Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management

Kolkata

Reading Material – Industrial Relations

18 October 2019

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra

8, Horizon View, (First Floor),
138 Genl. J. Bhosale Marg,
Nariman Point,
Mumbai 400 021.
E-Mail: rajenmehrotra@gmail.com
 Index

Sr.
Description Page
No
1 Present Day Practice of Engaging Workforce in Enterprises 3
in India
2 Application (App) Platform Uberisation Generating New 9
Form of Employment in India
3 Re-Emergence of Industrial Relations in Organizations. 14
4 Industrial Relations Next Decade 22
5 CV - Dr Rajen Mehrotra 30
Present Day Practice of Engaging Workforce in Enterprises in
India

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra*

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Introduction

For successfully operating an enterprise various resources are required and

one of the major resources is right people. In the present-day competitive
environment, large number of enterprises both in the service sector and
manufacturing sector employ maximum executives and minimum workers, so
that very few employees are covered under the ambit of the Industrial
Disputes (ID) Act, 1947. Some of the present-day practices of engaging
workforce in enterprises in India are dealt with in this article.

Workers doing manual or technical work in an enterprise are classified under

the category of (a) permanent workers; (b) probationers; (c) badlis or
substitutes; (d) temporary workers; (e) casual workers; and (f) apprentices
under the Industrial Employment [Standing Orders] Act, 1946 and this was the
pattern of engaging workforce undertaken by enterprises in India up to 1970.
However, the present-day practice of engaging workforce followed by
enterprises is not to engage any badlis or substitutes; temporary workers or
casual worker, as in the past.

The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act became operative in 1970
and a new category of workforce which could be engaged in enterprises
through a contractors / service provider was available. Quite many enterprises
started gradually engaging workers through contractors / service providers.
However, this practice of engaging contract labour by enterprises went up
drastically post 2001 after the Supreme Court verdict on 30 August 2001 in
favour of employers in the case of Steel Authority of India Ltd and others v/s
National Union Waterfront Workers and others.

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Presently there are also temping companies such as Team lease, Adecco,
Mafoi, Kelly Services India, Alp Consulting, Genius Consultants, Randstad India,
Sodexo India, and many others in various parts of the country who are
supplying both white- and blue-collar contract workforce to enterprises. Most
of these companies have a large workforce. Some of these temping companies
are continuously replenishing the contract workforce because of high iteration
of this qualified workforce in the enterprises where they are placed.

The green field enterprises set up after 2001 and some of the older enterprises
for jobs in the worker category adopt various strategies, as their approach is
that they need people for their work and not necessarily employees. The
approach is to engage minimum number of workers under the employment
contract of the enterprise, who are covered under the ID Act, 1947. Large
numbers of enterprises presently employ qualified diploma / degree holders in
engineering / science that are designated as officers / executives, but
performing a job which in earlier times would have been designated as a
worker and the work content presently would be applicable as per the
definition of “worker” of the ID Act 1947. Apart from these so designated
officers / executives the enterprise engages company apprentices, National
Employability Enhancement Mission (NEEM) trainees, Fixed Term Employment
(FTE) workers, workers through contractors and permanent workers.

This approach in most cases is to achieve a cost arbitrage and also reduce
direct employment in the worker category.

Apprentices under the Company specified Apprenticeship

Scheme

Traditionally enterprises engaged apprentices under the Apprenticeship Act of

1961, but the numbers were limited as specified under the Act. However,
presently there are enterprises that have come out with their own
apprenticeship scheme and introduced the provision of “optional trade” based
on the business of the enterprise as provided under the amendment of 2014 to
the Apprenticeship Act. There are enterprises that have got their certified
Industrial Employment Standing Orders amended to engage apprentices for a
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fixed duration of training. Some of these enterprises in the initial period have
absorbed the enterprise apprentices as regular workers based on vacancies.
Presently the enterprise apprentices have become a transitory work force for
the enterprise, with a new batch of enterprise apprentices being recruited at
periodic time interval. The new batch of enterprise apprentices replaces the
earlier batch of apprentices that have completed the training. In quite many
enterprises the enterprise apprentices work in shifts along with regular
workers and at times also work extra shift on overtime to take care of
absenteeism / increase in demand for output. In the process these apprentices
acquire skill and their employability in the labour market improves, however
on completion of training, they have to fend for employment in the labour
market, as the enterprise where they had the apprenticeship does not want to
take them as temporary / permanent workers.

National Employment Enhancement Mission (NEEM)

The Government of India through All India Council for Technical Education)
(AICTE) in April 2013 has launched a program known as National Employment
Enhancement Mission (NEEM). The objective of the programme as mentioned
is to develop a competent workforce which could take the country ahead in
the industrial world. Under the programme a NEEM agent can place a
maximum number of 10,000 trainees in Industry and the trainees can be a
person between the age of 18 to 40 years, who has discontinued studies or is
studying any course or completed a course leading to a graduation / diploma in
any technical / non technical stream. The period of training can be for a
minimum period of three months and a maximum period of twenty-four
months and the NEEM agent shall pay all enrolled NEEM trainees a
remuneration / stipend which shall be at par with the prescribed minimum
wage for unskilled category in the enterprise where they are placed.

The NEEM trainees in any enterprises are to be taken through a registered

NEEM agent, who shall have at least a turnover of Indian Rs.500 million per
financial year for the previous three financial years or the parent company
under which a section 25 company (not for profit company under Section 25 of
The Companies Act, 1956. Presently called section 8 company under The
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Companies Act, 2013) is formed to meet the objectives of NEEM. There are
companies that have floated section 25 companies and are engaging NEEM
trainees in their enterprise, which presently is a new form of engaging
workforce in enterprises for a maximum of twenty-four months period.

Presently this is a new avenue that certain enterprises are availing, as a supply
of work hands. The enterprises obtain new batches of NEEM trainee at
periodic time intervals, and the NEEM trainee after the training period have to
fend for employment in other enterprises. The number of NEEM agents
presently is limited, because of the minimum turnover of Indian Rs.500 million
per financial year for the previous three financial years.

