11.1 Read and translate the text:

Harper & Grant have not got a closed shop, that is, they do not make it

a condition of employment that a worker must belong to a certain trade

union. But ninety per cent of the workers are members of one or other of

the unions. All the toolmakers, skilled machiners (machinists),

sheet-metal workers, assembly-shop workers and fitters belong to one

union, the electricians to another and the office staff to a clerical

union. Every member has to pay a subscription, that is, a sum of money

paid regularly to the particular union (often referred to as union

dues). Each union's affairs are looked after by a shop steward, who is

elected by the workers on the shop floor. The shop steward is at the

day-to-day level of representation between a company and a union. He

represents the workers in a particular shop, or department, in a

factory. The shop stewards are recognized by the management, and they

serve as a channel of communication both ways. They are allowed to

collect union dues on the premises, but they can hold meetings in the

factory or office block only with the permission of the management.

Besides obtaining the best possible working conditions for their

members, unions in Britain, as in many other countries, also organize

medical schemes, insurance and legal aid for their members. And they use

part of their funds, the money collected from the members, to pay a

weekly sum of money to their members if they are out on official

strike. An official strike is one recognized by the union. Strike pay is

small compared with the workers' normal wages. They do not draw it if it

is an unofficial strike or a "wild cat" strike.

In most firms the relationship between management and unions is good,

but sometimes a shop steward is ambitious to get more personal power. In

this episode a certain shop steward uses a worker who has a grievance,

something making him angry or annoyed, to create trouble in the works.

His aim is to help put pressure on the management in connection with a

claim for a general wage increase. Many employees, of course, think they

are underpaid, and some managements are reluctant to increase wages

until forced to do so. Some firms have introduced profit-sharing

schemes, so that employees can share directly in the results of harder

work or better organization. However, the difficulty here is that the

majority are not prepared to take a cut in wages if the firm has a bad

year. Good employee-management relations often present difficulties and

problems. Some firms solve these problems better than others. Usually

Harper & Grant have good relations with their employees, as they are a

comparatively small "family" firm.

The episode starts with clocking in. When an employee arrives at a

factory to start work the first thing he does is to clock in. A time

clock punches a mark on the worker's time card to correspond with the

exact time of arrival. Trying to cheat this system is a very serious

offence. The Works Manager, Ted Fielding, comes to consult the Personnel

Manager, Ian Hampden, about an operative who seems to have decided to

ignore the rules. The chief responsibilities of a Personnel Manager are

employing and dismissing staff and looking after and improving the

employees' welfare and conditions of work.

11.2 Listen to the dialogue.

(In Ian Hampden's office)

TED

FIELDING Mr. Hampden, we've got trouble in the press room this morning.

IAN

HAMPDEN Oh dear, what's it all about, Ted?

TED One of the press operatives arrived an hour and a half late.

IAN But that's a straightforward affair. He simply gets his pay

docked. That's why we have a clocking-in system.

TED But the point is the man was clocked in at eight o'clock.

Symes, who stands by the time clock, swears he saw nothing

irregular.

IAN Is Symes reliable?

TED Yes, he is. That's why we chose him for the job.

IAN Have you spoken to the man who was late?

TED Not yet. I thought I'd have a word with you first. He's a

difficult man. And I think there's some trouble on the shop

floor. I've got a feeling that one of the shop stewards is

behind this. The foreman told me that Jack Green's been very

active around the shop the last few days.

IAN Well, what do you want me to do?

TED I was wondering if you'd see Smith, the man who was late,

because you're so much better at handling things like this

than I am.

IAN Oh, all right, I'll see him. I must say I agree with you about

there being bad feeling in the works. I've had the idea for

some time that Jack Green's been busy agitating in connection

with the latest wage claim. He's not like the other stewards.

He's always trying to make trouble. Well, I'll get the foreman

to send Smith up here.

(Later)

IAN Ah, Smith. Come in, will you. Please sit down. I understand

your card was punched for eight o'clock this morning and that

you arrived at nine thirty.

SMITH That's right.

