its sprawling chain of suppliers in China, said this week a US non-profit labor group had begun an "unprecedented" inspection of working conditions at its main contract manufacturers.
Working practices at Foxconn's huge plants in China came under intense scrutiny in 2010 after a series of suicides among young workers. Last June three workers died in an explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, western China.
Last month the New York Times published an investigation into working practices at Apple supplier's plants in China that documented poor health and safety conditions and long working hours.
In response Apple said the Washington D.C.-based Fair Labor Association would monitor conditions at supplier plants beginning Feb 14.
In an interview with Reuters on Feb 15, the FLA's president said that conditions at Apple supplier plants in China were far better than those at garment factories or other facilities elsewhere in the country.
The last time Foxconn Group raised wages was in June 2010, when the pay of its Chinese workers went up by over 30 per cent.
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Nokia Siemens to cut 2,900 jobs in Germany & 1,200 in Finland
Jan, 2012,HELSINKI: Finnish-German telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said on Tuesday a previously announced restructuring plan would entail 2,900 job cuts in Germany and 1,200 in Finland.
The company said it had begun talks with local representatives aimed at reducing the number of employees in eight European countries, as part of its November 23 announcement that it was slashing 17,000 jobs.
"The discussions concern 1,200 out of 6,900 employees in Finland and 2,900 out of 9,100 in Germany," a company spokesman told AFP, confirming that employee representatives had been informed of the proposed cuts on Tuesday.
NSN worker representatives were also due to receive official information of the staff restructuring in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Britain, the spokesman added.
In November, NSN, which had 74,000 employees worldwide, announced plans to reduce its global workforce by approximately 17,000 by the end of 2013, adding that its restructuring plan was aimed at cutting annual costs by one billion euros ($1.3 billion) compared to 2011 outlays.
The 2,900 cuts in Germany equate to roughly every third Nokia Siemens' job in the country, causing uproar among unions. "We will fight with the employees against this job cull. Our target is to save as many jobs as possible with a collective labour agreement and to avoid the close-down of Munich plant," said union official Michael Leppel.
TAIPEI: Foxconn Technology Group, the top maker of Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads whose factories are under scrutiny over labour practices. Working practices at Foxconn's huge plants in China came under intense scrutiny in 2010 after a series of suicides among young workers. Last June three workers died in an explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, western China.
In Jan 2012 New York Times published an investigation into working practices at Apple supplier's plants in China that documented poor health and safety conditions and long working hours. In response Apple said the Washington D.C.-based Fair Labor Association would monitor conditions at supplier plants.

Foxconn allegedly hid underage workers from inspectors

Apple faces increased pressure today after its manufacturing partner Foxconn was accused of using forced student labour and hiding underage workers during high-profile independent inspections last week. Foxconn also makes components for other manufacturers, but Apple is its most prominent customer.
The Register spoke to Debby Sze Wan Chan, a case worker at Hong Kong based non-profit Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM). The group has been tracking what is alleges are "involuntary labour practices" at Foxconn, which makes gear from iPads and iPhones to games consoles.

Electrical equipment industry facing skilled manpower problem

NEW DELHI: The government today said job requirement in electrical equipment industry, which is facing major problem in getting skilled and employable manpower, is expected to increase to 35 lakh by 2012.
Currently, it is estimated that the industry provides direct and indirect employment to 5 lakh and 10 lakh people respectively.
"This requirement is estimated to increase to 15 lakh direct employment and 20 lakh indirect employment by 2012," Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said in a statement here.
It said that the electrical equipment industry is facing a major problem in getting skilled and employable manpower which is technically competent, equipped with skills and ready to be deployed.
"The industry is facing a looming skill gap, which is widening every year. Due to lack of skilled manpower, electrical equipment industry is suffering as it is affecting critical functions like R&D, consultancy, design and detailed engineering work," it added.
The technical education system in the country does not promote innovative thinking, it said adding training being provided in the ITIs is out dated and the students are not able to meet the aspirations of the industry.
"Even the qualified supervisors and engineers are not available. Those who are qualified are not well trained to meet the technical needs of the industry. Because of the above factors the labour productivity is far less than the labour productivity in China and Korea," the statement said.
It said that this is one of the important reasons for making the industry non-competitive and is also effecting the timely completion of the projects.
The ministry said that there is an urgent need for training the work force for all the segments of the industry and making changes in the curriculum of the polytechnics and engineering colleges.

lack of skilled manpower energy industry

The principal problem facing the renewable energy sector in the country is not finance or land, though these issues too exist.
The biggest worry is the lack of skilled manpower, experts say.
“Everybody seems to want white-collared jobs; there is nobody out there to work in the sun,” Mr Debashish Majumdar, Chairman and Managing Director, IREDA, said.
“Manpower is something we need to work on,” he said, adding that a change in mindset is in order.
He pointed out that several people on the fields today are working with no roadmap and no plans on their career.
“We must look at how to create the right atmosphere to do such jobs as well,” Mr Majumdar said.

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Human Resource Management in Banking & Insurance Sector

Sep- 2012: India's largest bank, State bank of India facing 15% of attrition among new employees hired as many new recruits get offers from other banks. Due to the retirement of employees and expansion of branches of banks in the banking sector pressing need to hire hundreds of employees.
Royal Bank of Scotland at London had cut approximately 35000 jobs since year 2008 as the bank has been facing recession in its business consequently lead to lay off its staff. Recently for year 2012, Royal Bank of Scotland had cut approximately 618 jobs.

Construction and banking better hiring trends : Report

Mar, 2012,NEW DELHI: Spurred by increased activities in construction and banking sectors, hiring trends improved across the country in February, says a report.
Leading job portal Naukri.com said that hiring trends were better last month compared to January.
The Naukri Job Speak Index -- an indicator of online recruitment activities -- climbed to 1,209 in February from 1,121 in January. Last month's score is also the highest "ever since the index was introduced".
"Construction, Banking and IT sectors witnessed maximum movement in the employment front with the index moving up by 13 per cent, 12 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively in February 2012 when compared to the previous month," Naukri.com said in a statement.

