3)

Write a short note on internal leaders.

4) Briefly cliscuss the response of the trade i~nionsin India to the changing
environment.

6.8

FURTHER READINGS

Bliattaclinrjee , D. 1999. [)rgl~r~i,sed

Lc~holrrui~elEconoi~ri~~
L i b e ~ ' ~ ~ l i , s ~Iiicliu:
/ioi~Pus/ , Prc,seii/,L / I I L I I ~ L I / UDisci~ssioll
I~~,
paper, Labour and Society Programme;
International Institute for Labour Stilclies. Geneva: International Labour Organisation.
IGNOU. 1993. "Leadership and Management in the Trade Unions", in MS-24, Block2, Unit-6. Ui~ioliA/li~re~ge~i~ai/
IIoie~~io~is,
p ~32-38.
.
Josc, A. V. 2000. "The F u t ~ r eol'the Laboi~rMovement: Some Observations on
Developing Countries" in P~.oc.ceclii~gs
(Vol. 3), 12"' ~Voiqlel
C'oi7grc,ssc?j/lie
Iiv/erno/ion~~I
I~idus/rinlRclcitio~isA.ssocia/ioii, held at Tokyo during May 29-June 2,
2000, pp.5 1-63.
HZIIIILIII
RC.SOLII'CL:S
: A C O ~ ~ / ~ ~ T ITcx/,
~UYLII:V
Ramaswamy E.A. 2002. hl~ii~~/,qii~illg
New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Rel~rtioi~.~
i i ~hvdiei: LY/iiJiiti P L I I . N C / ~Dellii:
~I~IS,
Sen, Ratna. 2003. Ii~clz~.s/rirr/
Macmillan India Llcl.
Sinha, P.R.N., Incl~lBala Sinha ancl Seema Priyadarsliini Selthar. 2004. Iiiclieli.i~~I
R C I L I I ~ 511eIe
O ~ ~ SUiiioii.~,
.
L I I I ~ LJ L I ~ OLegtrl~i/io~~.s,
ZIY
Dellii: Pealmn Ecii~calion.
Venkatc~Ratnam, C. S. 2000. "NGOs and Trade Unions" in Venkata Ralnam,
C. S. :uicl Pravin Sinha (Eds.), T Y L I ~
U1iioi1
C C'I~~iIleiiges
u/ the Begi~uliiig[?f'/lie

21" C'en/~~iy,
New Dellii: Indian Inclustrial Relations Association and Excel
Boolts.

UNIT 7

MANAGERIAL UNIONISM

~ S t e r g o i ~llirougli
lg
this unit, you slioulcl be ablc to ~~nderstand:
the cvolntion ofmanagerial unionism in India;
o

tlic 101) ~iianagemcnts'rc;lctions Lo managerial ~ ~ n i o n s ;

llie l;lctors i n i l ~ ~ e n c i nlllc

g l'ormatioli oE~iia~iagcri:ll
~ ~ l i i o ~allel
is:
1I1c:~cli\/iticsol'lllc lnanngcrial

LIII~OI~S.

StrucLurc
7.1

I~i~roduclion

7.2

'I'lic E v o l ~ ~ l i ool'Ma~iagel.ial
n
Unions i n India

7.3

Houndarics of'ManagcriaI Associations

7.4

Mnnagc~i~cnls'
lic;lctions to Managerial Associations

7.5

Why Mi~nagcrialllnio~iis~n'?

'I'lic Activities ~SManilgcrialIJnions

7.7

Sunl~nal-y

7.8

Scll~Assessmcnl(,)~~cslions

7.9

F ~ ~ r l l llicarlings
c~.

