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Palmar Group Of Companies

1. INTRODUCTION
The understanding of employer-employee relations in the small enterprise has developed greatly over recent years as research gives a more complex analysis, moving away from earlier one-dimensional approaches. At Palmar Limitee, a company which has been established in the 1974, such an understanding is essential and needs to be developed even further, given the growing interest in the small firm sector as a source of economic prosperity. However, the area of employee relations in small firms is a particularly under researched area where the afore-mentioned interest has not been matched by a similar growth in evaluative research. Therefore, this is the result of a study, which set out to investigate continuity and change in industrial relations and seek evidence of a new realism. Within this remit we identified factors which impacted on resultant employee relations outcomes in Palmar Limitee. Ultimately, it has also been noted that the workers council is presently being updated, in order to maintain the competitive edge of the organization. (Certification DIN ISO 9002)

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Palmar Group Of Companies

2. COMPANY PROFILE
History of Palmar group of Companies
Palmar Group of Companies is a textile industry which has been established in the year 1974 and holds different branches around the island. It comprises the production of both T-shirts and Jeans. Its main head-office is located at Mon-Loisir, Industrial zone, Riviere Du Rempart. The group is composed of five garment manufacturing companies, all of them being established in Mauritius. Out of these 5 companies, 3 of them are specialized in woven items such as Denim Jeans and cotton Chinos whilst the other 2 offer knitted products such as T-shirts, polo-shirts, etc. These 5 companies were operating under different names which were Tee-sun ltd, Palmar ltd, Sweat-Sun ltd and Palmar Trading ltd respectively. Further in the year 2008, after the amalgamation process has take place these 5 branches now operate under the brand name Palmar limite.

About the Garment


Product in Focus Clothing by Fashion

Beach Wear, Bridal Wear, Casual Wear, Evening Wear, Formal Wear, Sports Wear.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

Clothing by Fabric

Denim Jeans, Thermal clothing, Woven clothing, knitted clothing, Fur clothing, Feather clothing.

Men Clothing

Jackets, Pants, Shirts, Shorts, Trousers, T-shirts.

Women Clothing

Ladies Tops, Blouses, Capris, Skirts, Swimsuits, T-shirts.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

Mission Statement of the Company


Palmar Group is committed to realizing its clients demands. We achieve this by producing innovative, quality wise products manufactured by devoted, committed, highly trained, vibrant people: our Key Asset. In doing so, we always strive to create and sustain outstanding returns and to honor our social and environmental responsibilities.

Vision Statement
We are currently working on a new vision statement, which will give the group its main strategic thrust for the coming five years.

Core Values
Clients We put our clients at the forefront of everything with a view to always being their first choice and making their demands, desire our philosophy. Employees We commit ourselves to ensure that our employees grow within the business. We believe in their loyalty, team spirit and legitimate aspirations for always being successful.

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Palmar Group Of Companies Leadership We demonstrate decisive leadership and fast management reaction to secure maximum advantages of changes. Excellence We compete on quality, service and value. We build our competitive edge on superior innovation and customer responsiveness. We have a passion for excellence and our

intention is to simply be the best.

About the Owners of the Company. (The Chairman, Director, Production Manager)
The Chairman

Thierry Lagesse, born in 1953, holds a Matrise des Sciences de Gestion from the University of Paris Dauphine. He is the founder and executive Chairman of the Palmar group of companies, a textile and garment manufacturing group. He is also the promoter

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Palmar Group Of Companies of Companhia de Sena, a sugar processing and refining factory in Mozambique and Parabole Reunion SA, a Direct to Home Satellite TV Company in the media and communication fields across the islands of the Indian Ocean. He is the Chairman of the following listed companies: - Phoenix Beverages Limited, the United Basalt Products Ltd and Flacq United Estates Limited and chairs Compagnie dInvestissement et de Dveloppement Limite, the latter being the ultimate holding company of AfrAsia Bank Limited. Thierry Lagesse is a member of the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture and was in 1995, Chairman of the Mauritius Export Processing Zone Association.

The Managing Director

Stphane Lagesse, born in 1959, he studied in Gestion des Entreprises Parix IX Dauphine and joined the Palmar Group in 1983 where he currently holds the position of Managing Director. He participated in the setting up of two garment manufacturing companies in

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Palmar Group Of Companies Mauritius. He was appointed as Director in March 1999 and as a member of the Audit Committee in October 2003. The Production Manager Amaury Lagesse, born in 1961, he has studied Management in South Africa and started working in a clothing company in Durban. He then specialized in textile management in England and Scotland before joining in 1987, the Palmar Group, where he currently holds the position of Production Manager. He has also participated in the setting up of textile factories in Mozambique. He was appointed as Alternate Director to Stphane Lagesse in December 2003.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 Introduction
The literature review helps to broaden knowledge about concepts and emphasis. In advanced market economies, employee relations are largely institutionalised. It refers to as the primary parties to employment relationship are bound together by a network of formally agreed rules, agreements and procedures, such as contracts of employment, employment handbooks, grievance, disciplinary and promotion procedures and by informal customs and practices.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

According to the WERS 1998, the broad picture in the late 1990s was one of relatively well-developed structures for the management of employees in organisation, control being largely retained by centralised personnel departments.

