1. ROLE AND STATUS OF TRADE UNION IN
INDIA
In India the Trade Union movement is generally divided on political lines.
According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, trade unions had a
combined membership of 50,97,366 in 2010. As of 2008, there are 14 Central
Trade Union Organisations (CTUO) recognised by the Ministry of Labour. Trade
Unions are voluntary organization of Workers as well as Employers formed to
protect and promote the interest of their members. They are the most suitable
organizations for balancing and improving the relations between the employer and
the employees. Trade Unions have made headway due to rapid industrial
development. The workers come together to maintain and improve their bargaining
power on wages and working conditions. The first organized Trade Union in India
named as the Madras Labour Union was formed in the year 1918. From the
beginning itself, Trade Unions were not confined to workers alone. From
19thCentury itself there were Employer’s associations in the form of Chamber of
Commerce, Industrial Associations etc. to protect and promote the interests of their
members in a concerted manner. After independence, expansion of industrial
activity and grouping worker’s Trade Unions acted as a spur for strengthening and
expansion of employers’ organization. In industrially advanced countries, trade
unionism has made a great impact on the social, political and economic life. India,
being an agricultural country, trade unionism is restricted to industrial areas and it
is still in a stage of growth. The earliest known trade unions in India were the
Bombay Millhand's Association formed in 1890, the Amalgamated Society of
railway servants of India and Burma formed in 1897, Printers' Union formed in
Calcutta in 1905, the Bombay Postal Union which was formed in 1907, the
Kamgar Hitwardhak Sabha Bombay formed in 1910. Trade unions are a major
component of the system of modern industrial relations in any nation, each having
their own set of objectives or goals to achieve according to their constitution and
each having its own strategy to reach those goals. A trade union is an organisation
formed by workers to protect their interests and improve their working conditions,
among other goals. It is a continuous association of wage earners for the purposeof
maintaining and improving working conditions (Dankert, 1948). In developing
countries, the right to form a union and bargain collectively protects workers from
exploitative and abusive conditions at work and puts pressure on employers to
share productivity gains with their employees. Protection of basic worker and
human rights in developing nations thus necessitates unionisation so that the
working population can reap the benefits of economic growth.
2. FUNCTIONS OF TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA:
Trade unions are a legitimate system for organising workers to voice their rights
and grievances. Without unions, companies would become either too paternalistic
or too dictatorial. Responsible unions play an important role in maintaining cordial
relations between management and labour. The aims and objectives of the major
trade unions in India are seen to vary according to their political ideologies. For
instance, some unions are influenced by Leftist principles aimed at overhauling the
capitalist mode of production as a whole. However, irrespective of trade unions'
political affiliations, their generic functions may be categorised as follows: The
changing roles of trade unions in India. The primary function of a trade union is to
promote and protect the interest of its members. This can be summarised as
follows:-
To improve working and living conditions and to represent workers' interests in
various forums.
To offer responsive cooperation in improving levels of production and
productivity, discipline, and high standards of quality.
To secure fair wages for workers.
To enlarge opportunities for promotion and training.
To promote identity of workers' interests with their industries.
To cooperate in and facilitate technological advancement by broadening
workers' understanding of underlying issues.
Rapid changes in technology and successive revisions in pay have undoubtedly
improved workers' conditions within the organised sector but mostly at the cost of
loss of control over jobs . Such structural changes among the working population,
along with economic growth and a sustained increase in capital intensity in both the
product and labour markets have necessitated a paradigm shift in the roles of trade
unions: from predominantly bargaining institutions, they have become specialised,
representing the voice and interests of labour. Ranganathan (2004) attempted to
understand the dynamics of the trade union movement in public sector units (PSUs)
when measured against economic reforms in India. According to him, in the post-
economic reforms era, the enhanced penetration of media has caused workers to
become better informed and increasingly aware of economic issues in their
respective industries. As a result, management has also become more sensitive and
skilled in handling relationships with employees, even in family-owned and-
managed businesses.
These new functions of trade unions (also called ancillary functions) can be
categorised into the following groups:
3. 1.) Research:- Union negotiators need updated information to be
systematically collected and analysed at the bargaining table. They also need
to backup their wage demands with knowledge of the industry, of
productivity, and of comparative industry practices. Many unions conduct
their own research to this effect, laying emphasis on practical problems,
especially day-to-day affairs at work.
2.) Welfare activities:- Many unions are engaged in a number of welfare
activities, such as providing housing and organising cooperative societies to
improve the quality of workers' lives. The Textile Labour Association
(TLA), Ahmedabad, for example, has ventured to organise self-employed
women (in the Self Employed Women's Association [SEWA]) and has even
started banking activities for this purpose.
3.) Education:- Education helps to make workers aware of their surrounding
environments. Unions make efforts to launch educational programs for
workers to enhance their knowledge of the work environment and to inform
them about issues concerning them, particularly those regarding their rights
and responsibilities and regarding procedures and systems that exist in the
workplace for redressing grievances.
