Workers management conflicts at small businesses Part 2

In my last article I stated that I will keep you informed on the problem I am trying to resolve dealing with workers/ management conflict taking place at my current job.

I also stated that currently, I am working in the State of Qatar, a small country in the Arabian Gulf.
There is a large number of expatriates working here, people from Asia, US, Europe and the Middle East. Working with people with diverse cultural backgrounds is interesting and challenging at the same time.

Dealing with workers-management conflict in a country in this part of the world is quite different than dealing with it in the US. I had to prepare myself by:

1- Familiarizing myself with the cultural backgrounds of all parties involved.
2- Familiarizing myself with the current labor laws in the country.
3- Meeting with senior managers in the company to get an idea of current practices in conflict management in the country.

My next step was to meet with all the parties involved to reach to the root of the conflict.
Direct talk was the key to resolve the conflict; the mechanics were worried about their pay and other minor issues regarding work. The Management was not happy with the way the mechanics voiced their concerns, it felt it was intimidating.
In the meeting:
1- All the mechanics were giving a chance to express their concerns which mainly were:
a- Not getting paid on time
b- No contact number where they can call if they have an issue
c- No group leader

2- The management were concerned with:
a- Mechanics not being patient with the pay issues, the management had no intention to delay their pay, but at times, especially with small businesses, things get out of control
b- The management didn’t appreciate the way the some of the mechanics intimidated the office secretary with their demands
c- The management didn’t appreciate nor it will allow the formation of any types of unions

The meeting went real smooth and all the points above were discussed. The mechanics were giving a monthly date (from the 1st to the 5th of the month) where they should receive their pay; they were told they can not have a group leader or from any types of unions and all their grievances must be communicated to management and finally they were giving a number to call in case they had any concerns.

The management acknowledged the frustration felt by the mechanics when they didn’t get their pay on time or when they cant find the right person to call when the faced a problem.
All the above points were translated into an agreement and was signed by both parties