Proposal Theme: Employee Relations In the wake of Maruti Suzuki debacle at Manesar plant, the issue of Employee Relations

came to the forefront once again. India Inc. traditionally has a mixed reputation for handling employee relations. It all started with the introduction of Trade Union Act, 1926. India Inc. holistically started addressing the increasing concerns of workforce courtesy the newly formed unions. The business environment has taken a huge paradigm shift since. Now, in 2013, India Inc. seems to have mastered, more or less, the art of keeping employees happy and consequently the trade unions have become less powerful and pertinent. Sector: Manufacturing In an effort to understand the changing dynamics of Employee Relations in Indian context, we have chosen to focus on a sector where we find the widest variance in the kind of labourManufacturing. Companies: Tata Motors And Essar Group Tata Motors Limited is India's largest automobile company, headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. It is the world's fourth largest truck and bus manufacturer. Essar Group is an Indian multinational corporation headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company has presence in sectors like steel, energy, power, communications, shipping ports, logistics and construction. Essar began as a construction company in 1969 and diversified into manufacturing, services and retail. Indicative Questions 1.) What is the ratio of contract labor to permanent labor? 2.) What is the similarity & differences in the policies of the company with respect to contract & permanent labor? 3.) What does employee engagement mean to you? And what are the policies in place with respect to employee engagement? 4.) What does the management do to maintain employee relations? 5.) What constitutes your appraisal system? 6.) How do you communicate policies and regulations among your employees? 7.) How to correct poor performance, duty misconduct and address personal issues that affect them in the workplace?