3.2 From Industrial relations to Employment Relations


Formally, IR was concerned with the relationship between management and workers and the role of regulatory mechanism resolving any industrial dispute. A formal definition is concerned with the systems rules and procedures used by unions and employers to determine the reward for effort and other conditions of employment, to protect the

interests of the employed and their employers, and to regulate the ways in which employers treat their employees.(K.Aswathappa, 1999). Then much industrial relations research in the 1970s was seen to be much in need of reform. Many theoretical concerns, and developments in industry and labour markets, served to shift the focus of academic industrial relations from bargaining relationships to the nature of the underlying employment relationship, and broadened the scope of empirical enquiry. The changing economic, political and legal context served to accelerate this shift. According to K. Aswathappa, 1999, some authors delineated the study of industrial relations as the study of the processes of control over the employment relationship, the organization of work and relations between employers and employees. The change to Employment relations was often to emphasise the subjects broad concern with all types of employment relationship and with non-unionised as well as unionized workplaces. Used in the first sense, employee relations denote much the same field of -8-

Palmar Group Of Companies enquiry as contemporary industrial relations. Used in the second sense, it suggests a narrower and more managerialist set of concerns. Employee Relations is a relatively young field of study which stated in earnest after the Second World War and became a mainstream academic discipline in Anglo-American countries in the 1950s and 1960s. This shift in name is partly fashion and popularity of, for example, concepts of industrial relations or labour relations have coincided with the changing names of legislation in New Zealand (Deeks and Rasmussen,2002). Moreover Employee Relation is concerned with: Employment, unemployment and self-employment. How individuals, groups, organizations or state have their interests represented. What these interests are

How individuals manage and promotes their interest within an organization The way conflict is managed and regulated (Rasmussen and Lamm, 20

3.3 The meaning of Employee Relations?


Employee relations has a more lasting value since work, or the lack of it, is of great importance for most individuals: working conditions, job status, rewards and work relationships have a considerable impact on how people live their lives and how they feel about themselves. Employee Relations involves the body of work concerned with -9-

Palmar Group Of Companies maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. Essentially, Employee Relations is concerned with preventing and resolving problems involving individuals who arise out of or affect work situations. Government policy promotes employee participation as a means of improving company performance, particularly by changing employees' attitudes and improving the work environment. While there is some evidence from the literature that participation can have a positive effect on companies' financial performance and the working environment, a significant body of work also questions these links. Advice is provided to supervisors on how to correct poor performance and employee misconduct. In such instances, progressive discipline and regulatory and other Information is provided to employees to promote a requirements must be considered in effecting disciplinary actions and in resolving employee grievances and appeals. better understanding of management's goals and policies. Information is also provided to employees to assist them in correcting poor performance, on or off duty misconduct, and

to address personal issues that affect them in the workplace.

Employees are advised

about applicable regulations, legislation, and bargaining agreements. Employees are also advised about their grievance and appeal rights and discrimination and whistleblower protections (Deeks and Rasmussen, 2002). Beyond the individual level of employment relationships, Employee relations is connected to wider social aspects and issues: economic prosperity and relative living standards, social welfare, employment and unemployment levels, regional development and local job opportunities. The shifts in academic debates, in language and concepts are associated with these wider societal aspect as well as the adjustments in underlying norms and aspirations (Deeks and Rasmussen, 2002).

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Palmar Group Of Companies The definition of employment relations has broadened over time and is evolving. The subject of employment relations has developed an interdisciplinary approach using concepts and ideas derived from sociology, economics, psychology, history and political science. Our current definition incorporates conceptual elements from both United Kingdoms industrial relatruios and USA labour relations as well as from human resource management theory (Rasmussen and Lamm, 2002). It is examined the different rationales for participation from economic, social justice and political perspectives. Through these perspectives, it identifies different approaches to the subject, with employers and non -liberal interests broadly supporting individual and low influence approaches while employee bodies, such as trade unions and the European Union collective, favor more regulatory influences. The impact of new forms of participation, including high-involvement work systems and partnership, is also considered. Links between participation and equality at work, an element which is often overlooked in accounts of the subject, are also considered from perspectives of gender, work-life balance, age and disability. It considers the policy implications and limitations of different approaches and suggests areas where policy developments could be

undertaken.

