42 Trade Unions - Masters

8/7/2019 42 Trade Unions - Masters

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Lesson: 42

Title:Let us unionise! : Trade Unions

Topics to be covered:

Introduction

Definitions

Features

Objectives

Functions

Employers point of view: Criticism of trade unions

Motivation to join unions

Structure

Problems and weaknesses

Suggestions for healthy growth of unionism Article: Indian Trade Unions: Today and Beyond By: Ernesto Noronha

Hello Students!

Today we will be discussing Trade unions and their role. We will also be discussing theproblems and weaknesses and of course, how to overcome those weaknesses.

Let us begin discussing the nature and functions of trade unions.

What is your idea of a Union?

We have discussed this term before, in the introductory lessons of Industrial Relations!

It is indeed the collection of workers that is formed for demanding its rights and overall

welfare.

We will be discussing the definition. Let us begin by discussing the nature of Tradeunions.

Nature and functions of Trade Unions

Trade union movement is an offshoot of industrialisation. The growth of modernindustrial organisations involving use of modern technology and employment of workershas been followed by growth of trade unions throughout the world.

The workers feel threatened and I am sure you will agree that whenever there is some

fear or threat, one comes closer. That applies to the Unions as well. The workers have the

fear of being obsolete because of the increased use of technology. They form themselvesinto groups and feel that they can then not only overcome that fear but also fight better

for their welfare.


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This phenomenon has not only been observed in advanced countries of the world, butalso in the developing economies like India.

The emergence of trade unionism is spontaneous and inherent in the growth of

capitalism. The origin of trade unionism lies in the industrial revolution, which disruptedthe older way of life and created a new society forged by the shop, the factory, the mine

and the industry.

Please note that wherever a union exists, top management cannot take unilateral

decisions. Management has to consult the union representatives while taking various

decisions affecting labour such as wages, lay-off, transfer, discharge, etc. A trade unionputs restriction on the discretion of employers for taking decisions involving welfare of

employees. In certain organisations, unions have become so strong that they affect every

aspect of management.

Now let us discuss the definition.

Definition of Trade Union

Section 2(h) of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 has defined a trade union as

Any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose

of regulating the relations between workmen and employers, or between workmen and

workmen, or between employers and employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions onthe conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more trade

unions.

This definition is very exhaustive as it includes associations of both the workers and

employers and the federations of their associations. I hope you are not confused!

Let me make this definition simpler for you.

In this definition the relationships that have been talked about are both temporary andpermanent. Please note that it applies to temporary workers as well.

Then this definition talks about three relationships. They are relationship between the:

Workmen and workmen

Workmen and employersEmployers and employers.

Yes please dont be surprised; it includes the relationship between the employers and the

employers as well!

Let us look at another definition by Dale Yoder.


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Dale Yoder has defined trade union as a continuing long term association of employeesformed and maintained for the specific purpose of advancing and protecting the interests

of members in their working relationships.

He quotes: A trade union is a continuous association of workers which is formed withthe purpose of protecting the interests of workers.

Now that is simple and sweet, sweet in the sense it is easy to understand.

Let us see another one!

According to Flippo A labour union or trade union is an organisation of workers formed

to promote, protect, and improve, through collective action, the social, economic, and

political interests of its members.

I hope you have understood that..

If you havent, analysing this definition we can draw the features of trade Unions:

Features of trade unions:

I. It is an organisation formed by employees or workers.

II. It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a permanent body and not a casual ortemporary one.

III. It is formed to protect and promote all kinds of interests economic, political and

social-of its members. The dominant interest with which a union is concerned is,

however, economic.

IV. It includes federations of trade unions also.

V. It achieves its objectives through collective action and group effort.

Having understood the features let us come on to the next topic for today and that is

objectives of Trade Unions that is why do workers organise themselves into unions?

Objectives of Trade Union

Workers organise themselves in the form of a union to achieve the following goals:

a) To improve the economic lot of employees by securing for them better wages.

b) To secure better working conditions for the workers.c) To secure bonus for the employees from the profit of the concern,


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d) To resist schemes of the management which reduce employment, e.g.,

rationalisation and automation.e) To secure welfare of employees through group schemes which give benefit to

every employee.

f) To protect the interests of employees by taking active participation in the

management.g) To secure social welfare of the employees.

h) To secure organisational stability, growth, and leadership.

Now let me ask you that what do you unionise for. What is it that you form group or a

team to ask for things from your parents? I am sure you must be conniving with your

brothers and sisters to blackmail your parents!!

Come on, you can share it with me, I will not tell them anyway!!

Please understand that things could get nasty at times with the unions.

Now what do I mean by that!

Let us study the functions of the Trade unions and you will understand that better.

Functions of Trade Unions

Broadly speaking, trade unions perform two types of functions, viz.,

(i) Militant functions(ii) Fraternal functions,

Militant Functions. One set of activities performed by trade unions leads to the

betterment of the position of their members in relation to their employment. The aim of

such activities is to ensure adequate wages, secure better conditions of work andemployment, get better treatment from employers, etc.