On layoffs, India Inc still leaves employees in the lurch

Feb, 2012. NEW DELHI: Soon after Citigroup let go of 100 employees across India last month, many functional heads received an unusual brief. They were asked to scout for jobs for those who had been terminated.
Counsellors were also roped in to soften the blow and professional services firms were hired to make the career transition of the terminated employees - some of them star performers - smooth.
At this moment, Citi is not the only company trying to find jobs for the people it has let go. A few others, including Bharti Airtel and DLF, are also doing it right now or have done so in the recent past, officials at these companies said.
India Inc, now in the throes of its second round of layoffs since the Lehman Brothers collapse in late 2008, is slowly learning to treat executives well, even as they are being led up to the exit door.
Job cuts are inevitable. But the cold, insensitive and sheepish way of handing out pink slips is slowly being replaced with responsible and supportive approaches.
HR gurus say how a company parts ways with employees will have a significant bearing on the morale of the remaining workforce and also on the company's ability to attract talent in the future. Managing layoffs well is important for the sustainability of the 'employer brand'.
"Citi provides services of global outplacement firms to employees displaced during any review," says Stephen Cronin, managing director, human resources, Citi South Asia. It helps such employees with coaching on job search skills, interview techniques, placement support and even basic application letter-writing skills. The bank foots the bill.
GE is another example. "In the past, we have either absorbed the affected employees in other GE businesses/roles or engaged outplacement agencies to help them get suitable opportunities externally," says David C Lobo, senior VP-HR at GE India.
Bharti Airtel, which has made hundreds of jobs redundant in recent months after a restructuring exercise, now works with an 'ecosystem of partners to identify suitable placement opportunities' for employees it lets go. "We do our best to facilitate the career transition," says an Airtel spokesperson.

How India Inc is attempting to revive the lost art of meaningful performance appraisals

Feb, 2012.:an interesting exercise get started at HDFC Life's offices. Sneak around a bit and you could find an Associate Vice-President having a 'frank chat' with another about how his performance this past year left a lot to be desired and how he needed to get his act together.
All this in full view of a few dozen senior managers. No, the insurance major doesn't have a sadistic streak. This is a pre-appraisal training session, one of many that Rajendra Ghag, executive vice-president - HR, HDFC Life will be conducting in the weeks to come. The idea is to train managers in the finer points of conducting an appraisal: from initiating the discussion to giving negative feedback.
This initiative is one of several that have been rolled out at the company over the last three years. Employee workshops showed that most people, irrespective of seniority, saw the existing appraisal process as a mere formality.
"Most people aren't comfortable giving bad news and this workshop serves as both, a training session as well as a confidence-building exercise," says Ghag. "We realised that appraisals were often being done half-heartedly and ratings were assigned without any real discussion."
Now, to make sure that doesn't happen, the manager has to sign an undertaking online saying that he has had a proper discussion with his subordinate about his performance in order to be able to send the appraisal form to his boss.

Coming soon: Up to 2 years' sabbatical for women bank staff

Sabbatical :any extended period of leave from one's customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.
New Delhi, March 2012 : Come April, and women employees of public sector banks (PSBs) may be able to get sabbatical of up to two years during their career.
The Finance Ministry has asked PSBs to place this proposal before their respective boards for decision and its introduction with effect from April 1,2012, official sources said.
This follows the Government agreeing to the Khandelwal Committee's recommendation to introduce sabbatical for women employees of PSBs. The sabbatical benefit will be available only to employees who have put in a minimum of five years of service. The leave will have to be taken for a period of at least three months at a time and it should not be taken more than once in a year.
But, the Government's decision has somewhat irked trade unions, as they contend that such a move would be unilateral and in violation of the service conditions provided in the bilateral settlement between the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and the unions.

UNIONS CUT-UP

“We are not against sabbatical for female employees. But we are against unilateral changes in service conditions,” C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary of All-India Bank Employees' Association, said. The AIBEA has written to the Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry seeking a rethink on the issue and the need to abide by the provisions of law.
He pointed out that leave rules are part of service conditions of bank employees and governed under the bipartite settlement signed between IBA and the unions. Either side cannot change, amend or alter the service conditions, except through mutual discussions or through the due process of law.
As and when the proposal (sabbatical for women employees) is brought before the boards, the workman directors will mark their protest for such a unilateral change in service conditions, Venkatachalam said.
The Khandelwal Committee was set up in October 2009 to study human resource issues in public sector banks. The Committee had made 105 recommendations, of which the Centre has given its green signal for 56.

Exit of 3 lakh agents puts insurance sector at risk

India, in the first three quarters of the financial year 2011-12, more than 3 lakh active insurance agents have quit the profession. Insurance companies such as Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), ICICI Prudential and HDFC Life have seen mass exodus owing to lesser incentive to agents when compare with other similar sophisticated industries.
Individual agents are the traditional channel for selling life insurance products and contribute over 50% of new sales. The percentage of new business premium collection from this channel has dropped from 55 % to 44% as the number of agents has come down to 23.78 lakh in December 2011 from 27.10 lakh last year.
Agents are abandoning the profession after the regulator reduced commissions and introduced a host of stringent norms making insurance products, especially unit-linked insurance plans, or Ulips, less lucrative. Insurance products, including pension plans, have vanished from the market after the new norms were implemented.
"The global average life of agents is 4-5 years. A lot of agents return to their previous jobs, join a broker, start selling mutual funds after leaving the insurance sector," said Anil Jha, an agent with LIC.
Insurance companies are also asking agents to leave if they fail to meet targets. Targets for agents are set on the basis of the number of policies sold and premium earned.
In 2010-11, over 10 lakh agents vacated the space as the business turned less alluring due to the cap on charges on unit-linked insurance plans, which were selling like hot cake. Now, agents earn 5% to 7% commission on Ulips as against 12% to 18% before the changes were introduced.
The total premium collected by the industry has decreased by 3% to Rs 1,80,240 crore from Rs 1,86,396 crore. New business income fell 17% to Rs 71,953 crore from Rs 86,698 crore mainly due to absence of pension products. As per provisional data, the total new premium collected under the individual pension category was RS 1,008 crore in the December 2011 quarter as against Rs 18,417 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

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[ 8 ]

Automobile Industry

After Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India hikes wages by 45 per cent

MUMBAI: Close on the heels of the Maruti Suzuki's historic 50% hike in wages for its Gurgaon plant workers, Hyundai Motor India, the country's number two car maker on 16-10-2012 signed its wage settlement agreement, hiking wages by a significant 45%, applicable for three years, over the last settlement in 2009 setting the trend for higher wages to automotive plant workers in the country even as the industry is grappling with a slow down.