It also suggests, however, that trade unions continue to have an important role in protecting and advancing the interests of employees and, in so doing, can contribute positively to organisational effectiveness.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

3.4 Employee Relations Framework and employment relationship


Employee relations is a complex phenomenon which may be the driving force for an organisations success, whilst in situation of industrial turmoil may generate far reaching effects at the extent of jeopardising the existence of the organisation in some instances. As employee relations take place on many different levels, such as the "shop-floor", the regional level, and the national level. The distribution of power amongst these levels is crucial as it can greatly shape the way an economy functions. An important aspect of employee relations is their ability to adapt to change as change is inevitable. Changes can be technological, economical or political, each of which raises the important questions of how an entity should respond. The framework for employee relations is set by the Government through legislative and regulatory means. These laws dealing with employment range from issues such as minimum wage to wrongful dismissal.

The employment relationship is a legal notion widely used in countries around the world to refer to the relationship between a person called an employee and an employer for whom the employee performs work under certain conditions in return for remuneration. It is through the employment relationship, however defined, that reciprocal rights and obligations are created between the employee and the employer. The employment relationship has been, and continues to be, the main vehicle through which workers gain

access to the rights and benefits associated with employment in the areas of labour law and social security. It is the key point of reference for determining the nature and extent of employers rights and obligations towards their workers. An exposure will be given to the following four perspectives, namely i) Unitarism - 12 -

Palmar Group Of Companies ii) Pluralism iii) Marxism iv) Individualism and collectivism

3.4.1 Unitarism
In unitarism, the organization is perceived as an integrated and harmonious system, viewed as one happy family. A core assumption of unitary approach is that management and staff, and all members of the organization share the same objectives, interests and purposes; thus working together, hand-in-hand, towards the shared mutual goals. Furthermore, unitarism has a paternalistic approach where it demands loyalty of all employees. Trade unions are deemed as unnecessary and conflict is perceived as disruptive. Fox (1966:2) defined unitarism as a team unified by a common purpose which represents a driving force for success. From employee point of view, unitary approach means that:

Working practices should be flexible. Individuals should be business process improvement oriented, multi-skilled and ready to tackle with efficiency whatever tasks are required.

If a union is recognized, its role is that of a further means of communication between groups of staff and the company. The emphasis is on good relationships and sound terms and conditions of employment.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

Employee participation in workplace decisions is enabled. This helps in empowering individuals in their roles and emphasizes team work, innovation, creativity, discretion in problem-solving, quality and improvement groups etc.

Employees should feel that the skills and expertise of managers supports their endeavours.

From employer point of view, unitary approach means that:


Staffing policies should try to unify effort, inspire and motivate employees. The organization's wider objectives should be properly communicated and discussed with staff. Reward systems should be so designed as to foster to secure loyalty and commitment. Line managers should take ownership of their team responsibilities. Staff-management conflicts - from the perspective of the unitary framework - are seen as arising from lack of information, inadequate presentation of management's policies.

The personal objectives of every individual employed in the business should be discussed with them and integrated with the organisations needs.

The unitarist can de used as means that enables management to be accepted as the single source of authority in the firm, hence the concept of management prerogative, implying managements freedom to make decisions without interference from outsiders. However Rose (2001) observes that the unitarist ideology permits the projection of the image that managements decision correct and rational and that those opposing or challenging are either misguided or subversive. Similarly Lewis (2003 ) emphasises that the needs of the organisation predominates over those of the individual members also by conducting the organisation culture into consideration.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

3.4.2 Pluralism
Fox (1962:2) defined pluralism as the organisation being a miniature democratic state composed of sectional groups with divergent interest over which government tries to maintain some kind of dynamic equilibrium. An example where divergent interests can be when the employees and their managers have responsibility and are accountable for ensuring the management of the organisation and the predetermine goals are achieved. The employees, though also working towards the achievement of organisational goals, they are however driven by the satisfaction of personal goalslike better terms and conditions of employment, which have values for them. Thus the divergent interest is a source of conflict at the work place. Fortunately mechanisms are put in place to mitigate conflicts, as mentioned by Lewis (2003), which otherwise would have a negative impact upon the organisational effectiveness. These mechanisms which Fox (1996) referred to as dynamic equilibrium convert conflict into a kind of creative tension. Good communication enables compromising solutions to be agreed upon by the parties. Furthermore Trade Unions are deeply embedded in the notion of pluralism said Lewis (2003). Fox (1966) push the idea that trade union simply provide a highly organised and continuous form of expression for sectional interest which would exist anyway. Therefore, contrast with the unitarist view, which considers the emergence of conflict as irrational and thus, offers no civility to intrusive trade unions. Pluralism, however, opens a window through which both trade unions and management attempt to reconcile divergence of interest by way of collective bargaining. Fox (1966) lay emphasis on the truth that the differences between the parties are not asfundamental or wide as to be unbridgeable. - 15 -