Fixed Term Employment (FTE)

The Industrial Employment (Standing Order) Act, 1946 was amended to permit
the engagement of workers on Fixed Term Employment (FTE) for a certain
period, but the same was withdrawn by the Central Government in October
2007, however the rules of the Gujarat State Government permit engagement
of workers on Fixed Term Employment (FTE). The Government of India by a
notification dated 07 October 2016 has permitted the engagement of
workmen on Fixed Term Employment (FTE) for the Apparel Manufacturing
sector only, through an amendment in the Industrial Employment (Standing
Order) Act. 1946. The FTE worker is normally engaged for a two-year period
and the wages, allowances received by the FTE worker is not less than the
wages, allowances received by the permanent workers. This provision has
helped enterprises especially in the State of Gujarat and now in the Apparel
Manufacturing sector to restrict the number of permanent workmen by
engaging workers on Fixed Term Employment (FTE).

Fixed Term Employment is also prevalent in project-based work for specific

assignments in enterprises. There are also enterprises taking “Retainers” on
Fixed Term Employment contracts. These are persons who have
superannuated and the assignments for which they are engaged may at times
be specialized jobs. The employment can be at executive level as well as
clerical and worker level.
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Conclusion

Presently most enterprises are operating in a VUCA world (NB VUCA is the
military acronym – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and the
enterprises desire to have a substantial part (at times 60% to 70%) of the
workforce under the flexi workforce category. Hence many enterprises in the
service and manufacturing sector presently are restricting direct employment.
This they are achieving by engaging contract labour, enterprise apprentices,
NEEM trainees, and also Fixed Term Employment workers. This appears to be
the emerging present-day practice of engaging workforce in enterprises in
India.

I was interacting with the HR Chief of a manufacturing enterprise which

engages the entire above-mentioned workforce to obtain his views. His
comments for engaging them were; “This model of workforce
(i) Enhances efficiency as the flexible workforce is normally more
productive than regular employees.
(ii) Provides flexibility in operations, which help handle business
uncertainties.
(iii) Supports to balance cost.
(iv) The reason is also that present labour legislation with respect to
permanent workers is too inflexible for accelerated changes in an
enterprise, which is the need of the hour”.

I was also interacting with a Trade Union Leader of a manufacturing enterprise

which engages the entire above-mentioned workforce to obtain his views. His
comments were; “Enterprises are presently using these innovative workforce
models of engaging contract labour, enterprise apprentices, NEEM trainees,
Fixed Term Employment workers and denying permanency to the workforce
and exploiting the labour. Most companies have totally stopped employing
badlis or substitutes; temporary workers; and casual workers. In many
enterprises contract labour is doing same or similar job like permanent
workers and the enterprises give different designations, so as to avoid paying
same or similar wages. There is need for the appropriate Government Labour
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Department to act and enforce the labour laws especially in the case of
Contract Labour and prevent exploitation of the workers”.

It is always advisable for enterprises to go by the concept of minimum

adequate manning and ensure that the enterprise operates on a lean
workforce with all categories i.e. designated officers / executives, contract
labour, enterprise apprentices, NEEM trainees, Fixed Term Employment
workers and permanent workers. This pattern of engagement of people is
being undertaken by enterprises, but this new class is also likely to create new
dimensions and challenges in Industrial relations in near future.

There is a need in the country for Employer Organizations, Trade Unions and
the Government to have a social dialogue to align their thinking in the interest
of the country, enterprises and the workers, so that the goal of “Make in India”
initiative launched in Sept 2014 by the Government of India to improve the
share of the manufacturing sector in the Indian economy from 16 per cent of
the GDP to 25 per cent of the GDP by Sept 2024 is achieved , and the same
facilitates in generating 100 million better jobs .
*Immediate Past President of Industrial Relations Institute of India (IRII), Former Senior Employers’
Specialist for South Asian Region with Internation.al Labour Organization (ILO) and Former
Corporate Head of HR with ACC Ltd. and Former Corporate Head of Manufacturing and HR with
Novartis India Ltd. E-Mail:rajenmehrotra@gmail.com

Published in April 2017 issue of “Current Labour Reports” and in August 2017 issue of “Arbiter”

Page | 8
 Application (App) Platform Uberisation Generating New
Form of Employment in India

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra*

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Brokers / Broking firms have traditionally been part of business to facilitate a
meeting ground between a buyer and a seller for goods or services, and if the
deal materializes the broker / brokerage firm collects its brokerage. We
continue to have brokers / broking firms even today in business dealing with
insurance of life, insurance of vehicles and goods, real-estate (buying, selling
and renting), acquisition & mergers of businesses / companies and also in
various financial transactions involving deposits, bonds, and debentures
including the trading of company shares listed with the stock exchanges.

The rapid growth in technology has resulted in the setting up of application

platform also called app platform providing integrated set of programs that
drive the business linking the two parties to achieve completion of the desired
activity with convenience and low transaction cost. The app platforms are
enabling broadly two types of activities, one generating employment and
improving the earnings of the individuals in the informal economy and the
second mainly involving facilitating the sale of goods and use of services which
could be from the formal or the informal economy.

A new work contract model has emerged in the passenger transport sector
called Uberisation. This term is derived from Silicon Valley start-up now a
global brand Uber which has developed a mobile application that allows
consumers to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers, who
use their own vehicle. Uber's worldwide success has inspired the term
"Uberisation” which is an App Platform and the same has been gaining ground
and rapidly expanding in India, just as in other parts of the world.

Uberisation is based on principal of shared economy facilitating revenue model

for all the stakeholders involved. Integrated system involving digital
technologies like mobile app platform for customer reach, social media for

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branding and awareness, cloud technology for scalability and, analytics for
customer insights and data drove actions to enabling capital expenditures
(CAPEX) to operating expenses (OPEX) business model. Uberisation is a model
where the individual is the owner of the asset (i.e. vehicle) and also the worker
who is self-employed, and in certain cases also engages a driver for the vehicle.
We can also call this “Sharing Economy Model”, where assets and services
ownership are spread over a large user base, which are willing to share than
own. Thus, Uber’s model is that people need not own cars (assets) as they are
easily available on a sharing basis when required. This model has appeal and is
likely to appropriately spread to various services in the future.

This app platform for passenger transport-based service in various cities in

India have added over new 600,000 vehicles during the period 2013 to 2017
according to Puneet Gupta, Associate Director of automotive consulting firm
IHS market. At present 75 % of business for these firms comes from the top
seven metros of India and is a new form of work contract, with surge pricing,
discount pricing, incentives, along with a performance evaluation system,
though the application presently is limited to the passenger transport sector.
While, Uber has the first mover advantage in India, soon the similar concept
was adopted by another passenger transport company i.e. Ola.

