CHENNAI: In the era of globalisation and liberalisation, opportunities have increased but employees are put under tremendous pressure, according to V. Varaprasada Rao, Tamil Nadu Labour Commissioner.

"The worst hit nowadays are semi-skilled and non-skilled workers," Dr. Rao told a seminar on employee relations organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. "The skilled manage... if not one company, there's another; if not India, there's US. But where do the semi-skilled go?"

For instance, frequent moves were common due to liberalisation, and top-level employees might relish the challenge. But when semi-skilled employees were subjected to constant transfers, families got shattered, he said.

It was labourers in sectors such as rice mills, plantations, brick kilns and beedi manufacturing who suffered from poor housing facilities and lack of basic amenities, he said.

Workers faced suppression from both employers and trade unions, according to Dr. Rao. A multiplicity of non-recognised unions often meant that the "employee is totally sidelined", he said, giving the example of the construction industry, where 30 to 40 unions in each district claimed to represent workers' interests. Unions also discouraged the role of committees and arbitrators, because that reduced their bargaining power.

Employers facing stiff competition from multinationals also applied pressure on employees. Contract labour was a burning issue, especially in the textile industry, where owners said that competition with Chinese exporters meant that they needed to cut labour costs. "If I say contract labour is not allowed in Tamil Nadu, in one or two years, industry will come to a standstill," said Dr. Rao.

"The duty of the Government is to strike a balance between conflicting interests," he said, recalling meetings with Industry Department officials who say that banning contract labour and enforcing minimum wages and work timings would drive companies away from the state.

The role of the Government in employee-employer clashes was only that of a conciliator, he said. Referring to the wage settlements that he had helped to negotiate in the beedi manufacturing and plantation sectors, Dr. Rao said a show of authority on his part would have only resulted in a backlash against workers. "I could only plead on humanitarian grounds," he said.

Both industry and trade union representatives at the inaugural session of the seminar called for dialogue and harmony. A lack of mutual confidence would create tension, but information sharing and transparency would create trust, said R.P.K. Murugesan, deputy general secretary of the Indian National Trade Union Congress.

The cost based management of the past must change to a people-based management approach, according to S. Nagarajan, executive director of Ashok Leyland.

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