Palmar Group Of Companies

3.4.3 Marxism
Marxism is also a world view, a way of looking at and explaining the world. Marxism is not just politics and economics. Marxism is also a world view, as such, it encompasses philosophy and religion, while paradoxically and vigorously asserting its atheism and contempt for philosophy Marxism, which provides remarkable evidence of the power of dominant key ideas to inspire and direct man, is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges to traditional religious belief ... Furthermore, like a religion, it has provided themes of fulfilment and hope a revolution interpreted as the initiation of a Communist world society that would be a final consummation. There are many logical similarities between the doctrine of the Marxist millennium and the Christian doctrine of Christ's Second Coming (Encyclopedia Britannica III, Macropaedia, "Philosophy of Religion," Chicago, IL: William Benton, Publisher, 1978, vol. 15, p. 598) The Marxist view of employee relations differ with the pluralist ones, Marxist view argue that employee relations processes, namely collective bargaining, do not substantially modify the wealth distribution pattern within society. They would assert that the collective bargaining mechanism adds credit to the legitimacy of management in creating a forum for giving satisfaction to the needs of employees as suitable to management. Furthermore Trade unionists see employers/managers always inventing and devising ways and means to exploit workers, where their drive to continuously struggling for their rights.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

3.4.4 Individualism and collectivism


Lewis (2003) describes individualism as individualism refers to the will of the body to do for her. It is normally for the union free organisations where work related dealings occur directly between managers and employees. The distinctive feature of individualism is the absence of interference from either trade unions or government in the employment relationship. However, Lewis (2003) argues that in assuming that there has been a dramatic and irrevocable shift to individualism from collectivism. In private sector it has been noted that the tendency is to favour individualism with regard to the form of employment relationship, yet in many organisations collectivism remains the norm. Patil(1993) has clearly indicated that collective bargaining is adynamic and universal phenomenon in industrial market economies.

3.5 The History and Evolution of Employee Relations in Mauritius


Employee relations has been analysed above from conceptual framework and it is of much importance to see how it has evolved in Mauritius. Being a sovereign and democratic state, Mauritius is an island where the role of law as well as the legislation regulates most of the living of the citizens, and the industrial relation and employee relation form inevitably part of them. Recently the employee act 2008 has been introduced and nowadays companies are abiding the new act. The Employment Relations Bill is meant to replace the Industrial Relations Act of 1973. Its object is to amend and consolidate the law relating to trade unions, fundamental rights of workers and employers, collective bargaining, labour disputes and related matters. Its object is to revise and consolidate the law relating to employment,

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Palmar Group Of Companies

contracts of employment or service, minimum age for employment, hours of work, payment of remuneration and other basic terms and conditions of employment with a view to ensuring appropriate protection of workers.

3.6 Conclusion
Employee Relations is a leading international academic journal focusing on the importance of understanding and merging corporate, management and employee needs to achieve optimum performance, commitment and effectiveness, addresses research, practice and ideas about relationships between employments. Today's turbulent business environment makes increasing demands on managers and workforces, as competitive standards rise and expectations of individuals increase. Managers must respond positively to changes in contemporary workforce attitudes if they are to get the performance levels they need.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

3. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY


In the global context, the area of employee relations has always been one of great concern. And now, due to globalization and the new trends, employee relations have become even more important. In the field of human resources , people are believe to be valuable assets rather than costs or even liabilities as such; the belief which were prevalent years ago. Thus, considering people as assets, has laid even more emphasis on building relationships at the workplace, be it between employers and employees or among employees themselves.

4.1 The research problem:


Employee involvement and employee participation are believed to be the key areas of employee relations. If organizations want to make maximum use of their resources, especially their human resources, then employee involvement and employee participation pave the way forward. At the same time, we should not forget that the employees goals and objectives have to be in line with those of their organizations. It is indeed difficult to create the ideal atmosphere and environment where people with different mindset, values and beliefs are concerned. But in the true sense, that only is the challenge. Due to these differences, conflicts and even miscommunication are bound to happen, if not inevitable. Therefore, it is imperative to create just the right climate by developing the appropriate relationships thus overcoming the diverse values, beliefs and language barriers.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

Hence the purpose of the study is to analyze and differentiate between the past and current situation of employee relations at Palmar Limitee with respect to the employment legislation of 2008 and to further determine whether it needs to change some of its best practice that Palmar Limitee is making use of the performance which will be somewhat linked to the employees level of satisfaction. On the overall, the outcomes will be to evaluate whether the Workers council is doing justice to both the employer and employees.

