TRADE UNIONISM

Rupashree Baral
 Trade Unions
 Formed to protect and promote the interests of their
members
 Primary function is to protect the interests of workers
against discrimination and unfair labor practices
Objectives:
 Representation (Workers’ Interests)
 Negotiation (Collective Bargaining)
 Voice in decisions (Lay off, Retrenchment) affecting
workers
 Member Service (Education, Training, Welfare,
Discounts, Loans)
Functions:
i) Militant functions,
(ii) Fraternal functions
Importance of Trade
Unions
 For industrial peace
 Decisions taken through the process of
collective bargaining and negotiations between
employer and unions are more influential
 Effective communication between the workers
and the management
 Economic development
 Recruitment & selection
 Discipline among workforce
 Settlement of ID in rational manner
Purpose of Trade Unions
 Employment Protection and Job
Creation.
 Economic Protection.
 Social Status - Identity.
 Political Role - Democratic Institution
 Societal Obligation - Transformation.
 Competitiveness / Sustainable
Development.
Why do people join Union?
Contd.
 Greater Bargaining Power
 Minimize Discrimination
 Sense of Security
 Sense of Participation
 Sense of Belongingness
 Platform for self expression
 Betterment of relationships
Multiple Unions: Causes
 Membership related Issues
 Discontent
 Leadership Related Issues
 Avenues, intra union fights, leadership
issues
 Political Issues
 Regional, Organizational Limitations
 Legal
Multiple Union: Solution
 Suggested: One Industry - One Union
 You may have any number of registered
unions
 Recognition is the key
Recognition of Trade
Union
 Registration does not mean recognition
 Recognition of Trade Union is generally a matter of
agreement between employer and trade union
 Varies from organization to organization
 Act is silent about compulsory union (reason?)
 In States like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, there are
specific legal provisions for recognition of an union
 The Act confers the right to negotiate with employers in
respect of matters connected with the employment or non-
employment, terms of employment and the conditions of
work of all or any of its members
Recognition of Trade
Unions
Contd.
 A union must be recognised before it may
effectively represent any employees
 Once a union is recognised it serves as
the bargaining agent for the workers in a
particular bargaining unit
 Need of Recognition
 Recognition of trade union is the
backbone of collective bargaining
 No enforced central legislation on this
subject
Recognition of Trade
Unions
Contd.
 Management in several states have refused to
recognise a trade union mainly on five grounds:
 most of the office bearers of the union were
outsiders
 sometimes, those disapproved by management,
particularly politicians and ex-employees
 the union consisted of only small number of
employees
 there were many rival unions in existence; and
 the trade union was not registered under the Trade
Unions Act, 1926
Major Trade Union
Organizations
 AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress)
 Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
 Hind Mazdoor Sabha
 All India Council of Central Trade Unions
 All India United Trade Union Centre
 United Trade Union Centre
 All India federations of banks, insurance,
railways, defence, telecom, airline and airports.
 Centre of Indian Trade Unions -president M.K.
Pandhe
Eight Core Rights (ILO)
 29- Forced on Compulsory Labour.
 87 Freedom of Association.
 98 Right for Collective Bargaining.
 100 Equal Remuneration.
 105 Abolition of Forced Labour.
 111 Discrimination in Employment.
 138 Minimum Age for Employment.
 182 Worst forms of Child Labour
Convention.
Emergence and
Development of TU
 First cotton mill in India was established in 1851 in Bombay
and the first jute mill in 1855 in Bengal
 First Factory Commission was appointed in Bombay in the
year 1875
 First Factories Act was passed in 1881
 Was dissapaointing
 Second Factory Commission was appointed in 1884
 Mr. Lokhandey organised a conference of workers in Bombay and
drew up a memorandum signed by some 5,300 to present to the
Commission
 This was the first organized effort by workers in India
 However, no roll or membership, no funds and no rules.
Emergence and
Development of TU
Contd.
 The first phase (1850 to1900)
 Inception of trade unions took place
 General economic condition was poor,
exploitation of labour
 In order to regulate the working hours and other
service conditions of the Indian textile laborers,
the Indian Factories Act was enacted in 1881
 Employment of child labor was prohibited

 Absence of any regulation for women labour

 No union in real terms

 Emergence of Bombay Mill-Hands Association
 President Mr. N.M. Lokhandey

 The first labour association in India

Emergence and
Development of TU
Contd.
 Printers’ Union, Calcutta - 1905
 Kamgar Hitwardhak Sabha - 1910
 Social Service League – 1910
 The amalgamated societyof railway
servants of India and Burma
 Were essentially labour welfare
organisations and may hardly be
regarded as modern trade unions
 Marjory called as Social welfare period
 Passing of the Indian Trade Unions Act in 1926 is
an important landmark in the history of the trade
union movement in the country
 Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926, greatly enhanced
the status of trade unions in the worker’s
imagination and in the public minds
 Legal status to the registered trade unions
 Measure of immunity from civil suits and criminal
prosecutions
 Because of this Act, trade unions have become
legalised and recognised institutions from illegal
associations
Present Central Trade Union
Organizations
 All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
 Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)
 Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
 Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat (HMKP)
 Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS)
 Indian Federation of Free Trade Unions (IFFTU)
 Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)
 National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU)
 National Labor Organization (NLO)
 Trade Unions Co-ordination Centre (TUCC)
 United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)
 United Trade Union Congress - Lenin Sarani (UTUC -
LS)
Some Figures of Trade
Unions
Problems for Trade Union
Growth
 Off-Centering Labour
 Segmentation of Workforce
 Core / Periphery
 Employment Instability
 Investment Attraction
 Individualisation of Labour Relations
 Labour Cost Cutting
 Leadership Credibility/ Inside vs. Outside leadership
 Failure of Institutions
 Emergence of Non-union firms/ E-union/ Cyber-union