When the unions fail to accomplish these aims by the method of collective bargaining

and negotiations, they adopt an approach and put up a fight with the management in theform of so-slow, strike, boycott, gherao, etc. Hence, these functions of the trade unions

are known as militant or fighting functions.

The second one is the fraternal function. Can you guess what could it mean? Or rather

where has it been derived from?

You guessed it right!

Maternal andfraternal that is fatherly role.

Fraternal Functions. Another set of activities performed by trade unions aims at

rendering help to its members in times of need, and improving their efficiency. Trade


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unions try to foster a spirit of cooperation and promote friendly relations and diffuse

education and culture among their members.

They also arrange for legal assistance to its members, if necessary. Besides, these, they

undertake many welfare measures for their members, e.g., school for the education of

children, library, reading-rooms, in-door and out-door games, and other recreationalfacilities.

Some trade unions even undertake publication of some magazine or journal. Theseactivities, which may be called fraternal functions, depend on the availability of funds,

which the unions raise by subscription from members and donations from outsiders, and

also on their competent and enlightened leadership.

Now that is like good fathers!

Another broad classification of the functions of unions may be as follows:

(a) Intra-mural activities

(b) Extra-mural activities(c) Political activities.

Intra-mural activities. These consist of those functions of the unions that lead to the

betterment of employment conditions such as ensuring adequate wages and salaries,

etc. for which the methods adopted may be collective bargaining, negotiations, strikes,

etc.

Extra-mural activities. These activities help the employees to maintain and improve

their efficiency or productivity, e.g., measures intended to foster a spirit of cooperation,

promote friendly relations, and diffuse education among members and various other types

of welfare measures.

Political activities. Modern trade unions also take up political activities to achieve their

objectives. Such activities may be related to the formation of a political party or those

reflecting an attempt to seek influence on public policy relating to matters connected withthe interests of working class.

Let us now see things from another perspective that is the perspective of the employer.

The management may disregard the Union because of various reasons. These reasons

could be as follows:

Criticism of Trade Unions by the Employers

The employers have subjected trade unions to severe criticism. Some of the charges areas under:


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I. Lack of education makes the workers narrow-minded, and prevents them from

taking long-term views. Thus, anything, which does not result in an immediatereward, becomes unattractive to them. This attitude is responsible for many

strikes and lock-outs in industrial concerns.

I am sure you will agree with that one.

II. Trade unions may not welcome rationalisation and improved methods of

production for the fear that some of the workers will be put out of work.Therefore, they resort to go slow policy that retards industrial progress.

III. When labour unions strike because of illogical grounds, incalculable losses occurto producers, community and the nation. These are harmful to the workers also.

They suffer because of the loss of wages.

IV. They create artificial scarcity of labour by demanding that only union personnel

should be employed.

Now that is not a good practice!!

V. By undue insistence on the payment of standard rates of wages, they have only

leveled down the earnings of the efficient workers.

Coming on to the next topic that is what motivated the workers to join the Unions.

Motivation to join unions

Why do Workers Join Unions? Since human behaviour is goal directed, the

employees will join a union if some of their wants can be fulfilled by membership

in a union. The important forces that make the employees join a union are asfollows:

I. Greater Bargaining Power. The individual employee possesses very little

bargaining power as compared to that of his employer. If he is not satisfiedwith the wage and other conditions of employment, he can leave the job.

But I am sure that you will agree, it is not practicable to continually resignfrom one job after another when he is dissatisfied. This imposes a great

financial and emotional burden upon the worker. The better course for him is

to join a union that can take concerted action against the employer. The threator actuality of a strike by a union is a powerful tool that often causes the

employer to accept the demands of the workers for better conditions of

employment. Union is strength after all!

II. Make their Voices Heard. The desire for self-expression is a fundamental

human drive for most people. Dont you agree with that? All of us wish to


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share our feelings, ideas and opinions with others. Similarly the workers

also want the management to listen to them.

A trade union provides such a forum where the feelings, ideas and opinions of

the workers could be discussed. It can also transmit the feelings, ideas,

opinions and complaints of the workers to the management. The collectivevoice of the workers is heard by the management and give due consideration

while taking policy decisions by the management.

III. Minimise Discrimination. The decisions regarding pay, work, transfer,

promotion, etc. are highly subjective in nature. I may rate you very

differently as compared to your marketing teacher! Similarly the personalrelationships existing between the supervisor and each of his subordinates

may influence the management. Thus, there are chances of favouritisms and

discriminations.

A trade union can compel the management to formulate personnel policiesthat press for equality of treatment to the workers. All the labour decisions of

the management are under close scrutiny of the labour union. This has theeffect of minimising favouritism and discrimination.