Maruti Suzuki to hire 1,900 employees:2012

INDIA: Largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki today said it will be adding around 1,900 employees to its workforce this year, out of which around 900 will be for engineering and management divisions.
"We have already hired around 200 employees so far this fiscal and the plan is to hire 900 personnel on the engineering and management side apart from around 1,000 technicians on the shop-floor, taking the total hiring to around 1,900 this year," Maruti Suzuki Chief Operating Officer (administration) S Y Siddiqui said here.
The current headcount in Maruti stands at around 9,350, including the 200 employees it hired since the beginning of 2012 fiscal year.

Mobis Supplier of spare parts to Hyundai cars suspended workers as they joined in AIADMK.

Chennai, Sep - 2012: Unlike other automobile companies where supply of spare parts is managed by the vehicle maker itself, Hyundai's spares business is under sister concern Mobis.
Almost its entire staff, nearly 300+ contract workers, were suspended overnight from service by the Mobis management after they joined an AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) for the purpose of signing up for a trade union.

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[ 9 ]

Human Resource Management in Pharmaceutical Industry

Pharma companies find difficult to get skilled people for 'R & D

Feb, 2012. MUMBAI: The pharmaceutical companies have to focus on Research and Development to survive in the global market with the advent of the product patent era but they are finding it difficult to hire skilled people, a top official said today.
"With the dawn of the product patent era in India, focus now shifts to 'Research & Development' for the pharmaceutical companies to survive in the global market. We can no longer rely on generic drugs and innovation is the need of the hour in the pharma industry. (But) India falls short of qualified individuals suited to perform these functions," Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) Director S D Gupta said at a Conclave here.
He also said that the Indian pharmaceutical industry would be the 3rd largest in the world by 2015 with production of USD 20 billion.
Talking about high attrition rate in the pharmaceutical industry estimated at 20 percent, he said it can be reduced by providing a positive atmosphere to employees in terms of supportive culture, training programmes, a policy in place for conflict management and adequate 'rewards and recognition' programme.

Hiring in pharma and healthcare segments expected to continue

MAY, 2012, NEW DELHI: Hiring intent is robust in the pharma and healthcare segments, say headhunting firms. Demand for senior executives is particularly high in areas such clinical research, medical diagnostics, hospitals and research & development (R&D) activities.
"Many companies are either setting up or expanding their R&D activities in India," says Transearch International life science partner Tejinder Pal Singh. "Since a lot of such is talent is available in the West, companies are preferring to hire people of India origin to head their research activities in India," he added. Some of the companies that are said to hiring in R&D include Novartis, GE Healthcare and Himalaya.
He also said that through demand for talent is consistent in the pharma side, it's the hospitals and medical devices companies that are looking for talent more. "Pharma is at present in a consolidation phase, but many companies in the medical diagnostics and medical devices segments are looking to establish their subsidiaries in India. Some of them already have. Accordingly, we get requests for executives who can head their businesses in India," he said.
According to a recent survey by Deloitte, managers in the life sciences and healthcare sector were the most optimistic about growth of the sector in the Asia Pacific region. Salary trends and analysis by consulting firms like Aon Hewitt have also put pharma sector among the top sectors with respect to salary increments in the last few years.

Dr Reddy's, Mankind Pharma to add workforce

Mar, 2012, NEW DELHI: Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Mankind Pharma plan to add at least 1,000 personnel each in their sales and marketing teams in the coming fiscal, at a time when most other drugmakers are either consolidating or going slow on hiring.
Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's is India's second largest pharma company by global sales, but it has been lagging at the 17th position in the domestic market, due to its focus on its overseas business. However, in the last two years, the company has ramped up its domestic field force to expand business primarily in the northern and eastern parts of the country. "The management's focus is back on the local market," a company official said.
For Delhi-based Mankind Pharma, the focus is to push its new products, particularly in segments such as dermatology and cardiology, and gain market share to become the number one company in the Indian market by 2015, said CEO Ramesh Juneja. Incidentally, both Dr Reddy's and Mankind Pharma added similar numbers to their workforce in the ongoing fiscal.
Two other Indian companies, Alkem and Lupin, also plan to add about 300 and 400 personnel each to their workforce next fiscal. "It could be higher as we enter new therapy segments such as dermatology and consolidate in diabetes, gynaecology and anti-asthma," Lupin, Group President (India Region Formulations & CIS), Shakti Chakraborty, said.
However, most other drugmajors are looking at consolidation. Cipla's whole-time director S Radhakrishan said the company will "optimise" its 7,000 sales force while GSK and Pfizer will consolidate its existing teams and conduct only a few "selective" or replacement hiring. Sanofi Aventis is also "right sizing" its team, following the addition of about 700 people through the acquisition of Universal Medicare last year.
The 60,000-crore Indian domestic drug market is growing consistently at over 15% and projected to maintain the momentum over the next few years, making it one of the world's most lucrative markets. Developed markets such as the US, Japan and some countries in Europe are growing at low single digits largely due to patent expiry of best selling drugs.
Prescription medicines cannot be advertised in mass media unlike other consumer products. So, the field force of a drug company, also known as medical representatives, is the critical link to spur sales by pushing a company's brands through doctors and hospitals.
"Most drugmakers have increased their workforce in the last few years. Now many of them are consolidating," a senior official from a domestic pharma company said. Pfizer India, for instance, had launched two new divisions last year and hired about 400 people, is now looking at consolidation.
Similarly, GSK also added about 650-700 people last year, while Ranbaxy Laboratories increased its sales and marketing team by 50% or 1,500 personnel in 2010. Though Abbot Laboratories added about 4,000 sales and marketing people through its acquisition of Piramal Healthcare's domestic formulation business 2010, a company spokesman said it will also hire, without specifying any numbers.

