Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement

Purpose – On 12th June 2015, a strike by contract workers was declared at Rampur terminal, All India Business in oil corporation (ABC) Ltd. The strike had disrupted the normal services of the terminal. Under such circumstances, Mr Ravi Sharma (Head human resources of the eastern region, ABC Ltd.) wa...

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Main Author: Niharika Gaan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2021-07-01
Series:Vilakshan (XIMB Journal of Management)
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/XJM-06-2020-0014/full/pdf?title=breaking-industrial-relations-stalemate-at-abc-ltd-a-strategic-rapprochement
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author Niharika Gaan
author_facet Niharika Gaan
author_sort Niharika Gaan
collection DOAJ
description Purpose – On 12th June 2015, a strike by contract workers was declared at Rampur terminal, All India Business in oil corporation (ABC) Ltd. The strike had disrupted the normal services of the terminal. Under such circumstances, Mr Ravi Sharma (Head human resources of the eastern region, ABC Ltd.) was unable to decide how to save the company from such a disorderly situation without any increased loss of production and manpower cost liabilities. Could Mr Ravi Sharma resolve the issue of strike through an approach of strategic rapprochement when the disruptions made by workers and local miscreants went out of control? Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interview in the year 2019 was conducted with the protagonist Mr Ravi Sharma and the trade union members at the regional office of ABC Ltd., Kolkata and Rampur Terminal, respectively, to convert the narratives in the form of a fictitious case study. Four rounds of interviews were conducted by the author to complete the data collection procedure. The company™s-related information was sourced through a secondary database furnished by company™s officials. However, the data about the company, the key characters and other recognizable information have been disguised to preserve the confidentiality of information. Findings – The strike was called by the contract workers at Rampur terminal for two primary reasons, namely, wage increase and giving preference to local people for employment whether regular or contract. Mr Ravi Sharma could pacify the unforeseen situation by adopting two-pronged strategies, namely, first, he could successfully gain the confidence of the union leader and secondly, set the environment for the conciliation proceeding so that agreement settled will not be failed to be implemented. Originality/value – The case uses a system perspective of Industrial relation proposed by Dunlop (1958) to highlight the interplay between employer, government and trade unions influenced by politics and mafia that determine eventually the industrial peace in the organization.
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spelling doaj-art-7d9fcb8f7b3d4be4a158e4c3c6df6aaf2025-08-20T02:51:30ZengEmerald PublishingVilakshan (XIMB Journal of Management)0973-19542021-07-0118213815510.1108/XJM-06-2020-0014657477Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochementNiharika Gaan0Management Development Institute Murshidabad, Murshidabad, IndiaPurpose – On 12th June 2015, a strike by contract workers was declared at Rampur terminal, All India Business in oil corporation (ABC) Ltd. The strike had disrupted the normal services of the terminal. Under such circumstances, Mr Ravi Sharma (Head human resources of the eastern region, ABC Ltd.) was unable to decide how to save the company from such a disorderly situation without any increased loss of production and manpower cost liabilities. Could Mr Ravi Sharma resolve the issue of strike through an approach of strategic rapprochement when the disruptions made by workers and local miscreants went out of control? Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interview in the year 2019 was conducted with the protagonist Mr Ravi Sharma and the trade union members at the regional office of ABC Ltd., Kolkata and Rampur Terminal, respectively, to convert the narratives in the form of a fictitious case study. Four rounds of interviews were conducted by the author to complete the data collection procedure. The company™s-related information was sourced through a secondary database furnished by company™s officials. However, the data about the company, the key characters and other recognizable information have been disguised to preserve the confidentiality of information. Findings – The strike was called by the contract workers at Rampur terminal for two primary reasons, namely, wage increase and giving preference to local people for employment whether regular or contract. Mr Ravi Sharma could pacify the unforeseen situation by adopting two-pronged strategies, namely, first, he could successfully gain the confidence of the union leader and secondly, set the environment for the conciliation proceeding so that agreement settled will not be failed to be implemented. Originality/value – The case uses a system perspective of Industrial relation proposed by Dunlop (1958) to highlight the interplay between employer, government and trade unions influenced by politics and mafia that determine eventually the industrial peace in the organization.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/XJM-06-2020-0014/full/pdf?title=breaking-industrial-relations-stalemate-at-abc-ltd-a-strategic-rapprochementtrade unionscentral trade unionsconciliationcontract workers 2019 disputewild cat strike
spellingShingle Niharika Gaan
Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement
Vilakshan (XIMB Journal of Management)
trade unions
central trade unions
conciliation
contract workers 2019 dispute
wild cat strike
title Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement
title_full Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement
title_fullStr Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement
title_full_unstemmed Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement
title_short Breaking industrial relations’ stalemate at ABC Ltd.: a strategic rapprochement
title_sort breaking industrial relations stalemate at abc ltd a strategic rapprochement
topic trade unions
central trade unions
conciliation
contract workers 2019 dispute
wild cat strike
url https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/XJM-06-2020-0014/full/pdf?title=breaking-industrial-relations-stalemate-at-abc-ltd-a-strategic-rapprochement
work_keys_str_mv AT niharikagaan breakingindustrialrelationsstalemateatabcltdastrategicrapprochement