Presents

Strike or Yield
The Case Study Challenge
 To Recognise or Not To Recognise
On 3rd July 2011 workers of the Oldsmobile Paints and Varnish Limited (OPVL),
Hosur plant applied for registration of a new union- OPVL Employees' Socialist
Union (OESU), at the Bangalore registrar’s office. It was all very inconspicuous.
They did not want anyone to know because the new union had plans.After the
application was filed, the news was leaked everywhere to set the wheels in
motion for what was about to come. The management on knowing the workers'
initiative for a new union, forced and threatened workers to sign on a blank sheet
allegedly to state that they will not join the new union. But these people were
not easily scared. Protesting against management's action, a part of the
workfprce, 1511 workers to be exact, started a sit-in strike from July 7th, 2011, at
the Hubli Plant, demanding recognition of newly formed Oldsmobile Employees
Socialist Union (OESU).To put pressure on workers, on July 10, the management
dismissed 15 workers, including OESU office bearers, for allegedly inciting
workers to go on strike and halting production. The pivotal figure of this entire
orchestra was a young machinist by the name of Kiran Gownda, he had joined
the factory a few months back but was recognized early on by his peers as a
firebrand.

It is significant to mention that Odsmoblie has an in-house union, Oldsmobile

Traditional Union (OTU) at its Mysore Plant for which elections have not been
conducted for a long time. Workers at the Hosur plant feel that the OTU is
dominated by the management and is not taking up workers' issues such as
wages, intensification of work, and regularisation of trainees and contract
workers. However, the management had been maintaining that it will not allow
the Hosur plant to have an independent union or a union affiliated with a political
party, and they can become part of the existing OTU union. The Union leader of
OTU was Rammaya Vokkaliga, who had been working at the Mysore plant for
more than 25 years. He was an old hand with years of expertise in negotiating
with management for worker's needs. Mr.Vokkaliga maintained a good
relationship with the IR manager of the Plant, Mr. Hegde.

Back at Hosur, the embattled OESU leaders wanted OTU derecognized; they felt
OESU was the real voice of the workers of OPVL in Karnataka.

The protesting workers through their political connections contacted the All India
Trade union Congress (AITUC) and coordinated with other unions, including
The case was written solely to be used for the case round of flagship events at Ensemble Valhalla 2019. It is intended to be used as a basis for academic purpose
rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. The case has been prepared using secondary data and primary
research done by the authors. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever
without the permission of the authors. 2
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Indian
National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)
and they formed a joint action committee.

On July 30th, more than 2,000 workers from various factories in Hosur
participated in a solidarity demonstration in front of the OPVL factory. On the
same day, the Karnataka government passed a prohibitory order to ban the strike
and referred the matter to the local labor court. Unfazed by anti-labor measures
of the government, unions in Hosur planned to conduct gate meetings and a two-
hour tool down strike in their factories to express solidarity with OPVL workers.
Subsequently, Karnataka Chief Minster requested unions postpone the strike
time and sought more time for negotiations. Accordingly, for the time being,
unions in Hosur postponed the tool down action.

However, the management did not change its stand and in fact, retracted from
its earlier position that it will accept an independent union. As the sit-in strike
continued into its 23rd day, workers' hardships were mounting. For the past 23
days, workers had not even changed their clothes. Food was supplied from
outside through the arrangements made by themselves. Even essential items like
toothpaste, brush, and soaps were also not allowed to be given to workers. The
plant employed around 4,500 workers, among which 1900 are regular workers,
1,500 are trainees, and 1,100 are contract workers and apprentices. The workers'
salary package, with a low basic salary and a substantial amount of incentives
/allowances, was designed by the management to control them.

Mr. Rammaya caught wind of the mounting political situation in the Hosur
percolating into his home turf. He wanted to appease his peers and at the same
did not want to rock the boat with management. He and his fellow union
members decided to go on a sympathetic strike after the production shift got
over. So after their shift, they gathered outside the premises for an hour of silent
peaceful protest.

The management now saw this as a nation wide uprising of the workers and
wanted to quash it in the nib. Orders were given by the top bosses to Mr. Hegde
to lockout the plant. As soon as the gate was locked, panic set in amongst the
Mysore plant’s workers. They had not seen this outcome. In 25 years, they had
never seen the management do anything that would affect them adversely. Still
they hoped that maybe tomorrow it will be a different story. On the second day
The case was written solely to be used for the case round of flagship events at Ensemble Valhalla 2019. It is intended to be used as a basis for academic purpose
rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. The case has been prepared using secondary data and primary
research done by the authors. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever
without the permission of the authors. 3
of the lockout, after no sign of normalcy, Rammaya tried to reason with
management. He sent a word to Mr. Hegde that they would not continue the
strike anymore. But the management felt that Rammaya was full of empty
promises and with this strike, he had lost the trust that the management had had
in him for so long.

With no solution in sight even after 5 days of lockout, Rammaya thought that
maybe it was finally time to change his loyalties. He had heard about kiran and
he hoped that the Hosur union would provide them with the support that they
needed right now. Along with a contingent of members, Rammaya took a bus
from Mysore to Hosur. On reaching the plant site their hopes got slightly lifted
after seeing the crowd gathered for the strike. Rammaya struggled through the
wall of angry workers to reach Kiran, who was standing in the front line of the
picketing contigent.

Fighting his way through the sea of bodies, Rammaya finally reached the front to
get some facetime with Kiran. They looked each other in the eye for a second and
like a sleeping volcano, Kiran erupted. He called him a traitor and a puppet of the
management, the entire crowd went silent. In front of them were two union
leaders- the old maverick and the young gun. And then the silence was broken
with Kiran’s enraged voice resounding over the crowd. That was the final straw
that broke the camel’s hump. Kiran in a fit of rage slapped Rammaya and made a
casteist slur, demeaning his entire community.

More than 40% of workers at the Hosur plant were of Rammaya’s Vokkaliga
community. None of this mattered when somebody started abusing their
ancestry. The workers were now confused. The turmoil had taken a fresh new
turn as the fight had now transcended beyond their profession and had creeped
into their hearts. There was a tornado brewing inside the union now and it was
about to hit OPVL hard!

Keep in mind the current changing landscape of IR suggest a solution for the
problem at hand as a newly appointed IR manager at the plant.

The case was written solely to be used for the case round of flagship events at Ensemble Valhalla 2019. It is intended to be used as a basis for academic purpose
rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. The case has been prepared using secondary data and primary
research done by the authors. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever
without the permission of the authors. 4
 APPENDIX

Charter of Demands
• Minimum wages of not less than Rs 10,000/- per month with provisions of
incentives
• Stoppage of contractorization in permanent, perennial work and payment
of the same wage and benefits for contract workers as regular workers for
same and similar work
• Removal of all ceilings on payment for overtime hours
• In addition to this compensation and normal weekend, the union
demanded the current four paid weeks of vacation be increased to 7
weeks.
• Derecognition of OTU from the company

The case was written solely to be used for the case round of flagship events at Ensemble Valhalla 2019. It is intended to be used as a basis for academic purpose
rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. The case has been prepared using secondary data and primary
research done by the authors. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or medium whatsoever
without the permission of the authors. 5