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[ 10 ]

Human Resource Management in Hotel & Tourism Sector

India's top green hotels

The phrase 'green hotel' is searched 2,900 times on Google in India-the 12-month average of user queries-and 60,500 times across the globe. We could be optimistic and say that it reflects the rise in the number of environmentalists, but perhaps the reason is not entirely altruistic.
Taking the eco-friendly route improves a hotel's bottom line and most smart operators pass on the savings to guests by way of lower room rates. After all, if a hotel can save over Rs 33 lakh simply by switching to PL lamps or CFL, as in the case of The Orchid in Mumbai, going green all the way is sure to save much more. In recent times, the hotel industry has jumped on to the eco-friendly bandwagon, with every upcoming resort aspiring to the haloed green tag, and the existing ones trying to integrate sustainable practices without rebuilding from scratch. That's why initiatives such as installing chlorofluorocarbon-free air conditioners, rainwater harvesting, tapping solar and wind power to become energy-efficient, linen reuse programmes, and recycling waste are becoming as common as toiletries by the basin.
These efforts translate into considerably lower energy and water consumption, which means a smaller carbon footprint as well as lower operational costs. For instance, using locally sourced or indigenous building material not only shaves off transportation costs but is also a more efficient way to tackle the elements.

Tourism has potential to create 25 million jobs by 2016:

2012. INDIA: Highlighting India's tourism potential, Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai said the sector has the capacity to create 25 million jobs in the coming years.
"India has the potential market for tourism and has set a target to achieve 12 per cent growth in tourism sector by 2016. If this is achieved, we will be able to create 25 million additional jobs," Sahai said while inaugurating the Indian pavilion at ITB, the tourism fair in Berlin.
He said in order to achieve the target, the ministry has already taken concrete steps to increase tourist traffic to India in the coming years.
Aiming at enhancing its reach across the globe, Sahai said it has been decided to appoint marketing representatives in other countries where it does not have tourism offices.
Currently, Tourism Ministry has 14 overseas offices including in New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Dubai and Paris.
Emphasising that tourism has developed into one of world's largest industry, he said it is a major engine for economic growth. "Indian tourism continues to grow, both in volume and value. It has registered a growth of 11.8 per cent foreign tourist arrivals in the country in 2010," he said.
He said that an Inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee for the tourism sector has been set up to facilitate resolution of inter-ministerial issues involved in the development of tourism in the country as well as the issues raised by the industry associations.
Sahai also stated that his ministry will hold its own National Travel Mart titled Global Travel Mart India in the year 2012-13.
Referring to the target of one billion tourists by 2012 set by UNWTO, the Minister said India is aiming to fetch 1 per cent of them to double its foreign tourist arrivals this year.
India's foreign tourist arrivals have crossed six million in 2011 and is expected to touch seven million this year.

Inter Continental Hotels to create 3,000 jobs in Britain

Feb, 2012, LONDON: The world's biggest hotelier, Intercontinental, said it would create 3,000 jobs at its 275 hotels in Britain over the next three years, providing a boost for youth employment, as it launched a new training academy in London.
The company, which operates the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chains as well as InterContinental, said the academy had been launched in partnership with Newham College, close to the Olympic stadium, and would provide local people with hospitality training and practical work experience.
Britain is facing a youth unemployment crisis with more than one in five 16 to 24 year olds currently without a job.
The hospitality industry is a key employer of young people and around a quarter of InterContinental's 15,000 British employees are aged between 18 to 24.
Feb, 2012. Canada is opening its doors not just to Indian tourists but also to skilled workers. The Canada immigration story is gaining traction every passing day. "In 2012, Canada plans to admit between 2,40,000 and 2,65,000 new permanent residents.
We have maintained the immigration levels despite the recession because our economic growth will require a steady stream of new immigrants to meet labour market demands," says Simon Cridland, spokesperson of the High Commission of Canada in Delhi.
And the stats on permanent residence in Canada are looking good. Between 2005 and 2010, economic applications for permanent residence from Indian citizens increased by 7%.

RISING NUMBERS

In the economic categories of immigration including skilled workers,
Canadian experience class, entrepreneurs, self-employed, investors and provincial nominees; Indians were among the highest numbers of immigrants who moved to Canada in 2010. Overall, there were 30,252 Indians who gained PR status in Canada in 2010, a rise of over 4,000 over 2009. In terms of source country for immigrants, India was second only to the Philippines.
"For skilled Indian professionals, the economic categories are very attractive. Many Indians have done very well in this country as entrepreneurs, executives, academicians and in public life," says Deepak Obhrai, the Indo-Canadian MP from Calgary, Alberta.

Accor to hire over 1,100 employees in India

NEW DELHI, 2012: Hospitality firm Accor today said it will hire 1,100 people in India this year to meet the needs of its growing network.
The company plans to operate 90 hotels in India by 2015. It already has 3,600 employees here, the company said in a statement.
In April.2012, Accor opened five new hotels in India and six more will be opened in 2012, the company said. By the end of 2012, Accor will operate 23 hotels (4,572 guest rooms) in India and remains on track to achieve its development ambition of 90 hotels by 2015.
Accor is determined to hire young versatile talented staff that could be trained to multitask at various levels and will be capable of supporting the broad portfolio of properties, further experiencing faster career advancement, it added.

