Ankush Bassi, S-017 First Year, 2nd Semester FMS (Part Time), 2011-14 Submitted: 29 January 2012 HRM

- Term Paper 3 Trade Union What is a Trade Union? Trade union is a voluntary organization of workers pertaining to a particular trade, industry or a company and formed to promote and protect their interests and welfare by collective action. They are the most suitable organizations for balancing and improving the relations between the employer and the employees. They are formed not only to cater to the workers' demand, but also for inculcating in them the sense of discipline and responsibility.

Features of trade unions I. II. III. It is an organization formed by employees or workers. It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a permanent body and not a casual or temporary one. It is formed to protect and promote all kinds of interests economic, political and social-of its members. The dominant interest with which a union is concerned is, however, economic. It includes federations of trade unions also. It achieves its objectives through collective action and group effort.

IV. V.

Why they are formed: the Objectives I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. To improve the economic lot of employees by securing for them better wages. To secure better working conditions for the workers. To secure bonus for the employees from the profit of the concern,. To resist schemes of the management which reduce employment, e.g. rationalization and automation. To secure welfare of employees through group schemes which give benefit to every employee. To protect the interests of employees by taking active participation in the management. To secure social welfare of the employees. To secure organizational stability, growth, and leadership.

Functions of Trade Unions One way to classify trade unions is A. Militant Functions B. Fraternal Functions A. Militant functions To achieve higher wages and better working conditions To raise the status of workers as a part of industry To protect labors against victimization and injustice B. Fraternal functions To take up welfare measures for improving the morale of workers To generate self confidence among workers To encourage sincerity and discipline among workers To provide opportunities for promotion and growth To protect women workers against discrimination Another broad classification of the functions of unions may be as follows: (a) Intra-mural activities (b) Extra-mural activities (c) Political activities. A. Intra-mural activities. These consist of those functions of the unions that lead to the betterment of employment conditions such as ensuring adequate wages and salaries, etc. for which the methods adopted may be collective bargaining, negotiations, strikes, etc. B. Extra-mural activities. These activities help the employees to maintain and improve their efficiency or productivity, e.g., measures intended to foster a spirit of cooperation, promote friendly relations, and diffuse education among members and various other types of welfare measures. C. Political activities. Modern trade unions also take up political activities to achieve their objectives. Such activities may be related to the formation of a political party or those reflecting an attempt to seek influence on public policy relating to matters connected with the interests of working class. Trade unions become fragmented whenever there is fragmentation in political parties.

Why do workers consider Trade unions as important? Because, trade unions helps to.. Secure fair wages for workers and improve their opportunities for promotion and training. Safeguard security of tenure and improve their conditions of service.
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Improve working and living conditions of workers. Provide them educational, cultural and recreational facilities. Facilitate technological advancement by broadening the understanding of the workers. Help them in improving levels of production, productivity, discipline and high standard of living. Promote individual and collective welfare and thus correlate the workers' interests with that of their industry. For industrial peace o Decisions taken through the process of collective bargaining and negotiations between employer and unions are more influential o Effective communication between the workers and the management Economic development o Recruitment & selection o Discipline among workforce o Settlement of ID in rational manner

Further reasons, why they join Trade Unions are Greater Bargaining Power Minimization of Discrimination Sense of Security Sense of Participation Sense of Belongingness Platform for self expression Betterment of relationships

Positive Trends in Trade Unions Movement Unions are becoming substantially matured, responsive and realistic in their thinking and action. Discussions among trade union circles are on issues like productivity, TQM, technology, MNCs, competitions, exports and alike. In many leading companies (Telco, Philips, Voltas, Siemens, Hindustan Lever, Blue Star etc.) there are unions, but are not affected by political parties Depoliticisation of Unions.

Role of Trade Unions in Industrial Disputes Most 'collective bargaining' takes place quietly and agreements are quickly reached by the union and the employer. Occasionally disagreements do occur and the two sides cannot agree. In these cases the union may decide to take industrial action.

Industrial action takes different forms. It could mean an over time ban, a work-torule or a strike. There are strict laws which unions have to follow when they take industrial action. A strike is only called as a last resort. Strikes are often in the news but are rare. Both sides have a lot to lose. Employers lose income because of interruptions to production or services. Employees lose their salaries and may find that their jobs are at risk. Usually employers and employees will go to some lengths to avoid the costs of strike action to both groups. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is often used to help find a solution to a dispute which is acceptable to both sides.

How are trade unions financed? Each trade union member pays a subscription. The amount varies from union to union and is normally set at different levels according to the amount people earn. It is usually a small token amount. Some unions reduce the fees for unemployed members. People pay their subscription fees in different ways. It may be collected by direct debit from a bank account, deducted directly from wages or paid in cash or by cheque to a union representative or full time official. In exchange, members receive the benefits of representation, negotiation, protection and other services from their union.

Criticism of Trade Union by Employers Lack of education makes the workers narrow-minded, and prevents them from taking long-term views. Thus, anything, which does not result in an immediate reward, becomes unattractive to them. This attitude is responsible for many strikes and lock-outs in industrial concerns. Trade unions may not welcome rationalization and improved methods of production for the fear that some of the workers will be put out of work. Therefore, they resort to go slow policy that retards industrial progress. When labour unions strike because of illogical grounds, incalculable losses occur to producers, community and the nation. These are harmful to the workers also. They suffer because of the loss of wages. They create artificial scarcity of labour by demanding that only union personnel should be employed. By undue insistence on the payment of standard rates of wages, they have only leveled down the earnings of the efficient workers.

Problems and Weakness of Trade Unions Uneven growth Limited membership Multiplicity of unions Financial problems Indifferent attitude of workers Segmentation of Workforce Core / Periphery Employment Instability Investment Attraction Individualisation of Labour Relations Labour Cost Cutting Leadership Credibility/ Inside vs. Outside leadership Failure of Institutions Emergence of Non-union firms/ E-union/ Cyber-union

Emergence of Trade Unions in India The trade union movement emerged in India between 1850s 1870s. Established in Oct 1920, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was the first national federation of trade unions. Official number of registered trade unions is around 50,000 the actual number may well exceed 100, 000 unions. In India trade unions have a combined membership of more than 2 Crores.

Trade Unions Act 1926 Trade Unions Act, 1926 provides for the registration of the Trade Unions with the Registrars of Trade Unions of their territory. Any seven or more members of a trade union by submitting their names to the registrar of trade unions and otherwise complying with the provisions of the Act with respect to registration may apply for the registration of the Trade Union under the Trade Unions Act. The Act gives protection to registered trade unions in certain cases against civil and criminal action. Present Central Trade Union Organizations are: AIBOC - All India Bank Officers Confederation AISGEF - All India State Government Employees Federation Center of Indian Trade Unions - Major trade union Hind Mazdoor Sabha - Membership, objectives and trade union situation Indian National Trade Union Congress - History, aims, objectives and activities NCOA - National Confederation of Officer's Association of Central Publid Sector Undertakings

Organized Labour - Article on role of organized labour and trade unions in economic liberalization PWTUC - Professional Workers Trade Union Centre of India Trade Union India - Trade union international of public and allied employees

Trade Unions Politics Relationships Strong nexus between trade unions and politics in India Trade Union Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) Political Affiliation Congress CPI CPI (M) BJP