IV. Sense of Security. The employees may join the unions because of theirbelief that it is an effective way to secure adequate protection from various

types of hazards and income insecurity such as accident, injury, illness,

unemployment, etc. The trade union secure retirement benefits of theworkers and compel the management to invest in welfare services for the

benefit of the workers.

V. Sense of Participation. The employees can participate in management of

matters affecting their interests only if they join trade unions. They caninfluence the decisions that are taken as a result of collective bargaining

between the union and the management.

I hope you have not forgotten Collective bargaining!

VI. Sense of Belongingness. Many employees join a union because their co-

workers are the members of the union. At times, an employee joins a unionunder group pressure; if he does not, he often has a very difficult time at

work. On the other hand, those who are members of a union feel that they

gain respect in the eyes of their fellow workers. They can also discuss theirproblem with the trade union leaders.

And now the next topic for the day!


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Structure of Trade Unions:

The structure of unions refers to the basis on which unions are organised (i.e., whether

they are organised on craft or industrial or general union basis) and to the pattern

whereby the plant unions are linked to regional level or national level federations or

unions.

Let us examine these two aspects one by one:

Unions in India are largely organised by industry rather than craft. Although industrial

unionism has been the general trend, craft unions have also emerged here and there;

primarily, they exist among non-manual workers like administrative staff, professionals,technicians, etc. Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association is the sole example of craft

union of manual workers.

Another aspect of the structure of unions in India relates to their pattern of relationship

between national level, regional level, local level and plant level unions.

Let us see how they are related in India.

I. Plant level Unions: The first level in the structure from below is the plant level

union. This comprises the unions in one organisation or factory. Please note thatonly seven members are required to form a union. This has lead to multiple

unions in one factory. (We will discuss the details of this aspect in the problems

faced by unions in India).

II. Local Level federations. This is the second level in the structure from below.The local trade union federation holds together the plant level unions at the local

level in a particular craft and industry. These local level federations might be

affiliated to either some regional level or national level federation or these may beindependent.

III. Regional level federations. These are the organisations of all the constituent

unions in a particular state or region.

The importance of such federations cannot be exaggerated. In a country like India,

conditions vary form region to region. The style of living, languages, customs,traditions, conditions, etc. are different. Therefore, it is better that workers are

organised at regional or state level.

These regional federations may have members of two kinds:

(1) The plant level unions affiliating themselves to these directly and

(2) The local federations.


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In the second case, plant level unions become the members of regional federation

indirectly through the local federations.

It may be noted that the regional federations may be independent or they may get

affiliated to some national federation.

IV. National federations. These are national level bodies to which plant level

unions, local unions or regional level unions may get affiliated. These are theapex bodies at the top of the structure. They act as coordinating bodies. These

national federations may have their own regional or state level coordinating

bodies to which the plant level unions may get affiliated.

Let us summarise the levels in a diagrammatic form.

National Level Federations

Regional Level Federations

Local Level Federations

Plant Level Federations

Let us learn something about the central level organisations.

Four important central organisations of workers in India are

1. The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). The CongressParty and the top congress leaders formed the INTUC like Nehru and Patel

were associated with it. Every union affiliated to INTUC has to submit its

dispute to arbitration after exhausting other means of settlement of

disputes.


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2. The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). This union serves as the

labour forum of Communist Party of India at present. It is considered asthe second largest union in India.

3. The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS). It was formed in Calcutta by thesocialists who neither approved INTUC nor AITUC. The HMS was

organised with a view to keeping its members free from any political or

other outside interference.

4. The United Trade Union Congress (UTUC). Those persons who were

dissident socialist formed it. It functions mainly in Kerala and WestBengal.

5. Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU). The Marxists separated fromthe AITUC in May 1970 and formed the CITU.

In addition to the above, there are four other central trade union organisations. They are:

Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)

National Labour Organisation (NLO)

National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU)

Trade Union Congress Committee (TUCC).

Please dont get confused with the names.

Have you ever wondered that what could be the problems faced by the Unions!

If not, let us examine them one by one.

Problems and weaknesses of trade unions

The problems and weaknesses of trade unionism in India are as follows:

I. Uneven Growth. The trade unionism in India is characterised by uneven growth,

both industry-wise and area-wise. Trade unions are popular in big industries andthe degree of unionisation varies widely from industry to industry. Besides, trade

union activities are concentrated in a few states and in bigger industrial centers

mainly due to concentration of industries in those places.

II. Limited Membership. The number of trade unions in India has increased

considerably. But this has been followed by the declining membership per union.

This is due to the reason that any seven workers any form a union under the Trade

Unions Act, 1926 and get it registered. Secondly, the rivalry among the leaders of


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trade unions has resulted in multiplicity of unions, thereby reducing the average size

of membership per union.

III. Multiplicity of Unions. There exist several trade unions in the same

establishment. The multiplicity of unions is the result of outside leadership andlabour laws. The law permits and gives sanctity to small unions. Any seven

persons can form a union under the Trade Unions Act, 1926. This Act confers

rights on such a union. It is allowed under the Act to raise disputes, file suits, goto conciliation and even bargain with employers. Therefore, small sections of

workers are encouraged to form separate Unions. There is no restriction on the

number of unions to be registered in one establishment.

