Indian Trade Union Movement

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Trade Union Developmentand FunctionsUNIT 4 TRADE UNION DEVELOPMENT

AND FUNCTIONS

Objectives

After going through this unit, you should be able to understand:

l the growth and development of trade unions in India, and

l the functions and problems of trade unions.

Structure

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Origin and Growth of Trade Unions

4.3 Development of Trade Unions in India

4.4 Indian Unions Today

4.5 The Trade Unions Act: Legal Framework for Trade Unions

4.6 Functions of Trade Unions

4.7 Strengthening of Trade Unions

4.8 Summary

4.9 Self-Assessment Questions

4.10 Further Readings

Appendices

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Trade Unions have become an integral and powerful factor in the contemporarysystem of production and distribution of goods and services. Modern industrialisationhas paved the way for trade unions. They are now exercising a strong influence on themethods of production of goods and services, their distribution, the allocation ofeconomic resources, the volume of employment and unemployment, the character ofrights and privileges, policies of governments, the attitude and status of large massesof population, and the very nature of economic and social organisations. Under suchconditions their role has evoked deep and wide controversies. For a developingeconomy such as ours, trade unions and their policies are of special significance. Assuch, in order to assess their functions, role and prospects, it is essential to go into theorigin and development of trade union movement and to outline the factors that helpedthem reach such a strong and forceful position from a small and humble beginning.

Meaning of Trade Union

The term trade union has been defined variously by different authors. Some view thatthese are only associations of employees or persons working in industry and wageearners engaged in one or more professions, undertakings or business, while othersview that these also include employers organisations and friendly societies.

According to G.D.H. Cole, a trade union means “an association of workers in one ormore professions—an association carried on mainly for the purpose of protecting andadvancing the members’ economic interests in connection with their daily work.”

Dale Yoder defined a trade union as “a continuing long term association of employees,

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Trade Unionism formed and maintained for the specific purpose of advancing and protecting theinterest of the members in their working relationship.”

Sidney and Beatrice Webb define a trade union as “a continuous association of wageearners for the purpose of maintaining and improving the conditions of their workinglife.” This classical definition still holds good so far as actual practices of unions areconcerned.

Under the Trade Union Act, 1926, this term is defined as any combination whethertemporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relationsbetween workmen and employers, or imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct ofany trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more trade unions. Inother words, the term union applies not only to combination and associations ofemployees only, but also to that of the employers.

4.2 ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF TRADE UNIONS

Trade unions have grown in response to the peculiar needs and problems which thewage-earners have had to face in the course of industrialisation under the capitalisteconomic system. The main features of the process of industrialisation thatnecessitated the origin of trade unions are: (i) separation between capital and labour;(ii) philosophy of lassez-faire i.e., least/non-interference of the state in the affairs oflabour and management; (iii) lack of bargaining power on the part of workers (whichforced the workers (as individuals) to either accept the jobs with wage rates, hours ofwork etc. unilaterally determined by the employers, or to remain unemployed); and(iv) the realisation by the working class that while the individual worker wasdispensable to the employer, workers collectively were indispensable to him, and assuch, he could not dispense with all his workers and replace them. It is this realisationthat sowed the seeds of collective bargaining which later resulted in trade unionism.

The workers, working under a common employer, faced common problems andcommon tasks. They developed common sentiments, and organised themselves intoassociations which could meet the employers on a basis of equality. The inchoatelabour organisations had to cross many hurdles before they could develop into full-fledged stable trade unions. There were internal dissentions, persistent and determinedopposition from the employers, merciless persecution and suppression by the state(For example, in England, France, Germany and the United States, combinations ofworkmen per se were declared illegal), and the full-throated condemnation of tradeunionism by the advocates of free competition and laissez-faire. In spite of theseefforts at suppression, trade unions continued to grow, sometimes workingunderground and sometimes openly. They continued to defy the laws prohibiting thecombination of workmen (Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 in Great Britain, forexample) and the judicial pronouncements (particularly, the judgement in thePhiladelphia Cordwainers Case of 1806 in the United States) against the combinationsof workmen. Under incessant pressures from the workers and their organisations, thelaw and the attitude of the courts gradually came to be modified. The history of thetrade union movement everywhere is a history of blood, tears and toils. Trade unionsin all the capitalist countries have passed through three stages: (a) outrightsuppression, (b) limited acceptance and tolerance, and (c) general acceptance andrecognition. However, trade unions in the world today are not at the same stage ofdevelopment everywhere. In some countries, especially in those under hitherto colonialrule and dictatorships, trade unions had to struggle hard till recently to cross the firststage; in many underdeveloped countries free from colonial yoke, they are in thesecond stage; and in the full-fledged industrially advanced capitalist democracies, theyare in the third stage. In the communist countries, trade unions occupy an altogetherdifferent position and status.

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Trade Union Developmentand Functions4.3 DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE UNIONS IN INDIA

Early Period (up to 1918)

The Indian trade union movement is about a century old. As compared to the tradeunions of Great Britain and USA, the Indian unions have a shorter history. It is thedelayed start and the slow growth of modern capitalist industrial enterprises in Indiathat was responsible for the delay in the emergence of the trade union movement inIndia. It was in 1851 that the first cotton mill was set up in Calcutta. Subsequently, afew big industrial enterprises were established in the second half of the nineteenthcentury. During this period, the working and living conditions of labour presented apathetic picture — the hours of working were long, the wages were very low, andgeneral labour conditions in industrial areas were harsh. Inevitably, the industrialworkers, especially in the cotton textile industry, protested against these inhumanworking and living conditions by going on strikes. In 1877 textile workers of theEmpress Mill, Nagpur remained on strike for a long time demanding short workinghours, adequate wages and other improvements in their employment conditions.Between 1882 and 1890, twenty five strikes were recorded in the Bombay and Madraspresidencies. These strikes took place spontaneously, though there were no formalorganisations of workers. From these strikes workers learnt the power of unitedaction.

