49 Trade Union

8/8/2019 49 Trade Union

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TRADE UNION

A continuous association of wage earners for the

purpose of maintaining or improving the conditionsof their working lives.

Trade Union means a combination formed for the

purpose of regulating the relations not only betweenworkmen and employers but also between workmenand workmen or between employers and employers

- Trade Union Act 1926


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WHAT IS TRADE UNION

y A trade union is an organized group of workers. Its maingoal is to protect and advance the interests of its members.

y A union often negotiates agreements with employers onpay and conditions. It may also provide legal and financialadvice, sickness benefits and education facilities to itsmembers

y Trade unions aim to represent the interests of people atwork and negotiate with employers for better terms andconditions for their members


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Features of trade unions:y It is an organization formed by employees or workers.

y It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a permanent

body and not a casual or temporary one.y It is formed to protect and promote all kinds of

interests economic, political and social-of itsmembers. The dominant interest with which a union is

concerned is, however, economic.y It achieves its objectives through collective action and

group effort


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FUNCTION OF TRADE UNION

y To secure for workers better wages

y To increase opportunities for promotion and training

y To improve working and living condition

y To provide for educational cultural and recreational facilities

y To promote identity of interests of the workers

y To offer improved level of production and productivity discipline and

high standard of qualityy To promote individual and collective welfare


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Features of trade unions:

y I. It is an organization formed by employees orworkers.

y II. It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a

permanent body and not a casual or temporary one.y III. It is formed to protect and promote all kinds of

interests economic, political and social-of itsmembers. The dominant interest with which a union is

concerned is, however, economic.y IV. It includes federations of trade unions also.

yV. It achieves its objectives through collective actionand group effort.


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Trade Union StructuresCRAFT UNION

Formed of workers belonging to the same craft, occupation or specialization irrespectiveof the industry in which they are employed.

E.g. Indian Pilots guild.

INDUSTRIAL UNION :

y Organized on the basis of an industry rather than a craft.y All the workers-skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled engaged in a particular industry

organize

E.g.

Labor force of a cotton textile factory decides to form a union of workers of different crafts

y Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sabha,Tata workers Union

GENERAL UNION

Membership may cover workers employed in many industries , employments and crafts

E.G

The Jamshedpur Labour Union,whose membership includes workers engaged in differentindustries and crafts of Jamshedpur


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What do unions do?y The main service a union provides for its members is

negotiation and representation. There are other

benefits people get from being members of tradeunions.

y Negotiation

y Representation

y Information and advicey Member services


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Classification according to

agreementy 1. CLOSED SHOP

yAgreement with the union that a worker must be the

member of the union at the time of employment andcontinuous to do so in order to retain his job elseservices are terminated.

y Closed to non-unionists

y Employers freedom to recruit is limited


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2. UNION SHOP

Agreement with the union that a worker would become a

member of the union within a specified period of hissecuring employment and would continue hismembership to retain his job.

Employer free to recruit


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OPEN SHOP

y Membership in a union is in no way compulsory eitherbefore or after employment.

AGENCY SHOP :

yWhen an employee who is not a union member has topay the union a sum equal to subscription.

MAINTENANCE SHOP :

y Where an employee, on choosing to become a memberof a union, is obligated to continue his membership ofthat union throughout his tenure of employment withthat employer


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Names and details of some Unions

in India


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All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

Origin:It was established in 1920 as result of a resolution passed by the organized workers ofBombayand the delegates which met I a conference on 31stOctober, 1920.

Objectives:

y toestablish a socialist state in India;

y tosocializeand nationalize means of production, distribution and exchange;

y to improve the economic and social conditions of the working class;

y to watch, promote, and further the interests, rights, and privileges of the workers in allmatters relating to their employment;

y

to secure and maintain for the workers the freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedomof association freedom of assembly, the right to strike, and the right to work andmaintenance;

y toco-ordinate the activitiesof the labour unions affiliated to theAITUC;

y to abolish political or economic advantage based on caste, creed, community, race orreligion;

y

to secureand maintain for the workers the right to strike


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United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)

Origin:

Some trade union leaders of the socialist bent met together December 1948 to form a newcentral organization of labour, called HindMazdoor Sabha

Objectives:

y The objectives of the UTUC are:

y toestablish a socialist society in India;

y toestablish a workers and peasants state in India;

y to nationalize and socialize the means of production, distribution and exchange;

y to safeguard and promote the interests, rights, and privileges to the workers in allmatters, social, cultural, economic and political;

y to secure and maintain workers freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom ofassociation, freedom of assembly, right to strike, right to work or maintenance and theright to social security;

y to bring about unity in the trade union movement.


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Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)

Origin:

This union has been the outcome of decision taken by the Jana Sangh in its Convention atBhopal on 23rd July, 1954.

