assignment of industrial relation copy
TRANSCRIPT
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DEFINITION OF TRADE UNION
A trade union is an organization of employees formed on a continuous basis for the
purpose of securing diverse range of benefits. It is a continuous association of
wage earners for the purpose of maintaining and improving the conditions of their
workinglives.
The Trade Union Act 1926 defines a trade union as a combination, whether
temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the
relations between workmen and employers or between workmen and workmen, or
between employers and employers, or for imposing restrictive condition on the
conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more trade
unions.
This definition is very exhaustive as it includes associations of both the workers
and employers and the federations of their associations. Here, the relationships that
have been talked about are both temporary and permanent. This means it applies to
temporary workers (or contractual employees) as well. Then this definition,
primarily, talks about three relationships. They are the relationships between the:
workmen and workmen, workmen and employers, and employers and employers.
Thus, a trade union can be seen as a group of employees in a particular sector,
whose aim is to negotiate with employers over pay, job security, working hours,
etc, using the collective power of its members. In general, a union is there to
represent the interests of its members, and may even engage in political activity
where legislation affects their members. Trade unions are voluntary associations
formed for the pursuit of protecting the common interests of its members and also
promote welfare. They protect the economic, political and social interests of their
members.
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The Trade Union Movement in India
The trade union movements origin in a sense can be traced back to very early date
to the time when villages had panchayats and guilds for settling disputes between
the masters and their members. The panchayats prescribed the code of conductwhich was rigidly observed by its members. Its non-observance resulted in
expulsion from the community. Trade unions, as understood today, however
originated in the first quarter of the present century, although the groundwork was
laid during the last quarter of the 19th
century. In Mumbai, as early as in 1975, a
movement was started by reformers under the leadership of Sorabji Shapurju. They
protested against the appealing conditions of the factory workers and appealed for
introduction of adequate legislation to prevent them. The credit of laying the
foundation of the organized labour movement in India is at time accorded to Mr.
N.M. Lokhande, a factory worker himself. An agitation was organized by him a
19884 in Mumbai. This resulted in certain amenities being extended to the mill
workers which led to the organization of the Mumbai Milhands Association.
Actually a real organized labour movement in India started at eh end of the First
World War. Rising prices, without a corresponding increase in wages, despite the
employers making huge profits, led to a new awakening. Many trade unions were
formed throughout India. There were a number of strikes during 1919 to 1922. To
this was added the influence of the Russian Revolution, the establishment of theILO (International Labour Organisation) and the All-India Trade Union Congress.
Thie4 speeded up the pace of the trade union movement. Following the Second
World War, there was a spiraling of prices. The workers once again became
restive. This further indirectly strengthened the movement in India.
The labour world in India is dominated mainly by four central organization of
labour. These unions are, in fact, federations of affiliated union units which
function on regional, local and craft bases. These are:
1.All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC): An important event in the historyof trade union movement in India was the organization of the All-India
Trade Union Congress in 1920. Mr. Nehru took a prominent part in the
organization of this Congress. It followed the pattern of the trade union s in
the United Kingdom. The effort toward unified action in the matter of labour
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was, however, short-lived and soon it came under the domination of the
Communists and Radicals. This lienated any prominent people who did not
subscribe to the views and ideology of the communists. At present, it is the
second largest union of workers and is still controlled by Communists and
fellow-travellers.
2. Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC): In May, the IndianNational Trade Union Congress was organized by the Congress party on its
labour front. This was formed with the help of the Hindustan Mazdoor
Sewak Sangh which consisted of those who believed in Gandhian methods
and had left the AITUC in 1937 under of leadership of Mr. M.N. Roy. The
INTUC received the blessings of the top congress leaders at the Centre like
Mr. Nehru and Sardar Patel. The prominent leaders of ATLA and HMSS
were elected office-bearers of INTUC. One of the important points of the
constitution of Indian National Trade Union Congress is that every affiliated
union has to agree to submit to arbitration every individual dispute in which
settlement is not reached thorough negotiations. There must be no strikes till
other means of settlement are exhausted. In 1948, the Government of India
declared that INTUC, and not AITUC, was the most representative
organization of labour in the country entitled to represent Indian labour in
I.L.O.