During the early period of industrial development efforts towards organising workersfor their welfare were made largely by social workers and philanthropists, both Indianand foreign, mostly on humanitarian grounds. In 1875, a number of social reformersof Bombay under the leadership of Shorabji Shapurji Bengalle took upon themselvesthe responsibility of drawing public attention to the terrible working conditionsobtaining in factories. In particular, they drew attention to the inhuman conditionsunder which women and children were required to work in factories.

On March 25, 1875, the Government of Bombay appointed the first BombayFactories Commission to investigate factory conditions. The members of theCommission failed to see any necessity of legislation. But due to the agitation startedby the social reformers led by Sorabji Bengalle and other reasons the first IndianFactory Act was passed in 1881. But this Act was so inadequate (the Act’s focusbeing mainly on children, it was considered as a children’s welfare enactment) thatworkers in Bombay protested against it. N.M. Lokhande, a skilled worker in a textilemill in Bombay and a social reformer of the Satyashodhak Samaj, organised twopublic meetings of mill operatives in Bombay in September 1884 and had amemorandum signed by 5,500 workers, demanding a weekly holiday, half an hour’srecess and regular payment of wages, and submitted the same in October 1884 to thesecond Factory Commission.

In 1890, Lokhande established the Bombay Millhands Association primarily toprovide a clearing house for the grievances of the mill-workers and to help in drawingpublic attention to them. The Association had no existence as an organised body,heaving no membership, no funds and no rules. The leaders acted as voluntaryadvisers to mill-workers. The Association also took over the Dinabandhu (Friend ofthe poor), a social reform journal, and converted in into the first labour journal inIndia. Some of the important organisations set up before the First World War were theAmalgamated Society of Railway Servants of India and Burma (1897), the Printers’Union, Calcutta (1905), the Bombay Postal Union (1907) and the Social ServiceLeague (1910). However, all these organisations were ad-hoc bodies, and they could

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Trade Unionism hardly be regarded as trade unions in the true sense. Besides Lokhande, some otherpersons (including P.C. Mazumdar in Bengal) and organisations (TheosophicalSociety in Madras, Servants of India Society in Bombay, and Brahmo Samaj inCalcutta) took interest in drawing public attention to the cause of labour. Most of theworkers’ organisations that were established before the First World War disappearedafter a short and stormy career.

1918-1947 (Prior to Independence)

The immediate post-war period (1918-20) saw the birth of the trade union movementin the modern sense of the term. The main factors which favoured its birth and earlybeginnings include public expectations of a new social order, intense industrial andeconomic unrest because earnings did not keep pace with prices and profits, theRussian Revolution (1917) and the formation of the International LabourOrganisation (1919).

The Russian Revolution, which ushered in workers’ rule, placed an ideal before theworkers, namely, that the exploitation of labour could be stopped by political means.In its early stage, the Indian trade union movement was influenced by communism.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) came into existence as a result of thePeace Treaty of Versailles for the well-being—physical and intellectual of theindustrial wage-earners. The ILO has profoundly influenced India’s trade unionmovement, labour legislation and labour policy. When the first ILO conference washeld in 1919 in Washington, there was no central federation of Indian trade unions.

As such, the Government of India nominated a delegate without consulting tradeunions. This action led to dissatisfaction in the ranks of labour. On October 30, 1920,representatives of 64 trade unions, claiming membership of 1,40,854, met in aconference in Bombay and established the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first President. As a central federation of Indian tradeunions, the AITUC developed the trade union movement. The ILO also encouragedthe movement by providing training, literature and other resources, including aninternational platform for trade union leaders from various countries.

During this period, the Madras Labour Union, the first trade union in India to beformed on systematic lines, was established on April 27, 1918, by B.P. Wadia, editorof an outspoken nationalist paper. At Ahmedabad, under the inspiration and guidanceof Mahatma Gandhi and Ansuyaben, spinners’ union and weavers’ unions wereformed, which later on federated into the industrial union known as AhmedabadTextile Labour Association (ATLA). This association, ever since its inception, hasbeen a model of sound trade unionism in our country, based on Gandhian philosophyof mutual collaboration and non-violence. The formation of this association was alsostarted with a strike for a wage rise in 1917 when Mahatma Gandhi had to go on fastfollowing which Ahmedabad Mill Owners’ Association conceded the right of workersto be compensated for the rise in price. The workers were given 10 per cent rise inwages in the form of war bonus in 1917, and which increased to 15 per cent in thefollowing year.

The year 1920 is also important in the history of trade union movement due to theagitation of workers of Bukingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras for better wages andother employment conditions. The management declared lockout and filed a suit fordamages against the union leader B.P. Wadia and other leaders of Madras LabourUnion. The Madras High Court granted an injunction declaring formation of union anillegal conspiracy and also awarded to the management damages amounting toRs.75,000. This judgement of the Court brought to the fore the need for legalprotection to trade unions for their survival. This was very powerful demonstration ofthe methods used in our country to crush early trade union movement. The labour

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Trade Union Developmentand Functions

leaders became conscious of the fact that in the absence of any base they could beprosecuted for bonafide trade union activities. In 1921 an effort was made byN.M. Joshi to introduce in Indian legislature a trade union legislation. However, hiseffort succeeded after five years in 1926 when the Trade Unions Act was enactedlegalising the right of workers to combine and form unions, and granting themimmunity from civil and criminal prosecution for bonafide trade union activities andthe action flowing from the same. This Act still continues to be the basic lawgoverning trade unions in the country. This gave further boosting to the trade unionmovement in the country by providing that any seven persons can form their union andget it registered under the Act in the prescribed manner. The registration which is stilloptional provides necessary security to the union and its members against anyprosecution for legitimate trade union activities.

