Labour Unrests

Labour unrest - a term which disturbs the peace of mind and inhibits the overall environment for sometime. 

I too came across situations where workers stopped their work and started raising their issues. The matter was escalated along with the tension. While I am not a hardcore IR (Industrial Relations) Professional but I decided to 'catch the bull by horns' and resolve it even though I didn't know the local language. What I knew was the basics of communication, patience and confidence on myself and an approach to resolve.

I went to the agitating crowd and asked them to first calm down so that an atmosphere can be made to hear them out and understand their issues. I asked them to come forward those people among themselves who can understand Hindi, English (as I am fluent in these languages). Incidentally all of them have agreed and then few people came forward. We started discussing the concerns they had. 

I found that their most of the concerns were genuine, gave them the solutions and convinced them to resume work immediately. I also gave them some commitment to resolve the unresolved issues. They looked contented after finding the genuineness in my responses, approach. 

When I went back to my cabin I introspected the entire scenario and made my team also to do the same. Team took a defensive approach however I convinced them to do a SWOT analysis so that we can take preventive measures to avoid such recurrences. 

Team found that the root cause - "missing the basics": lack of communication, ignorance of respect to each other and equality. 

Usually many of us become so busy in our day-to-day workings few of us don't realize when the ball is dropped. Resolve the burning issue ASAP.. delay is a hindrance of future. 

Keep it simple and straight the first time. Keep communicating.

Happy working!

Relevance

I got an opportunity to work in multiple industries including IT, Electronics, Manufacturing (Textiles, FMCG), Packaging, Professional Services (Maritime). I also worked in two countries and partnered with Stakeholders of different Nationalities and Employees of diverse ethnicity, language and economic ethos. 

As an HR Partner throughout my career, I noticed common issues that employees bring in: issues in their Compensation, issues with their team member/boss, an unfulfilled promise (not evaluating the correctness as of now) by the supervisor, Recruiter, nagging colleague, chances of growth, performance rating/discussion. 

All these issues are people centric. They do not differ from industry to industry. What differs is the employee themselves and their way of conveying their problems. 

A trend has been commonly visible where many people believe that HR who has worked in IT will not be a relevant for HR in Manufacturing or vice versa. Processes and Policies will differ.

HR interacts with People, develops the Processes, design the Policies based on the Business environment. Industries do not define HR. 

Readers are free to share their views.