4.1.1 Objective of the research:

Compare and differentiate between the past and the current/existing employment relations at Palmar Limitee.

Explain how effective communication plays a vital part in empowering employees.

Describe how a workforce, even through highly diversified, can become committed through employee empowerment.

4.2 Data collection methods


Palmar Limitee, being a culturally diverse workplace, it is the survey method which will yield more significant and valuable results. The survey method will be the most appropriate method as data will be collected from the various skilled of employees from the different ethnic groups working at Palmar Limitee. This data will prove to be

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Palmar Group Of Companies indicative of the adoption of a particular approach of how employee relations are actually managed at Palmar Limitee.

Survey research is the most common method of collecting primary data for management decisions. Survey research is the systematic gathering of information from respondents for the purpose of understanding and/ or predicting some aspect of the behavior of the population of interest. Survey research is a cheaper method of collecting data. It is concerned with the administration of questionnaires. However, the major weakness in this approach is the reliance on respondents. Their willingness to respond and their ability to answer the questions is crucial. The researcher should be aware of the possibility of respondents taking knowledge or opinion, respondents misinterpretation of questions and being deliberately misled. The questionnaires to be administered to the staffs should be well designed in order to prevent these types of errors to be happening.

4.2.1 Target population


As the basis of this study relies on the relationship between employer and employees as well as among employees themselves, therefore there will be two target population; that of management and that of employees. Some difficulties are bound to occur in such an empirical study. Given that, there are a great number of employees, a whole population will not be practical as it will be too time consuming as well as costly. Thus, the survey will be to conduct a sample method instead of targeting the whole population.

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Palmar Group Of Companies On the other hand, as it is a diverse workforce, some communication problem might occur as the employees differ in educational as well as occupational level. Therefore, in order to get a representative population, emphasis was laid upon the employees who have come from other countries.

Simple random sampling method has been used with due respect to the employees. Some difficulties might occur as the Mauritian employees outnumber the Indian as well as the Sri Lankan workers; but still the sample has been carried out in such a way to grasp the maximum number of foreign workers.

4.2.2 Choice of research methodology


The research instrument that will be used to collect primary data for this research is the questionnaire that will be self-administered to the staffs. As far as the employers are concerned an interview was held so as to get more accurate answers. The questionnaire is the most common instrument for collection of primary data. It consists of a set of questions presented to respondents for answers. The questionnaire is very flexible in the sense that there are a number of ways to ask questions. Objective of the questionnaire

The main objective of the questionnaire is to assess the variables which have a great emphasis on the employment relationship: Employee participation Employee empowerment and involvement Communication

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Palmar Group Of Companies Trust Conflict The workers council The climate within which they work Teamwork The cultural diversification of workers

Questionnaire design

The design of the questionnaire is undoubtedly not an easy task; high attention has been paid to the questions, their wordings, their contents, their sequences and the types of questions to be used. The questions have been designed to satisfy specific criteria such as vocabulary and clarity. The objective is to prevent any misunderstanding of words and also making the question simple, avoiding ambiguous words so as there are no assumptions and biased wordings which may lead to biased responses. Drafting the questionnaire

The questionnaire consists of four sections as far as employees are concerned. The first section deals with the employees personal characteristics; the second section deals with the various variables such as commitment, trust and communication, employee empowerment, involvement and participation; the third section deals with the conflict variable and finally the fourth section deals with the workers council.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

4.3 Pilot testing


The employees questionnaire was pilot tested with an individual employee and some changes were brought about. Therefore the changes were implemented by replacing some terms and questions as well. Amendments were done specially in the area, where close ended questions were replaced by open ended questions.

EMPLOYMENT ACT 2008


Palmar limite adheres to the following changes made in the employment act which are as follows: Section 14: Normal Working Hours Section 16: Overtime Section 17: Public Holidays Section 18: Meal & Tea Breaks Section 19: Meal Allowances Section 24: Payment of Remuneration in Special Circumstances Section 26: Transport of Workers Section 27: Annual Leave Section 28: Sick Leave

Written Particulars of Work Agreement Every employer of more than 10 workers who employs a worker for more than one month must issue to the worker a written statement of particulars pertaining to the work agreement within two weeks of entering into the agreement. Worker - 24 -

Palmar Group Of Companies A Worker is defined as a person whose basic wage or salary does not exceed 360,000 rupees per annum. Normal Working Hours The normal days work of a worker other than a part-time worker or a watch person consists of 90 hours per fortnight or 8 hours per day and may begin on any day of the week, whether or not a public holiday. Overtime and Notice to perform Overtime Overtime is payable after completion of 90 hours in a fortnight. Overtime rate per hour for work in excess of 90 hours per fortnight is 1.5 normal rate. For work done on Sundays and public holidays the overtime rate is twice the hourly rate for every hour of overtime performed. The day on which a worker is on annual leave is deemed to be a days work in the computation of overtime. An agreement may provide for remuneration to include payment of overtime. As far as practicable, 24 hours notice should be given prior to work on overtime.