You will agree that the existence of multiple unions in an establishment leads to

inter-union rivalry. Different unions attempt to play down each other in their bidto gain better hold on the workers.

Please understand that this has serious consequences. Workers lose interest in

unionism. Not only that, the employers also get an opportunity to play unionsagainst each other. They are able to take advantage of infighting among unions

and may refuse to bargain on the plea that there is no strong representative union.

They can argue saying that they dont know that who should they bargain with.Thus, multiple unions do more harm than good to the cause of trade unionism.

IV. Outside Leadership. Trade unions in India are led largely by people whothemselves are not workers. These outsiders are politicians, intellectuals and

professionals having no experience of work in industry. Outsiders continue todominate the trade unions to advance their personal interests.

The existence of outside leadership has created the following problems:

Since outsiders have links with political parties, they give greaterimportance to the interest of their political parties. At times, they don not

mind sacrificing the interest of their followers for the achievement of

political ends.

Their approach towards labour problems is coloured by politicalconsiderations. This hampers the growth of healthy employer-employee

relations. When there is an industrial dispute, the leaders try to solve itthrough political pressures and interventions. This naturally obstructs thegrowth of understanding and accommodation between workers and

employers.

Outsides leaders are responsible for the creation of multiple unions, incase they are not satisfied with other union leaders, they would leave that

union with a group of dissident workers and form another rival union in


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the same plant. Such an approach kills the solidity and solidarity of trade

union movement.

V. Financial Problems. The financial position of the trade unions is weak because

their average yearly income is very low and inadequate. The subscription rates arevery low. Under conditions of multiplicity of unions, a union interested in

increasing its membership figures keeps the subscription rate unduly low. As a

result, the funds with the unions are inadequate and they cannot undertake welfareprogrammes for their members. Another reason for the weak financial position of

union is that large amounts of subscription dues remain unpaid by the workers.

Besides this, unions do not have proper staff and organisation to collectsubscriptions.

And last but not the least, the attitude of the workers also plays an important role inthis regard.

VI. Indifferent Attitude of Workers. In India, a large number of workers have not

joined any union. Moreover, all the members of the trade unions do not showinterest in their affairs. The attendance at the general meetings of the unions is

very low. Under such circumstance, trade unionism cannot be expected to make

much progress.

The problems are so many.

Where are the solutions?

They are very much here in the form of some suggestions for strengthening the

trade Unionism in India.

What are you thinking?

Are you imagining yourself as an employer and contemplating that where is the

need for strengthening the trade unions?

Please remember that the Unions are not always a threat to the management. They

can be a good source for knowing the feelings of the workers or in other words theycan be the source of feedback. The management can pass on the information to the

workers through the Trade unions. The chosen representatives, will be much more

effective in sharing the information with the workers. I am sure you will agree thatthe members of the workers will pay more attention and be willing to listen to the

union members more than the management representatives.

So now coming on to the suggestions.


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They do not have any interest

Their interests could only satisfy political interests.

IV. Recognition of Trade Unions. Till recently, the employers refused recognition to

the trade unions either on the basis that unions consisted of only a minority of

employees or two or more unions existed.

You should be aware that the Trade Unions Act is completely silent on the questionof recognising a trade union for the purpose of collective bargaining. Such a

provision exists, however, in the Annexure A of the Code of Discipline, which is a

voluntary measure.

This Annexure lays down the following criteria for recognising a trade union:

1. Where there are more than one union, a union claiming recognition should have

been functioning for at least one year after registration. Where there is only one

union, this condition would not apply.

2. The membership of the union should cover at least fifteen per cent of the workers

in the establishment concerned. Membership would be counted only of those whohave paid their subscription for at least 3 months during the period of 6 months

immediately preceding the month of reckoning.

3. A union may claim to be recognised as a representative union for workers in all

establishments in an industry in a local area if it has a membership of at least

25% of the workers of that industry in that area.

4. When a union has been recognised, there should be no change in its position for aperiod of 2 years.

5. Where there are several unions in an industry or establishment, the one with the

largest membership should be recognised.

6. A representative union for an industry in an area should have the right to

represent the workers in all the establishments in the industry, but if a union of

workers in a particular establishment has membership of 50% or more of theworkers of that establishment, it should have the right to deal with matters of

purely local interest such as, for instance, the handling of grievances pertaining to

its own members. All other workers, who are not members of that union mighteither operate through the representative union for the industry or seek redressdirectly.

7. Only unions that observe the Code of Discipline are entitled to recognition

Activity:


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Please note that registration and recognition of trade unions are not the

same terms. I want you to research on the difference and discuss amongst

yourselves.

And last but not the least, another way of strengthening the trade unions is the

improvement in their financial conditions. The subscription fees should be increased.The members should pay their dues in time so that the unions have enough money to take

care of the overall benefits and welfare of the workers.


