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Cooperatives as an inbuilt element of the pstrategy for Organizing the Workers
Surendra Pratap, Centre for Workers Education, New Delhi
WE ARE Wage Labour 403,000 people in India die every
d t k
Total workers
457.5m
7% Unionized
Self 258 2 year due to work-related problems
Selfemployed
258.2m
Wage 199 2 15%Minimum wage
Wage labour
199.2m
15% Unionized
Casual 129.7
becoming the maximum
W ki 10 12m
Regular 69.5m
43% Unioni
d
Working 10-12 hours
Rampant
l b h
zed
Manufacturing total
45.9m
Rampant violation of labour laws
Total membership of CTUs-24.8m
T (including others)-30m
Ratio of labour cost to total cost decreased from 7.78 to 5.81% (2000 01to 2004 05
total
Factory workers
6.08m
others) 30mUnionization-Only
6.35%Including others 7%
(2000-01to-2004-05
Labour cost increased by 36%, Profits by 305%
Factory Contract workers
27%
WHO WE ARE?Competition between states takes form of a war against their own working class
Footloose Capital exploiting the own working class
Appearance: competition between
labour of various
exploiting the global reserve army of labour
countriesInformalizationof labour and Post fordist
Offering•Cheap labour•Cheap land
Hazardous
Post fordistGlobal Factory
Cheap land and resources•Peaceful IR
ByM ki lHazardous
and labourintensive operations
Making laws meaning lessAllowing Self certification
For attracting capital all the
shifting to developing countries
Making SEZs and NMIZsExpanding reserve armyFor attracting capital all the
governments are competing with each other
Asia as one of the hubs of Global Factory
reserve army of labourTrade union repression
The Conflict Capital Wants
More profit, LabourWants less costs
Privatizing and Commoditizing
Wants
Job security and pension Commoditizing
everything
Control over
Decent wages and working conditions labour and all
resources
Expanding the
conditions
More leisure less workload Expanding the
reserve army
Linking all i i i
Better future for children
econ. activities with global value chain
Democratic institutions to ensure
redistributiveBalance of power decides the fate of labourLabour has only power-Its united strength
So that labourreproduces
labour
redistributive justice
Labour has only power-Its united strengthIf no union,labour laws become meaningless
Only unions ensure workers’ rights
ORGANIZINGFor Capital
Increasing
For Labour
Building unity competition& disunity by increasing diversity
g yin diversity
Reducing the reserve army diversity
Expanding reserve army
reserve army of labour
Reducing the of labour
Establishing dominance of
control of capital by creating
alternative dominance of capital in all spheres of
life
alternative ways of living and working
B ildi
Balance of power depends on
Exercising political
control by
Building new hope by
providing a socio-cultural,
who’s politics, economics and culture gets dominance
in people’s life
ypropagating
TINA syndrome
socio cultural, economic&
political alternative
CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZING LABOUR
Increased capital’s control over labour
Unemployment and huge reserve army of labour
Divisions and Competition among workers—creating
difficulty in developing collective consciousness
Resurgence of informal sector
Post fordist models of production scattering the production operations to collective consciousness
Sward of unemployment is always hanging on the head
scattering the production operations to various countries on the one hand and to various smaller units and up to the
home based level on the other
TINA syndrome established by: Capital’s propaganda at
various levels from factory to
Informalization of labour-casualization, contractualization-very
few stable workforce in factories various levels from factory to society; No space for
alternative ways of living and working; Downfall in the
ki l t
few stable workforce in factories
Large scale divisions in the workforce: big factory workers, small factory
k h b d k l working class movement
State openly favoring capital
workers, home based workers, casual, contract & regular workers—caste and
gender divisions
TASKS FOR ORGANIZING LABOUR
Developing collectiveOrganizing the informal sector Developing collective consciousness and Rights
consciousness among workers
g gworkers
Organizing the informal workers in formal sector (casual contract Insuring job security by way of
unionization and building industrial and regional working
class solidarity
in formal sector (casual, contract and home based) and in the
process building unity between formal and informal workers class solidarity
Reducing the capital’s control over labour by breaking the TINA
Building unity among all workers of the same industry
syndrome --by projecting political alternative and by
creating spaces for alternative ways of living and working