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[ 11 ]

Wages Definition

Meaning and Definition of Wage

In the ordinary language the term wages implies 'reward' to the labourers for the services rendered by them. It may be paid daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, per hour or per unit. Services rendered by the labourer include both physical and mental services.
In the words of Benham. "Wages are a sum of money paid under contract by an employer to a worker for services rendered."
According to ILO " Wages refer to that payment which is made by the employers to the labourer for his services hired on the conditions of payment per hour, per day, per week or per fortnight."
Appropriate Definition: Wages refer to that reward which is received from the employer for the services rendered by the labourer per week, per month, per fortnight or per unit It includes allowances also.
• Subsistence Wage: - The wage that can meet only bare physical needs of a worker and his family is called subsistence wage.
• Minimum Wage: - Minimum wage is the wage that is able to provide not only for bare physical needs but also for preservation of efficiency of worker plus some measure of education, health and other things.
• Fair Wage: - Fair wages is an adjustable step that moves up according to the capacity of the industry to pay, and the prevailing rates of wages in the area of industry.
• Living Wage:- Living wage is that which workers can maintain the health and decency, a measure of comfort and some insurance against the more important misfortune of lie.
In any even the minimum wage must be paid irrespective of the extent of profits, the financial condition of the establishment or the availability of workmen at lower wages. The wages must be fair, i.e. sufficiently high to provide standard family with ,food, shelter, clothing, medical care and education of children appropriate to the workmen. A fair wage lies between the minimum wage and the living wage which is the goal. Wages must be paid on an industry wise and region basis having due regard to the financial capacity of the unit.

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[ 12 ]

Wages Definition

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
Sec 2
(vi) "wages" means all remuneration (whether by way of salary allowances or otherwise) expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed which would if the terms of employment express or implied were fulfilled by payable to a person employed in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment and includes -
(a) any remuneration payable under any award or settlement between the parties or order of a court;
(b) any remuneration to which the person employed is entitled in respect of overtime work or holidays or any leave period;
(c) any additional remuneration payable under the terms of employment (whether called a bonus or by any other name);
(d) any sum which by reason of the termination of employment of the person employed is payable under any law contract or instrument which provides for the payment of such sum whether with or without deductions but does not provide for the time within which the payment is to be made;
(e) any sum to which the person employed is entitled under any scheme framed under any law for the time being in force, but does not include -
(1) any bonus (whether under a scheme of profit sharing or otherwise) which does not form part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment or which is not payable under any award or settlement between the parties or order of a court;
(2) the value of any house-accommodation or of the supply of light water medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from the computation of wages by a general or special order of the State Government;
(3) any contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund and the interest which may have accrued thereon;
(4) any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession;
(5) any sum paid to the employed person to defray special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment; or
(6) any gratuity payable on the termination of employment in cases other than those specified in sub-clause (d).

Meaning and Definition of Wage

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Pay structure in india

The employee benefit package normally contains apart from basic pay, a dearness allowance, overtime payment, annual bonus, incentive systems, and a host of fringe benefits.

Basic Pay

The concept of basic Pay is contained in the report of the Fair Wages Committee. According to this Committee, the floor of the basic pay is the “minimum wage” which provides “not merely for the bare sustenance of life but for the preservation of the efficiency of the workers by providing some measure of education, medical requirements and amenities.” The basic Pay has been the most stable and fixed as compared to dearness allowance and annual bonus which usually change with movements in the cost of living indices and the performance of the industry.

Dearness Allowance

The fixation of wage structure also includes within its compass a fixation of rates of dearness allowance. In the context of a changing pattern of prices and consumption, real wages of the workmen are likely to fluctuate greatly. Ultimately, it is the goods and services that a worker buys with the help of wages that are an important consideration for him. The real wages of the workmen thus require to be protected when there is a rise in prices and a consequent increase in the cost of living by suitable adjustments in these wages. In foreign countries, these adjustments in wages are effected automatically with the rise or fall in the cost of living.
In India, the system of dearness allowance is a special feature of the wage system for adjustment of the wages when there are frequent fluctuations in the cost of living. In our country, at present, there are several systems of paying dearness allowance to the employees to meet the changes in the cost of living. In practice, they differ from place to place and industry to industry. One of the methods of paying dearness allowance is by a flat rate, under which a fixed amount is paid to all categories of workers, irrespective of their wage scales. The second method is its linkage with consumer price index numbers published periodically by the government. It indicates the changes in the prices of a fixed basket of goods and services customarily bought by the families of workers. In other words, the index shows the rise or fall in the cost of living due a rise or fall in consumer prices.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a monthly index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI is compiled by price data collected throughout the country for a fixed set of goods, such as food, clothing, shelter, fuels, prescriptions, transportation fares, and medical fees. The CPI is important as a predictor of wage increases and of employees' need for greater income.
The third method of paying dearness allowance is on a graduated scale according to slabs. Under this method, workers are divided into groups according to the slabs of wage scales to whom fixed amounts of dearness allowance are paid on a graduated scale. After a limit, there will not be any increase in the amount of dearness allowance at all, however high the wage rate may be. This method is popular because it is convenient and also considered to be equitable.

Overtime Payment

Working overtime in industry is possibly as old as the industrial revolution. The necessity of the managements’ seeking overtime working from employees becomes inevitable mainly to overcome inappropriate allocation of manpower and improper scheduling, absenteeism, unforeseen situations created due to genuine difficulties like breakdown of machines. In many companies, overtime is necessary to meet urgent delivery dates, sudden upswings in production schedules, or to give management a degree of flexibility in matching labour capacity to production demands. The payment of overtime allowance to the factory and workshop employees is guaranteed by law. All employees who are deemed to be workers under the Factories Act or under the Minimum Wages Act are entitled to it at twice the ordinary rate of their wages for the work done in excess of 9 hours on any day or for more than 48 hours in any week. The major benefit of overtime working to workers is that it offers an increase in income from work.

Annual Bonus

The bonus component of the industrial compensation system, though a quite old one, had assumed a statutory status only with the enactment of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The Act is applicable to factories and other establishments employing 20 or more employees.
Eligibility: Every employee not drawing salary/wages beyond Rs. 10,000 per month who has worked for not less than 30 days in an accounting year, shall be eligible for bonus for minimum of 8.33% of the salary/wages even if there is loss in the establishment whereas a maximum of 20% of the employee’s salary/wages is payable as bonus in an accounting year. However, in case of the employees whose salary/wages range between Rs. 3500 to Rs. 10,000 per month for the purpose of payment of bonus, their salaries/wages would be deemed to be Rs. 3500.

