TRADE UNIONISM

Webbs “A continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining/ improving the condition of their working lives”

Cole “A trade union means an association of workers in one/ more occupations-an association carried on mainly for the purpose of protecting and advancing the members’ economic interest in connection with their daily work”

Trade union act 1928(section 2(h)) “Any combination ,whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of• Regulating the relation workmen and employer workmen and workmen employer and employer• For imposing restrictive conditions on conduct of

any trade/ business ,and any federation of two or more trade unions”

CHARACTERISTICS

• It is a voluntary association of workers formed to protect and promote their interest through collective bargaining.

• Such an association of workers could be temporary temporary/permanent.

• Trade union being voluntary one, worker has choice to join or not to join a union.

• A trade union has also choice or nor to affiliated itself with apex body of trade union and federation of unions.

ROLE/NEED OF TRADE UNION

• Job security• Wages and salary• Working condition• Fair and just supervision• Powerlessness• Need to being

TYPE OF TRADE UNIONS/LABOUR UNIONS

INDUSTRIAL UNION

• Union composed primarily for semi-skilled blue collar employees in the manufacturing industry.

• Also known as vertical union.• It include all workers in particular

company/industry regardless of their occupation.

• Constitute a mixture of skills and lack of homogeneity in skill.

TRADE UNION(CRAFT UNION)

• Association of workers cutting across many cony companies and industries.

• Also known as horizontal union.• Members are belonging to one craft/a closely

related group of occupation.

EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION

• Also known as fraternal order.• Composed of white collar/ professional

employees.Ex : FEDCUTA

THEORIES OF TRADE UNION

REVOLUTIONARY THEORY

• Also known as “The theory of class war and dialectical materialism”.

• Developed by Karl Marx.• Trade union was the foremost organizing center to

provide locus for streamlining the force of working class.

• Instruments to overthrow capitalism. • Instrument of class struggle between workers and

capitalist businessmen. • Workers emancipation involves abolition of capitalism.

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY• Know as “Theory of industrial revolution.”• Enunciated by Sydney and Beatrice Webbs.• Extension of the principle of democracy in industrial

sphere.• Means of equalizing the bargaining power of labour

and capital.• Provides a means by which workers overcome

managerial dictatorship, on the one hand and express their voice in the determination of the conditions under which they have to work on the other hand.

THEORY OF INDUSTRIAL JURISPRUDENCE

• Propounded by S.H Slitcher.• Workers individually fail in bargaining with

employer for protecting their interest.• Trade union served as a means for workers to

protect them in work.

REBELLION THEORY

• Profounder-Frank Tannebaum.• It is a spontaneous outcome in the growth of

Mechanization.• The use of machines lead to exploitation of

workers.• Machines is the cause of labour movement.• Rebellion approach against mechanization

automation of industrial society to protect workers interest in enterprise.

THE GANDHIAN APPROACH

• Based on” class collaboration rather than class conflict and struggle.”

• It is not only related to material aspects but also moral and intellectual aspects.

TRADE UNION MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

PRE-1918 PHASE• Industrial activities where started in 1850.• History of trade union movements was stared in 1875.• First labour agitation-Mr. S.S Bengalee.• As a result the first Factory Commission was appointed in

Bombay (1875) and first Factories Act was passes(1881).• Mr.N.M. Lokhande - founder of organised labour movements

in india.• Founded the first trade union in the country- Bombay Mill

Hands Association(1890).• Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants in India(1897), the

Printers Union of Calcutta (1905),the Madras and Calcutta postal union(1907),the Kamgar Hitwardhak Sabha(1910).

Features of labour movements during pre-1918…

• The movement was mostly lead by the social reformers and philanthropists an not by the workers.

• There was in fact no trade unions existence in the true sense.

• The labour movements was for the workers rather than by the workers.

• The movement was confined to the revolt against the condition of child labour and women workers working in various industries under appalling conditions.

1918-1924 PHASE• Era of formation of modern trade unionism.• The trade union movements got momentum just after

world war 1.• Led the formation of trade unions in the truly

modern sense.• Ahamedabad Textile Labour Association(1917)-

Shrimathi Ansuyaben Sarabai• Madras labour Union(1918)-B.P. Wadia• Indian Seamen’s Union,Calcutta Clerk Union and AlL

India Postal and RMS Association.

FACTORS INFLUENCING Spiralling price of essential commodities during

the post World war 1. The political scenario characterised by Home Rule

Movement and the martial law. The Russian Revolution also swayed the Labour

Movement in India showing a new social order to the common man in the country.

The setting up of International Labour Organisation (ILO)-1919

1925-1934 PHASE(Period of Left Wing Trade Unionism)

• With the increasing hardships of workers, the sign of militant tendencies and revolutionary approach in trade unionism got expression into violent strikes since 1934.

• The communists gained influence during this period and they split trade union congress twice.

NTUF-Mr N.M Joshi and Mr V.V GiriAITUC-Mr S.V Deshpande and B.T. Randive.• Formed two acts-Trade Union Act 1926 and Trade

Dispute Act 1929.

1935-1938 PHASE

• In 1937 Indian National Congress was formed.• 1935-All India Red Trade Union Congress

merged with AITUC • 1938-NTUC also affiliated with AITUC and in

the same year Bombay Industrial Dispute Act was enacted.

1939-1946 PHASE• Unemployment was the great problem during the post

World war II.• This result in big increase in the membership of

registered trade unions.• In 1941 AITUC again split when Dr Aftab Ali, the

president of seamen's association, Calcutta disaffiliated his union from the congress and formed a new organisation known as Indian federation of labour

• 1946-two important enactments(Industrial Employment Act and Industrial Relation Act)

1947 AND SINCE• Political parties has been a distinguishing feature in the

Trade Union history of India during the post independence.

• 1947-Indian National Trade Union Congress INTUC formed by Nationalist and controlled by Congress party.

• AITUC- controlled by communists.• The congress socialist who stayed in AITUC at the time

of formation of INTUC formed the Hindh Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) IN 1948 by Praja Socialist Party.

• HMS splitted and formed Bharathiya Mazdoor Sabha(BMS) affiliated by BJP.

RECENT TRENDS

Attitudinal change

Depolitization of union

Multiplicity of unions.

• PRESENTED BY,

ATHULYA RAVI NO-01 MTTM

MAR IVANIOS COLLEGE