Managers antl:ol'licc~.sin India belonging to sucli clivcrse org:lnisalions as

ma~luIhcIuri~ig
cuterpriscs, commercial b:~nlts,insurance companies, researcli and
c I ~ v c I ~ j ) ~ i 1:11~0r:1tori~'s,
~~*lit
clcct~~icity
boards, trading corporations, ~ncrcliantnavy and
1 lic civil scl-vice arc incrcasi ng bancling thcmsclves into collectivities of associations,
which arc paining the uspccls of traclc unio~iism.'The worcl 'mruiagcr' is not tlie only
possible label li)r this diverse group ol'people. Inclusl~~y
cliiploys 'nianagess', the civil
scrvicc :lnd mcrclinnt navy have 'ol'licers', as clo the banks and insurance companies;
~.csct~rcli
inslii~ltcsand lilhorntorics employ ' scientists anti tcclinologists', electsicity
bo:~rclsallel scclio~isofcolnmcrcial airlincs liave ' engineers'. Although called by
cliP'ercnt nawes, ancl cloing vririedjobs, it is quitc clear tli:~ttliesc nien ancl womcn
lin\lc :I gr.c:11 deal in comnion. 'l'liey belong to tlie liiglier ecliclons ol'orpanisatio~ial
liicr:l~.cliy.'l'licy are rliSSc~.cntfrom the white-collar groups (sucli as clerlcs, drartsmen,
technicians, salesmen ancl laboratory assistants whose lnslts are routine and repetitive,
altliough lion-manual) and tlic bluc-collar cmployees (who are paid Sor exertion of
pliysical cl'li)rt). l'licy may be simply be titled '//~anugel:s
'.

In Inclia, collcctiviticsl ~ ~ ' g a n i s n t iof

~ nmanagers
s
arc ~ ~ o ~ ~ Icnown
~ ~ l a as
r l'officers'
y
associations'. 'I'lic ofticcrs' associations as ~vellas trade unions exist to protect and
aclvance llic work ilitercsts of theis nicmbers. As sucli. the tcrms 'association' and
'tracle union' can be usetl synony~nously.

-llic fill lowing sections cover the cvolution of managesi:il

3

unions in Indiw, tlie reasons

I'or tllc l i ~ r ~ n a l i ooI'nianageriaI
n
unions, ruid the activities of these unions.

7.2

THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGERIAL

UNIONS IN INDIA

In I~lclia,no coherent chronological account is available ofthe evolution of managerial

~~nionism,
rn~lcllless its spread or clensity. Organisations of managers appear to have
been in existence for decades, with associations of merchant navy officers, airline
pilots and flight engineers dating back to tlie period around Independence. Civil
servants liave si~nilarlybeen organised for a long time. Mamkottam (1 989) believes
tliat the first impetus for managerial ~~nionisation
came from worlcers' ~ ~ n i o nwith
s , the
first having been formed among supervisors and pronioted officers, who Ilad heen
acc~~stomecl
to ~~riionisation.
But, with the phenomenal expansion in banking and
insurance sector, and tlie massive investment in tlie public sector enterprises in the
country d ~ ~ r i tlie
n g sixties, there was a spurt in the number of managerial ~111ions.
TIILIS,
perhaps there is allnost no p ~ ~ b lsector
i c entesprise today whose managers are
not organised. Tlie managerial union movement is reported to have grown and spread
during the seventies, especially in the coal, steel, petrole~~m,
engineering, cliemical,
textile, electronics, banking and insurance industries.

Managerial ~~nions,
like trade ~ ~ n i o in
n sgeneral, suffered a minor setback towards tlic
mid-seventies on acco~~nt
of national emergency ( 1 975-77). I-lowever, immeclia~ely
after lifting oftIielVationaI Emergency, managerial ~~nionism
gained its momentum.
In fact, d ~ ~ r i n
the
g Janata Government regime that followed the Emergency, several
e r Trade Unions Act, 1926,
officers' associations were registered as unions ~ ~ n dtlie
and some oftlie~nwere formally recog~iisedby tlie top managements.

In 1978, the associations ofoff;cers in the p ~ ~ b lsector

i c witnessed a rnajor shift in
their clia~*acter
and direction from a rather passive and lion-assertive stature to an
active and assertive style. Many existing associatio~ismerged during tliis period, thus
consolidating tlie movement. This also led to a change in tlie relations between these
associationsand the management, which became more corclial i n general, tliougl~
bitterness continued in several cases. Together with consolidation, many senior level
managers also began tojoin these associations.