The model is generating entrepreneurs who are self-employed at the same

time existing non App Platform traditional taxi business operators (i.e. the
black yellow taxi) monthly earnings are falling as they continue to compete.
The traditional taxi drivers (black yellow taxi) union in Mumbai (i.e. Mumbai
Taxi Union & Mumbai Taxi men’s Union) is planning to launch a ride hailing app
called Amchi (Our) Drive by 01 July 2017 and get 8,000 to 10,000 taxis of the
42,000 mapped black yellow and air conditioned blue taxis plying in the city of
Mumbai to the app and compete with Uber and Ola with an assurance of no
surge pricing for the customer. Technology is all pervasive and the early
movers of technology always benefit, though the later entrants can also use
strategies to compete and grow.

The concept has brought in a convenient, efficient, speedy, reliable &

economical transport system for the consumer, though in future the transport

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cost through App Platform may go up. There is also a responsibility on the app
platform-based service provider to ensure a background check of the vehicle
owner / driver and to train them, so that they behave courteously with the
customers and also the customers are safe and secure while travelling. In India
this app platform is also being used by another passenger transport company
i.e. Ola. The technology has been used to ensure maximum utilization of the
transport vehicle by ensuring that the vehicle is most of the time moving with a
passenger and generating revenue, though individual vehicle owner / driver
may be undertaking long hours of work leading to fatigue and hence effecting
safety, as presently they are not being governed by any labour legislation on
daily working hours and weekly off. There is a move by the various State
Governments in India to bring in certain legislation / regulation to check the
surge pricing, discount pricing, incentives approach of taxi aggregator company
Uber and Ola, this can affect the earnings of the present vehicle owners /
drivers under Uber and Ola.

Vehicle owner cum drivers in USA & UK under the taxi aggregator company
Uber claim that Uber exercises almost all controls on their work, ranging from
minimum number of rides they must accept daily, minimum rating they must
maintain (else they are fired i.e. not given business), the pricing they must
follow, thus effectively turning the vehicle owner cum driver into employees.
However, Uber’s claim, on the other hand, is that the vehicle owner cum driver
enjoys reasonable flexibility and can-do multiple jobs, as they are
“independent”. This has led to litigation being fought in USA and UK that Uber
is an employer. It is likely that similar litigation will also come up in India in the
near future.

The city of Mumbai witnessed the first Uber and Ola strike by the drivers on 11
March 2017, who are having reduced monthly earnings (fall of earnings from
Rs 40,000 per month to Rs 25,000/- per month) in the last few months, arising
out of increasing competition because of increasing vehicles and reduction of
incentives by both the firms i.e. Uber and Ola. There were other cities i.e.
Bengaluru & Delhi that in Feb 2017 also witnessed strike by the drivers of Uber
& Ola, because of loss in the expected monthly earnings because of increasing
competition. In this model the entrepreneurial risk is by the vehicle owner and

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not by Uber & Ola. New dimensions of Industrial Relations will also emerge in
handling the vehicle owners / drivers and both Uber & Ola need to prepare
themselves and innovatively handle the same.

However, Meru’s and other Radio Taxi are completely based on traditional
Capex model resulting in higher tariff thus facing tough competition on the
grounds of customer experience, pricing and reach ability. In case of Meru and
other Radio Taxi, the business model is different because the vehicle is owned
by Meru and other Radio Taxi and not by the driver. This new business model
has also helped the Central Government in improving its revenue by presently
collecting service tax on the fare paid by the customer for each trip, which will
become Goods & Services Tax (GST) after 01 July 2017.

With the growth of digitization and its rapid use by individuals, India is moving
towards a new kind of platform-based economy called “People-to-People (Peer
to Peer) Economy” (P2PE). Service based organizations are innovatively using
the Uberisation approach to expand the business by reaching out to new
customers. The term “uberisation” draws its concept from the business model
of the taxi aggregator company Uber. The word “uberisation” has taken the
general meaning of disrupting any industry using technology to circumvent
redundant bureaucracy and legislation," as per author David Glance of The
Conversation. In this model there are no employment contracts, and presently
no coverage under the present labour legislation in India, unless appropriate
labour legislation is brought in for some coverage.

The Uberisation model in a modified form can also be applicable to activities

such as renting / buying of real-estate, selling / buying of second hand
automobiles. Presently payments through Financial Technology also known as
FinTech start-ups like PayTM and buying products from Amazon (i.e. online
store) & Flipkart (i.e. online shopping), bigbasket (i.e. on line grocery), Urban
Ladder (i.e. online furniture, decor, and interior design services), First Cry (i.e.
online Shopping for babies & kids, Woohoo (i.e. online gift cards) , Makemytrip
(i.e. on line booking for travel and hotel) are already prevalent and there are
large number of persons using the services because of convenience and
competitive pricing.

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Apart from these, there are Food aggregators in India called Fresh Menu and
Swiggy, Home Service Aggregators called Urban Clap, Sulekha, Domestic Help
aggregator called MyDidi, BookMyBai and TaskBob, Trained Nurse aggregators
called Care 24 plus many others which are entering, growing and generating
employment in an organized manner for individuals from the informal sector,
thus resulting in the earnings of the individuals improving at the same time
generating employment opportunities. There is potential for Aggregators
using App Platform to enter various fields of the informal economy to facilitate
the workers in the informal economy in India to improve their employability
and earnings and move in the direction towards own account workers as per
ILO Recommendation 204 (i.e. Transition from the Informal to the Formal
Economy Recommendation, 2015). The adoption of ILO Recommendation 204
was supported by India, represented at the ILO Geneva Conference in 2015 by
the Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment.

The present Uberisation business model is that the Aggregator desires to do

business through an App Platform without investing in assets and having
people to undertake the work but not to be employees under the Aggregator.
With the change in the business model through Uberisation of generating
employment where the employer employee relation is absent and in certain
cases fuzzy, there is need for the Government of India to come forward with
appropriate labour legislation with a human face to safeguard the interest of
labour , so as to ensures compliance of welfare and safety measures covering
maximum working hours per week , weekly off, and social security coverage
for sickness, injury and old age for the persons getting employed through this
new business model and also safeguarding the interest of the aggregator and
the end user(i.e. customer).
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*Immediate Past President of Industrial Relations Institute of India (IRII), Former Senior Employers’
Specialist for South Asian Region with Internation.al Labour Organization (ILO) and Former
Corporate Head of HR with ACC Ltd. and Former Corporate Head of Manufacturing and HR with
Novartis India Ltd. E-Mail:rajenmehrotra@gmail.com

Published in May 2017 issue of “Current Labour Reports” & ‘Arbiter”.