4.) Communication:- Many large unions publish a newsletter or a magazine,
with the main aim of clarifying their policy or stance on certain principal issues,
as well as to pass on information about their activities.
ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA
Trade unions in India are governed by the Trade Unions Act of 1926, which is the
main legislation that provides various rules, regulations and controlling
mechanisoms related trade unions. The contribution of trade unions to the
development of the labour movement in South Asia, as well as at the global level,
is well recognised. Attention has, however, remained focused on the formal sector.
Unionisation is almost non-existent in the small and informal sector. The union
structure in India is rather well-developed despite the fact that only 20% of
registered unions have sought affiliation to any of the other of the 13th Central
Trade Union Organizations (CTUO). The extent of unionisation in the country is as
high as 90% within the public sector, while, surprisingly, it is much lower in the
private sector. The changing role of the government in India and the introduction
of new technology have both radically altered the employment scenario. Shifts in
job opportunities from the formal to the informal sector and increasing
employment opportunities for educated and skilled workers have necessitated a
4. paradigm shift in the approach and function of unions. Indian trade unions have,
however, been slow in reacting to these changes. This, in turn, has resulted in the
loss of membership within these unions. Statistics related to labour, as released by
the Government of India, indicate that the membership in unions that submitted
returns to the appropriate authority under the Trade Union Act of 1926 was less
than 2% of the total labour force in 1990, which, in turn, constituted about 30% of
the organised sector workforce. Workers have also been seen to move to alternate
forms of trade unions. The organizational pattern of a trade union federation is
usually a three tier structure, comprised of national level federations, industry level
unions (eg. Textile Labour Association Ahmedabad) and unit level unions, with
independent local unions centered around a particular plant.
Growth And Status of Trade Unions in India
Latest available information for trade unions pertains to year 2008. As per the
information available , number of registered trade unions have increased by about
31% in the ten years duration i.e. 1999-2008 to 84,642 registered unions. However
compared to 2008 the number declined by about 12 per cent and the average
membership per union declined from 1063 in 2007 to 986 in 2008. Out of the
registered trade unions , only 9709 unions( 11.47 per cent ) have submitted returns
during 2008 and amongst the States/UT’s, the information has been furnished only
by 13 states/UT’s . On the basis of available information , Tamil Nadu accounted
for the largest number of registered trade unions (8,793) followed by Rajasthan
(4,593). Out of the total of 27,137 registered unions in the 13 states , as many as
27,063 unions (99.73 percent) were Workers Unions and remaining 74 (0.27
percent) were Employer Unions. Workers Union : Out of 27,063 Workers Unions,
88.76 percent were State Unions and remaining 11.24 percent were Central
Unions. State Unions are those unions, whose activities/objectives are confined to
the boundaries of the State, while Central Unions have activities/objectives beyond
a State boundary. During 2008, out of 27,063 registered workers unions, only 9702
unions (35.85 percent) had submitted the returns. The average membership per
workers unions was 986 only. Industrial Activity Wise Distribution of Workers
Unions Submitting. Returns: Out of the 9702 unions that submitted returns during
2008 , 3452 unions (about 40%) belonged to the manufacturing group , followed
by ‘Other community, social and Personal Services Activities’ (1374 unions, 14
percent) & Transport Storage & Communication (1334, 14 per cent). Income and
Expenditure of Workers’ Unions. During 2008, total Income and Expenditure of
all workers unions was Rs 113.81 Crore and Rs 80.99 Crore respectively. The
Income and Expenditure of Workers Central Unions was Rs 44.79 Crore and Rs
5. 24.10 Crore respectively. The remaining Income and Expenditure of Rs 69.02
Crore and Rs 56.89 Crore respectively pertained to State Unions. The highest
income and expenditure of Central Unions and as well as for State Unions these
were in Tamil Nadu. Employers Union : In 2008, out of 74 registered, Employers
Unions, 7 unions (i.e. 9.46 percent) had submitted returns. All the employers, trade
unions submitting returns were State Unions. These union had a membership of
6,924 persons, out of which only 1,012 (14.62percent) were women. The average
membership per employers union was 989. Highest number of Employers Unions
submitting returns was 4 in ‘Manufacturing’ whereas Real Estate Renting &
Business Activities had highest membership amongst those submitting returns.
Income and Expenditure of Employers Unions All the unions submitting returns
were State Unions. Income and Expenditure of these unions was Rs 0.37 Crore and
Rs 0.33 Crore respectively. Among Industries, maximum Income and Expenditure
of Rs 0.29 Crore and Rs 0.29 Crore respectively was reported in industry group
“Manufacturing” followed by “Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities”.
Source of Trade Union Statistics : The Rules Framed under the “Trade Unions
Act,1926 impose obligation on the registered Trade Unions (Workers &
Employers) to submit annual statutory return in the prescribed format to the
Registrar of their respective States/ Union Territories. These State/U.T. Authorities
in turn furnish the consolidated data in respect of the entire State/U.T. to the
Labour Bureau. The Labour Bureau , Ministry of Labour & Employment, compiles
and disseminates these statistics at All India level.
