ASSIGNMENT ON INDUSTRIAL RELATION PRESENTED TO

INDUKAKA IPCOWALA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (I2IM) M.B.A PROGRAMME CONSTITUENT OF CHAROTAR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (CHARUSAT) SUBMITTED TO MRS. SUJATHA KRISHNAMURTHI SUBMITTED BY Namita Thaker (09 MBA 54)

Are trade unions dying? Answer: Today, in the organization, all the workers are became more effective and more self dependent, so most of the organizations are likely to be having least unionism, and they want to work with themselves not any one interrupt him/her. Then, there is least co-operation between the employees and employers.

Reports from various parts of the world testify that unions are losing membership and suffering credibility problems, shaking the very base of trade unions. The leaders of political parties and trade unions in India are equivocal about the need for a coordinated movement against globalization and the new forms of imperialism. Indeed, it is interesting to note that the leaders of the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) have decided to organize a union of unemployed youth, in a country where more than 90 per cent of the workers are unorganized. The unorganized sector, including agriculture, construction, forestry, self-employed domestic and other workers, constitutes 92.8 per cent of the work force. The trade union leaders have defended their decision stating that such an association had become necessary to pressure the government to generate employment. But their defense comes into question when thousands of workers lose their jobs or are forced to accept voluntary retirement schemes (VRS). A prominent CITU leader in Kerala has suggested that Multinational Trade Unions (MNTUs) oppose the evil effects of globalization on the labor front. Would Central trade unions be able to articulate diverse interests? Perhaps, no. A case in point was the proposed merger of Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the CITU about a decade ago. Recently, the apex body of Left trade unions called for a nationwide general strike to protest against the `retrograde' economic, industrial and anti-poor policies of the Government. The strike was total in Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura and Kerala,

and partially successful in 20 other States. This demonstrates the extent of disunity among Central trade unions in the country. Is membership to the country's trade unions declining? Statistics published by the Labour Bureau, Shimla, clearly show that membership to trade unions submitting returns are declining, and unsuccessful strikes by workers unions are on the increase. Data reveal that the rate of growth of workers' unions during 1992-93 was only 0.16 per cent, while the employer's unions grew by 3.16 per cent. Although data for a single year could not provide a factual position, available figures point to a trend. In 1992-93, the membership to workers' unions submitting returns declined substantially from 57.39 lakhs to 31.29 lakhs. The average membership also fell for the same period. There was a 26.6 per cent fall in the average membership per union. Notwithstanding ding the meager increase in workers, the membership of unions submitting returns seems to have dropped in the same period. Considering the annual rates of growth of employment in the organized public and private sectors in 1991-1996 for India, it can be observed that the private sector contributed predominantly to the increase in organized employment in the reforms period, e xcept in 1993. On the other hand, there has been a deceleration in the growth of public sector employment. In tune with the decline in the rate of employment in the public sector, the union membership growth also slowed down, revealing that the workers' unions could not organize and mobilize members in the private sector in proportion to the growth of employment in that sector. The analysis of the percentage distribution of disputes by the causes in 1994-95 reveals that the disputes on wages and allowances, lay-offs, non-implementation of or in connection with labor enactments, labour awards and labour agreements, charter of d emends, work load, betterment of amenities, standing orders trade/service conditions/safety measures has increased. As these disputes directly related to the strength and bargaining power of the workers' unions, the growth rates of disputes over the above e causes reveal the unions' weakness.

On the other hand, the percentage of disputes over indiscipline, violence, bonus, inter/intra-union rivalry and gears either remained stagnant or decreased. This is presumably due to the non-militant attitude of the unions or lack of support from the m embers. The strength and bargaining power of any union depends on its success in resolving disputes without large losses in wages. The analysis of percentage distribution of disputes by results for 1994-95 clearly shows that there was only a 1.8 per cent increase e in the success results, while the unsuccessful results increased by more than 5 per cent. The unsuccessful finale of the disputes may be on account the slenderness of the unions. The methods by which industrial disputes are settled are directly linked to union strength. The analysis of different methods of settlement of disputes in 1984-95, indicates that the settlement of disputes by voluntary resumption has increased over the years. The settlement of the dispute through the voluntary resumption of work is the result of the unions' weak bargaining power. This means that more workers' unions are succumbing to the managements' offers. While analyzing various aspects of the trade union movement in the country, it is obvious that workers' unions are facing a severe crisis. The present situation cannot be attributed to a single factor. The so-called leaders have neither tried to unearth the source of the crisis nor identified the theoretical fallacies leading to the present situation. Meanwhile, both party and trade union leaders continue to grope in the dark.

