TRADE UNION

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

• Definitions• History (In India)• Features• Objectives• Functions• Structure• Problems

HISTORY

• Development of modern industry, especially in the Western countries, can be traced back to the 18th century. Industrial development in India on Western lines, however commenced from the middle of the 19th century. The first organised Trade Union in India named as the Madras Labour Union was formed in the year 1918. Since then a large number of unions sprang up in almost all the industrial centres of the country. Similarly, entrepreneurs also formed their organisations to protect their interests.

DEFINATION• Trade Unions are the groups set-up with the aim of

trying to create fairness and job security in a workplace.

• Section 2(h) of the Trade Union Act,1926 has define a trade union as:“Any combination, whether temporary or permanent, former primarily for the purpose of regulating the relation between workman and workmen or between employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more trade unions.

Features of trade unions:I. It is an organisation formed by employees or workers.II. It is formed on a continuous basis. It is a permanent body and not a casual or temporary one.III. 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.IV. It includes federations of trade unions also.V. It achieves its objectives through collective action and group effort.

What are trade unions?• Trade unions are organisations that represent people at work. Their purpose is to

protect and improve people's pay and conditions of employment. They also campaign for laws and policies which will benefit working people.

• Trade unions exist because an individual worker has very little power to influence decisions that are made about his or her job. By joining together with other workers, there is more chance of having a voice and influence.

• All sorts of jobs and industries are covered by trade unions. Some unions represent people who do a particular job or work in a specific industry - for example, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), as its name suggests, represents journalists, and the Union for Finance Staff (UNIFI) is made up of people who do different jobs in the financial sector.

• Other unions include a mixture of people in different jobs and sectors. The biggest unions in Britain - the GMB, UNISON and the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) represent people working in a range of different occupations and industries in the public and private sectors. Often this is because unions have merged with other unions so that they can increase their membership and their influence.

What do unions do?

• The main service a union provides for its members is negotiation and representation. There are other benefits people get from being members of trade unions.

• Negotiation • Representation • Information and advice • Member services

NegotiationNegotiation is where union representatives discuss with management

issues which affect people working in an organisation. The union finds out the members' views and relays these views to management. There may be

a difference of opinion between management and union members. 'Negotiation' is about finding a solution to these differences. This process

is also known as 'collective bargaining'.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 organisations, unions are said to be 'recognised' for 'collective bargaining' purposes.

Pay, working hours, holidays and changes to working practices are the sorts of issues that are negotiated. People who work in organisations

where unions are recognised are better paid and are less likely to be made redundant than people who work in organisations where unions are not

recognised.

RepresentationTrade unions also represent individual members when they have a

problem at work. If an employee feels they are being unfairly treated, he or she can ask the union representative to help sort out the

difficulty with the manager or employer.If the problem cannot be resolved amicably, the matter may go to an industrial tribunal. Industrial tribunals make sure that employment

laws are properly adhered to by employees and employers. They are made up of people outside the workplace who listen to the

employer's and the employee's point of view and then make a judgement about the case. People can ask their union to represent

them at industrial tribunals. Most cases that go to industrial tribunals are about pay, unfair dismissal, redundancy or discrimination at work.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

Unions have a wealth of information which is useful to people at work. They can advise on a range of issues like how much holiday you are entitled to each year, how much pay you will get if you go on maternity leave, and how you can obtain training at work.

Information and advice

Member servicesDuring the last ten years, trade unions have increased the range of

services they offer their members. These include: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 to look after members who hit hard times. Some of the older unions offer

financial help to their members when they are sick or unemployed

What is the 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-to-rule 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. © Photolibrary Group

• The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is often used to help find a solution to a dispute which is acceptable to both sides.

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OBJECTIVES

• Better Wages• Better Working conditions• Bonus• Resist unsuitable schemes• Secure welfare• Project Interest of workers• Social welfare• Organisational gowth and stablilty

FUNCTIONS

• Militant• Fraternal

•Intra-mural activities•Extra-mural activitie•Political activities.

Why do workers join unions

• Greater Bargaining Power• Makes their voice heard• Minimise discrimination• Sense of security• Sense of Participation• Sense of Belongingness

Reasons Why Employees Join Unions

• Protection• Social pressure• Compulsion• Political beliefs• Solidarity• Tradition• Pay and conditions• Communication• Health and safety

CRITICISM OF TRADE UNION BY EMPLOYERS

• Lack of education• May not welcome change• Strick on Illogical basis• Creation of Artificical scanity of labour• Undue demands relating to wages

Type of Union Description / Example

Craft of skills union

To represent skilled workers e.g. Musicians Union (MU)

Industrial unions

To represent the members of one particular industry e.g. Fire Brigades Union

(FBU)

General unions

Unions which recruit workers from all types of industries and with any level or range of skills e.g. Amicus – the Manufacturing Science and Finance Union (MSF)