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 Re-Emergence of Industrial Relations in Organizations

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra*

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Academic Institutes, professional bodies, chambers of commerce, trade

associations, employer organizations, and also enterprises in India every year
organize an annual conference on topics mostly dealing with Human Resource
Development (HRD), as this has been considered an important area for the
success and growth of business / enterprise. The violent industrial strife at
Manesar, Haryana in August 2012 which led to the death of Awinash Kumar
Dev, General Manager (HR) of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has presently resulted in
most of these organizers choosing the theme of “Re- Emergence of Industrial
Relations” for their annual conference. In the last three months (i.e. Sept to
Nov 2012) I had opportunity to participate in some of them as a speaker.

Occurrence of violence is not new. Three executives of Everest Industries in

Nashik were stabbed on 24 August 2012, by a group of workmen on strike
demanding increase in wages and reinstatement of dismissed workmen.
Regency Ceramics workers in Puducherry, in early 2012 killed the Company
President K C Chandrasekhar. Korean company, Hyundai Motor Ltd., at its
Chennai Plant in Dec 2009 had violence when it sacked 87 workers. Japanese
company, Honda Motors in Manesar,Haryana in Sept 2009 and also in 2005
witnessed violence by the workers. Roy George, Head of HR of Pricol Ltd., an
instrument panel manufacturing company was killed by the workers in Sept.
2009 on issue of discipline. In Rico Auto Industries in Haryana in 2009, a worker
was beaten to death by people believed to be associated with the company
management. Italian Oerlikon Corporations, manufacturing unit Graziano
Trasmissioni Chief Executive, Kishore Chaudhary was killed in September 2008
by the workers over a wage freeze issue. These are some of the incidents of
violence, though there are others which have not been covered by me.
Apart from these cases of industrial violence cited above, we have had cases of
violence in sectors such as Coal, Forest, Construction and Real Estate, where it
is well known that the contractor mafia has a major role in the operation of the
business. In 2003 Satyendra Dubey, project director with the National
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Highways Authority of India was murdered, because he tried exposing the
contractor mafia involvement in the construction of a section of the Golden
Quadrilateral project to the Prime Minister’s office.

When I started my corporate career in 1970 in Mumbai I recollect incidents of

industrial violence taking place in Mumbai, Pune and Nasik industrial belt in
certain enterprises when the management failed to reach a settlement / agree
to the wage increase demands of the workmen made by the unions led by R J
Mehta in the 1960’s and 1970’s and by Dr. Datta Samant in the 1970’s, 1980’s,
and part of 1990’s.We did witness a trend of violence/ militancy during this
period, hence quite many organizations under fear of being impacted by
violence agreed to recognize their union leadership and also sign settlement of
wage increase, which were much more than the industry cum region norm or
compared to their earlier settlement. Hence, the approach of violence /
militancy did bring dividend / reward to the workmen during that phase in the
Mumbai, Pune and Nasik industrial belt. There were also enterprises in
Mumbai, Pune and Nasik industrial belt which were not prepared to be
pressurized by threat of violence and unilateral demand of these two trade
union leaders and fought them and their demand, which did lead to strikes or
lockouts, and these cases also got resolved with absence of their leadership.
However, the enterprises which decided to fight also suffered financial losses,
some of their employees got assaulted due to the approach of violence
adopted by the leadership and also the striking workmen lost wages and, in
some cases, also their jobs. I had an experience of witnessing this situation in
1980’s when I was a member of the management team that was involved in
handling the 13 month lockout cum strike led by Dr.Datta Samant’s union at
Mukand Iron & Steel Works Ltd (now called Mukand Ltd.) factory located at
Kalwe, Thane. Most are aware of the Strike in the Textile Mills of Mumbai in
the 1980’s under the leadership of Dr Datta Samant, which ultimately led to
over 100,000 workers losing their jobs and finally closure of most of the textile
mills. During these periods many executives of enterprises in West Bengal and
some other states also experienced Gherao’s. However, the 1990’s and 2000’s
in the country saw a decline of violence and militancy after the new economic
policy of 1991, when most enterprises both in manufacturing and service
sector reduced their workforce through Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS).

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It is true that 2010’s is once again seeing signs of industrial violence and
militancy in various parts of the country.

Presently industrial violence occurrences’ get flashed on electronic media

immediately as “news” coverage of the incident, and there is limited coverage
on the analysis. Each of these occurrences has two sides and a history of earlier
actions that lead to the final incident. The killing of Awinash Kumar Dev,
General Manager (HR) of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd in August 2012 is not the only
incident of violence in this country, though this incident has generated a lot of
debate not only in the personnel professional fraternity but also in other
professions. Resorting to violence, as a methodology of resolving disputes
adopted by anybody in any area needs to be condemned and is an uncivilised
method of pressurizing and power play to achieve the end objectives. The
individuals involved in violence need to be expeditiously punished, as per the
law of the land. The legal process in our country is time consuming and quite
often the individuals involved in violence succeed in not being punished due to
lack / absence of evidence.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) which was born in 1919, as a

tripartite organization has always propagated “Social Dialogue” to resolve
industrial disputes. The ILO has a convention C 144 on Social Dialogue which
has been ratified by India in 1978. Social Dialogue refers to “All types of
negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between or
amongst representatives of Governments, Employers and Workers, on issues
of common interest to economic and social policy”.