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Article from Indian Journal for Industrial Relations (Volume39, July 2003)

INDIAN TRADE UNIONS: TODAY AND BEYOND TOMORROW

Ernesto Noronha

CHANGING WORLD ECONOMY AND LABOUR

The last decade brought sweeping changes to the way in which the world

economy functioned. This qualitative changes in the world economic system can beattributed to factors such as the advent of new global markets in services, increase of

mergers and takeovers, weakening of anti-monopoly laws and the rise of global consumer

markets. The full globalising potential has been realised with the networking of IT

systems. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have assisted in theintegration of some elements of the Third World into the production networks of the

multinationals and have broad earned the effective reach of the market (Schiller, 2000).Economies, previously cushioned from external shocks, are now subject to fluctuations ofglobal markets (Hyman, 1999). Norms such as privatization, liberalization and

deregulation are no more an issue of debate. The less developed countries (LDCs) in

order to avoid economic and political marginalisation have opened up their economies. Infact, there is a scramble to provide free trade zones, which not only guarantees exemption

of taxes and duties but also grants institutional and legislative conditions for profitable

exploitation of the labour force. Multinationals can now shop around for the tax and

Labour regime, which suits them best. The multinational corporation and the WorldTrade Organisation seek to outlaw national laws, which restrict free trade. In short, the

economic environment has become for harsher and global competition has put new

pressures on national industrial relations regimes (Hyman, 1999).

Evans (1997) states that the response of the labour movement to the establishmentof the WTO has been a muted one. The erosion of trade union power has run alongside

the build up of power on the side of transnational corporations. The pressure on

companies to maintain market share and the weakening of regulatory regimes haveintensified global competition, leading to pressure on Labour standards and lower wages

across the world (Smith, 1999). Today the traditional core constituency of trade union

membership has dwindled. A secure and well-paid working class has ceased to be thenorm, giving way to a flexible production arrangement. The informal economy is seen as

a refuge against depredation of the free market (McMichael, 2000). Plant closings,

relocations abroad, removal of subside and tariffs are justified by the threat of globalcompetition (Portes, 2000). Plant closings, relocations abroad, removal of subsidies andtariffs are justified by the threat of global competition (Portes, 2000). A typical

employment situations have become increasingly typical. Part-time work, short-term and

casual employment, agency work, self-employment and unemployment have all becomemore common. These changes in the constituencies which unions seek to recruit and

represent have posed a new challenges to trade unions. Traditionally a potential trade

union member was a full-time employee. As a result the trade union agenda was


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predominantly concerned with terms and conditions of employment like achieving the

payment of a family wage, defining and reducing the standard working week, andconstraining the employers ability to hire and fire at will (Hyman, 1999).

Furthermore, employees traditional identities are being slowly displaced and the

transformatory ideals have lost their grip; workers adopt a rational, instrumental orexperimental attitude towards the unions (or parties). To win their support, unions now

have to pass a direct and pragmatic test. However, unions of late have come to be widely

perceived as conservative institutions; primarily concerned with defending the relativeadvantages of a minority of the working population.

Management on their part has also established new forms of direct communication, liketeam working, as new mechanisms of collective decision-making with employees

(Hyman, 1999). Given this context, unions have been called to abjure the path of conflict

and to explore the path of co-operation.

INDIAN LABOUR TODAY

The changes taking place in the Indian economy since 199 reflect the above situation.Tariff and non-tariff trade barriers have been lowered, industrial licensing abandoned in

many sectors, private capital permitted in areas reserved for the public sector, restrictions

on foreign direct investment removed, steps have been taken towards privatization, foodsubsidies have been reduced and the rupee devalued. This has resulted in a strengthened

presence of multinational companies, increase in redundancy, introduction of newtechnologies and new management techniques, the growth of the core/periphery model.

Ghatoshkar (2000) and Noronha (1996) state that Indian management has todayintroduced flexibility by restructuring, of companies, banning recruitment of permanent

category employees, shutting of units or departments, transferring of jobs from

bargainable to non-bargainable categories, introducing functional flexibility, intensifying

the working day through pressure to increase productivity, opening parallel plants,employing contract workers and subcontracting out production .The technological

possibility of the internet has given a boost to downsizing and lean management. The

trend is to outsource work as much as possible to keep the core company small (Mitter,2000). Further, though law does not allow closure o industrial units without permission

by the government, in practice there are not restrictions on closures. To permit labour

market flexibility there is a call for changes in labour laws. The VRS has enabledemployers to side-step Section 25(N) of the ID Act. Recent, long-term agreements (LTA)

signed by unions at their various plants allow a management the scope for organizing and

reorganizing the work processes. Managements have been able to undo the union power

by relocating units in interior places and simultaneously curbing militancy in existing plants where there is a strong union (Noronha, 2000). The unions have agreed to

participate in re-layout, relocation, process improvement, reallocation of work,


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redeployment of manpower, etc., which enable the company to be competitive

(Sivanathiran, 1999). Threat of industrial closures has forced unions to give up or curbgains and accept job loss. All rehabilitation packages include enhanced hours of work and

flexibility in rescheduling working hours, holidays, earned leave and so on. Norma

related to workload have also gone up. Wage freeze and even cuts in minimum wages are

introduced. The unions also promise that they will into tolerate any misconduct on thepart of the workers (Sundaram et al, 1996).