White-collar unions

Represent office workers e.g. National Union of Teachers (NUT)

1. Reformist Unions • Business Unions• Friendly Unions

2. Revolutionary unions

• Political unions• Anarchist unions

Another way of clasification:

STRUCTURE OF TRADE UNIONS

• Plant level Federations• Local level Federations • Regional Level Federations • National Level Federations

Unions structure diagram

• Union Members• Shop Stewards (Union Representatives)• Branches District and Regional Offices• National Office

• Trade unions are democratic organisations which are accountable to their members for their policies and actions. Unions are normally modelled on the following structure:

• Members - people who pay a subscription to belong to a union

• Shop stewards - sometimes called union representatives - who are elected by members of the union to represent them to management

• Branches - which support union members in different organisations locally. There is usually a branch secretary who is elected by local members

• District and/or regional offices - these are usually staffed by full time union officials. These are people who are paid to offer advice and support to union members locally

• A national office - the union's headquarters which offers support to union members and negotiates or campaigns for improvements to their working conditions. At the top of the organisation there is usually a General Secretary and a National Executive Committee, elected by the union's members.

TRADE UNIONS ACT1926

• 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.

• 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

Four important central organisations of workers in India are

1. The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). The Congress Party and the top congress leaders formed the INTUC like Nehru and Patel were associated with it. Every

union affiliated to INTUC has to submit its dispute to arbitration after exhausting other means of settlement of disputes.

2. The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). This union serves as the labour forum of Communist Party of India at present. It is considered as the second largest

union in India.3. The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS). It was formed in Calcutta by the socialists

who neither approved INTUC nor AITUC. The HMS was organised with a view to keeping its members free from any political or other outside interference.

4. The United Trade Union Congress (UTUC). Those persons who were dissident socialist formed it. It functions mainly in Kerala and West Bengal.

5. Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU). The Marxists separated from the AITUC in May 1970 and formed the CITU.

In addition to the above, there are four other central trade union organisations. They are:• Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)

• National Labour Organisation (NLO)

• National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU)

• Trade Union Congress Committee

PROBLEMS AND WEAKNESS OF TRADE UNIONS

• Uneven growth• Limited membership• Multiplicity of unions • Outside leadership• Financial problems• Indifferent attitude of workers

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 between £5 and £8 a month. 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.

How do trade unions recruit their members?Different unions cover different jobs and industries. People are able to join the most

appropriate union for their job or sector.People are recruited to unions in different ways. Most people find out about the union by talking to colleagues at the workplace and then make direct contact with the union. Others are contacted by the union representative who gives them information about

the union and tells them how to join. Some employers and personnel officers tell employees about the union when they start working for the organisation.

Unions are stepping up their efforts to attract new members. Some are using adverts in newspapers and magazines, television commercials and leaflets as part of high profile

recruitment campaigns. The target for these efforts is often people who work part time, in temporary jobs or in small organisations where in the past union membership has

not been very high.Begun in 1998, the 'New Unionism' project aimed to boost Trade Union membership, especially in newly-emerging industries and amongst members of the population who have been under-represented traditionally in the trade unions. The project set up new

union roles of Academy Organisers who were trained intensively for 12 months in order to work as specialist union organisers. Research was carried out by Cardiff Business

School in 2003 into the project's effectiveness; the resulting report is The Organising Academy - five years on.

How has trade union membership changed in recent years?

• In 2003, union membership in Britain, estimated from the Labour Force Survey, was 7.42 million. The proportion of all employees who were union members was 29.1%. These are the overall figures but union membership varies enormously by industry and by the types of jobs that people do.

• Trade union membership has declined over the last two decades. In 1979 13.3 million people were members of trade unions and the proportion of employees who were union members stood at 55%. A comparison of membership data for the period 1992-2003 can be seen on the ONS Web site.

Trade unions negotiate pay and conditions for people in a wide range of occupations.There are several reasons for this fall in membership, including:•a dramatic fall in the number of jobs in manufacturing industries where union membership was traditionally high •larger numbers of unemployed people •a fall in traditional full time employment and an increase in part time and temporary workers who are less likely to join unions •an increase in the proportion of the workforce employed by small companies where it is often difficult for unions to organise •hostile legislation - the previous Conservative government introduced laws which make it more difficult for unions to operate and keep their members. .

However, trade union membership is still quite high and many people are employed in workplaces where unions are recognised by management for negotiating pay and conditions of employment.There is also evidence that the decline in union membership is beginning to slow up. The TUC has launched a major recruitment drive called 'New Unionism - Organising for Growth' and many unions are stepping up their efforts to recruit in new industries and jobs. More and more people are turning to trade unions because they want the protection they can provide

SUGGESTIONS FOR HEALTHY GROWTH OF UNIONS

• One Union Per Industry• Paid Union Officials• Development of Internal Leadership• Recognition of Trade Unions• Improved Financial condition

THANKS