IAN You mean you knew your card was punched by someone else at

eight o'clock?

SMITH Yes.

IAN I suppose you know we can dismiss you for this? What it

amounts to is that you are asking to be paid for services you

never gave.

SMITH No, I'm not asking that.

IAN Then I don't understand.

SMITH I cleaned Mr. Wiles' car last night out of works' time.

IAN Well, that doesn't affect the issue.

SMITH I should be paid for it, shouldn't I?

IAN But you are paid surely...

SMITH Overtime? If I work overtime I want overtime pay - time and a

half, that's the rule, isn't it?

IAN But this is a private arrangement. It has nothing to do with

the works. Have you discussed this with Mr. Wiles?

SMITH There's nothing to discuss. If I work an hour on his car I

take an hour and a half from my day's work.

IAN Well, I'm not going to argue about something so absurd. As I

see it, you've broken the rules. Naturally an hour and a half

will be subtracted from your pay this week. And I must warn

you that if this happens again it will be a case of dismissal.

SMITH Just you try dismissing me. You'll have a walkout on your

hands.

IAN I'm sorry, but those are the rules. If you break them you must

take the consequences; you know that perfectly well.

(In Peter Wiles's office)

PETER But, Ian, that's ridiculous! Smith never complained to me

WILES about it. If he had I'd have paid him a bit more, or taken the

car to the garage. They do a much better job there, anyway.

IAN It's possible the whole thing has been engineered by Jack

Green. I've heard that he's going to get the District

Organizer of the National Workers' Union to negotiate a wage

claim.

PETER Oh, not again!

IAN Personally I feel there should be some system here of profit

sharing. If not, we shall go on having little incidents like

this one. They're a direct result of ill-feeling in the works.

PETER I can't see H.G. being enthusiastic about profit sharing! Why

don't you bring it up at the Management Committee Meeting this

afternoon.

IAN Yes, I think I will. And then I'm going to send for Jack Green.

I've just had a talk with Symes and found out something very

interesting. Now listen to this...

(In Ian Hampden's office)

JACK I really don't see much point in this meeting, Mr. Hampden.

GREEN As I said to you this morning, we're going to ask the Union to

press a wage claim. And unless you have some concrete

proposals to make about a wage increase, I don't think we have

anything to say to each other.

IAN I'm sorry, I don't agree. First of all, I think I've got some

information that may interest you. We discussed profit sharing

at the Management Committee Meeting today. What do you feel

your colleagues will think about that?

GREEN They'll think the same as I do. We don't want talk, we want

figures.

IAN I think they'll be very interested. I think they'll want to go

into details with us when the proposals have been worked out.

I think they'll want to cooperate.

GREEN Are you suggesting...?

IAN I'm suggesting that you're using Smith to make unnecessary

trouble.

GREEN I don't like that accusation, Mr. Hampden.

IAN I don't care whether you like it or not. Smith is not a

co-operative man, but he wasn't capable of thinking this out

for himself. He told me that if I dismissed him there'd be a

walkout. Who gave him that idea? Did you talk to him?

GREEN I did. He told me about this car business.

IAN And the clocking-in incident?

GREEN I don't follow you.

IAN I suppose you had nothing to do with arranging that Smith's

card was punched by someone else? That's an action which is

against the works rules, which have been approved by all the

trades unions represented on this site.

GREEN Of course not.

IAN Then why were you talking to Symes precisely at eight o'clock

this morning? How was it that you got him to turn his back

long enough for Smith's ticket to be punched?

GREEN I... er...

IAN Look, Jack, I think you'd better drop this one fast. I know

you're trying to make a name for yourself, but your own union

would disown you for this sort of behaviour. This isn't the

way to do things. See Smith, will you, and explain what has

happened.

JACK I think... er... your... er... profit-sharing proposals do

perhaps alter the situation. Yes, I'll... er... speak to

Smith.

IAN Good. Well, we've no more to discuss for the moment, have we?

Goodnight.

11.3 Answer the questions:

1. When an employee arrives at the factory, what is the first thing

he must do?