In the p~~blic
sector, the ~iianagerialunion ~novemente~iterecla new phase i ~the
i
eighties. 111the year 1983, tlie National ConFederation of Officers' Associatio~is
(NCOA) was formed mainly to protect tlie interests of the ofticers in tlie Central
Public Sector Undertalcings (CPSUs).
Tlie year 1983 witnessed another significant deveIop~nentin the managerial
of India asked all the CPSUs that
association movement. 111tliat year, tlie Gover~ime~lt
were following the Central Dearness Allowance (CDA) patter11to switcli over to the
Inclustrial Dearness Allowance (IDA) pattern. The officers' association ol' one of tlie
69 CPSUs affected by tliis decision of the Gover~imentfilecl a case i n the S ~ ~ p r e ~ i i e
Courl against tlie Government. Tlie clecision ofthe Governme~itregarding change of
Dearness Allowa~icepattern from CDA to IDA and the filing of a suit against it in tlie
Supreme Court acted as a spur for the for~natio~i
of officers' association not only in all
affected CPSUs, but also in many others. Subsequently, in 1986, the officers'
associatio~isof the 69 affected CPSUsjoi~iedhands to form a separate confederntio~l
of associations of officers.
Tlie econo~i~ic
and industrial policies of the new Government that came to power in
June 1991 have created pressures and insecurities for all public sector employees
irlcluding officers. As such, the role of theNCOA lias become all the more important
as well as challenging. Officers 1 managers of giant corporations lilce coal , steel, oil
and power sector enterprises are not members of tlie NCOA, but they liave come
closer to the NCOA through their respective industrial federations of officers 1
managers 1executives after tlie introduction of tlie New Economic Policy in 199 1.

A m:!io~ clcvelopment tliat occurred in June I992 was the formati011of a new
o ~ a isa
n tion ca I led the Pr(?fi'~~ionul
Workers ' Trade Union Cent18e( P WTUC) to look
after tlie inlercsts oftlie managerial and supervisory staff, officers and scientific
wor1ce1.s.Among tlie major. o~.ganisationstliat liave joined together to form i:he
PWTllC ase : All Indian Bank Officers' Confederation, NCOA, All India Life
Insurance (Il-ficers' Association, National Confederation of General Insurance
Corporation Officers' Associations, and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Scientific Worliers' Association. These l'ive organisations together represent about 4.5
lalil~prol'essional workers. Thc most important ol?jcctiveof tlie PWTUC is security of
service 1'0s tlie managerial and supervisory staff.

Tlie tleveloplnents occurring in !:he managerial union lYont in tlie public sector
industsics hacl their. iliipact on tlie private sector. As a result, the private sector
managers both i n the MNCs and tlie family-controllecl enterprises, have formed their
associations. '1-lie inclustries in which managerial ~ ~ n i oformed
ns
in tlie MNCs include
pliarmaceuticals, engineering, chemicals, and consumer products (Glaxo, Guest Iceen
Willia~ns,(;cnel.nl Electsic). Among Llie incligenously owned companies which have
(,j.~iccrSassociations are: Grasim, 'Tnta Electric, Mafatlal Group, Icamanis, etc.
7'hc cstim;~lcsoI'lhc number of managerial associalions ant1 their membership even in
the mid-eighties were a~.ouncltwo li~~nclred
ancl3,00,000 respectively. Tlie more
intcnscly organised arc l>i~bIic
xctor wliilc-collar l~~idcrlalci~igs
like government
cleoc~~.tmanls.
banlis, insurance, clc. 'l'lic Slate Sanlc Ofiicers' Association was
cstinlotctl Lo be about 50,000- strong.

