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CASE:MODERN SHOE MANUFACTURING COMPANY
On Monday, October 9, 1969, Mr. Kamal Verma Personnel Manager of the Modern Shoe Manufacturing Company, met Mr. Anil Mehta, secretary of the above shoe company`s union, for a meeting. Mrs. Usha Sharma, a former employee of the above company, accompanied Mr. Metha to the meeting. Mr. Mehta asked Mr. Verma to explain why Mrs. Sharma had been laid off on the previous Friday because of lack of work. Mr. Verma replied tha Mrs. Sharma had been discharged, not laid off. Mr. Mehta showed Mr. Verma a letter signed by Mr. Subhash Kapoor, the company`s assistant personnel manager. The letter stated that Mrs. Sharma had been laid off because of lack of work.
The Modern Shoe Manufacturing Company, located in Knapur, was a large manufacturer of men`s shoes. The company employed about 800 people who had been organised by the union in 1960. In commenting on the Modern company`s attitude towards the union, Mr. Ashok Khanna, regional director of the union, said at a union meeting in 1968, "The Modern company has been ramming things down the union`s throat long enough. The company has been getting away with murder. It`s time we did something about it." The union had a two-year contract with the company which expired in November 1958.
In Sepember 1959, the company had installed a belt conveyer unit to manufacture one of its more simply constructed shoes, the loafer. A group of 22 workers were transferred from various parts of the company to work on the conveyer unit.
The conveyer unit had been conceived and developed by Mr. Rakesh Sethi vice-president and industrial engineer of the Modern company. Mr. Sethi, about 33 years old, had worked as an industrial engineer for a large machine too manufacturing company prior to accepting a position as industrial engineer a the Modern company in 1963. He was made a vice-president in 1967 by Mr Pallav Ghosh, owner and president of the company. Mr. Ghosh, in describing Mr. Sethi, said, "Mr. Sethi is young, aggressive and smart. I have been able to devote my time almost exclusively to sales since he has been with the company. I Pay Mr. Sethi a salary and a bonus based on our production and manufacturing costs. It amounts to a fancy figure, but he`s worth it."
The Modern company manufactured about 50 different styles of men` shoes, one of which was the loafer. The company, as do the vast majority of shoe manufacturers, used fiberboard boxes and four-wheeled racks to transport unfinished shoes through the factory.
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Question
Analysethe Trade Union`s strategy in Modern Shoe Manufacturing company`s case.
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