When I started my corporate career in 1970, Industrial Relations were an

integral part of Personnel & Works Management. Also the factory work force
consisted of permanent, temporary, and badli workmen with few supervisors
and officers. Those days’ contract workmen engaged in the factory through a
contractor / service provider was negligible. My apprenticeship in works
management in those days made me learn how to deal fairly and firmly with
both blue collar and white collar employees including the internal trade union
leaders on works management and personnel management issues involving
input material consumption, wastage/ rejection, shift output (good, defective,

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rework, rejected pieces), safe handling of the machine including the tooling
along with the jigs and fixtures, productivity, safety, absenteeism and
discipline. In most large size manufacturing organizations, there were one /
two social workers and also one/two labour welfare officers. These persons
regularly interacted with the blue collar and white-collar employees, visited
the residence of some of them and met the families. These interactions and
visits facilitated in understanding the problems and grievances of the workmen
by the management and in finding solutions to the problems. These channels
of communication did help in building relationships where in the employees
perceived that their seniors were fair and firm. There were industrial disputes
which at times did lead to go slow, work to rule, slogan shouting at the factory
gate and also at times to a strike, but they did not lead to an industrial
violence, as both sides knew that they can resolve the issues through dialogue
or at times by arbitration. I was fortunate to learn the practical aspects of
industrial relations as a part of works management in my employment with
Mukand Iron & Steel Works Ltd. (now called Mukand Ltd.) because of the
regular interaction on the shop floor with the workers, the internal and
external trade union leaders and with the persons working in the personnel
management department. This learning and experience helped me in handling
all the areas under personnel management when I headed the personnel
management function with Novartis India Ltd and ACC Ltd

A Professor Friend of mine teaching human resource management subject in a

leading management institute in India in a recent interaction said to me: “The
Human Resource Management Department of enterprises in India in the last
two decades has divorced Industrial Relations hence we are seeing industrial
violence”. I replied to him “Human Resource Management Department of
enterprises in India never married Industrial Relations, so where is the
question of a divorce”. When I started my corporate career in 1970 there was
a Personnel Management Department and Industrial Relations function was an
integral part of that Department. In the 1990’s most enterprises both in
manufacturing and service sector not only changed the name of Personnel
Management Department to Human Resource Management Department, but
took an approach that they will mostly employ officers, avoid employing blue
collar and white collar workers, deal in a very limited manner with trade unions

Page | 17
and hence forgot that there is something called industrial relations and labour
laws. With the new economic policy of 1991, most enterprises in
manufacturing and in service sector reduced their work force through
Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) {also referred to as Compulsory
Resignation Scheme (CRS) by trade unions}, froze recruitment of employees
who would be covered under the Industrial Disputes Act, modified the
business model by outsourcing and also engaging contractors / service
providers who through their employees perform the noncore and in some
cases also the core activities, and upgraded most jobs so that they are done by
employees who were designated as officers. Also, the service sector which
grew at a very fast pace also had mainly officers as employees and engaged
contractors / service providers who in turn employed workers, and the Human
Resource Management Department of these organizations firmly believed that
they had nothing to do with industrial relations. It is true that the profile and
expectations of employees in the service sector from the Personnel
Management Department is quite different from employees in the
manufacturing sector. Most of these service sector enterprises have built up
an effective personnel management system in dealing with individual
employees who are predominantly knowledge workers and employed as
executives / officers. I do visualize that these knowledge worker employees
and contract employees engaged by service sectors initially in IT / ITeS , retail ,
insurance and later in others will form trade unions / associations to protect
their interests and collectively negotiate with the employer. In most service
sector enterprises, the personnel management professionals engage the
services of consultants to deal with the application for permissions, filing of
forms /returns with the Government Labor Department, as they consider these
as transactional activity and claim that their role is predominantly strategic.
Reality of the situation is that many of these personnel management / human
resource professionals, including those working at senior levels in service
sector organizations have limited knowledge and experience in dealing with
collective issues coming up in industrial relations involving the Government
labor department, external and internal trade unions and the labour laws of
the country.

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The situation today is that in most enterprises the wages received by the
contract workforce provided by the contractors / service providers both in
manufacturing and service sector is much lower than the wages of permanent
employees in the enterprise. This disparity which is very high compared to the
1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s does create a lot of dissatisfaction amongst these
workers, and the trade unions demand increase in wages to have parity with
the permanent workers. Managements argue that the contract employees are
engaged as per the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, also the
jobs are not permanent and the business needs flexibility because of
fluctuations in demand. In quite many cases where the contract labour works,
the jobs are of a perennial nature and it is purely a strategy of cost reduction,
as contract employees are mostly paid the statutory minimum wage or
marginally higher and have been working for a very long time and at times with
artificial breaks.

An analysis of cases where industrial violence occurred will indicate that these
could be because of non recognition of trade union, inter union rivalry,
contract workers desiring permanent jobs with the principal employer, large
wage and benefits disparity between contract workers and permanent
workers, ineffective neutralization of inflation, harsh working conditions, wage
freeze , frustration of no signs of settlement in a long drawn out strike,
demand for reinstatement of dismissed workmen / union leaders , vested
interest of contractors / service providers not to be replaced , mafia / militant
external / internal trade union leaders . Each case of industrial violence is
unique, it has a demand desired to be fulfilled by the parties, along with a
history and profile of the two constituents i.e. management, employees /
trade unions. There is a need for the two constituents to build a relationship
of trust with each other, so that the issues involved can be discussed and
resolved and even if there are unresolved issues the parties agree to disagree
and move forward and violence in any form is avoided.

There are quite many MNC’s that have commenced operations in India after
1991 and most of them have been wanting the right to retrench the workforce
based on business exigencies and hence desire an exit policy, which the labour
law of India does not presently permit. Most of these enterprises on the

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recommendations of the Indian managers are engaging the services of
contractors / service providers to provide the blue collar, white collar and at
times gold collar workforce. Hence the number of contract employees working
in the enterprises is much higher than the permanent workforce. At the same
time the wages and benefits of the contract employees is much lower than the
permanent workforce. Also, the trade unions at times take an aggressive stand
with MNC’s and recently some of the industrial violence was in the MNC
manufacturing enterprises. There is also a need for the ex-pat MNC executives
to understand the cultural and legal differences in dealing with employees
while working in India and also for the Indian executives to explain the
situation to the MNC expats plus the senior executives of the parent company
of the implications of their decisions on the operations. A better understanding
will help in preventing occurrence and resolving industrial disputes both in the
interest of the enterprise and the employees.

Post 1991, many of the personnel professionals totally ignored the relationship
part of the job, started using fashionable jargons and terminologies in the
arena of human resource. Also, such personnel professionals became the
darlings of the top management, and they were considered as 'forward
looking’. Also Top Managements in many enterprises became 'business-like ‘,
totally disregarding the 'human angle of relationship ' of dealing with
employees even if they were engaged through a contractor / service provider.
Those personnel professionals who were talking about 'relationship factor '
were considered as 'outdated'. This was at least true in the manufacturing
sector.