7.3

BOUNDARIES OF MANAGERIAL ASSOCIATIONS

It is ~vohlemaLicto cletermine tlie limits ofassociz~tionconstituency ofmanagesial

associatio~lsin Iliclia. Ramaswanly ( 1985) clescl.ibes tlie bou~ldariesof managerial
associatio~lswith tile caveat that liis clescription presenlsonly ageneral picture ofthe
bounclal.ies o.fa typical managerial association, ancl, as sucli, vast clif'fcrences do exist
in rlle m~uiagerialassociation bounclaries in clifferent organisations oreven in different
cnlerprises williin tlie sanle inclustry.

According to Ramaswamy, at the bcrse the managerial associations take up from

wliel-e white-coI lar clcrical and staff unions stop. At the (ipex, the managerial
ld
leave out the top layer ofmanagers who may notjoin, or
associations \ v o ~ ~ evicle~ltly
be acceptable to tlic associations. What lies in between these two points is
c~.s.socir~tion
territory.

pex (where top layer of managers are left out)

Base (where white-collar clerical and staff unions

stop)
Figure 7.1: Mi~nagerinlAssociatioil Territory.

If we turn O L I Snttelitio~lto the differences in the boundaries of the managerial

associations in clifferent organisa1:ions/ inclustries, we may notice white-collar workers
(at the base) teami~igup with managers in some banks. Si~iiilarly,at tlie apex tlie
reach o.fthe managerial association varies fsom one organisation to another. In some
co~nme~-cia1
banks, association me?nbersliipnormally stops at the Regional Manager,

Mnnngerial Unionism

wliicli is a middle management position. Officers ofthe level oi'the Assistant or

D e p ~ ~General
ty
Manager \vo~lldnormally Iceep out. In the Life Ins~~rance
Corporstion, tlie membership extencls a little fill-tlier, with tlie Zonal Managers also
.joining the associntioll. 'The steel plants and coal mines probably represent the
~~Iti~iiate,
with tlie association membership reaching right LIPto the level ol'Cjenera1
Ma~iagcr.

7.4

MANAGEMENTS' REACTIONS TO MANAGERIAL

ASSOCIATIONS
-

--

I)

Managements' rcsponse to officers' / managers' associations in p ~ ~ b lsector

ic
have varied over time, l'lie initial response i n almost all cases was oue of
eitliel. in clismissal or transfer ol'activists,
antagonism ancl liostility (res~~lting
wliicli conlinued till tlie mid-seventies). I-lowever, in tlie late-seventies i.e. in the
Post-Emergency period there was a clialige in tlie a t t i t ~ ~of
d ethe managements
towards managci.ial nssocintions. I n most cascs, tliese associations wcre accepted
as so~tiethingto be toleratecl. Tlius, tlie earlicl- hostility gave way to a new
relationsliip based on a mixture oS love and hate.

2)

As tlie Iiianngcliients started dealing with tlie managerial associations, they

discovered that the association ofoflicers / managers is not an evil force. As
such, many of them gave lie ~ L I C / Orccog~iitio~~
to tliese associations and n
worlcing relationship got establislicd between managements and managerial
associations. A few c~iliglitencdemployees sllecl their inhibitions and gave formal
recognition to tlieil.oSficers' / 11ianage1,s'associations fortlie purpose of liavi~ig
tlisc~~ssioris/
c o ~ i s ~ ~ l t a tini orespect
~i
of issues s ~ ~ casl isalaries ;lncl benefits.
Examples are: HAL, SAIL,, BHEL, HMT. IOC, IPCL, I-lindustan Cablcs, Indian
Airlines, ancl Air India.

3)

In the private sector, the attitucle ol'the top management towartls tlie managerial
associations was in general hostile till early nineties. Many private sector
organisations mercilessly sacked tlie ol'ficer activists. Altliough the ~iianagerial
associations do continue to exist in this sector, reportedly, they are not quite
co~iifo~-table
with ilieir top nlnnilgements.

4.5

WRY MANAGERIAL UNIONISM?