3.Hind Mazdoor Sangha (HMS) : The socialists in the Congress disapprovednot only the Communist run AITUC but also the Congress-sponsored
INTUC, particularly because it advocated compulsory arbitration as a
method of resolving industrial disputes. For sometime the activities of
socialist leaders were coordinated by the Hind Mazdoor Panchayat.
Subsequently when they left the Congress, they met in Kolkatta in
December, 1948 and a new federation by the Hind Mazdoor domination by
employers, Government and political parties.
4. United Trade Union Congress (UTUC): The dissidents from the SocialistLeaders Congerence held at Kolkatta in December, 1948 proceeded to
establish yet another federation of trade unions in April-May 1949 under the
name of United Trade Union Congress. The UTUS is more radical than
HMS but less revolutionary in its objectives and policies than AITUC.
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FEATURES OF TRADE UNION
1. It is an association either of employers or employees or of independentworkers. They may consist of :- Employers association (eg., Employers Federation of India, Indian paper
mill association, etc.)
General labor unions Friendly societies Unions of intellectual labor (eg, All India Teachers Association)
2.It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a permanent body and not a casual or
temporary one. They persist throughout the year.
3.It is formed to protect and promote all kinds of interestseconomic, political andsocial-of its members. The dominant interest with which a union is concerned is,
however, economic.
4.It achieves its objectives through collective action and group effort. Negotiationsand collective bargaining are the tools for accomplishing objectives.
5.Trade unions have shown remarkable progress since their inception; moreover,
the character of trade unions has also been changing. In spite of only focusing onthe economic benefits of workers, the trade unions are also working towards
raising the status of labors as a part of industry.
NEED FOR TRADE UNION
One of the main reasons of workers joining a trade union been their belief toget wages increased and maintained at a reasonable standard through
collective action and their realization that individual bargaining was utterlyuseless for this purpose.
Since the employee, as an individual, feels specially weak, he prefers to joinan organization that my afford him an opportunity to join others for the
achievement of those objectives that he considers as socially desirable.
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The employees may join the unions to ensure a just and fair dealing bymanagement.
Through collective strength, they restrain the management from taking anysuch action which may be irrational, illogical, discriminatory or contrary totheir general interests.
Another reason of employees joining some union may be the broaderrealization on their part that unions fulfill the important need for adequate
machinery for proper maintenance of labour-management relations.
Employees may join the unions because of their belief that it is an effectiveway to secure adequate protection form various types of hazards and income
insecurity such as accident injury, illness, unemployment etc.
The employees may join the unions because of their feeling that this wouldenable them to communicate their views, ideas, feelings and frustrations to
the management effectively.
Individuals may join the unions in the hope of finding a job through theirinfluence in the company management.
TYPES OF TRADE UNION
In the early 20th century when trade unions were being established, the major
models available were:
1. the craft union, which was either based on a single craft or on multiplecrafts, or one that was spread across an entire industry relating to similar
crafts. It became known as an industrial union in a horizontal arrangement;
2. the industrial union, which was vertically structured in a single industry andexisted across a geographical area; and
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3. the white collar union which existed mainly for public sector workers, manyof which started as associations.
Trade unions may, for the purpose of analysis, be divided into a number of
categories, as follows:
Craft union : The earliest form of trade union , one whose membership is
restricted to a particular category of skilled or craft workers , for instance, printers,
carpenters and so on. Membership of craft unions is usually restricted to those who
have completed the recognised qualification for the craft or skill in question,
frequently an apprenticeship. Being closed unions (see below), craft unions may be
quite small: for example, the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers of Ireland
has 720 members as of January 1992, and the Cork Operative Butchers' Society149 members at the same date.
General union : A trade union which has no form of restriction on categories of
worker who may join. There are no limits on the industrial or occupational area of
recruitment. As such, general unions are open unions (see below), and tend to be
fairly large. The largest general union in Ireland, the Services, Industrial,
Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), has 190,500 members in the Republic
of Ireland as of December 1992 and amounts to 43 per cent. of the Republic's total
ICTUaffiliated trade union membership. As some trade unions move away from
their original areas of recruitment, so they may become more like general unions;
for example, the British-based union EETPU (now amalgamated with the
engineering union AEU to become AEEU) which was originally a craft union, hasnow moved into a number of other sectors and recruited many semiskilled workers,
thus having become closer to a general union than a craft union. Similarly, theretail and distributive union IDATU has widened its areas of recruitment.