The Indian trade union movement, which was in ascendancy from 1920 to 1929,suffered a setback during 1930-34. Since 1930, the world economic crisis, known asthe Great Depression, intensified the misery and poverty of the working class. Butinstead of meeting the challenge the trade union movement divided itself on politicalgrounds. In 1929, at the Nagpur Session of the AITUC, the reformist group(moderates) led by N.M. Joshi broke away on the ground that the AITUC wasdominated by Communists. In 1930, the reformists formed their own organisation, theIndian Trade Union Federation, later renamed (in 1933) as the National Trade UnionFederation (NTUF). The AITUC had another split in 1931 in Calcutta, when thehardcore communists walked out and started a rival labour federation, the Red TradeUnion Congress (RTUC). Thus, it could be said that the Indian trade unions weredivided into four groups by 1931, that is, (a) the original AITUC under the control ofthe radicals, (b) the ITUF (NTUF) controlled by moderates, (c) the RTUC under theleadership of the communists, and (d) the group of independent trade unionsunattached to any central organisation, the chief among them being, the All IndiaRailwaymen’s Federation and the ATLA.

The splits had been caused mainly on account of differences on the role of the Indiantrade union movement in the field of political and class struggle. The union movementultimately reunified in 1940 through a series of compromises, mainly due to thesustained efforts of R.R. Gokhale, V.V. Giri, N.M. Joshi and Diwan Chamanlal.

The Second World War (1939-45) posed a serious question to Indian trade unions :“What should be the attitude of Indian workers to the war?” This was a difficultquestion to answer, for the war was between an anti-labour, Nazi Germany and GreatBritain, our traditional enemy. The Communists, following the Russian line, firstsupported Germany when it invaded Great Britain, opposed it when it invaded Russia.Congressmen opposed Great Britain with their Quit India movement and went to jail.M.N. Roy and his followers bitterly opposed Germany; and when the AITUC failed toaccept their line, they started their own organisation, the Indian Federation of Labour(IFL) in 1941 in support of the war against Germany. In return, the governmentrecognised the IFL as the most representative organisation of Indian workers.

Besides the formation of the IFL, some other events that took place during the war hadan impact on the trade union movement. These were: the establishment of the IndianLabour Conference—a tripartite labour machinery — in 1942, providing a platformfor discussions between the government, employers and trade unions; ordinancesrelating to the Defence of India, National Service (Technical Personnel), EssentialServices (maintenance), etc. placing restrictions on the freedom of association and theright to strike, and the Quit India Movement and consequent arrest of many tradeunionists, leaving the field for control to communists. During the war, trade unionmembership registered a substantial increase from 3, 99, 000 in 1938-39 to 8,89,000in 1944-45.

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Trade Unionism The economic distress that followed the war, the new spirit of awakening, the changein the outlook towards the unions both on the part of the Government and employers,and the enactment of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (which enabled the unions torepresent workers for settlement of their disputes under the Act) contributed to thegrowth of trade union movement in the country after the war.

From the point of view of its impact on the Indian trade union movement, the mostimportant of the events was the establishment of the Indian Trade Union Congress(INTUC) on May 3, 1947. The divided trade union movement was further dividedwhen the INTUC was set up on the initiative of Gulzari Lal Nanda and other like-mined persons who believed in the Gandhian ideology. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, apowerful congress leader, became its first president.

Post-Independence Period

The post-Independence period witnessed further disintegration of the AITUC. In 1948,the socialists who had hitherto been working in the AITUC left it and established aseparate national federation called Hind Mazdoor Panchayat (HMP). The IndianFederation of Labour (IFL), which was languishing since the end of the war and thepartition of the country in 1947, merged with the HMP, and a new organisation — theHind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) came into being in December 1948. Some trade unionleaders, who attended the meeting called by the socialist leaders in December 1948 toform the HMS, did not agree with the principles and objectives of the HMS. They,therefore, decided to set up another organisation. Consequently, on April 30, 1949, theUnited Trade Union Congress (UTUC) was formed by radicals outside the Communistand Socialist groups.

After the adoption of the constitution in 1950, the role of political parties became allthe more important. Not only new political parties came to be formed, but also theexisting political parties witnessed splits for one reason or the other. The politicalparties tried their best to keep as many trade unions and workers as possible undertheir influence and control. These developments had their repercussions on the tradeunion movement also. In 1955, Bharatiya Jan Sangh established the BharatiyaMazdoor Sangh (BMS), which later came under the influence of the Bharatiya JanataParty. When the Indian National Congress was divided into the Ruling Congress andthe Organisation Congress, the former took over the INTUC, while the latterestablished in Ahmedabad a new organisation called the National LabourOrganisation (NLO). Similarly, when the Communists divided into the CPI and CPM,the AITUC came under the control of the former, while the latter set up the Centre forIndian Trade Unions (CITU).

The UTUC broke into two — one with headquarters at Central Avenue and the otherat Lenin Sarani, Calcutta. Both the UTUC (Central Avenue) and the UTUC (LeninSarani) claim to be the genuine UTUC. Later on, two other central federations oftrade unions, namely National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU), an Independentorganisation and Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC). There are a few otherorganisations such as the Hind Mazdoor Kissan Panchayat (HMKP), the IndianFederation of Free Trade Unions (IFFTU), and Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (Shiv Sena,Mumbai). But they are not as prominent as the other central trade union organisations.Table 1 shows the membership figures of ten central trade union organisations,number and membership wise, as claimed by them and as verified by the Chief LabourCommissioner for recognising them for consultation and giving them representation onnational and international tripartite forums as on December 31, 1989.