Some of tlie major causes for the formation of managerial unions in India are:

1) Narrowing Wage Differentials

There is a wiclc-spl-eaclfeeling among tlie managers that compared to unionisecl cadre
of worlcmen they are gettinga raw deal from their elnployers in terms of rem~~~ieration.
They complain about the narrowing differentials between the elnol~~ments
of-j~~nior
officers and the wages of the senior workmen. This feeling of relative cleprivationl
comparison Ilas contributed significantly to tlie elnergence of managerial unionism.
The managers hope that collectively tliey can exert enough pressure on the
management to give them a colllparable salary hilee whenever worlcers' wages are
raised.

2 ) Loss of Identity
Lilce worlters, managers too experience a loss of power, a facelessness among tlie
changes alicl reorgallisation of enterprises in the lnoder~iworld. Many managers,
especially, the jul~iorones have little access to information pertaining to the company.

3) Job Insecurity
While one ol'tlie liardesl things in Indian ind~~stry
is LO terminate !lie services of a
\vorker, it is not very clil'ficult to r.emovc Llie managers from tlieirjobs. Eve11in the
~ ~ l b lsector.
ic
1 l i c j ~ ~ n iand
o r midclle level malingers do not have tlie job security.
[Jliclcr tlie Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the \vo~-kmenc~ijoyjobsecurity; and they are
elltitlet1to: a) l.ny-ol~~'compensatio~i,
if laid-off; 11) retrenclimenl compensation, if
retrcncliccl : ancl c ) some sort ofstatutory cornpens;ltion iu case the establishment is
closccl clo\v~io~.
its o\v~lersliipis tra~isferrcd.The managerial employees are not entitled
to sucli secutaityand benclits.

I f a worl,nian is terminated l'rom service or suspended or retl-enclied, liis dispute

connectccl to [his issue will be treated as industrial clisputc. 011tlie other hand, iftlie
service 01.a ~nnnagerialemployee is tcrminatecl, lie cannot raise an industrial dispute.
The job security issue is, therefore, one oStJie major causes for the formation of
~iianagerial~ ~ n i o n s .

4) Pcl.ccivctl Neecl for Protection from Mi1it:lnt Trade Unionism

As the junior ancl the ~iiidcllelevel managers are resl~onsiblefor translating managerial
n The unionised worlinie~i
decisions into action, tliey are in tlic clirect line o f ~ ~ n i ofire.
and stall'could make it cliftjcult for the managers to talce work from them due to their
~ ~ n i o nsul1po1.t
s'
and tlie protection they e~i~joy
l'rom labour legislation. Because ofthis
the managcrs are unccrlain as to how to go about witli tlie ~~nionised
labour. If tlie
young manager clecicles to charge-sheet an oll'enclcr, his boss may drop the charge on
grouncls ol'cxl)ccliency (clue to tlic plessurcs from the ~ ~ n i o n sLaxity
).
on liis part,
might on the otlicr li:~ncl,cvolie tlic comment that lie is not sul'l?ciently t?rm. As such,
!lie mitlrlle ranlcs oFm:uiagers seem convinced that tliey cannot count on support i'rom
ahovc wil I1 rcgnrcl to the L I I I ~ O eve11
I ~ S wlie~itliey have acted in goocl Ihilli towards tlie
organisalion,

'rhc bureaucratic culture which cliaracterises tlie working environment of all public
enterprises is anotlicr factor contributing to tlie emergence of managerial ~~nionism.
In
these organisations, tlit.j~iniorancl tlie midclle level managers feel lost, as tliedccisioris
are taken unilaterally by tlie liiglier authorities or concerned Ministries. It is to make
tlicir presence lblt ancl to liavc some say in matters afi'ecting them that these managers
I oI'['iccrsarc organising ancl Ihrming their associations.