Industry union : A union which confines its recruitment to one particular industry
or industrial sector, and aims to recruit all workers at all grades in that area. There
are very few "pure" industrial unions in Ireland, but the Communications Workers'
Union is the most prominent union in the postal and telecommunications sector,
and the non-ICTU National Busworkers' Union competes with SIPTU in recruiting
workers in the two CIE bus companies. In attempting to recruit all grades of
workers in the industry, industry unions are therefore vertical unions; however, the
existence of the Communication Managers' Union blocks the CWU's attempts torecruit managerial staff.
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Occupational union : A union which confines its recruitment to particular
occupational areas, many of which may require the holding of certain
qualifications in the same way as craft unions. Occupational unions mainly exist in
the white-collar area: for teachers, civil servants, police, bank employees and so
on. Many Irish occupational unions are structured along the lines of grade or type
of staff: for example, membership of civil service unions is highly structured
according to grade, and the four teaching unions respectively represent primary,
secondary, vocational and university teachers. Occupational unions also exist for
workers in the health services, but these are more commonly referred to asprofessional unions.
Professional unions : Unions whose membership is restricted to members of the
same or similar professional areas. Professional unions are thus another form of
craft union, but members of these unions would regard themselves as being of a
higher status. Examples of professional unions are the National Union ofJournalists and unions representing health professionals, such as those for doctors
or nurses, and teaching unions. Most health unions are not affiliated to the ICTU,with the exception of the Irish Nurses' Organisation which affiliated in 1990.
Vertical union : A union which recruits vertically through grades; in other words,
workers from the lowest "shop-floor" grade up to management are recruited.
Many professional unions are vertical: for example, those representing nurses and
teachers, among others. The difficulty with vertical unions is the potential they
contain for conflict between the grades, which may be manifested in different
views on what union policy should be in a particular area, or even in cases wherethe management structure means that the workers in dispute and the managers
against whom the dispute is taken are in the same union.
White-collar union : A union which recruits primarily whitecollar workers, in
other words, non-manual workers. Whitecollar unions represent general clerical
workers and workers from the services sector, including financial services. The
main expansion in trade union membership since the 1960s has been in this area.
The largest white-collar union is the MSF, although the general unions have a large
proportion of white-collar workers in membership, and trade unions representing
clerical grades in the civil service and local government may also be classed aswhitecollar.
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OBJECTIVE OF TRADE UNION Representation
Trade unions represent individual workers when they have a
problem at work. If an employee feels he is being unfairly treated,
he can ask the union representative to help sort out the difficultywith the manager or employer. Unions also offer their members
legal representation. Normally this is to help people get financial
compensation for work-related injuries or to assist people who
have to take their employer to court.
NegotiationNegotiation is where union representatives, discuss with
management, the issues which affect people working in anorganization. There may be a difference of opinion between
management and union members. Trade unions negotiate with the
employers to find out a solution to these differences. Pay, working
hours, holidays and changes to working practices are the sorts of
issues that are negotiated. In many workplaces there is a formal
agreement between the union and the company which states that
the union has the right to negotiate with the employer. In these
organizations, unions are said to be recognized for collective
bargaining purposes.
Voice in decisions affecting workersThe economic security of employees is determined not only by the
level of wages and duration of their employment, but also by the
managements personal policies which include selection of
employees for lay offs, retrenchment, promotion and transfer.
These policies directly affect workers. The evaluation criteria for
such decisions may not be fair. So, the intervention of unions in
such decision making is a way through which workers can havetheir say in the decision making to safeguard their interests.
Member servicesDuring the last few years, trade unions have increased the range of
services they offer their members. These include:
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Education and training - Most unions run training courses for their
members on employment rights, health and safety and other issues.
Some unions also help members who have left school with little
education by offering courses on basic skills and courses leading to
professional qualifications.
Legal assistance - As well as offering legal advice on employment
issues, some unions give help with personal matters, like housing, wills
and debt.
Financial discounts - People can get discounts on mortgages, insurance
and loans from unions.