Incentive Systems

The term “incentive” has been used both in the restricted sense of participation and in the widest sense of financial motivation. It is used to signify inducements offered to employees to put forth their best in order to maximise production results. Incentives are classified as financial and non-financial. Important financial incentives are attractive wages, bonus, dearness allowance, traveling allowance, housing allowance, gratuity, pension, and provident fund contributions. Some of the non-financial incentives are designation, nature of the job, working conditions, status, privileges, job security, opportunity for advancement and participation in decision making. However, a vast diversity exists in regard to policy and practice of incentive payments. Incentive systems also have been classified into three groups: individual wage incentive plan, group incentive scheme, and organisation-wide incentive system.
The individual wage incentive plan is the extra compensation paid to an individual over a specified amount for his production effort. Individual incentive systems are based upon certain norms established by work measurement techniques such as past performance, bargaining between union and the management, time study, standard data, predetermined elemental times and work sampling. There are four types of individual incentive systems such as measured day-work, piece-work standard, group plans and gains-sharing plans. Under the measured day-work incentive wage system, an individual receives his regular hourly rate of pay, irrespective of his performance. Piece-work system form the most simple and frequently used incentive wage. In this, individual’s earnings are direct and proportionate to their output. Group plans embody a guaranteed base rate to the workers in which the performance over standard is rewarded by a proportionate premium over base pay. Gains-sharing system involves a disproportionate increase in monetary rewards for increasing output beyond a predetermined standard. As the gains are shared with the entrepreneurs, the worker gets less than one per cent increment in wage for every one percent increase in output.
The group or area incentive scheme provides for the payment of a bonus either equally or proportionately to individuals within a group or area. The bonus is related to the output achieved over an agreed standard or to the time saved on the job – the difference between allowed time and actual time. Such schemes may be most appropriate where:
(a) people have to work together and teamwork has to be encouraged; and
(b) high levels of production depend a great deal on the cooperation existing among a team of workers as compared with the individual efforts of team members.
The organisation-wide incentive system involves cooperation among employees and the management and purports to accomplish broader organisational objectives such as:
(i) to reduce labour, material and supply costs;
(ii) to strengthen loyalty to the company;
(iii) to promote harmonious labour-management relations; and
(iv) to decrease turnover and absenteeism.
One of the aspects of organisation-wide incentive system is profit sharing under which an employee receives a share of the profit fixed in advance under an agreement freely entered into. The major objective of the profit sharing system is to strengthen the unity of interest and the spirit of cooperation. Some of the advantages of such a scheme are:
(i) it inculcates in employees’ a sense of economic discipline as regards wage costs and productivity;
(ii) it engenders improved communication and increased sense of participation;
(iii) it is relatively simple and its cost of administration is low; and
(iv) it is non-inflationary, if properly devised.
One of the essentials of a sound profit sharing system is that it should not be treated as a substitute for adequate wages but provide something extra to the participants. Full support and cooperation of the union is to be obtained in implementing such a scheme.

Fringe Benefits

The remuneration that the employees receive for their contribution cannot be measured by the mere estimation of wages and salaries paid to them. Certain supplementary benefits and services known as “fringe benefits” are also available to them. The characteristics of fringe benefits are:
1. These benefits are distinctly additional to the regular wages paid to the workers. As such, they are not provided as a substitute for wages or salaries of the employees.
2. These benefits are meant primarily to be of advantage to the employees.
3. The advantages accrued to the employees through the provision of fringe benefits are as such they cannot be secured through their own individual efforts.
4. Only those benefits fall within the purview of fringe benefits which are or can be expressed in cash terms.
5. The scope of fringe benefits is different from that of welfare services. Fringe benefits are provided by the employers alone whereas welfare services may be provided by other agencies as well. Benefits that have no relation to employment should not be regarded as fringe benefits.
Fringe benefits have been classified in several ways. In terms of their objectives, Meggison classifies them into two groups: those providing for employees’ security and those purporting to increase employees’ job satisfaction causing reduction in labour turnover and improvement in productivity. The former group includes retirement programmes, workmen’s compensation, unemployment compensation, social insurance, and other provisions. The later group incorporates vacations, holidays, sick leave, discounts on company goods and services, and allied tangible and intangible benefits.
Fringe benefits are also categorised as statutory, contractual, and voluntary. Statutory benefits include social security and medical care, unemployment compensation, workmen’s compensation, provident fund, and gratuity. The benefits provided by the employers in pursuance of agreements with workers may include dearness allowance, house rent allowance, city compensatory allowance, medical allowance, night-shift allowance, heat allowance, transport, housing and educational allowances. Voluntary fringe benefits which are provided unilaterally by the company include group insurance, death benevolent fund, washing allowance, leave encashment, leave travel concession, conveyance allowance, incentive for family planning, service awards, and suggestion awards.
Currently fringe benefits are a significant part of employee compensation system and the employees tend to take them for granted and do not link these items with wages or income as they do not have any direct bearing on payments. They are no more on the fringe of compensation but form an integral component of individual’s earnings involving spiraling costs for the company. However, the fringe benefit system can become effective if attempts are made to gear them to the needs of human resource in organisational settings.

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Statutory Machinery

Traditionally, labour laws had a protective function consisting of established standards both to protect workers in their workplace and to provide them a basic minimum level of living conditions. Because of changing industrial and economic scenario, along with statutory machineries, voluntary machineries come into existence. Hence, regulatory mechanisms for prevention and settlement of industrial disputes comprises of statutory and voluntary machinery. In this unit, we will be discussing on these machineries and also concept of lok adalats.

STATUTORY MACHINERY

The Industrial disputes Act, 1947 provides the mechanics of dispute- resolution and set-up the necessary structure so as to create congenial climate.

What is an ‘Industrial Dispute’?