Industrial Relations need to be an integral part of Human Resource

Management Department in each enterprise, as it was when we had the
Personnel Management Department till the 1980’s. Enterprises posts 1991 are
increasingly depending on outsourcing in the supply and distribution chain,
continuing to increasingly engage contract employees through contractor /
service provider. This business model is bound to lead to a situation of disputes
being raised by employees and / or their unions. Enterprises need personnel
professionals who can analyze and understand the situation, have the art of
building relationship not only with their employees but also with the

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employees engaged through contractors / service providers and unions, along
with the ability of amicably settling the disputes / differences in the interest of
the organization and the employees associated with the enterprise.

The occurrence of violence in certain enterprises, leading to loss of life, has

presently resulted in the top management of enterprises desiring to
understand the reason for such incidents and the need to take corrective
action where required. There is a realization of the need to build relationships
and the re- emergence of industrial relations in the enterprise in dealing with
all employees including those engaged through a contractor / service provider.
Top management of certain enterprises has started reviewing the need of
having personnel professionals in their employment, who have the experience
and competence of effectively handling the industrial relations role.

When businesses are growing and doing well it is easy to deal with employees
at all levels including the contract workforce, but when the business is not
doing well, one also needs to know the art of resolving issues involving a
shrinking pie.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*President Industrial Relations Institute of India (IRII), Former Sr. Specialist on Employers’ Activities
for South Asia with International Labour Organization (ILO) and Former Corporate Head of HR of
ACC Ltd. and Novartis India Ltd., E-Mail:rajenmehrotra@gmail.com

Published in Current Labour Reports and Industrial Relations Institute of India (IRII) Journal Arbiter –
December 2012 issue

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 Industrial Relations – Next Decade **

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra*

Introduction

The employment model of enterprises both in manufacturing and service

sector has gone through a major change from 2013 wherein the enterprises
have substituted the erstwhile permanent workers by engaging people under
various categories given below, depending upon the decision of the top
management of the enterprise: --
(i) Designated officers / executives, who are doing the same work which
was done by the workers earlier.
(ii) National Employment Enhancement Mission (NEEM) trainees through a
NEEM agent under The All India Council of Technical Education
scheme on skill development which commenced in April 2013.
(iii) Company Apprentices under the provision for ‘Optional Trade’
wherein an enterprise can come up with a trade relevant to its
business based on the introduction of Section 2(iii) (LL) under “The
Apprentices (Amendment) Act, 2014.
(iv) Fixed Term Employment (FTE) employees based on the Government
of India Gazette Notification of 16 March 2018 bringing FTE as a valid
form of employment under The Industrial Employment [Standing
Orders] Act, 1946 under the Central Rules.
(v) Workers through contractors / temping companies which would be
covered under The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act
1970.
(vi) Engaging persons on a daily basis with a fixed salary per day and
paying them for the days worked every month.

The present approach of enterprises in most cases is not only to achieve a cost
arbitrage but also to find innovative approaches to reduce direct employment
of persons in the worker category wherein there is a lower probability of these
persons becoming members of a trade union and / or being covered under the
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ambit of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. It is likely that this trend will
continue in the future and will have its own impact on Industrial Relations of
the next decade.

Study on Employment Trend in India

Dr K. P. Kannan, Honorary Fellow, Centre for Development Studies,

Thiruvanathapuram, while delivering the First Sharit Bhowmik Lecture on 22
Sept. 2017 at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai analysed the shift
in employment of the informal workforce in the formal sector from 2000 to
2012 in India. As per Dr K. P. Kannan the informal employment in the formal
sector which was 5.8 % in 2000 went up to 10.1% in 2012 while the formal
employment in the formal sector which was 8.2 % in 2000 went down to 7.8 %
in 2012. This study indicates the structural shift in the type of employment in
terms of the macro economic data on employment. The analysis by Dr K. P.
Kannon clearly indicates that there is a substantial increase in employment of
flexible work force in the formal sector, thus leading to a structural change in
the employment pattern in India.
Given below is the table presented by Dr K P Kannan in the lecture on 22 Sept.
2017.
Srl . Item Year
No. 2000 2012
Percentage Percentage
1 Informal employment in the Informal Sector 85.7 81.8
2 Formal employment in the Informal Sector 0.3 0.3
3 Informal employment in the Formal Sector 5.8 10.1
4 Formal employment in the Formal Sector 8.2 7.8
5 Total informal employment (1+3) 91.5 91.9
6 Total formal employment (2+4) 8.5 8.1
7 Total Informal Sector employment (1+2) 86.0 82.1
8 Total Formal Sector employment (3+4) 14.0 17.9
9 Total employment in the economy (%) 100.0 100.0
10 Total employment in the economy (million) 396.4 471.2

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Source: Computed from data from the respective NSS Rounds. GDP shares
computed from CSO data given in Economic Survey, various issues.

Study on Employment Trend of workers in Pune

“Option Positive” carried out a survey of 143 enterprises in and around Pune
covering enterprises located in Chakan, Ranjangaon, Sanaswadi, Talegaon and
also at Baramati & Pirangul. This survey was presented by Arvind Shrouti of
Option Positive at a Conference on “The Employment Conundrum” organized
by Industrial Relations Institute of India on Fri 25 January 2019 in Mumbai. The
details of the findings based on the survey as presented by Arvind Shrouti are
as follows: --
Category of Employment Percentage Wages in
Workers Numbers Rs. per month
Permanent 39,125 27 38,270
Contract 40,423 28 11,800
Temporary 14,110 10 10,100
Trainees 10,224 07 9,800
Earn & Learn 7,240 05 10,700
NEEM Trainees 32,290 22 11,000
Apprentices 2,430 02 7,200
Total 145,842 100