Employers have begun to se methods of participation in management as a means tocombine with workers against unions. Union seem to get co-opted into the managements

scheme of things through participation techniques (Sheth, 1993. Many Indian

organisations are now using techniques like quality circles, Kaizen, just-in-time, totalquality management, total empowerment, teamwork, productivity-linked wages, profit

sharing, an performance-based rewards, etc. to increase productivity. The human resource

development approach has developed workers, loyalty towards organizational goals andunions compete with this for employee loyalty (Krishna and Monappa, 1994). However,

introduction of information technology has not brought about major changes in the waypeople work Organisations still rely on on-site direct supervision of workers and personal

interaction as it gets difficult for company to ensure quality of the services and deliverytime. Further, as observed elsewhere in call centers located in India, the diversity of tasks

gets diminished, leading to stressful and repetitive work, e.g. uninterrupted answering of

customer telephones affects the physical and mental health of the employees (Mitter,2000).

The trends outlined above have led to the creation of two categories of workers who areless represented trade unions. At one end of the scale are highly skilled workers;

developing new careers and having new aspirations while at the other end are marginalworkers, scattered and prone to exploitation as they tend to fall outside the traditional

employment pattern (ILO, 1999). Dietrich (1984) states that the big national federation of

labour have not been interested in taking up these issues of contract labour have not beeninterested in taking up these issues of contract labour and declining industries like

textiles. They concentrate on big profit-making industries where it is easier to get

concessions. While trade unions exploit product market advantages for their members,

management takes advantage of favorable labour market conditions to push more workon to cheap labour. Benefits bargained apply only to the existing workers leaving the

door open to recruit at a lower price (Ramaswamy, 1983). This has blunted the

revolutionary potential of labour (Banerjee, 1983). Further, Reddy et al. (1991) observethat the better-educated workers are oriented towards personal rather than common goals

and this impedes participation in union activity. The workers are involved in union

politics only to the extent that it fulfills their personal gains. Further, traditional unionsorganize on an industry-and/or region wide basis but in then ever industries and younger

workers it is at the plant level. The reason for this is that younger workers desire to gain

control over their unions, as the traditional structure of trade unions does not provide a

scope for expression of these aspirations. These workers are, therefore, forming their ownindependent unions, which are not part of national trade union centers. Thus traditional

party based unions found their potential recruitment challenged and curtailed. Further,


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bargaining is becoming increasingly fragmented; there is a shift towards enterprise

bargaining (ILO, 1999). Trade unions in the banking sector believe that the seventhBipartite Wage Negotiation might be the last signed settlement. The Indian banking

Association (IBA) wants bank-level wage settlements in the future. In another case, the

unions in the more profitable jute mills want to break away from the industry-wide

arrangement in force and set-up their own mill-level agreement. By decentralizing bargaining structures and expanding the scope and duration of labors contracts,

employers and the governments are trying to minimize the monopoly effects of unions.

Enterprise based trade unions have also had to accept that their pay is determined byproductivity (Bhattacharjee, 1999).

However, in spite of being on the defensive, Indian trade unions face anti-union feelingfrom the public (ILO, 1999). The unions, over the years, have lost the sympathy of the

general public. Strikes, called often, disrupt everyday life and cause inconvenience to the

masses (Sharma and Dayal, 1999). Consumer forum now asserts that no trade union hasthe right to resort to illegal strike, in contravention of the mandatory perquisites, which

may result in grave and irreparable hardships, inconvenience and loss to the members ofthe public. Thus, the basic dilemma faced by trade unions is the need to simultaneously

serve the interests of their members is being seen to serve the interests of society as awhole. The challenges posed by the increasing globalisation of production, liberalization

of world trade, changing profile of workers, beside a shift in management strategies have

forced the labour movement to reassess its tactics. Unions, therefore, need to revive andto redefine their role as sword of justice rather than conservative interest groups (Hyman,

1999).

INDIAN TRADE UNIONS BEYOND TOMORROW

The most important task before Indian trade unions today is to organize the unorganised.

There is a need for unions to coordinate the struggle of industrial workers with that of

rural laborers and widen workers struggles, which have remained confined to aneconomic movement for wages. No serious effort has yet been made by national trade

unions to organize home-based and part-time workers in India, although there have been

a number of successful attempts at local level for instance, Self-Employed Womens

Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad (ILO, 1999) states that recruiting this vulnerablesection of society and defending, their interest is not a matter of doing good for those less

fortunate. It is matter of survival for the Indian trade union movement. It clearly is time

that the Indian trade union movement broke out of the confines of the organized sectorand made serious inroads into the unorganized workforce. A strong and broad based

labour movement is central to the development of wide and strong political agendas.