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Table 1: Central Federations of Trade Unions and their Membership (1989)

Name of the Central Federation Membership

1. INTUC 27,06,451

2. CITU 17,98,093

3. BMS 31,17,324

4. AITUC 9,23,517

5. HMS 14,77,472

6. NLO 1,38,877

7. UTUC 5,39,523

8. UTUC-LS 8,02,806

9. NFITU 5,29,982

10. TUCC 2,30,347

The central federations of trade unions have also associated themselves with worldlabour organisations, such as International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU), a non-communist organisation, World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)(Communist), and World Federation of Labour (WFL) recognised by the ILO and the UNO.

4.4 INDIAN UNIONS TODAY

Unionism is in recession today and India is no exception. The decades of the 1980sand 1990s have been bad years for traded unionism all over the world. Unionmembership has been declining in most developed countries, with the USA and UKleading, and even Japan not far behind. Paralleling the de-recognition of unions inother countries has been the cancellation of registration in India. Worker apathy is nota small factor either. The reassertion of capitalism under the New Economic Policy(1991) has been a major reason but a wedge also appears to be operating betweentrade unionists and their rank and file members. The overall trends are of decliningunionised workforce, increased unemployment, unfavourable public sentiment andmanagement and government pressure on unions. This combination is certainlyominous. Commenting on the Indian trade union movement, Rao and Patwardhanobserved that : The Indian trade union movement is marked by multiplicity offederations at the apex level, with little coordination inter se. Almost every politicalparty – be it capitalist or socialist in its ideological orientation – has floated its tradeunion wing. In addition, there are host of independent unions operating at the sectoraland local levels. The pluralist-fragmented structure of Indian trade unions aligns itselfwith British French and Italian structures. At any rate, it is certainly nowhere near theUS, German, Swedish or Spanish models, which are more inclined towardsconsolidation and/or coalition. Thus, the Indian trade union movement has witnessedthe retrogressive evolution of trade unions from strength to weakness, weakness toinfirmity and possibly from infirmity to extinction. Far from initiating proposals somotto for consolidating the working class, Indian trade unions have consistentlyopposed all attempts in infusing an element of rationality into the structural andfunctional aspects of trade unionism as well as reforms in the industrial relations code.

Activity A

Why do trade unions in India often fail to achieve their objectives? Suggest measuresfor the successful functioning of trade unions.

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Trade Unionism4.5 THE TRADE UNIONS ACT: LEGAL FRAMEWORK

FOR TRADE UNIONS

The Trade Unions Act, 1926 is the only legal framework for the trade unionmovement in the country. It legalises the formation of trade unions by conceding toworkmen their right of association and organising unions. The purpose of the Act hasbeen to free the trade unions from certain constraints on their functioning, particularly,in respect of criminal and civil liabilities for their actions in connection with tradedisputes. The Act was amended in 2001. The Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, 2001came into force with effect from January 9, 2002. The broad features of the amendingAct are: (i) any seven or more members of a trade union, by subscribing their namesto the rules of the trade union and by otherwise complying with the provisions of theAct, may apply for its registration. However, no trade union of workmen will beregistered under the Act unless at least 10 percent or 100 of the workmen, whicheveris less, engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which it isconnected, are the members of such a trade union on the date of making theapplication for registration. Besides, no trade union of workmen is to be registeredunless it has, on the date of making the application, not less than seven persons as itsmembers; (ii) limiting the proportion of outsiders to 1/3rd of the total number of office-bearers or 5, whichever is less generally and 50 percent in the unorganised sector;(iii) debarring Members of Council of Ministers or persons holding office of profit(not employed in an establishment or industry with which the trade union is connected)in the Centre or a state from membership of the executive or other office-bearer of aregistered trade union.

Besides specifying the procedure for registration of unions, the Act lays down theguidelines for the day-to-day working of the registered unions. It also defines theirrights and obligations, important of which are as follows:

Obligations of Registered Unions

Under the amending Act, registration makes it obligatory for the union:

i) To allow any person above the age of 15 years to be a member of the union andenjoy all privileges attached to membership.

ii) Must have 2/3rds of the total number of the office-bearers from among thepersons actually employed, or engaged in any industry with which the tradeunion is concerned. In the unorganised sector half of the total number of office-bearers should be person who are actually employed in the establishment. Aperson is to be disqualified to be a member of the executive or hold any otheroffice if he is below 18 years of age, or if he has been convicted of any offenceinvolving moral turpitude and sentenced to imprisonment unless a period of fiveyears has passed, or if he is a Member of Council of Ministers or a personholding office of profit (not employed in an establishment or industry with whichthe trade union is connected) in the centre or a state.

iii) Union membership fee must not be less than one rupee per annum for ruralworkers, Rs.3 per annum for workers in other unorganised sector, and Rs.12 perannum for workers in any other case.

iv) Maintain membership register and properly audited account and make themavailable for the inspection of the office bearers and members of the union.

v) The rules of the union must provide the procedure for the change of its name, itsmerger with any other union and its dissolution.

vi) Spend union funds for the purposes specified in the Act only.

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vii) Send to the Registrar on or before the prescribed date an annual statement ofincome and receipts, and assets and liabilities of the union audited in theprescribed manner as on 31 March with the statement showing changes in theoffice bearers and rules of the union made during the year.

Rights of the Registered Union

i) Spending general funds on the salaries of the staff and office bearers, prosecutionand defence for protecting trade union rights, conduct of trade dispute on behalfof the trade unions or any member thereof, compensation of members for lossarising out of trade disputes, and other purposes as permitted under the Act,including publication of periodicals.

ii) Can have a political fund without making its contribution compulsory or acondition for the membership of the Union.

iii) Can change the name of the union, amalgamate it with some other union anddissolve it under intimation to the Registrar of Unions, as these changes will takeeffect front the date they are registered by the Registrar.

iv) Can claim immunity from criminal and civil prosecution for bonafide trade unionactivities.

v) Can appeal against the order of the Registrar withdrawing or cancelling theregistration of the union in a Civil Court.