An ‘Industrial dispute’ means any dispute or difference between employers and employers, or between employers and workmen, or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with the terms and conditions of employment of any person.

Who can raise a Dispute?

A dispute is said to have arisen when some demand is made by workmen and it is rejected by the management or vice versa and the demand is relating to the employment. A workman can raise a dispute. However, it is pertinent to note that a dispute between an employer and single workman does not fall within the definition of industrial dispute, but if the workmen as a body or a considerable section of them make a common cause with the individual workman then such a dispute would be an industrial dispute.
However, certain individual disputes relating to dismissal, discharge, retrenchment or termination of services of a workman, are also covered. The Act implies even to industrial establishments employing a single workman. But dispute in relation to a person who is not a ‘workman’ within the meaning of the Act is not an industrial dispute under Section 2(k).
The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provide for creation of different authorities to preserve industrial harmony, prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. These are as follows:
1) Works Committee
In establishments where hundred or more workers are employed:
a) The appropriate government may require the employer to set-up works committee.
b) It is composed of equal number of representatives of workmen and management who are chosen with consultation of the trade union.
c) Its functions are to preserve amity and establish cordial relations and to resolve differences of opinion on matters of common interest.
2) Conciliation Officer
a) The conciliation officer may be appointed by the government for specified area or specified industries.
b) Duty of conciliation officer is to mediate in and promote the settlement of industrial disputes. Where industrial dispute exists or is apprehended and relates to public utility, conciliation officer shall hold conciliation proceedings and it is mandatory. In such cases conciliation officer will investigate the dispute and induce the parties to corne to amicable settlement. However, he cannot take the decision, he has to send report of settlement to his government. If no settlement is reached then also he has to report to the government giving reasons on account of which settlement could not be reached. Conciliation officer to normally submit report within 14 days of commencement of conciliation proceedings. Duty of the conciliation officer is administrative and not judicial in nature.
If an agreement is reached by the parties, it is binding on both the parties.
3) Board of Conciliation
The government may notify constitution of board of conciliation for promoting settlement of an industrial dispute. Its role is also consultative, like conciliation officer.
4) Court of Enquiry
The government may constitute a court of enquiry to enquire into any matter connected with an industrial dispute. In the case of board of conciliation the object is to promote settlement of an industrial dispute. But in the case of a court of enquiry object is to enquire into and reveal the causes of an industrial dispute.
5) Voluntary Arbitration
It is voluntary method of resolving individual disputes if dispute is not settled by negotiating parties. Here both parties are willing to go to an arbitrator of their choice and submit to his decision. Arbitrators are named by the parties in the written agreement.
The number of arbitrators can be one or even more than one. Legal sanctity to this mode of settlement of industrial disputes was given in1956 when Section lOA was introduced in Industrial Dispute Act.
6) Adjudication
The Industrial Disputes Act provides for three-tier system of adjudication of industrial disputes. The cases either may be referred by government to court after the receipt of failure report from conciliation officer or directly by any party. Labour courts and industrial tribunal may be constituted by the state government while national tribunal is constituted by the central government.
i) Labour Courts: Functions of labour courts are relating to matters as under:
1) Legality of an order passed by an employer under the standing order,
2) Application and interpretation of standing orders,
3) Discharge or dismissal of workman,
4) Withdrawal of any customary concession or privilege,
5) Illegality or otherwise of a strike or lock-out, and
6) All matters (not specified for industrial court).
ii) Industrial Tribunals: The functions of industrial tribunals are as follows:
1) All matters within jurisdiction of labour courts,
2) Wages,
3) Compensatory and other allowances,
4) Hours of work and rest intervals,
5) Leave with wages and holidays,
6) Bonus, Provident Fund and Gratuity,
7) Shift Working,
8) Classification of grades,
9) Rules of Disciplines, and
10) Retrenchment and closure of establishment.
iii) National Tribunal: The national tribunal shall be constituted by the Central government (only) when undertakings in more than one stage is affected by such industrial dispute and is of ‘national importance’ and matters relate to functioning of labour and industrial courts.
7) Grievance Settlement Authority
It is to be set-up enterprises where 50 or more workers are employed. This for settling of individual grievances of employees. Individual disputes are to be referred to the courts when not settled at grievances authority level.
8) Welfare Officer
Another preventive measure is under the Factories Act, 1948, i.e., the appointment of welfare officer in the organisation if workers are 500 or more.
9) Standing Orders
Another preventive measure is certification of standing orders by enterprises under the Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946. These standing orders require enterprises to lay down uniform terms and conditions of employment of workers.
10) Central and State Industrial Relations Machinery
Central Industrial Relations Machinery consists of the Chief Labour Commissioner and Regional Labour Commissioner together with Labour Enforcement Officers. The machinery has regional Offices. Their main functions are:
i) prevention, investigation and settlement of industrial disputes in industries, or enforcement of labour laws and awards,
ii) verification of union membership,
iii) fixation of minimum wages, etc., and
iv) central implementation and evaluation machinery ensures implementation of code of discipline, labour laws, awards and settlements, take preventive action by settling disputes, evaluates major strikes and lock-outs, evaluates labour laws and policy decision and suggests measures to improve them.
11) Other Preventive Measures
Some other provisions laid down in Industrial disputes Act, 1947 which discourage disputes are as under:
a) According to Sec. 9 A of Industrial Disputes Act, an employer cannot make any change in conditions of service without giving to the workers a 21-days’ notice and follow the prescribed procedure for changing them.
b) Defining of unfair labour practices on part of employees/unions and employers which have deterrent affect as penalties are provided under (Section 2(ra)) of lndustrial Disputes Act, 1947.
c) Provisions of laws relating to lay-off, retrenchment and closure and also regarding lock -out and strikes which imposes resrictions on the employers and employees.

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Voluntary Machinery

Voluntary machinery for settlement of industrial disputes is based on Code of Discipline announced in 1958. The code was approved by all central organisations of workers and employers in 16th Indian Labour Conference at the initiative of the then Labour Minister, Shri G.L. Nanda.