Building inter-sectoral solidarity
Building national and international l d ways of living and workingsolidarity
SCOPES FOR ORGANIZING
Organizing the workers also in
community along
Organizing the Industry
Forming cooperatives as a strategy to organize the
self employed producers, community along with at workplace
-Effective for
or sector trade unions and forcing
home based wage workers and service
workers of various kind
organizing in new situations-may strengthen the
the state for industrial collective
Forming cooperatives of workers as consumers
unionization at workplaces
Al id th
bargaining and for setting
Developing a system of workers’ education as a strategy for organizingAlso may widen the
horizons of trade union activity &
transform it in to a
industrial standard for wages and
strategy for organizing
Developing alternative media for raising workers’ transform it in to a
real working class organization
gworking
conditionsconsciousness and
projecting a political alternative
Cooperatives as an Inbuilt Element of Organizing Strategy
ForReducing
For Reducing As we know that
M ff iReducing the
control of the
reserve f
Most effective weapon of capital is to exercise effective
capital army of labour
control on overall life of workers and
people at largeby creating
alternativeBy
organizing
people at large
We also know that
More than 56% workers in India are self employed and
alternative ways of
living and
g gthe
informal p ymajority of wage workers are
informal
living and working sector
workers
Cooperatives as an Organizing Strategy towards Formalisation of Informal Workers
Three approaches for transforming informal sector
Pro-capital forces
With the economicThe Reformist
socio-polit. forces
informal sector
The left and trade With the economic development (process of capital accumulation)
p
Transforming informal sector by
unions
Transforming the i f l t btraditional
occupations and small economic
forming cooperatives of the informal workers to
k th i kill
informal sector by way of regulating
the working conditions and
+
units may be absorbed (or destroyed) by the larger economic
make their skills and their products competitive and to transform them in
conditions and labour relations in all economic units
including thelarger economic units and disappear
transform them in economies of scale
including the small ones
Formalization by absorbing or destroying informal sector
Many traditional informal sectors almost completely disappeared, for example handloom, traditional pottery, traditional utensils, traditionalexample handloom, traditional pottery, traditional utensils, traditional carpentry, traditional iron implements, traditional shoe makers, traditional oil business, traditional toy making etc.
Capitalist de elopment co ld not ad ance at stead rate and er soonCapitalist development could not advance at steady rate and very soon entered in a crisis, particularly during 1970s
New Informalization: Reinventing Informal sector as a source of capital g paccumulation in new international division of labour and post fordistmodels of production-- Converting informal sector producers/workers in to wage labour at their own workplaces
New discourse on informalization: advocating for welfare of informals and not formalization-i.e. maintaining them as reserve army of labour
Two tendencies operate simultaneously; many informal sectors or units are destroyed and at the same time many new ones are created
Formalization by regulating the working condition and IR
Legislations for regulating working conditions and labour relations in different sectors like plantations, mining, Beedi industry etc.
Agriculture Workers Act in Kerala and Tripura
Industrial Disputes Act 1948 was amended in 1976 to extend applicability p pp yof Chapter V-B, and thereby extending the job security to workers in enterprises with 100 or more workers, rather than the earlier threshold limit of 300 or more workers
Enactment of Contract Labour (Regulation &Abolition) Act 1970, which ensured regularization and job security to contract and casual workers engaged in core activities and in jobs of perennial nature
Shops and Establishments Act in different states of India were legislated to regulate the smaller informal sector establishments which were not covered by the labour lawscovered by the labour laws.
Formalization by Way of forming cooperatives
Hundreds of examples of successes and failures
Most widely discussed success stories are of Amul Dairy Cooperative andMost widely discussed success stories are of Amul Dairy Cooperative and Kerala Dinesh Beedi cooperative
Several examples created by SEWA-recent interesting example of constr ction orkers cooperati econstruction workers cooperative
But cooperative movement could not emerge as a dominant social force.