Registration of the union can be cancelled or withdrawn by the Registrar of TradeUnions if it has been obtained by fraud, or by supplying wrong information, or bymistake or if it has ceased to exist, by giving two month notice to the Union specifyingthe reason for withdrawal or cancellation. This order can be appealed against in aCivil Court.

4.6 FUNCTIONS OF TRADE UNIONS

The underlying idea of forming a trade union is to acquire collective strength for:

i) Protecting and advancing terms and conditions of employment of its members;

ii) Negotiating and setting terms and conditions of employment and remuneration;

iii) Improving the status and working and living conditions of workers;

iv) Promoting economic and social interests of its members.

Some unions have also as their objectives to undertake social security measures wherethe State has not assumed this responsibility, and organise welfare activities andorganise them to become literate leaders and union-conscious.

From the above objectives reflected in various theories of trade unions (summarised inAppendix B) it is obvious that the primary function of a trade union is to promote andprotect the interest of its members. The union draws its strength from the funds andgeneral support provided by its members. It has, therefore, to strive to secure betterwages and improve their terms and conditions of employment and generally toadvance their economic and social interests so as to achieve for them a rising standardof living.

Originally and traditionally the only function of trade unions was economic, that is,rescuing workers from exploitative employment and working conditions, and use theircollective strength to ensure workers adequate and fair wages, reasonable workinghours, safe and healthy conditions at work, periodical rest and leave, some essentialamenities at work place like wholesome drinking water, first aid, washing and restingfacilities. In fact, most of the early demands of the unions which caused disputesresulting in strikes, were economic regarding wages, hours of working, safe and

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Trade Unionism healthy working conditions, and job security. It is gradually that the unions startedadding to the list of their demands such facilities as housing, medical aid, recreation,constitution of welfare funds, and social security measures like sickness, disability,maternity benefits, gratuity, provident fund, and old age and family pension.

Social Functions

Besides the main economic functions consisting basically of organising unions andimproving their terms and conditions of employment to enable workers to meet theirphysical needs, some unions have now started undertaking and organising welfareactivities and also providing variety of services to their members and sometimes to thecommunity of which they are a part, which may be grouped under following heads:

i) Welfare activities provided to improve the quality of work life includingorganisation of mutual fund, cooperative credit societies for providing housing,cooperative stores, cultural programmes, banking and medical facilities andtraining for women in various crafts to help them to supplement their familyincome.

ii) Education: Education of members in all aspects of their working life includingimproving their civic life, awareness in the environment around them,enhancement of their knowledge particularly in regard to issues that concernthem, their statutory and other rights and responsibilities, workers’ participationscheme, and procedure for redressing their grievances. Some central unionorganisations are also assisting the Government in implementing the Workers’Education Scheme.

iii) Publication of periodicals, news letters or magazines for establishingcommunication with their members, making the latter aware of union policy andstand on certain principal issues and personnel matters concerning members,such as births, deaths, marriages, promotion and achievements.

iv) Research: Of late, this is gaining importance and is intended mainly to provideupdated information to union negotiators at the bargaining table. Such researchis to be more practical than academic, concerning problems relating to day-to-day affairs of the union and its activities and union and management relations.Some of the research activities are : (i) collection and analysis of wage dataincluding fringe benefits, and other benefits and services through surveys ofcomparative practices, data on working conditions and welfare activities; (ii)preparation of background notes for court cases and also position papers forunion officials; (iii) collection and analysis of macro data relating to theeconomy, industry sectors etc.

All the above mentioned activities and services are considered normal activities ofunions in the Trade Unions Act which stipulates the objectives on which general fundsof the union can be spent.

Political Functions

For discharging above functions unions have to operate not only on social, economicand civic fronts, but also on political front. Unions have to influence Governmentpolicy decisions in the interest of workers. Legislative support which unions requirefor realising some of their objectives and achievement of their long-term interests hastaken them into the region of politics. Unions are not only to contribute in theformulation of policies but have also to see that policies are implemented. In severalcountries therefore, political process of the Government and participation in it havebeen attracting the interest of unions increasingly. Whether a union gets directly

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associated with a political party, or has its own wing, should depend uponcircumstances in each country. Considering that such political action / association islegitimate, the Trade Unions Act, 1926, permits the constitution of separate politicalfund to facilitate political action by a union.

The type and the extent of unions’ participation in the political process of theGovernment depends largely upon the stage of economic and social development. Itranges from the joint consultation at the plant/industry level to work on bodies likethe Economic and Social Council in France, Planning Commission in Sweden, or theEconomic Council in Denmark. In a number of countries law specifies the activities inwhich the unions may engage. In Sweden and Netherlands unions are maderesponsible for the implementation of the labour and social security legislation. Thus,while a union functions in the interest of its members, it should also accept communityresponsibilities. Consciousness of this wider responsibility will vary from country tocountry, depending upon the extent of wage employment. In a country like India whereself-employment is sizeable, unions have to make special effort in understanding theinterest of the total community. This aspect of the role of unions in a developingeconomy has been emphasised in our successive five year plans. It is in recognition ofthis fact that the very first Planning Advisory Board constituted in 1950, had twolabour representatives on it. Since then the labour representatives have beenassociated with Development Councils set up for individual industries and othertripartite bodies like the Indian Labour Conference and Advisory Boards at theCentral and State levels in the formulation and implementation of labour programmes.This has enabled trade unions to perform their primary function for meeting the basicneeds of their members as listed by the First National Labour Commission on Labour(1969). The functions are:

(i) Securing for workers fair wages; (ii) Safeguarding security of tenure andimprovement in service conditions; (iii) enlargement of opportunities for promotionand training; (iv) improvement of working and living conditions; (v) provision foreducational, cultural and recreational facilities; (vi) promotion of individual andcollective welfare; (vii) Facilitation of technological advance by broadening theunderstanding of workers with their industry; (viii) offering responsive cooperation inimproving levels of production and productivity, discipline, and high standard ofquality.