2. What does an employee do with his time card when he arrives or

leaves his place of work?

3. What would an employee expect to happen to his pay if he arrived

late at work?

4. If a worker belongs to a union, to whom does he pay his

subscription (or union dues)?

5. If an employee works late, what extra money would he claim?

6. What are the chief responsibilities of a Personnel Manager?

7. What are the main functions of a trade union?

11.4 Find definitions for the terms:

walkout, shop floor, "wild cat" strike, works rules, operative, strike,

trade union, wage claim, profit-sharing scheme, get pay docked

a. an organization whose main functions are to protect the interests of

its members and secure the best possible wages and conditions of work

for them

b. to refuse to go on working in order to get more pay, or shorter

hours, or improved conditions, or as a protest

c. a strike organized by the employees themselves, without the union

approval

d. a system of allowing employees to share in profits by arranging for

them to buy shares in the company, or by issuing a bonus scheme, etc.

e. an employee who works a machine

f. to lose some of one's wages

g. a shop or department, or the whole working area of the factory

h. a demand for higher wages

i. the leaving by employees of their place of work in protest

j. the rules and regulations of a particular firm

11.5 Fill in gaps in the sentences:

1. Harper & Grant do not make it a condition of ... that a worker must

belong to a certain ... . union. 2. Every member has to pay ...

regularly to the particular union. 3. The shop steward is elected by the

workers on the ... ... . 4. The shop stewards are allowed to collect

union dues ... the ... . 5. Unions in Britain also organize medical

schemes, ... and legal ... for their members. 6. They use part of their

funds to pay a weekly sum of money to their members if they are out on

official ... . 7. Many employees think they are ..., and some

managements are reluctant to increase wages. 8. Some firms have

introduced ... schemes. 9. When an employee arrives at a factory to

start work the first thing he does is to ... ... . 10. A ... ... punches

a mark on the worker's time card to correspond with the exact time of

arrival. 11. One operative seems to have decided to ignore the ... . 12.

The ... responsibilities of a Personnel Manager are employing and ...

staff and looking after and improving the employees' ... and conditions

of work. 13. That's a straightforward affair: the ... simply gets his

pay ... . 14. Jack Green has been busy agitating in connection with the

latest wage ... . 15. He wants overtime pay - ... and a ... . 16. If you

break the rules you must take the ... . 17. Your own union would ... you

for this sort of behaviour.

11.6 Put the following sentences in the right order to make a story.

We finally reached a point where they were threatening to go on

strike.

The pay negotiations were going badly.

Then we offered them new employment contracts which linked a pay

rise with productivity.

We sacked all the employees.

We wanted to link the pay increase to a productivity deal, but the

unions refused.

One by one they all gave in and signed on the dotted line.

We sent out letters to everyone saying that their employment would

cease on a certain date.

They wouldn't budge (не уступать ни на йоту).

11.7 Personnel Management and References

One of the main functions of a Personnel Manager is the engagement

and dismissal of employees in the works. He or she ensures that

conditions of work are good, because people who enjoy their jobs work

better than those who do not. A measure of a Personnel Manager's

efficiency is his labour turnover, the percentage of employees who leave

in a year and have to be replaced. Labour turnover is expensive, because

it costs a lot to advertise for, engage and train new staff. A good

Personnel Manager is good at selection, at picking the right person for

the right job, and will probably have been trained in modern selection

techniques. Personnel management also includes safety and welfare, and

the organization of such social activities (dances, outings and sports)

as the company wishes to sponsor. A personnel Manager should always be

available to give advice on personal matters to any employee.

The following is a letter sent to Ian Hampden, asking for a

reference. When a firm takes on a new employee it is usual to ask for a

reference, that is, the name of someone or some firm who will be ready

to answer questions about his character and work. The reference is for

James Glover, who used to work in the Research and Development

Department. He left the firm because he wanted to work in Birmingham for

family reasons. The second letter is Mr. Hampden's reply.