Welfare benefits - One of the earliest functions of trade unions was tolook after members who hit hard times. Some of the older unions offer
financial help to their members when they are sick or unemployed
FUNCTIONS OF TRADE UNION
Trade unions main objective is the deliberate regulation of the conditions of
employment in such a way as toward off from the manual working procedures, the
evil effects of industrial competition. The functions of trade unions are as under
Fighting functions: The main functions of Trade Unions are to ensure adequate
wages, secure better conditions of work employment , reduce hours of work., get
better treatment from employers and to secure some share in the profit and also
control of industry . In order to achieve these things, trade Unions adopt the
methods of collective bargaining negotiations, strikes, and boycotts. These
functions of the trade unions are known as militant or fighting functions.
Welfare works: Trade Unions help the worker in the form of sickness and
accident benefits . They support them during unemployment or during strikes
and lockouts. They run schools for the children of the workers they provide
library facilities to their members. They provide indoor and out door games. Inthis way Trade Unions try to increase the welfare of their members.
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Represent their members: They select their leaders to represent them on theboard of directors of companies. They plead on behalf of the workers.
Political functions: Trade Unions try to achieve political objectives of
establishing socialist state. They participate in general elections. They fight inelections.
The other functions of trade union are:
Defending their employee rights and jobs Securing improvements in their working conditions, including hours of work
and health safety at work
Improving their pay and other benefits, including holiday entitlements Encouraging firms to increase worker participation in business decision
making
Improving sick pay, pensions and industrial injury benefits Developing and protecting the skills of union members
.
Problems of Trade Union
The following are some of the most important problems of the trade unions in
India:
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1. Multiplicity of Trade Unions and Inter-union Rivalry2. Small Size of Unions3. Financial Weakness4. Leadership Issues5. Politicalisation of the Unions6. Problems of Recognition of Trade Unions
Multiplicity of trade unions
Multiple rival unionism is one of the great weaknesses of the Indian trade union
movement. Multiple unions are mainly the result of political outsiders wanting toestablish unions of their own, with a view to increasing their political influence.
The existence of different conflicting or rival organisatoins, with divergent
political views, is greatly responsible for inadequate and unhealthy growth of the
movement. Within a single organisation one comes across a number of groups
comprising or insiders and outsiders, new-comers, and old-timers, moderates
and radicals, and high and low caste people. This develops small unions. Inter-
union and intra-union rivalry undermines the strength and solidarity of the workers
in many ways.
Multiplicity of unions lead to inter-union rivalries, which ultimately cuts at the
very root of unionism, weakens the power of collective bargaining, and reduces the
effectiveness of workers in securing their legitimate rights. Therefore, there should
be One union in one Industry.
Inter-union rivalry
Another vexing problem is that of intra-union rivalry. Trade rivalry is acute and
pervades the entire industrial scene in India. Practically every important industry,there exists parallel and competing unions, e.g. on the Indian Railways, there are
two parallel Federations the Indian Railway Mens Federation and Indian
National Federation of Railway-men.
Small Size of unions
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The small size of unions is due to various factors, namely:
The fact that by seven workers may form a union under the Trade Union Actof 1926, and get it registered and a large number of small unions have
grown.
The structure of the trade union organization in the country which is inmost cases the factory or the unit of employment; so whenever employees in
a particular factory or mine are organized, a new union is formed.
Unionism in India started with the big employers and gradually spread tosmaller employers. This process is still continuing and has pulled down the
average membership. Though the number of unions and union membership
are increasing average membership is declining.
Rivalry among the leaders and the Central Organisation has resulted inmultiplicity of unions.
The small size of unions create problems such as:
Lack of funds to help its members. Lack of ability among the leaders and members. Low bargaining power. Rivalry between the unions Lack of unity among workers.
Financial weakness
The financial weakness of the union may be attributed to the small size of union
and poor ability of its members to contribute. The other reasons are low
subscriptions and irregular payments of subscriptions by the members.
Leadership issues
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Another disquieting feature of the trade unions is the outside leadership, i.e.
leadership of trade unions by persons who are professional politicians and lawyers
and who have no history of physical work in the industry. There are several
reasons for this phenomenon, namely.