In fact, most of the unions at craft, unit and plant levels which are still described asfighting unions, attend mostly, if not only, the basic needs of their members mentionedabove at (i) to (vi). It is only the trade union organisation which are attending to someextent the functions and needs mentioned at (vii) and (viii). This is attributed mainly tothe fact that employment and service conditions of workers still need considerableimprovement. So, the primary function of unions still remains that of improving theeconomic conditions of workers either by collective bargaining, or by other peacefulmeans, or by direct or militant action.

Activity B

Explain the functions of trade union of your organisation or any organisation you arefamiliar with. Compare and contrast the functions of important trade unions in India.

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Trade Unionism4.7 STRENGTHENING OF TRADE UNIONS

Some of the weaknesses of trade unions in India are: small membership, paucity offunds, politicalisation and multiplicity of unions, and outside leadership. Theseinherent weaknesses intensify inter-union rivalries and reduce bargaining power ofunions and their effectiveness in attaining their main objective of improvingemployment and working conditions of their members. For strengthening unions it isnecessary that their weaknesses are minimised, if not totally eradicated, and sooner itis done the better for reducing conflicts and improving union-management relations.All these problems were considered in detail by the First National Commission onLabour (1969), and it recommended the following measures for resolving them:

i) The Trade Unions Act, 1926 should be amended to provide for:

a) Compulsory registration of unions. (Comment: Although the Trade UnionsAct, 1926 was amended in the year 2001, the amending Act has not madeany special provisions for compulsory registration).

b) Reduction of percentage of outsiders as office bearers.

(Comment: Although the Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, reduced the totalnumber of outsiders as office-bearers to 1/3rd or 5, whichever is less, there isno guarantee that such restriction in the number of outsiders will actuallycheck the undesirable effects of the outside leadership).

c) Monthly subscription for union membership may be increased from 25 paiseto Rs.1.

(Comment: This suggestion was made by the fist NCL in 1969. Interestingly,after a lapse of 32 years, the second National Commission prescribed Re.1 assubscription fee per annum for rural workers, Rs.3 per annum for workers inthe unorganised sectors, and Rs.12 per annum for workers in any other case.Even if these subscription fees are prescribed per month, the same would notimprove the financial position of the unions. Assuming that the unions fail toget political funds and donations, the unions should work out appropriatesolutions as to how to improve their financial position. One possible solutionis that the unions can take up some consultancy work in the rural areas, forexample, assisting the Gram Panchayats in maintaining their accounts etc.)

d) The minimum number required for starting a new union should be raised to10% of regular employees of a plant subject to a minimum of 7 or 100whichever is lower.

(Comment: The Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, 2001 has incorporated anew provision in the Trade Unions Act, 1926 in this regard. The newprovision may reduce the problem of multiplicity of unions to some extent).

e) An enabling provision may be made to permit check-off system forcollection of membership subscription on demand by a recognised union.

ii) Formation of craft unions should be discouraged. Craft unions operating in aunit/industry should amalgamate into an industrial union. Formation of centre-cum-industry and national industrial federations should be encouraged.

iii) Steps should be taken to promote internal leadership and give it a moreresponsible role. The ex-employers should not be treated as outsiders.

(The Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, 2001 has incorporated the suggestion ofthe first NCL with regard to the outsiders.)

iv) Unity in the trade union movement has to grow from within.

v) Collective bargaining should be the main method of settlement of disputes.

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vi) An independent authority for union recognition will hasten the process of inter-union rivalry. (The Second National Commission on Labour (2002) made asimilar suggestion.)

vii) Apart from paying attention to the basic responsibilities towards their members,unions should also take social responsibilities such as (a) promotion of nationalintegration; (b) influencing the socio-economic policies of the communitythrough active participation in the formulation of these policies; and (c) instillingin their members a sense of responsibility towards industry and community.

The Government has taken some initiative to promote internal leadership by layingemphasis on training of labour leaders through Workers’ Education Scheme. But theresult of the same has not been quite encouraging.

The trade unions, particularly their central organisations, can also help by forgingunity among themselves and also following the Inter-Union Code of Conduct, whichthe INTUC, AITUC, HMS and UTUC agreed (in the Indian Labour Conference) toobserve for maintaining harmonious inter-union relations. The details of the Code ofConduct, 1958 are given in Appendix C.

4.8 SUMMARY

In this unit we have considered the growth of trade unions in India since the middle ofthe 19th century. Trade union movement in Indian has been following the same courseas in the developed countries. But it has not been so turbulent as in Great Britain andUSA, and some other countries. Quantitative growth of trade unions has beentremendous (see Appendix D). Perhaps in no other country the number of unions atcraft, plant/unit, industrial and national levels is so large as in this country. But thisdoes not reflect the real strength of the trade unions, which is much less. Qualitativelythe growth has not been so healthy as in some countries. It still suffers from so manyweaknesses, such as: small membership, paucity of funds, multiplicity,politicalisation, external leadership, and inter-union rivalries.

Functions of trade unions have also been examined explaining how they have beenoperating not only in the economic front, but also on social, civic and political fronts.While many unions are still struggling to improve wages and employment andworking conditions of their members, but there are a few unions which are financiallysomewhat sound, and they are undertaking welfare, educational and cultural activities.Most of the central labour organisations are operating on political front, and some ofthem are participating in the formulation and implementation of the Governments’labour policies and enactment of labour legislation.