Objectives:y to establish the Bhartiya order of classless society in which there shall be secured full

employment;

y to assist workers in organizing themselves in trade unions as medium of service to themotherland irrespective of faiths and political affinities;

y theright tostrike;

y to inculcate in the minds of the workers the spirit of service, co-operation anddutifulness and develop in them a sense of responsibility towards the nation in general

and the industry in particular.

y The BMS is a productivity-oriented non-political trade union. Its ideological basis is thetriple formula:

y nationalizethe labour;

y labourise the industry;

y industrialize the nation;


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Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU)

OriginThis union was formed in 1970when as a result of the rift in the AITUC, some members oftheCommunist party seceded. About the objectives of the CITU, its constitution says:

Objectives:

y The CITU believes that the exploitation of the working class can be ended only bysocializing all means of production, distribution and exchange and establishing asocialist state, that is, it stands for the complete emancipation of the society from allexploitation.

y The CITU fights against all encroachments on the economic and social rights of theworkers and the enlargement of their rights and liberties including the right to strike, forwinning, defending and extending the freedom of the democratic trade unionmovement.

y In the fight for the immediate interest of the working class the CITU demands: (a)nationalization of all foreign monopoly concerns who barbarously exploit the workingclass; (b) nationalization of all concerns owned by Indian monopolists and big industrywho garner huge profits at the expenses of the workers, who exploit the people bypegging prices at a high level and who dictate the anti-labour and anti-people policies ofthe government.

y

The CITU fights against the repressive policy of the government towards the democraticand trade union movement;


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WHAT IS TRADE UNION MOVEMENTy The trade union movement started after 1918, when the workers formed their

associations to improve their conditions. It is, thus, a part of the labourmovement, which is a much wide term

y A trade union is an essential basis of a labour movement for without which onecannot exist, because trade unions are the principal schools in which theworkers learn the lesson of self-reliance and solidarity

y Trade Unionism in India has been the natural out come of the modern factorysystem

y The main elements in the development of trade unions of workers in everycountry have been more or less the same

y The development of trade unionism in India has had a checkered history and astormy career


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TRADE UNI N MOVEMENT

GROWTHSocial Welfare Period (1875-1918)y The development of industries led to large-scale production on the one hand and social

evils like employment and exploitation of women and child labour and the deplorableworkable conditions, the governments attitude of complete indifference in respect ofprotectionof labour from such evils, on the other.

Early Trade Union Period(1918-1924)

y The year 1918 was an important one for the Indian trade union movement.

y The industrial unrest that grew up as a result of grave economic difficulties created bywar. The rising cost of living prompted the workers to demand reasonable wages forwhich purpose they united to take resort to collectiveaction.

Left-Wing Unionism Period (1924-1934)

y In 1924, a violent and long-drawn-out strike by unions led to the arrest, prosecution,conviction and imprisonment of many communist leaders. The rapid growth of the tradeunionism was facilitated by several factors


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TRADE UNION MOVEMENT

GROWTHTrade Unions Unity Period (1935-1938)

y In mid-thirties the state of divided labour movement was natural thoughtundesirable and soon after the first split, attempts at trade union unity began to bemade through the efforts of the Roy Group on the basis of a platform of unity.

Second World War Period (1939-1945)y

The SecondWorldWar, which broke out in September 1939, created new strains in theunited trade union movement.

y Hence, again a rift took place in 1941 and the Radicals left the AITUC with nearly200unions with a membership of 3, 00,000 and formed a new central federation known asthe Indian Federation of Labour

The Post-Independence Period (From 1947 to-date)

y As pointed out earlier, when attempts to restructure the AITUC failed, those believing inthe aims and ideals other than those of the AITUC separated from the organization andestablished the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) inMay, 1947


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Political Affiliations

y

As regards leadership, all the four organizations have their political affiliations,and the leadership, therefore, lies in the hands of the politicians, and not inthose of the working class, which is yet illiterate and backward to wield anyinfluence.

y The AITUC is pro-communist. It is led by the Right CPI. Its attitude towards thegovernment is not entirely hostile, but of course highly critical of thegovernment.

y The UTUC is radical, non-communist and anti-INTUC. It is led by someindependent trade union leaders, the Forward Block and the RevolutionarySocialist Party.

y On the international level, the INTUC is affiliated to the InternationalConfederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) an organization mainly supportedby the Anglo American block; while the AITUC is affiliated to the World

Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), supported by the Communist block.

CRITICISMS


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y Trade Union is an important factor of the currentsociety, as it safeguards the basic interest and needs of

both the employees as well as employers, by givingbetter terms and conditions of employment, securedjobs, better wages, favorable working environmentwhich in turn leads to desired profitability.

49 Trade Union

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