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. From19thCentury itself there were Employer’s associations in the form of Chamber ofCommerce, Industrial Associations etc. to protect and promote the interests of theirmembers in a concerted manner. After independence, expansion of industrialactivity and grouping worker’s Trade Unions acted as a spur for strengthening andexpansion 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 purpose of 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.

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:

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

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 returnsduring 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

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.