The survey findings clearly indicate presently the permanent workers in

enterprises surveyed are 27%, contract workers are 28%, NEEM Trainees are
22% and the balance are 23%. It is clearly evident that the category of workers
in the employment model of the workers has gone through a major shift from
what it was prior to 1991 (i.e. the year, when the Indian economy opened up).
NEEM Trainees is the new pattern of engaging productive work force in large
number of manufacturing enterprises after 2013. Presently the permanent
workers as a percentage of the workers in an enterprise has fallen drastically
to nearly 30 percent and this trend of reduction is likely to continue as the
approach of enterprises in hiring the incremental workforce in worker category
will be of the non-permanent category. This approach is bound to have an
impact on membership of trade unions plus Industrial Relations.
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The survey findings also indicate the existing monthly average wage in each
category of workers. The permanent workers in most cases would be of the
skilled category, and would also be members of a trade union and receiving the
benefit of increase in monthly emoluments, because of the long-term wage
settlements signed by the enterprise with the trade union. The average
monthly wage of the permanent workers is Indian Rupees 38,720/- which is
three to four times the monthly wage of the other category of workers (i.e.
non-permanent workers which can also be referred as flexi workforce).
The survey findings of Option Positive also indicates the skill, as well as years of
service of the non-permanent workers and the details of the findings based on
their survey are as follows: --
Particulars Number of Non- Percentage
Permanent Workers
Skilled 41,200 39
Semiskilled 43,430 41
Unskilled 22,087 20
Total 106,717 100

Years of Service Number of Non- Percentage

Permanent Workers
Less than I Yr. 8,240 08
2-4 Yrs. 38,970 37
5-7 Yrs. 37,340 35
More than 7 Yrs. 22,167 21
Total 106,717 100

From the survey findings, it is evident that only 20 % of the non-permanent

workers (i.e. flexi workforce) are unskilled, hence an inference could be drawn
that a substantial number of contract workers, temporary workers and NEEM
trainees are undertaking work which is of semiskilled or skilled nature, but still
their monthly remuneration is less than one third of that compared to the
permanent worker. This disparity at a later date is bound to lead to an
Industrial Relations issue. Also because of non-ease on availability of job
mobility over 50 % of the non-permanent workers (i.e. flexi workforce)

Page | 25
continue to work in the same organization for over five years, even though
there is no practice of any annual increment in wages.

Likely Changes in The Next Ten Years (Next Decade)

The present business environment is highly competitive and in a dynamic

economy it is essential to have a flexible employment model wherein an
enterprise can easily restructure the workforce, as and when required based
on the business conditions. At the same time enterprises need to ensure that
the remuneration and retrenchment benefits of the flexible workforce must
not be exploitive.

It is highly unlikely that any major changes in labour laws {i.e. Trade Union Act
1926, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946, Industrial Disputes
Act 1947, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970} which govern
Industrial Relations in enterprises is likely to occur in the next decade. The
National Democratic Alliance under Ministry of Labour & Employment had
brought in Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill 2015 covering Trade Union
Act 1926, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946, Industrial
Disputes Act 1947. In the said Bill there were certain changes proposed in the
existing laws such as amendment to Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act
1947, where prior permission for Layoff, Retrenchment and Closure of an
industrial undertaking raised from present 100 to 300 (NB the figure was
earlier 300 and was brought down to 100 as strikes and lockouts in industrial
establishments were banned during the emergency period in India). Also, the
amount of compensation payable to the departing worker in the case of
Retrenchment & Closure revised upwards in the said Bill. The Labour Code on
Industrial Relations Bill 2015 has not been passed by Parliament and the
sessions of the present Parliament are over, hence the Labour Code on
Industrial Relations Bill 2015 will lapse. It is possible that a similar Bill may be
brought, once the next Government comes to power in 2019. In all probability
the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 will continue and
more flexibility is likely to be brought in on engaging contract labour, as
Government of India and Public Sector Units (PSU’s) are the biggest employers
of Contract Labour. Also, there is immense flexibility in the type of work that

Page | 26
can be assigned to this category of workers (i.e. contract labour) and also their
work performance in most cases is better compared to the permanent
workers.

New, successful business models like aggregators Uber and Ola, where the
vehicle owner is an " employer" and also the “employee / driver " is presently
fuzzy with reference to the labour legislation in India. In recent times we
witnessed unionization of these vehicle owners coupled with strikes in Mumbai
and Bengaluru when their monthly income fell, as they have to pay the equal
monthly instalments to the bank for the loan taken to buy the vehicles and
become vehicle owners. It is likely that the next decade will see both
unionizations as well as litigation and probably a direction towards clarity on
this fuzzy employer - employee relationship, as the aggregators Uber and Ola
claim that they are not employers, but agencies, that facilitate business
between the vehicle owner and the customer. This aggregator model presently
is not limited to vehicle owners, but also other activities of business and is
likely to expand by identifying new areas of applications for various business
where it is feasible.

As for Information Technology (IT) & Information Technology Enabled services

(ITEs), highly educated and skilled manpower is by and large recruited and it
has been observed that these employees are reluctant to become members of
a Trade Union. It is likely that this trend will continue till the next decade,
though there have been efforts by certain trade unions at making these
employees members.
Also, the trends in automation and digitisation: Industry 4.0, in the next
decade can lead to less employment of "bargainable employees”, and higher
number of highly skilled and highly paid employees recruited at the executive
levels. This category of executive employees is not likely to become members
of a trade union.

In the next decade, enterprises will tend to have an employment model where
the permanent workers which presently is nearly 30 % will fall further and
become 10 to 15 % of the workforce. This employment model is bound to have
Industrial Relations implications, if the ratio of monthly wages of the

Page | 27
permanent workers to non-permanent workers (i.e. flexible work force) is five
to six times.

In the next decade the new workforce will come from Gen Millennials and Gen
Z. Managements will need to look at issues & problems faced by the Gen
Millennials and Gen Z & draw strategies proactively to prevent their grievances
turning into Industrial Relations issues. This younger workforce especially in
greenfield sites will need a different handling, as they seek higher rate of
growth, both in money and promotions and also their preference will be for
white collar type or service sector jobs.
It is true that most trade unions find it tough unionizing the flexible work force
(i.e. Contract Workers, Temporary Workers, Trainees and NEEM Trainees) as
this category of workers have a fear of loss of employment in the event of
unionization. As job security is likely to be impacted adversely in the coming
years, due to various reasons (with poor job security i.e. contract or
temporary) this workforce is likely to "look for some ray of hope, as to who can
protect their jobs at the same time facilitate in improving monthly earnings
which are higher than the minimum wage ". This could facilitate in increase in
trade union membership and demands for improved job security and higher
wages, though the workforce is engaged through a contractor / service
provider or an agency.

