During his initial days at the helm of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata held off attempts by a gangster to disrupt operations at Tata Motors. In a video posted by Columbia Business School, the veteran industrialist recollects his decision to confront the gangster and even stresses that though others deemed his decision as controversial, he has no regrets. The video shared in 2015, has surfaced again.
“Fifteen days after I became the chairman, we had a huge union eruption in Tata Motors,” Ratan Tata said, “There was an outsider, a gangster, who decided there was a considerable amount of wealth in our union and wanted to take over control of that. He had about 200 followers — disruptive, violent, and intimidating followers — and the rest of the 4,000 people in that plant were uninterested.”
Ratan Tata admitted that at the time, the company had taken its workers’ union for granted so the workers were happy to see what the violence would get them.
Despite advice to appease the gangster, Ratan Tata chose to confront him. “The whole issue was that this guy wanted to take over the union and we wouldn’t let him do so. So, we confronted him,” he said.
To exert dominance, the gangster called for a strike, causing workers at the Tata Motors plant to cease their operations out of fear for their safety, he added. Ratan Tata then personally stayed at the plant for days to encourage the workers to resume their duties and restart production. The gangster also arranged for 400 Tata Motors employees to be beaten up and the police “were in his pockets”, the industrialist said. But Ratan Tata’s perseverance ultimately led to the gangster being caught.
The incident marked a turning point in labour relations at Tata Motors and highlighted Ratan Tata’s commitment to his principles and the welfare of the workers.
“I would never have done it any other way,” he said.