1) In what way the trade unions can make itself relevant under the conditions 1) 2) Cross cultural economies Increase in Women employees number

Cross cultural economics Higher Wages Across most industries, union members earn higher wages than their nonunionized counterparts. For instance, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that mean weekly for a full-time union member in the United States in 2007 was $863, compared to $663 for regular workers. The difference is sharpest among workers in the service industry. At $666 a week, unionized employees make more than one and a half time what other service workers make. By bringing in an average of $134-$219 more than their non-unionized counterparts, unionized state and local goverment employees also win out. Better Benefits Union members have more benefits, with better terms, than their non-unionized counterparts. For instance, unionized workers are much more likely to receive health insurance, and pay lower premiums. On average, union members have more paid sick and vacation leave. They are also more likely to get retirement benefits, long-term care insurance, and adoption assistance from their employer. Better Working Conditions The labor union movement was created in no small part to address concerns over workplace safety. Unions continue to bargain for and demand safer conditions. But, beyond that, labor unions also have been successful in negotiating for fringe benefits that

make working life more enjoyable benefits such as more breaks, employee break rooms, training, and employee discounts. Increased Job Security Members of labor unions generally have more job security than non-unionized workers. Most union contracts provide that a member can only be fired or laid off for just cause. Additionally, union grievance procedures give workers the opportunity to appeal if their employer does fire them. Non-unionized workers can be fired in many states for any reason at all provided that reason is not illegal discrimination. Protected Strikes A strike can be a valuable tool for workers, but striking without union authorization (wildcat striking) is dangerous because it is not protected under the National Labor Relations Act. Wildcat strikers can be fired by the employer at will in most states. Strikers participating in a union-authorized strike also often get strike pay to help offset the hardship of not earning a paycheck during the strike. Non-union strikers receive no such pay, and often are ineligible to receive state unemployment benefits. This is true even of non-union workers that honor the labor unions picket line and refuse to report to work. A Voice in How Work is Done Collective bargaining allows workers to have a voice in the workplace. Individual employees can be ignored because that one persons labor can be easily replaced, but when a substantial group of employees demand the same thing, employers have to listen because they cannot afford to replace them all. The voice workers gain through collective bargaining allows them to take part in decisions that will affect their work environment from when breaks may be taken to the procedures for performing a particular task. Grievance Procedures

Regular employees often have no options if they feel they have been treated badly for anything other than illegal discrimination. Even if the employers action is based on one of those prohibited grounds, the employee still usually faces a long process with lots of red tape to cut through if they file a claim of discrimination with the U.S.EEOC or a state agency. Union grievance procedures give workers a tool that can be used to force employers to behave fairly with less red tape. Grievance procedures also offer benefits to employers in that they are usually faster than formal governmental processes. In short, there are many important reasons why labor unions can be beneficial to employees. These should be weighed carefully when deciding to start or join a union. 2) Is it possible to manage without trade unions? No, it is not possible to manage without trade unions in the organizations. Trade unions are organizations. They have their structure, policies, rules, activities, communication system, and leadership. They interact with the environment and strive to respond to its pressures / challenges not for mere survival, but to remain effective organizationally. Thus, managing trade unions is a challenging task. Unlike the business organizations, trade unions as organizations cannot purchase the compliance of the members through monetary rewards alone. They have to ensure that both the economic and noneconomic interests of the members are satisfied on a continuous basis. Keeping all this in view, in this unit we shall try to understand unions as organizations, the internal affairs of the unions, leadership aspect of unions, and union activities. The primary goal of a union is to promote and protect the interests of its members. As such, the unions strive to better the terms and conditions of employment and generally to advance the economic and social interests of the members so as to achieve for them a rising standard of living. Another goal of the unions is to influence policy decisions in the interest of workers. They intend to formulate a stand on social and economic objectives of the community/ country as a whole, and participate in activities to make their viewpoints heard in the policy-making bodies so that the choices eventually made and the priorities adopted sub serve the best interests of the workers.

In order to achieve these goals, a union may choose a militant approach or it may follow the spirit of the Friendly or Uplift Unions (The unions which are law abiding and employ the collective bargaining for securing the benefits for the workers). To achieve above goals without trade unions it is not possible.