In keeping with what was just stated unions should aim at securing minimum income to

all in the labour market by establishing minimum standards of employment, wages,

working conditions and social security. Union strategies that bridge the gap between the

formal and informal sectors are central to the future of trade unions (Jose, 2000). In factthe benefits of general union membership should not be lost when workers move into

non-unionized workplaces. In case of home-based teleworking, the entire area of


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negotiations needs to include allowing employees to use office space when required, e-

mail and telephones links with other workers at the employers expense we. Further, toensure that teleworkers are not discriminated against office-based workers in terms of

benefits and emoluments, monitoring health and safety conditions and lastly, teleworkers

right to organize through unions should be protected (Ghatoshkar, 2000).

The unions will have to seriously examine the possibility of mergers and combine their

resources to influence policy makers. They also need to develop linkages with trade

unions in other countries (Sharma and Dayal, 1999). To this effect, in the South Asianregion, labour organizations have come together under the banner of South Asian Labour

Forum. The forum members feel that this is the only way to negotiable the imposed

globalisation in the developing world. However, the strained diplomatic relationsbetween some nations of the region, and the apprehensive political atmosphere of the

South Asian countries do weaken such attempts (Hindu, 1996). Sharma and Dayal (1999)

predict that the links between political party and trade unions would weaken over a period of time and unions may have to stand on their own. This may lead to new

alignments. This is very true of the HMS, which has undergone considerable changesfrom its earlier political character largely because of the fragmentation of the socialist

movement tin the country. Woven the recent confrontation of the BMS at the 37th

IndianLabour Conference points in that direction. The loosening of ties with parent bodies does

lead to great autonomy in decentralized decision-making (Bhattacharjee, 1999).

However, it also reduces the economic strength and the political influences of the unions.Governments feel less need to take account of their views, especially in a climate of

tough monetary discipline, curbs on public spending, privatization of utilities and public

enterprises, and deregulation of labour markets (ILO, 1999). Thus, unions need to grapplewith this change in political reality.

Unions could also strengthen their technical expertise so as to become valuable advisors

to workers representatives. They could set up employee consultancies helping

workers maintain their skills and expertise. They could provide information on jobopportunities, submit proposals for alternative employment, identify legal changes and

employer policies and equip employees to respond to the needs of different sectors and

occupations. In terms of the long-term viability of union organization members need to

be prepared for present and future work. Skill development processes need to beorganized that are critical to long-term economic security. Only then will people get

involved with unions. Unions might attract new members if they improve the services

they offer. This calls for a subtle combination of individual services and collectiverepresentation. Unions can make unique contribution into the development of the

community through their contributions with such development institutions as consumer

cooperatives, housing societies, health funds and social security organization. However,they need to improve their public image (Jose, 2000). Besides this, the labour movement

has very little capacity or ability to do detailed research on the core issues relating to

globalisation. This is party a resources constraint and party the result of low priority

placed upon such work. The labour movement urgently needs a body capital and willingto carry out this research function (Evans, 1997).


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As representative of a well-organized and articulate group in society, trade unions will

have to move into the broader terrain of defending economic and social rights. Sharmaand Dayal (1999) state that Indian trade unions operate within their own domain and do

not actively coordinate with other social groups or movements. Trade unions today face

the challenges of convincing the public that they can act on behalf of all employees,

unionized or not. This requires building alliances with community bodies, socialmovements and NGOs which may require addressing concerns of communities, ethnic

groups, religious organizations and neighborhood association which lie beyond the realm

of the workplace (Jose, 2000). In so many areas like child labour, human rights and theenvironment, the NGOs have been far ahead of the trade union movement. For instance

even the international labour movement is nowhere near the power and influence of the

international environment movement. Pressure from the environment all obey has shapedmuch of the WTO agenda on the environment. Lessons must be learnt from these groups.

Alliances must also be forged with other progressive groups working in the trade field on

issues of shared importance (Evans, 1997). Instead of bemoaning or complaining thatNGOs indulge in some under hand dealings to get money, trade unions need to carefully

study NGOs, and wherever possible ally with them. One instance of this is theinternational Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which has a very good relationship

with Green peace, the well known environmental group, on issues such as marine pollution and the toxic waste trade (Smith, 1999). Union movement in alliance with

environment and peoples organization will be able to deal with the onslaught of

globalisation and repression that it brings. Therefore unions will have to take the publicalong. When they want to defend their right on exclusive economic interest where

workers interest are in conflict with those of society. They should be viewed as efficient

providers of services to their constituents and the public at large (Jose, 2000). Theyshould act as a true social partner, helping people outside the workplace and voicing their

concerns collectively. The unions should consider themselves as instrument of societyand should strengthen society and not just its members in isolation (Sharma and Dayal,

1999).