Rest Day The Act provides for one rest day in every period of 7 consecutive days and the rest day shall at least twice a month be a Sunday or any other day as agreed by the worker. Resumption of Work A worker shall not be required to resume work before a lapse of 11 consecutive hours after he has ceased work. Shift Work A shift worker may work in excess of the stipulated hours, without added remuneration under the following conditions: (a) the worker and the employer agree on the number of hours of work to be performed in the shift and (b) the average number of hours covered in a fortnight does not exceed 90 hours or any lesser number of hours agreed by the worker and the employer. Meal Allowance The Act provides for a meal of Rs50 when a worker works: (a) for less than 2 hours but up to 7.00 p.m on any day or (b) for at least 2 hours and up to 6.00 p.m on any day after having completed a normal days work. Transport of Workers

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Palmar Group Of Companies The Act provides for refund of bus fares when the distance between the workers place of residence and place of work exceeds 3 km. Annual Leave The number of annual leaves is 20 days after 12 months continuous service. Furthermore the worker will be entitled to two additional days of leave. Sick Leave The number of sick leaves has been changed from 21 to 15 days. However, an employee may accumulate up to a maximum of 90 days sick leave. Paternity Leave A Paternity Leave of 5 continuous working days on full pay has been introduced and shall begin within one week from the birth of the child. Maternity Benefits and Allowance A female employee is entitled to a maternity leave of 12 weeks and time off of 6 months for nursing an unweaned child at a time, convenient to the worker. In case of miscarriage, 2 weeks full pay should be granted and a maximum of 12 weeks leave in case of birth of a still born child. A maternity allowance of Rs2000 is payable. Death Grant A death grant of Rs3500 is payable to the spouse of an employee who dies and who

reckons twelve continuous months of service.

4. ANALYSIS OF DATA
Data analysis is a process of gathering, modeling, and transforming data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making. After gathering all the data for the researched project, they will be processed, analysed and interpreted.

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Palmar Group Of Companies Through the research project, it can be argued that due to high responses, the reliability of the analysis remains in question. However utmost care has been taken in doing the analysis. It can be concluded from the research project that Palmar limitee is still under traditional practices and that it has not yet the system where employees are consulted before implementing changes. Management has been quite restricted in their responses while on the other hand employees seem to have been more honest in their responses. The level of authority from management is quite striking and there is quite an inflexible control over employees. According to the research Palmar Limitee is still operating under the hierarchical structure and there is more one-way communication, from top management down to employees. As far as Workers' Council is concern it is still operational as it has been found out that Workers' Council helps employees in obtaining loan facilities, the Workers' Council provides counseling, that the Workers' Council is the voice of the employees.

Employee Relations at Palmar Limite: From the study, certain factors emerged as very significant in differentiating between employee relations practices at Palmar Limite.

Managerial Influence: Managerial influence emerged as a particular important factor in shaping the companys employee relations, much more than in larger firms due to the type of organizational structure. Decision-making is very centralized even for the relatively minor issues. Trade Union presence:

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Palmar Group Of Companies Trade union presence is relatively low in small firms and low levels of unionization in these firms have mostly been attributed to tough opposition on the part of owner/managers. However at Palmar Limite there is no such association of workers (trade union) that exist, but rather a workers council which is presently being updated. The Lay-Off effects after the amalgamation: Palmar Limite, a textile industry, which had 5 branches, is now operating under one name. This process is known as amalgamation, which took place in the year 2008. However this process, resulted in the lay-off of many hard-working employees, whereby leading to instability and affecting the job security of the employees. There was increased emphasis on cost reduction, whereby this lead to deterioration of working conditions. The Job tenure was affected in terms of lay-offs (as stated above) and introduction of temporary employment as well. It should also be noted that we should keep unfair dismissals Act very much in mind when recruiting, in relation to the type of the person. Unfair dismissal legislation is undoubtedly a factor on the debit side of the equation when an employer is considering whether or not to hire and additional worker or workers.