1) Code of Discipline, 1958

The code reflects the policy of the government to build up an industrial democracy on voluntary basis and is the sheetanchor of Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of industrial relations. It aims at preserving industrial peace with the help of employers and employees. It represents a voluntary moral commitment and is not a legal document. The code, which aims at providing an alternative to conflict for the resolution of disputes, worked very well for some time after its adoption.
The issue of discipline e in industry was discussed in the Indian Labour Conference and the code of discipline was framed and introduced by that tripartite body in 1958. Discipline in the relationship between workers and employers can better be enforced if both the parties accept their responsibilities and show a willingness to discharge them.
In the absence of any statutory provision at the all-India level for the recognition of trade union, the provision in this regard has been incorporated in the Code of Discipline.
The main elements of the code are:
1. The two parties agree to utilise the existing machinery for the settlement of industrial disputes.
2. The parties shall not resort to strikes and lock-outs without first exploring all avenues of settlement
3. The parties accept that the disputes not settled mutually shall be referred to voluntary arbitration.
4. The code specifies the criteria for the recognition of trade union and creates an obligation on employers to recognise the majority union in an establishment or industry.
5. The two parties shall not resort to the unfair labour practices detailed out in the code.
6. Managements and trade unions agree to establish grievance procedure on a mutually agreed basis.
Initially by the end of March, 1962, the code was accepted voluntarily by about 900 independent employers and trade unions. The number increased to around 3000 by the end of 1967. Over the years, however, the willingness and enthusiasm of the parties to observe the code has declined, and they have developed an attitude of indifference to the code. It has proved to be difficult for them to abide by self-imposed discipline in terms of obligations backed only by moral sanctions. Industrial Truce Resolution, 1962. With the Chinese attack in October 1962, an emergency was declared in the country, and it was realised that production should not be jeopardised in any way. Employers’ and workers’ representatives, in a joint meeting of their organisations held on November 3, 1962 at New Delhi, passed a resolution, saying that the emerging method of dispute resolution which is speedy, less costly and which ends in win-win situation.

2) Code of Conduct

The other code adopted in May 1958 was the code of conduct. The representatives of the four central trade union organisations - the INTUC, AITUC, HMS and UTUC –agreed to observe certain principles with a view to maintaining harmonious interunion relations. Inter-union and intra-union rivalries emerge out of certain weakness of Indian trade unions such as fragmentation and multiplicity. The code was formulated to curb these evils. But it has remained mainly on paper, for trade unions seem to have forgotten that it exists.

3) Tripartite Bodies

The other tripartite bodies which came into existence were:
• Indian Labour Conference,
• Standing Labour Committee,
• Industrial Committees, and
• Tripartite Committee on International Labour Organisation Conventions, 1954.
4) Formation of Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees (JCM), this is also a three-tier machinery.
5) Collective Bargaining was encouraged.
6) Workers’ Participation in Management Scheme was introduced through Formation of Shop Councils and Plant Council.
MEDIATION AND LITIGATION
Mediation is very much a part of Indian culture. Litigation, on the other hand, was introduced by the colonial masters as a top down model. It is alien to Indian culture and never got imbibed into the Indian culture. Respectable and elderly people acting as mediators or functioning as Panchayat members is integral to Indian culture. In the past it was these respectable and elderly people who used to help in resolving disputes through mediation or mediation-cum-arbitration in Panchayats. Even now mediation as a method of dispute resolution is quite common in India. Mediation is an informal process where the mediator, who is a neutral third party, assists the disputing parties in the pursuit organization finding a solution to their dispute. What happens in Lok Adalats is only mediation in a formal way. When mediation is done in a formal way it is called conciliation.

Limitations of Litigation

There are many limitations associated with litigation. Litigation involves lot of delay. It is expensive. In India, the adversary method of dispute resolution is used in litigation. The adversary method is one which gives the parties and their lawyers a great deal of control over the way in which the facts are collected and presented. Each party will present the evidence to the Court in a way most favourable to its own version of the facts and adverse to that of the other party. The role of the judge is limited to that of an umpire, ensuring that the evidence is presented in accordance withcertain ground rules. The adversary method of dispute resolution promotes game theory of dispute resolution. Persons with good resources are likely to win the game. Winning the game in an adversary system does not necessarily mean justice is done or there is peaceful solution to the dispute is found. It only means that the dispute is resolved. This is not a good way of resolving disputes in situations such as family relations or industrial relations where no effort shall be spared to achieve maximwn production, and management and workers will strive to collaborate in all possible ways to promote the defence efforts of the country.
As a result of the acceptance of this Resolution, there was a sharp decline in the number of disputes and in the number of mandays lost. Workers not only worked for extra hours but also contributed to the National Defence Fund. Emergency Production Committees were set-up, both at the Centre and in the states to improve production and productivity. But the Resolution lost its importance when prices rose sharply and disputes erupted once again.

Advantages of Mediation

In view of the limitations of the adversary method of dispute resolution in areas where human emotions are also involved, the advantages of mediation as a method of dispute resolution have been seriously considered. Mediation as a method of dispute resolution has many advantages in situations where human emotions are involved. Unlike a court which gives a judgment with respect to the particular claim or charge before it, mediators assist the disputants to explore their differences and to develop a mutually acceptable formula for future co-existence. Moreover mediation is cheap and quick in resolution of disputes. For mediation has to be successful, the mediator needs to normalise the strained relations between the disputing parties. In order to achieve this, a mediator must to be a good counselor who can comprehend the emotional issues associated with the problem. In the process of helping the parties give vent to their emotions, all the minor differences which culminated in the dispute are also addressed. Once the emotional and ego-related aspects associated with the dispute are soothed, the disputing parties are able to negotiate in a reasonable way. Once they are reasonable in negotiating, it becomes easy to find solution to their problems.
Mediation addresses the interests and not the positions taken by the disputing parties. It is easy to address the interests and once that is done, it ends up in a win-win situation. There are many ways of addressing interests. In a mediation there can be one or more mediators. The role of mediator includes facilitating communication between the parties, assisting in identifying interests and generating options for settlement.

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