Indian unions are also confronted with the low participation of rank and file membership.

General body meetings are poorly attended except when it comes to wages, bonus,

festival payments or some other financial benefits. The workers regard unions in

instrumental terms. Therefore the decision-making will have to be democratic (Sharmaand Dayal 1999). The changing profile of workers has given impetus to individualism,

coupled with new strategies to make employees identify more closely with the company.

Trade unions have to adapt their structure and strategies in order to represent workers inthe new environment. The simple notion of solidarity is now outdated, a modernized

concept has to encompass the mutual support of those whose positions and interest are

different (Zoll, 1996). This traditional view of solidarity wherein trade union membersperceive a common interest is in constant conflict with individualization. It has to take

into account individualism Diversity is not primarily to be a faced by starting from a

postulated units, but starting from diversity, one should look for concrete differences and

similarities and develop differentiated views of solidarity from them. (Valkenburg, 1996).This is the need of the hour given the fragmented nature of Indian trade unions today.


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Moreover, the bureaucratic hierarchical model has led to alienation and

disentanglement among trade union members. The role of trade unions official should nolonger be a universal expert but a facilitator. It implies a reorganization of trade union

activity away from bureaucratic, administrative and control towards collaborative project

work. This means that the dominance of paid officials should disappear and the

knowledge and competence of members are at least equivalent. Participation can nolonger be viewed exclusively in the context of general central policy. The traditional

approach is to mediate from above; such a formula satisfies no one. An alternative

modern approach is to initiate a dialogue between groups involved and helping them toreach an agreement rather than improving it from above. In recent years European unions

have searched for alternative organization experiments with networks, working groups

and circles becoming increasingly common and have built an organic link betweenleaders, activists and ordinary members (Hyman, 1996; Zoll, 1996). This could also be

tried in India with the profile of workers undergoing a change. Besides this, the new

communications technologies-in particular web-based conferencing, software and videoconferencing-seem to offer the possibility of strengthening the transactional institutions

of the labour movement as well as the national ones by allowing groups to meet regularlyat practically no cost. This would make trade unions more attractive, more democratic

and more powerful (Lee, 1998). Though this seems to have limited applicability in theIndian context a way of using these technologies in India needs to be considered.

It is a mans world when it comes to union leadership (Sharma and Dayal, 1999). Unionshould pay special attention to previously under-represented groups, such as women and

minorities, within union structures and in promoting the interest of these groups

(especially concerning gender issues) in the workplace. For instance, since the decision inthe case of Vishaka V/s state of Rajasthan and others in 1997 unions should take up

sexual harassment cases more vigorously. Unions in western countries attempt toreconcile the interests of the diverse groups by establishing separate committees or

groups to represent different categories of workers, or by including representatives of

these workers in the machinery of the union (ILO, 1999). The case for organizing womenseparately is strongly advocated to avoid the marginalisation of womens concerns and to

reconcile the competing interest of various groups.

Lastly, a competitive edge will decide the survival of the organization. Up gradation oftechnology, product innovation, quality and low cost are required for survival. The union

will have to collaborate rather than be adversarial in approach: only this will help them to

survive in the long run. The collective bargaining agenda needs to be expanded to includethe future of each industry. At the local level, unions should approach management with a

suggestion to sit together to chalk out a joint plan for saving the company (Smith 1999).

To conclude, Hyman (1999) states, to resist the hostile forces ranged against them,

unions must mobilize countervailing power resources; but such resources consist in the

ability to attract members, to inspire membe4rs and sympathizers to engage in action, and

to win the support (or at least neutrality) of the broader public. The struggle for tradeunion organisaion is thus a struggle for the hearts and minds of people; in other words, a

battle of ideas.


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Definition of Trade Union

Section 2 (h) of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 hasdefined a trade union as

Any combination, Whether temporary orpermanent, formed primarily for the purpose ofregulating the relations between workmen andemployers,or between workmen and workmen, orbetween employers and employers, or forimposing restrictive conditions on the conduct ofany trade or business, and includes anyfederation of two or more trade unions.


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Criticism of Trade Unions by

Employers

Lack of education May not welcome change

Strike on Illogical basis

Creation of Artificial scanity of labour

Undue demands relating to wages

Motivation to Join Unions

Greater Bargaining Power

Make their voices heard Minimise discrimination

Sense of security

Sense of participation

Sense of Belongingness


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Structure of Trade Unions

Plant Level Federations Local level federations

Regional level federations

National level federations

Problems and Weaknesses of

Trade Unions:

Uneven growth

Limited membership Multiplicity of unions

Outside leadership

Financial problems

Indifferent Attitude of workers


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Suggestions for Healthy growth of

Unions

One Union Per Industry Paid Union Officials

Development of Internal Leadership

Recognition of Trade Unions

Improved Financial condition

42 Trade Unions - Masters

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