6) Abscncc of I'i~rticipativeForum
The government ancl tlie manngements who are so concernecl with the worl<ersY
participation in manageme~ithardly give a tliought to tlie managers' neecl to
parlicips~tein management. As such, Ihejunior and the ~nicldlemanagers feel that the
faceless ancl voice-less entity is not the unionised workers, but themselves. These
managers draw tlie lesson tliat they neecl an organisation I association to focus
attention 011 their prohleriis. They ~ ~the
s collective
e
negotiation I bargaining that takes
place between thcir assc>ciationsancl tlie top management RS a participative forum for
being associatccl wil 11 the mnnagemcnt as closely as possible.

F.

I Ilc promotion policies of organisations also Iiave had tlieirefl'ect on association

formation. T11e nationalisecl ba~ikshave to fill by promotion three-fourths oftlie
positions at the lowest point i11tile officer category. Many orgallisations promote
employees from tlie ranks to tlie ~~ianagerial
cadre as a matter of personnel policy even

Managerial Unionisrn

Tradc II~iio~~ism

though there is no explicit co~npulsion.Another colnmon practice is to attack the

problem of stagnation tllro~~gh
a change of designation while letting the job itself
unchanged.
These 'promotee officers' have often bee11in the forefront of association formation.
These e~nployeesfind it difficult to reconcile to the loss of power they have
experienced as union activists and members, and association formation natura'l ly
comes to them. However, the promotion polices in some organisations have a flipside-discrimination in promotion processes; promotions not based on merit etc.
Thus, the promotion or lack of it or discrimination in the promotion process has been
ic
a major source of dissatisfactio~lamong managers, pal-titularly. p ~ ~ b lsector
Inanagers. All this justifies the for~nationof managerial associations.

8) To be a Third Force between the Working Class and the Management

Being denied the protection of labour laws, and the privilege of a real manager, the
junior and middle level managers havegolle for the only option left to them, illat is,
the formation ofthe officers' associations. They would not like to be considered as
part and parcel of either of the working class or the management, but as a 'third force'
bctween these two gl-OLI~S.

Activity A
What is youropi~iio~l
about managerial unions, wlietlier these unions are requircd or
not req~~ired?
If yes, why. If not, why not, s~~bstantiate
your stand supportecl by
reasons.

7.6

THE ACTIVITIES OF MANAGERIAL UNIONS

The activities of managerial associations reflect the character and personality of

The day-toiday activities ofmanagerial activities may be
managerial ~~nionism.
categorised as: a) protection, preservation, and improvement of occupational interests;
b) welfare activities; c) organisatiorlal interests; and d) channel of con~~nunication.
a) PI-otection,Preservation and Illlprovemel~tof Occupational Interests
The main thrust of managerial associations is on protection, preservation and
improve~llentofthe occupational interests of their members, which include, alnong
other things, opportunities for promotions, pay revision, grievance redsessal,
improvemeiit ofworl<ingconditions, and introd~~ction
or enhancement of various
fringe benefits. While pursuing thc occupational interests, some associations resort to
agitatio~ialmethocls such as strilces, demonstrations, glieraos, displaying posters in
vile and ob.jectionable language, processioils in the streets etc.
b) Welfare Activities

The welfare activities of the managerial associations, in general, include:

establishment and manage~nentof cooperative societies, management ofofficers' cl~lbs
and canteens, organisation of cult~~ral,
recreational and sports activities, nlanagement

tl.~l~tS,
~ 0lecli011
1
of a certain amoullt as part of managerial associatioll
and financing the same for a Group Insurance Scheme of the Life
Ins~ll.anceCorporation. etc.
of

c) Orgi~nisationalInterests

Oneof the impo~tantactivities of managerial associations is to suppleme~ittlieefforts

~ f t ] lmanagement
e
that are aimed at professional develop~nentof managers, by way of
organisingseminars, and tallts 011various topics. Another important activity is to help
the inanagewent in improving the productivity of tlie organisation.
d) Clli~l~l~cl
of Communication

Managerial associations are proving to be an effective channel of communication in

their respective eslablisliments. By raising tlic concerns of officers before the
management and by presenting tlic views of tlie management to the officers
(members), a managerial association operates Iilte a bridge for two-way
communication.