Meal Allowance: Disputes (strike among the expatriates): The Act concerning the meal allowance provides for a meal of Rs50 when a worker works: - 28 -

Palmar Group Of Companies a) For less than 2 hours but up to 7.00 p.m on a day or b) For at least 2 hours and up to 6.00 p.m on any day after having completed a normal days work. The meal allowance shifted from Rs25 to Rs50, which is a plus point for the employees, but this resulted to disputes between the expatriates at Palmar Limite and the management. The former went on a strike recently, concerning the meal allowance, and this was for period of 8 days whereby the Indian expatriates refused to work, since they wanted both the meal allowance and the meal to be provided to them at work. This will certainly lead to increased costs to the management, thus leading to major loss. Moreover, there was an adverse effect on employee relations due o this strike.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
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Palmar Group Of Companies The recommendations, following the analysis has been prepared at two levels: employees level and management level so as to meet the organizational goals and objectives and create a better workplace.

6.1 At Employees level:


First of all, Palmar Limitee is highly dynamic and ever changing and therefore, it has to always be on the competitive edge. Given that, there is workforce diversity, the melting pot approach is adopted to overcome the differences and become united. The Sri Lankan, especially, do not seem to have set aside their cultural beliefs and values while having joined Palmar Limitee to work. Therefore, it is recommended that they assimilate the culture of the organization together with the Mauritian and Indian employees without forgetting their own lifestyles and work styles. As we seen above, some degree of conflict is present but it has to be managed to be functional before it becomes dysfunctional conflict. There seemed to be some tension between the Sri Lankan and the other employees. This may be due to adaptation problems. Therefore, it is recommended that the employees take conflict in a good light which can help them consider and tackle the problems. Although overt collective conflict does appear to be low, there are indications that conflict exists in a more covert form, and manifests itself at a more individual level, as found by Scott et al. (1989) and by Gunnigle (1989). Considering another aspect, that of communication, it can be said that there is more of a downward flow of communication at Palmar Limitee. Suggestions boxes and superiorsubordinate discussion are recommended in which employees can have the opportunity to identify and discuss their problems with management. But communication problems do exist among employees as well. Given that the workforce is diversified at Palmar Limitee, it is recommended that the employees should assume that others are different, eventually avoiding misinterpretations. However, as Scott et al. (1989) argue, this lack of

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Palmar Group Of Companies personal distance between employer and employee can result in both sides taking issues much more personally when they do arise and with longer-lasting effects on relations within the company. Trust is also considered as an important aspect in employment relations. It is only through trust that relations can be built. The employees at Palmar Limitee do not seem to have any problem concerning trust; therefore it is only recommended that they nurture the trust as well as showing their trust in management. Finally, the crucial aspect of employment relations lies in participation, involvement and empowerment which can be attained through training or seminars. It is recommended that training is provided to both management and employees on this issue .This will in turn help the employees to feel more committed to their jobs by creating awareness. Lastly, as far as the situation employees are concerned, it has seemed to remain stagnant without any change, positive or negative. It is recommended that management take the matter into consideration and thus devise a strategy which can benefit the company as a whole.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

6.2 At management level:


At management level, it is recommended to bring more changes especially as far as employee involvement and empowerment are concerned. As discussed in the literature review, Total Quality management can bring changes as it lays emphasis on the importance on employee involvement as well as joint consultation. It is recommended that management consider the introduction of TQM and TQM initiatives can empower management in the sense that they become more flexible and let go of the autocratic structure by adopting flatter structures. Given that, majority of management have that the needs and interests of employees are important, management have to devise a strategy to benefit both management and the employees; as the results show that the employees situation has not improved since the last two years. It is recommended that management provide incentives, rise in wages and if possible fringe benefits to the employees which will motivate the employees. Given that the conflict level seems to be optimal, neither too low nor too high; is it recommended that management continue managing the conflict and maintain it to where it is.

6.3 The role of the Workers council:


The workers council at Palmar Limitee really needs to undergo changes. It is recommended that the Workers Council become operational if it is not. For the simple that it prevents exploitation of employees as it is a safety net for the latter. And with the help of the Workers Council, Palmar Limitee can shift from an autocratic and controlled structure to a flexible and flatter one. But as management seem to prefer individualism at

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Palmar Group Of Companies

the workplace; it seems difficult to implement the changes. Because in order to form a Workers Council, the need for a certain degree of collectivism is required. The Workers Council also helps management in the sense that they do not have to deal with the mass of employees, rather they only meet the representatives and the work will be done. Furthermore it should also be noted that Palmar Limitee is, at present updating its workers council team, whereby an effort is being put forward to make the employees feel important.