4.9 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1) Discuss the developments in the trade union movement in India in the pre-Independence period.

2) Write a short note on the splits in the Indian trade union movement in the post-Independence period.

3) Briefly describe the present position of trade unions in India.

4) What are your suggestions for strengthening the trade unions in India?

5) Briefly discuss the trade union scenario of an industrial area with which you arefamiliar.

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Trade Unionism4.10 FURTHER READINGS

Government of India, Ministry of Labour and Employment and Rehabilitation. 1969.Report of the National Commission on Labour, Delhi.

IGNOU. 1993. MS-24, Block-2, Unit-4, Trade Union Development and Functions,pp. 5-19.

Punekar, S.D, S.B. Deodhar and Saraswathi Sankaran. 2003. Labour Welfare, TradeUnionism and Industrial Relations, Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.

Rao, E.M. and Vikrant Patwardhan 2000. “Indian Trade Unions : On the Brink ofExtinction?” in C.V. Venkata Ratnam and Pravin Sinha (Eds.) 2000. Trade UnionChallenges at the Beginning of the 21st Century, New Delhi: Excel Books,pp. 124-142.

Sarma, A.M. 1998. Industrial Relations: Conceptual and Legal Framework,Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.

Sen, Ratna. 2003. Industrial Relations in India: Shifting Paradigms , Delhi :Macmillan India Ltd.

Sharma, Baldev R. and Ishwar Dayal. 1999. “Emerging Challenges and ChangingRole of Trade Unions” in A. Sivananathiran and C.S. Venkata Ratnam (Eds.) 1999.Globalisation & Labour Management Relations in South Asia, New Delhi:International Labour Organisation, pp. 123-147.

Sinha, P.R.N. Indu Bala Sinha and Seema Priyadarshini Shekhar. 2004. IndustrialRelations, Trade Unions, and Labour Legislation, Delhi: Pearson Education (Pvt.)Ltd.

Subramanian, K.N. 1967. Labour-Management Relations in India, Bombay: AsiaPublishing House.

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Trade Union Developmentand FunctionsAPPENDIX A: TRADE UNION TERMINOLOGY

Trade Union: Sidney and Beatrice Webb define a trade union as “a continuousassociation of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining and improving theconditions of their working life”. This classical definition still holds good so faras actual practices of unions are concerned.

Under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 this term is defined as any combination whethertemporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relationsbetween workmen and employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on theconduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more tradeunions. In other words, the term union applies not only to combination andassociations of employees only, but also to that of the employers.

Trade Union Movement: This term apples to all the various types of longterm associations of workers that appear in industrialised and partiallyindustrialised economies.

Organised Labour: This term is used to distinguish members of unions fromnon-member or unorganised employees. In a restrictive sense it is sometimesused to apply to members of unions affiliated with the nation-side associationand may exclude members of unaffiliated unions. This means continuing longterm association of employees formed and maintained for the specific purposeof advancing and protecting the interest of members in their working relationships.

Trade Unionism: This term refers to the organised needs, wished, aspirationsand attitudes of the working class. Traditionally it has ascribed to workers’organisations, a particular philosophy and function of collective representationto project and promote interest of workers within a given socio-economicsystem.

APPENDIX B: TRADE UNION THEORIES AND TYPES OF UNIONS

Theories of Trade Unionism

There is no one theory of Trade Unionism, but many contributors to these theories arerevolutionaries like Marx and Engels, Civil servants like Sydney Webb, academicslike Common and Hoxie and labour leaders like Mitchell. Important theories of tradeunionism are as follows:

a) Political Revolutionary Theory of Labour Movement of Marx and Engels: Thistheory is based on Adam Smith’s theory of labour value. Its short run purpose isto eliminate competition among labour, and the ultimate purpose is to overthrowcapitalist businessman. Trade unionism is a class struggle, and proletarians havenothing to lose but their chains and they have a world to win.

b) The Webbs Theory of Industrial Democracy: The Webb’s book ‘IndustrialDemocracy’ is the Bible of trade unionism. According to the Webbs, tradeunionism is an extension of democracy from political sphere to industrial sphere.The Webbs agreed with Marx that trade unionism is a class struggle and moderncapitalist state is a transitional phase which will lead to democratic socialism.

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Trade Unionism They considered collective bargaining as the process which strengthens labour.

c) Cole’s Theory of Union Control of Industry: Cole’s views are given in his book“World of Labour” 1913. His views are somewhere in between Webbs andMarx. He agrees that unionism is a class struggle and the ultimate is the controlof industry by labour and not revolution as predicted by Marx.

d) Common’s Environmental Theory: Common was sceptical of generalisations andbelieved only that which could be proved by evidence. He agreed that collectivebargaining was an instrument of class struggle, but he summarised thatultimately there will be partnership between employers and employees.

e) Mitchell’s Economic Protection Theory of Trade Unionism: Mitchell, a labourleader, completely rejected individual bargaining. According to him unions affordeconomic protection too.

f) Simon’s Theory of Monopolistic, anti-Democratic Trade Unionism: Simondenounced trade unionism as monopoly founded on violence. And he claimedmonopoly power has no use save abuse.

g) Perlman’s Theory of the “Scarcity Consciousness” of Manual Workers:Perlman wrote two books – A History of Trade Unionism in U.S. and A Theoryof Labour Movement. He considered unionism as class struggle and considered itas communism of opportunity. He considered free competition as sin.

h) Hoxie’s Functional Classification of Unionism: Hoxie classified unionism on thebasis of their functions as : Business Unionism for protecting the interests ofvarious craftmen, Uplift Unionism for the purpose of contributing better lifesuch as association of sales engineers etc. Revolutionary Unionism, which iseager to replace existing social order, Predatory Unionism, which rests on thesupport of others.

i) Tannenbaum’s Theory of Man Vs. Machine: According to Tannenbaum,unionism is born of insecurity caused by machine, and unionism overcomes thisinsecurity.