Complete the first letter with the given words.

satisfied, rival, received, grateful, application, reference, thanks,

assistant, importance, termination

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE FABMOD FURNISHING COMPANY LIMITED

Birmingham

The Personnel Manager,

Harper & Grant Ltd.,

Great West Road,

London, W.25. 9th January, 197..

CONFIDENTIAL

Dear Sir,

We have received an ... for the post of ... director of our

Research and Development Department from Mr. James Glover who, we

understand, left your firm two months ago. He has given us your name as

a ... and we should be ... if you would give us some information about

him.

We should like to know how long Mr. Glover worked for you; whether

you were ... with his work; the reasons for the ... of his employment

with you, and above all, whether he is trustworthy. We have had some

trouble in the past with some of our research secrets being sold to ...

firms so the latter is, naturally, of the utmost ... to us.

Any other information you can give us about Mr. Glover would be

very gratefully ... .

With ...,

Yours faithfully,

George Hassock

Personnel Manager.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.8 Write the following letter in English; do not forget to head it

properly. You can use the recommended words:

co-operative, family reasons, serious-minded, capable, position of

authority, deputy

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

11 января 197.. г.

КОНФИДЕНЦИАЛЬНО

Уважаемый господин Хассок,

Я отвечаю на ваше письмо от 9 января. Джеймс Гловер работал в

нашем отделе исследований и разработок в течение двух с половиной лет.

Он - очень ценный, изобретательный работник, плодотворно работающий в

коллективе. Мы с большим сожалением узнали о его желании оставить нашу

фирму и переехать в Бирмингем; насколько мы понимаем, принять это

решение его вынудили семейные обстоятельства.

Хочу добавить, что прежде, чем мы узнали о причинах его ухода, мы

предложили ему пост заместителя начальника отдела исследований и

разработок, который освободится в этом году.

Работа Гловера нас полностью удовлетворяла. Лично от себя хочу

сказать, что я считаю его честным, серьезным человеком, который с

энтузиазмом относится к своей работе. Коллеги его любили, и, заняв

ответственный пост, он, несомненно, хорошо справится с обязанностями.

Короче говоря, нам было очень жаль его терять.

С уважением,

начальник отдела кадров Иэн Хэмпден

компании "Харпер и Грант"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

11.9 Perform a conversation between the Personnel Manager and a valuable

employee who wants to quit. The Personnel Manager should do his or her

best in order to persuade the employee to stay with the firm.

11.10 Translate the article.

УВОЛЕНА С РАБОТЫ ЗА ТО, ЧТО ЖЕВАЛА РЕЗИНКУ

Элизабета Милетти, 28-летняя кассирша супермаркета города Кальяри

(Сардиния) получила уведомление об увольнении (notice). Причиной стала

жевательная резинка, которую кассирша жевала во время рабочего дня, что

запрещено администрацией супермаркета. Местный профсоюз работников

торговли счел причину увольнения недостаточной и потребовал

восстановления ее на работе.

11.11 Translate the sentences.

1. Это что за денежные расчеты в рабочее время? - Я собираю профсоюзные

взносы. Вы прекрасно знаете, что их разрешено собирать непосредственно

на предприятии. 2. Профсоюзное руководство угрожает забастовкой. - Пусть

угрожают. Все равно большинство рабочих бастовать не станет, они слишком

дорожат своими рабочими местами. 3. Я готов предложить свежую идею: нам

следует ввести систему участия рядовых сотрудников в прибылях компании.

4. Уже закупили автомат, регистрирующий время нашего прихода и ухода.

Скоро установят. - Экая досада. Теперь не поопаздываешь. 5. В твоей

затее нет никакого смысла. Нам урежут зарплату, вот и все. 6. Мы пошлем

Джима обсуждать этот вопрос - он мастер вести переговоры. 7. Они опять

выступили с требованием повышения зарплаты. А о повышении

производительности труда молчат. 8. Если вы работаете сверхурочно, это

время оплачивается в полуторном размере. 9. Эти документы - для

служебного пользования. 10. Мы уделяем большое внимание благосостоянию

наших сотрудников.