Few if any, in-depth studies exploring on this issue with above perspective
One of the critical factors behind the failure: More emphasis on its economic aspect and ignoring its political aspect (alternative ways of livingeconomic aspect and ignoring its political aspect (alternative ways of living and working)
Linked with the inability in synthesizing the left and reformist strategies which is reflected in the disunity between the left and the reformist political forces
Forms of Cooperatives
Production ServiceConsumerProduction
C i
Service
C
Consumer
C iCooperatives
Cooperatives
Cooperatives
Production Cooperatives
SScopes
Cooperatives of self employed producers-agriculture, fisheries etc
Cooperatives of self employed wage labour---home based industry workers, garments, beedi etc
fExample of Thailand garment cooperative-Creating Brand (TRIMS??)Scope of Adda workers cooperative in Delhi-Job work for factories
Better collective bargaining powerBetter collective bargaining power
Cheaper inputs and better prices
B tt t h b d kBetter wages to home based workers
Collective consciousness and collective political power of workers
Inter-linkages may reduce control of capital and market
Alternative way of living and working
Service Cooperatives
ScopesScopes
Cooperatives of various kinds of self employed service workers like masons, barbers, tailors, plumbers, electricians, and the workers doing various kinds of repair works
Cooperatives of construction workers------SEWA example
May ensure Better collective bargaining power
May ensure a sustainable livelihood
May develop a Collective consciousness of workers
Alternative way of living and workingte at e ay o g a d o g
Consumer Cooperatives
Scopes
Cooperatives of workers as consumers for purchasing the consumer items in bulk at cheaper prices
Cooperatives may run schools medicine stores hospitals etcCooperatives may run schools, medicine stores, hospitals etc
Cooperatives may run community kitchens
ll bMay ensure Better collective bargaining power
May reduce the cost of living and ensure better life and better future
May develop a Collective consciousness of workers
May develop a collective power of workers as consumers and citizens
Alternative way of living and working
Challenges for Workers Cooperatives
f d kAcquiring a factory and running it as a workers cooperative is highly difficult because they are completely different economies
Capitalist factory bases more on capital Cooperative bases moreCapitalist factory bases more on capital , Cooperative bases more on labour
Linkages of capitalist factory in the market may not be favourableLinkages of capitalist factory in the market may not be favourablefor cooperative
Cooperative needs to build its own linkages in the market and Coope at e eeds to bu d ts o ages t e a et a dsociety according to its own social structure and economy. This transformation needs a longer period and generally before it happens, cooperatives collapse
Building a sustainable workers’ cooperative needs a completely new initiative-primarily as an initiative of organizing the self
l d d h b d k h kemployed producers or home based workers, or the workers as consumers—A process in which gradually a collective enterprise emerges with its own market and its own social linkages
Challenges for Workers Cooperatives
Primary aspect of Cooperatives is politics and notPrimary aspect of Cooperatives is politics and not economics
It is bound to fail or loose its significance if there is more emphasis on economics than politics
Politics here means an alternative way of living and working
It helps in organizing the workers and its success and significance depends on organized strength of workers
Lastly
Cooperatives can also be looked at as a practical way to challenge privatization—along p y g p gwith challenging the privatization at policy level
If h i i h f iIf the state is vacating the spaces for private capital, the people’s forces can also compete for those spaces (with in their limitations) byfor those spaces (with in their limitations) by way of building cooperatives
Thank You
Table: Distribution of Workforce in various sectors of Formal and Informal Economy in India (1993‐94)
S. No. Sectors of Economy Workforce in Organised segment (million)
Workforce in Unorganised segment (million)
1 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 1.413 235.865
2 Mining and quarrying 1.097 1.641
Manufacturing 5.048 37.328Electricity, gas and water supply 0.989 0.467
Construction 1.197 11.019Trade, 0.315 25.744hotels and restaurants 0.155 3.006
Rail Transport 1.316 0.478Other transport 0.922 6.933Storage 0.119 0.021gCommunication 0.744 0.424Banking and insurance 1.505 0.993
Real estate 0.005 0.111Real estate 0.005 0.111Business services 0.101 0.362Legal services 0.013 0.363Public admin. and defence 4.482 6.286
Education 4.061 3.942Research 0.277 0Medical and health 1.175 1.450Religious and other community
0.728 0.779
Domestic services 0 1.485Laundary, dying and dry cleaning
0.002 1.204
Barber and beauty shops 0 0.959
Tailoring services 0.001 3.170Other personal services 0.005 1.203
Sanitary services 0.142 0.227Services not categorised 0.006 1.999
i l dInternational and extraterritorial bodies
0 0.060
Recreational and cultural 0.126 0.487Recreational and cultural services
0.126 0.487
Uncategorised 0 0.068All sectors 25.980 348.069