Conclusion:
With regards to the process of employee relations in Palmar Limite, it is clear that employee relations processes in this firm are distinctive and complex and involve the interaction of many variables, both internal and external. Palmar limite is not conflictfree, however, but rather conflict is more covert or manifests itself at a more personal level, perhaps by the high level of turnover among new recruits or the level of strikes among expatriates. Moreover in the context of a new realism in Palmars industrial relation, the conclusion is that such realism is not a new phenomenon o this firms employees or owners, as work practices associated with this concept have long been the norm in small companies. This is facilitated by weak/ no union influence and recruitment practices whereby managers/owners will employ only people who fit in and accept the dominant management style and authoritative practices within the firm. Therefore, it cannot be argued that a new system or realism in employee relations is emerging from external changes in the context of the firm, as the much heralded new realism would seem to be long established realism within the firm.

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Palmar Group Of Companies

EMPLOYEE QUESTIONNAIRE

Questionnaire No Date: Verbal Consent

Interviewee information sheet

Dear Sir/Madam, I am a student of BSc (Hons) Management Year II at the University of Mauritius. It will be of great help if you could kindly fill this questionnaire on ANALYSIING THE EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP AT PALMAR LTD, which is a survey I am doing for my Managing employee relationship Assignment. There is no right or wrong answer, please tell me your exact views on each of the questions. You have the exclusive right not to participate in the survey as participation is completely voluntary. Consequently you do not have to give any justification in case you decide not to take part in the survey. The interview will not be long as it will take you only 5 10 minutes to fill it. Please be assured that your views and identity will remain strictly confidential. In case you have any queries about the interview, feel free to contact me at any time on 7712342 or by mail: manju01@yahoo.com. APPENDIX Thank you in advance for your valuable cooperation in this survey. QUESTIONNAIRE TO EMPLOYEES Yours sincerely MARDAY Manjula
University Of Mauritius University Of Mauritius

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Palmar Group Of Companies

SECTION A: PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS Please tick the appropriate box and answer questions where required.

1. Sex: Male Female

2. Marital status: Single Married Other (please specify)

3. Ethnic groups: Mauritian Sri Lankan Indian

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Palmar Group Of Companies

4. Position/ Title.

5. Section/ Department.

6. Length of service in the present organization: 0-4 years years 15-19 years 20 years and above 5-9 years 10-14

7. Do you work in a team

or alone

SECTION B: Below are some statements. Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree according to the following scale and encircle or tick the appropriate number.

Strongly Agree...1 Agree .2 Neither Agree/nor Disagree3 Disagree .4 Strongly Disagree ..5

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Palmar Group Of Companies

1. The climate within which I work is relaxed and easy going. 1 2 3 4 5

2. The belief of management is such that conflict between individuals and between units is healthy. 1 2 3 4 5

3. Management-employee relations are cordial. 1 2 3 4 5

4. Employees are allowed to take the responsibility for their job. 1 2 3 4 5

5. Those who can achieve productivity are highly trusted. 1 2 3 4 5

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Palmar Group Of Companies 6. The principal emphasis of management is human factors (how people feel.) 1 2 3 4 5

7. The management has spelt out firm set of rules and norms which we, as employees, are supposed to abide by strictly. 1 2 3 4 5

8. When management provides information, it specifies the goals in terms of outputs and methods. 1 2 3 4 5

9. Management is ready to build a bond of trust with the employees. 1 2 3 4 5

10. Employees are keen to help each other in the organization in the way that they work. 1 2 3 4 5

11. Every suggestion made by an employee is taken into consideration and then the decision is fed back to him within a short time.

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Palmar Group Of Companies 1 2 3 4 5

12. Employees believe in team-working rather than individuals teams. 1 2 3 4 5

13. Employees are demotivated when they feel that they are not being informed and consulted. 1 2 3 4 5

SECTION C: CONFLICT Please tick the appropriate box and answer the questions where required. 1. The extent to which conflict arises among colleagues in your department? Always Very Often Often Rarely Never

2. Is there any conflict present between you and your director/manager? Yes No

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Palmar Group Of Companies

3. Is there any conflict between members of your department/section and other departments/sections? Yes If Yes, which department and why? ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................................... No

4. What kind of effects does conflict have on your performance? Positive Negative

Why? ............................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................. SECTION D: WORK COUNCIL Please answer the following questions. 1. Do you think that the workers council is helping in empowering employees?

Yes

No

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Palmar Group Of Companies How? ............................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................

2. Do you think that the employees situation is better off than how it was some two years ago? Yes In what way? ............................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................. No

3. How do you think that the workers council has helped in creating the ideal climate for the employees to work? ............................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................

4. Are you satisfied with what the Workers Council is doing for the employees? Yes No

Why?

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Palmar Group Of Companies ............................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................

5. Do you feel confident and safe about having a Workers Council? Yes Why? ............................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................... .............................................................. No

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Palmar Group Of Companies

Thank You The End

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Palmar Group Of Companies

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