Activity I3
Briefly cliscuss Ihc activities of managerial unions and how these ~ ~ n i oare
n s being
~ ~ s for
e d improving cmploymc~~t
relations in your organisation or any orpnisation you
are familiar ~iitli.

7.7 SUMMARY
In this unil, we have ol~tlinctlthe e v o l ~ ~ t io1'1iianagel.ial
o~i
unions in India. We have
attempted to givc n gcncrnl picture of the boundaries of a typicill manngcrial
association. Wc liavc briclly clescribed the manage~nents'reactions to tlie milnagerial
associalions. We have cxamincd tlic main causes for tlie formation ofmanagerial
~~nions.
We have given s b~~icl'account
oft lie activities of the managerial associatio~~s
in genera I.

7.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT QLTESTIONS

1)

Who are managers? Ou[:linethe evolution c~fmanagerialunions in India.

2)

Briefly discuss tlie 'fi~ctorsinfluencing the formation ol'manngerial unions.

3)

Give a brief account ofthe various ilctivities ofa managesial association with
which you are .familiar.

4)

"The general reaction of~i~anagements

towards managerial associations in India
is one of antagonism". Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer.

5)

Distinguish between the wo~.kers'trade unions and managerial trade unions.

Managerial Unionism

Trade Unionism

7.9

FURTHER READINGS

IGNOU. 1993. MS-24, Block-2, Unit-7. "White-collar and Managerial Trade

Unions", pp. 39-49(~arch'2004Reprint).
Mamkottam, Kuriakose. 1989. "Emergences of Managerial Unionism in India",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol; XIV, No. 43.
Ramaswamy, E.A. 1985. "Managerial Trade Unionism", Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. XX,No. 21, pp. M-75-M-88.
Ramaswamy, E.A. 1986. Worker Consciozaness and Trade Unions, New Dellii:
Oxford University Press.
Sen, Ratna. 2003. Indz~strialRelations in India: Shifring Paradigms, Dellii: Mamillan
India Ltd.
Shar~na,Baldev R. 1993. Managerial Unionis~lz:Issues ilz Perspective, New Delhi:
Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.

UNIT 8

EMPLOYERS' ORGANISATIONS

Objectives

After going thl-ough this unit, you should be familiar with:

tlie origin and growth ofemployers' organisations in India;

tlle structure of employers' organisations;

the ai11lsand ol?iectives ofemployers' organisations ;

tlie h~nctionsofemployers' organisations; and

the role of employers' organisations in employment relations.

Structure
Introduction
01-iginant1 Growth of Employers' Organisations
Stri~cti~re
of Employers' Organisations
Aims and Ob-iects of Employers' Organisations
Functions of Employers' Organisations
Membership, Organisation Stri~cturcand Functioning of Employers'
Organisations in India
Legal Status of Employers' Organisations
Observalions ol'the First Nntional Commission on Labour on Employers'
Organisations
Summary
ScI 1'-Assess~nent
Questions
FUI-tlierRead ings

8.1

INTRODUCTION

While \ Y ~ ~ I < C ~ S get togclhcr for-joint action through a union, an employer is in many
cascs an organisation in l~imsell'anclmects the i~nionon equal temls. At the same time,
employers Fincl themselves in furtherance of common ob.jectives of evolving attitudes
to labour or approaclles Lo national policies, as also for standardisation of wages and
other conclitions ol'cmployment in an industry within a local area (National
Commission on Labour: 1 969). Thus, Employers' Organisations (EOs) are for~nal
groups of cmployers set LIPto clefencl, represent or aclvise affiliated employers and to
strengthen their position in society at large with ~~espect
to labour matters besides
economic malters. While trade unions, which are composed ~Findividualpersons,
employers' organisations are composecl of enterprises. Nevertheless, the Trade Unions
Act, 1926 i~icludcsin its purview both associations orworkers and employers.

8.2

ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF EMPLOYERS'

ORGANISATIONS

The first employers' association in the for111of the Chamber of Commerce was
established in Marseilles in France in 1599. Such chambers arc voluntary