Types of UnionsFrom the theories of trade unions mentioned above it appears that unions vary widelyin their goals, their guidelines of policy, strategy for attaining their objectives and theirdetailed tactics and programmes. Broadly, all the unions can be classified under thefollowing heads:

i) Revolutionary Unions: Such unions believe in the destruction of existing socialand economic order and development of a new one. For attaining this objectivethey may propose a major shift in power and authority and severe use of forcefor this purpose.

ii) Reformist Unions: Such unions work and propose changes within the existingsocial and political framework of society.

iii) Uplift Unions: They advocate extensive reforms well beyond the area of workingconditions i.e. changes in the taxation system, limitation of property, abolition ofdeath sentence and voting requirements.

iv) Business Unions: They depend on collective bargaining for attaining theirobjectives and arriving at some collective agreement or contract.

v) Craft Unions: These unions cover members of single craft.

vi) Industrial Unions: Industrial unions cover workers with a variety of skillsemployed in a single industry e.g. Coal Industry or Steel Industry.

vii) Affiliated and Non-affiliated Unions: Such unions may or may not be affiliatedto central or national or international unions.

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Trade Union Developmentand FunctionsAPPENDIX C: INTER-UNION CODE OF CONDUCT, 1958

We, the representatives of four central organisations, namely, INTUC, AITUC, HMSand UTUC agree to observe the following basic principles for maintaining harmoniousinter-union relations.

1) Every employee in an industry or unit shall have the freedom and right to join aunion of his choice. No coercion shall be exercised in this matter;

2) There shall be no dual membership of unions (In the case of representativeunions, this principle needs further examination).

3) There shall be unreserved acceptance of, and respect for democratic functioningof trade unions.

4) There shall be regular and democratic elections of executive bodies and officebearers of trade unions.

5) Ignorance and or backwardness of workers shall not be exploited by anyorganisation. No organisation shall make excessive or extravagant demands.

6) Casteism, communalism and provincialism shall be eschewed by all unions.

7) There shall be no violence, coercion, intimidation, or personal vilification ininter-union dealings.

8) All Central Labour Organisations shall combat the formation or continuance ofcompany unions.

APPENDIX D: TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP IN INDIA

Table A: Number of Registered Trade Unions and Membership of Unions SubmittingReturns in India, 1930-31 – 1946-47

Year No. of registered No. of trade unions Membership of unionstrade unions submitting returns submitting returns

1930-31 119 106 2,19,115

1931-32 131 121 2,35,693

1932-33 170 147 2,37,369

1933-34 191 160 2,08,071

1934-35 213 183 2,84,918

1935-36 241 205 2,68,926

1936-37 271 228 2,61,047

1937-38 420 343 3,90,112

1938-39 562 394 3,99,159

1939-40 667 550 5,11,138

1940-41 727 483 5,13,832

1941-42 747 455 5,73,520

1942-43 693 489 6,85,299

1943-44 761 563 7,80,967

1944-45 865 573 8,89,388

1945-46 1,087 585 8,64,031

1946-47 1,833 998 13,31,962

Source : Government of India, Ministry of Labour, Various Issues of Indian LabourYear Book.

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Trade Unionism Table B: Number of Registered Trade Unions and Membership Unions SubmittingReturns in India, 1947-48 – 1997

Year No. of registered No. of trade unions Membership of unionstrade unions submitting returns submitting returns

(in thousand)

1947-48 2,766 1,620 1,663

1948-49 3,150 1,848 1,960

1949-50 3,522 1,919 1,821

1950-51 3,766 2,002 1,757

1951-52 4,623 2,556 1,996

1952-53 4,934 2,718 2,099

1953-54 6,029 3,295 2,113

1954-55 6,658 3,545 2,170

1955-56 8,095 4,006 2,275

1956-57 8,554 4,399 2,377

1957-58 10,045 5,520 3,015

1958-59 10,228 6,040 3,647

1959-60 10,811 6,588 3,923

1960-61 11,312 6,813 4,013

1961-62 11,614 7,087 3,977

1962-63 11,817 7,246 3,681

1963-64 11,971 7,245 3,976

1964-65 13,023 7,543 4,466

1965 13,248 6,932 3,788

1966 14,686 7,244 4,392

1967 15,314 7,523 4,525

1968 16,716 8,851 5,121

1969 18,837 8,423 4,900

1970 20,879 8,537 5,120

1971 22,484 9,029 5,470

1972 23,628 9,074 5,340

1973 26,788 9,853 6,580

1974 28,648 9,800 6,190

1975 29,438 10,324 6,550

1976 29,757 9,102 6,152

1977 30,896 8,792 5,903

1978 32,207 8,351 6,040

1979 33,521 6,735 4,683

1980 36,507 4,432 3,727

1981 37,539 6,682 5,397

1982 38,343 5,044 2,999

1983 38,935 6,844 5,417

1984 42,609 6,451 5,150

1985 45,067 7,815 6,433

1986 45,030 11,365 8,187

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1987 49,329 11,063 7,959

1988 50,048 8,730 7,073

1989 52,210 9,758 9,295

1990 52,016 8,828 7,019

1991 53,535 8,418 6,100

1992 55,680 9,165 5,746

1993 55,784 6,806 3,134

1994 56,872 6,277 4,094

1995 57,952 8,162 6,538

1996 58,805 7,309 5,613

1997 59,968 10,016 7,408

Source : Government of India, Ministry of Labour, Various Issues of Indian LabourYear Book and Pocket Book of Labour Statistics.

Documents

Indian Trade Union Movement