The rank and the file are largely illiterate as such they cannot effectivelycommunicate with the management;
The unions lack of formal power tends to put a premium on the dharismatictype of the leader, usually a politician, who can play the role of the defender
of the workers against the management;
For ensuring a measure of equation of power in collective bargainingwhere the workers are generally uneducated and have a low status.
For avoiding victimisation of worker-office-bearers of the trade unions; and For lack of financial resources to appoint whole time office-bearers.
These political leaders are inevitably concerned with maximizing their individual
standing as political leaders rather than with, maximizing the welfare of their
members. Further, in bigger unions, direct contact with the rank and file
membership and the top leaders is missing because of their hold on a number of
trade unions in varied fields; they fail to pay adequate attention to any one union.Again, often these union leaders are not adequately aware of the actual needs and
pressing problems of the members. They, therefore cannot put forth the case of the
union effectively.
Outside leadership of the unions leads to political unionism (each union having an
allegiance to a different political party), which in turn, leads to multiplicity of
unions, leading to intra-union rivalry, which cause low membership leading to
unsound finances and in turn, lack of welfare and other constructive activities
which may infuse strength into unions and to conduct collective bargaining
effectively the unions depend on outside leadership, and the vicious circle thus
goes on and on.
Over and again it has been realized that a reorientation of policy is desirable by a
switchover to working class leadership. The National Commmission on Labour
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gave a good deal of though to the issue whether outside leadership shoul be
retained. It felt that, there should be no ban on non-employees holding positions
in the executive body of the unions as that would be a very drastic step. The
Commission also refers to the ILO convention (No. 87) concerning freedom of
association and protection of the right to organize, and the workers organisationshall have the right to elect their representative in full freedom.
The commissions own estimate was that outsiders in the unions executive bodies
would be about 10%, much less than the number legally permitted. It makes the
following recommendations to deal with the problem of outside leadership:
Ex-employees of an industrial enterprise should not be treated as outsiders; Intensification of workers education; Penalties for victimization and similar unfair labour practices such as would
discourage the growth of internal leadership;
Intensification of efforts by trade union organizers to train workers in unionorganisation.
Limiting the proportion of outsiders in the union execute;
Establishing a convention that no union office-bearer will concurrently holdan office in a political party.
Hence, leadership should be promoted from within the rank and file and given a
more responsible role. Initiative should come from the workers themselves through
the launching of a vigorous programme for Workers Education. This will enable
them to participate in the decision-making and managing the union affairs
effectively.
Politicalisation of the unions
On of the biggest problems of the countrys trade union movement faces is the
influence of the political parties. i.e., the most distressing feature is its political
character. Harold Crouch has observed, Even to the most casual observer of the
Indian trade union scene, it must be clear that much of the behaviour of Indian
unions, whether it be militant or passive behaviour can be explained in political
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terms. Dr. Ramans observations are: Trade union multiplicity in India is directly
traceable to the domination and control of the trade union movement by rival
political parties. The clay of unionism is possibly an effervescent industrial
labourers, but the sculptors chiseling it into shape have certainly been members of
political parties.
In a recent study, Dr. Pandey had reached the conclusion: The unions are closely
aligned with political parties, and political leaders continue to dominate the unions
even now The supreme consequence of political involvement of unions in India
in general, formed to safeguard and promote the social and economic interests of
workers, have tended tobecome tools of party politics.
It should be noted that decisions in the trade union fields are taken by the
respective political parties to which the unions are attached and, therefore, with thechanging political situation, the decisions also change. With the split in the
political ideology, there develops factional split in the same trade union professing
the same political ideology. The divisions and sub-divisions, thus made, have
affected adversely the trade union movement. It has become fragmented and
disjointed. Each section pulls itself in different directions; with the result that
instead of becoming a unity and mighty torrential river, the movement is sub-
divided into numerous rivulets.
Dr. Raman ahs very aptly conclude that: The use of political methods by trade
unions may be to their advantage, but the union cause is endangered when unions
allow themselves to become pawns in political fights. Political unionism has
prevented the development of a movement or organisation that could be termed the
workers own and turned the soil upside down to such a degree that it has become
impossible for a genuine labour-inspired, labour-oriented, worker-led trade union
movement to take root.
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