Also, by the next decade when the permanent workers in the employment
model falls to 10 to 15 %, the probability of the trade unions in making flexible
workforce a member of their trade union is likely to be higher, if the ratio of
monthly wages of the permanent workers to non-permanent workers (i.e.
flexible work force) becomes five to six times. This wide variation in the wage
pattern is likely to lead to a situation of turbulence, industrial unrest and if
timely corrective interventions are not taken by enterprises in certain cases it
could also lead to violence.

Conclusion

I have tried to predict the likely employment model, likely wage disparity and
the consequential Industrial Relations climate of the next decade.

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It is for individual enterprises to work out their strategies to handle the
industrial relations issues that will emerge in their enterprises in the next
decade. Some of the suggested actions enterprises can undertake, if they find
them feasible and affordable for their enterprise to avoid getting into a
turbulent Industrial Relations situation in the next decade, are listed below,
but this is not a check list.
(i) Limit the intake of flexible work force based on the principle of minimum
adequate manning.
(ii) Be open for a dialogue with the representatives / trade union of the
flexible work force to find out what their grievances / demands are
and have an approach towards finding a solution
(iii) Be prepared to work out a methodology to pay the flexible work
force higher than statutory minimum wages.
(iv) Wherever the flexible work force is engaged on jobs that are of
skilled, semi-skilled jobs, be prepared to work out a mechanism to
pay them higher wages compared to the wages paid to the unskilled
category.

Enterprises will also need competent Personnel in the management team who
can effectively handle the Industrial Relations situations that will emerge with
the diversified workforce. Presently, there is limited availability of managerial
personnel who can effectively handle these situations with amicable solutions
acceptable to the trade unions, their members and the management and take
proactive steps to ensure avoidance of turbulence / disturbance.

The Industrial Relations in the next decade in each enterprise will not be
identical, but since the likely employment model as predicted may have a
flexible work force varying from 85 to 90 %, there are chances of a turbulent
Industrial Relations Climate and hence the need for each enterprise to take
preventives measures to prevent occurrence of turbulence.
________________________________________________________________
* Immediate Past President of Industrial Relations Institute of India (IRII), Former Senior Employers’
Specialist for South Asian Region with Internation.al Labour Organization (ILO) and Former Corporate
Head of HR with ACC Ltd. and Former Corporate Head of Manufacturing and HR with Novartis India
Ltd. E-Mail: rajenmehrotra@gmail.com
Published in April 2019 issue of Current Labour Reports & Arbiter

Page | 29
 CV – Dr. Rajendra Nath Mehrotra

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra is a Non – Executive Independant

Director on the Board of Swiss Multinational
Novartis India Ltd. from 2000 to date. He is the Past
President of Industrial Relations Institute of India and
Past Chairman of National Institute of Personnel
Management, Mumbai Chapter. He was the
Employers’ nominee on the Board of Governors of
National Safety Council (2013 to 2018).

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra’s last assignment was Human

Resource (HR) Consultant with Ministry of Health, Government of Timor –
Leste from 2011 to 12. (NB Timor Leste was a country born in 2002)

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra has over twentyfive years of industrial experience with
Mukand Ltd.(1970 -76 and 1982-85) ,Swiss Multinational - Novartis India Ltd.
(1985-2000) and Swiss Multinational Holcim’s Indian Cement Company, ACC
Limited (2007 -11) and handled functions of Industrial Engineering, Supply
Chain Management, Manufacturing & Maintenance Management , Safety
Health & Environment Management, Project Management and Human
Resource Development Management in his career . He has been a member of
the Top Management Team (i.e. Member of Managing Committee / Executive
Committee) of both Novartis India Ltd. & ACC Ltd. which took policy decisions
for these companies.

Prior to joining ACC Ltd. Dr. Rajen Mehrotra worked with United Nations
International Labour Organization (ILO) for 7 years (2000-07) in the capacity
of Senior Employers’ Specialist for South Asian Region covering seven countries
i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Dr Rajen Mehrotra was a full time faculty member with National Institute of
Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai with Ministry of Education,
Government of India (GOI) for six years (1976-1982) and was Professor and
Head of Production Management and Dean of the Post Graduate Programme
(PGP) in Industrial Engineering at the time of leaving.

Page | 30
Dr Rajen Mehrotra was visiting faculty for the Post Graduate Programme of
Management at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) ,
Mumbai, India for twentyfour years (1972 to 1996) . In 2008 , 2009 & 2010 he
was a visiting faculty at S P Jain Center of Management Dubai & Singapore on
“Employee Relations & Legislation” for their Global MBA Programme. From
2008 to date he is a visiting faculty at Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS)
Mumbai teaching the subject of “Corporate Governance and Ethics ” for their
Masters Programme in Human Resource Management & Labour Relations . He
is a visiting faculty in the subject of “Industrial Relations & Labour Laws” for
the Post Graduate Diploma in Management / MBA programme at IIM Udaipur
from 2016 , IIM Shillong from 2017 , IIM Indore from 2018 and IIM Sirmaur
from 2019.

Dr Rajen Mehrotra has been a speaker and trainer on various Management

topics with Employer Organizations, Professional Bodies, Academic Institutes &
Companies in South Asia & South East Asia, over the last 30 years. He from July
2011 every month writes on the topic of Industrial Relations & Human
Resource Management in the monthly publication Current Labour Reports
(Publication dealing with latest Supreme Court & High Court Judgements on
Labour Laws). From 2013 he has been a retainer consultant in the area of
Industrial Relations to some of the leading manufacturing companies in India.

Dr. Rajen Mehrotra, holds a Dual Honurs Degree in Electrical and Mechanical
Engineering from Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute (VJTI), Mumbai and hold a
Masters in Management and Ph.D Degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of
Management Studies (JBIMS), University of Mumbai. He also holds a Post
Graduate Diploma in Industrial Management from Maastricht School of
Management, The Netherlands. He had advance training in Industrial
Engineering & Quality Management in Japan & in General Management at the
Hass School of Business, University of California, Berkely in USA.

He is a winner of several awards. The recent one being “Best Teacher Award –
Outstanding Contribution to Teaching & Education” – Lifetime Achievement
Award from Higher Education Forum (HEF) in 2014.

His Contact Details are:

Full Name: Dr. Rajendra Nath Mehrotra,
Address: 8, Horizon View (First Floor), 138 General J. Bhosale Marg, Nariman
Point, Mumbai 400021, India. Mobile Number + 91 9004476302
E-Mail : rajenmehrotra@gmail.com

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