Problems of Trade Unions in India and

Measures to strengthen them.

 Introduction
 Over the years, trade unions in India have been taken for a ride by
outside, political leaders.
 In the process, the interests of workers and their aspirations have been
totally neglected.
 The Trade Unions Act, 1926, did not go for recognizing a representative
union. As a result multiple unions have cropped up, often with blessings
from management and outsiders.
 The union finances have not been very sound in the beginning. The
average membership figures for each union remain poor and have not
improved.
 The forces of liberalization unleashed in early 90s have strengthened the
hands of employers in closing down unviable units.
 The new corporate ‘mantras’ productivity, performance, efficiency,
survival of the fittest have virtually pushed them to the wall-where their
very survival looks uncertain
 Problems faced by Trade unions in
India.
 Trade Union leadership: The nature of
leadership significantly influences the union-
management relations as the leadership is the
lynch-pin of the management of trade unions. The
leadership of most of the trade unions in India has
been outside leadership mainly drawn from
political parties.
 Multiple unions: Multiple unionism both at the plant
and industry levels pose a serious threat to industrial
peace and harmony in India. The situation of multiple
unions is said to prevail when two or more unions in
the same plant or industry try to assert rival claims
over each other and function with overlapping
jurisdiction. Multiple unionism is not a phenomenon
unique to India. It exists even in advanced countries like
UK and USA. Multiple unionism affects the industrial
relations system both positively and negatively.
Inter Union Rivalry: The formal basis for Trade Union
Organization is provided by the Trade Unions Act, 1926. The
relevant article reads as follows: “Any seven or more
members of a trade union may be subscribing their name to
the roles of the trade union and by otherwise complying with
the provisions of this act with respect to the registration,
apply for registration of the trade union under this Act.”

This provision has led to the formation of multiple unions and

resulted in inter union rivalry in different industries. But the
inter-union rivalry breaks the very purpose of the trade
unions by weakening the strength of collective bargaining. On
the other hand, the existence of a single, strong union not
only protects the employee interests more effectively but also
halts the various unproductive activities of the unions and
forces the leaders to concentrate on the strategic issues.
Finance: Sound financial position is an essential ingredient for
the effective functioning of trade unions, because in the process
of rendering services or fulfilling their goals, trade unions have to
perform a variety of functions and organize programmes which
require enormous financial commitments. Hence, it is imperative
on the part of a trade union to strengthen its financial position.
But it is felt that the income and expenditure of trade unions in
India over the years is such, with few exceptions, that the
financial position of the union is generally weak, affecting their
functioning.
The primary source of income to the unions is membership
subscription. Their other sources of union finances are donations,
sale of periodicals, etc. The items of expenditure include:
allowances to office bearers, salaries to office, annual
convention/meeting expenses, rents, stationery, printing, postage,
telegrams, etc.
• Low membership:
• Heterogeneous nature of labour: Since workers
come to the factory with varying backgrounds, it is
difficult for them to put a joint front in case of trouble.
Employers exploit the situation, under the
circumstances, by dividing workers on the basis of race,
religion,language,caste,etc.
• Lack of Interest: For a large majority of workers,
unionism even today remains a foreign issue. In fact,
workers avoid union activities out of sheer disinterest.
Those who become part of the union, do not also
participate in the union work enthusiastically.
 Absence of paid office bearers: Weak finances do
not permit unions to engage the services of full time,
paid office bearers. Union activists, who work on a part
time basis, neither have the time nor the energy to take
up union activities sincerely and diligently.
 Other problems: The other factors responsible for
the unsound functioning of trade unions in India are:
Illiteracy: Workers in India fail to understand the
implications of modern trade unionism.
 Uneven growth: Trade unionism activities are, more
or less, confined to major metros in India and traceable
only in large scale units (especially cotton textile. Some
other source of finance may also explored to make
trade union financially healthy.
 Problems with recognition of trade
unions:
The process that leads to recognition of unions is
a lengthy one. In the initial stages, union
recognition is very difficult, and even discourage.
There is a long list of criteria that a union must
meet in order to become certified and recognized
by the industry.
Opposition from Employers
Apart from the fact that most employers are not prepared to
recognize trade unions, they also do not let their employees
from a union. This the employers are able to achieve by
adopting certain punitive measures like intimidating
employees victimizing union leaders, initiating disciplinary
action against employees indulging in union activities and so
on.
Some employers also start rival unions with the support of
certain employees.
Sometimes, they may go to the extent of bribing union
leaders to avert a strike or such similar show of protest by
employees.
The employers fail to understand that the union enables the
employees to express their grievances in a democratic
manner and can also be used as a means of promoting better
labour management relationships.
 Measures to strengthen Trade
Union Movement in India
United Labour Front
Unions must put a joint front. Splinter groups multiple unions dissipate
their energies, dilute their power and reduce their effectiveness. Trade
unions should form a sort of labour party and all the trade unions in
the country should be affiliated to it. It gives adequate strength to the
trade unions both industry and Parliament.
Efficient Leadership
Outside political leadership has developed due to the absence of
internal leadership. Outside leadership is the main cause for the
multiple problems of the trade unions. These problems can be
eradicated through the development of leadership talents from within.
Management should encourage internal workers to lead their own
movement. Management and trade unions should provide educational
and training facilities for the development of internal leadership.
 Membership Fees must be raised to improve the
financial condition.
 Unions should not intervene in day-to-day matters. They
must focus on important issues affecting workers.
 Encouraging WPM
 Creating awareness in the workers.
 Trade Unions should make efforts to raise their
declining membership which is world over
phenomenon.
 Trade Unions should be smart, IT savvy
on-line working to have connectivity to
employees abroad as also International
Trade Unions and other Trade bodies.
 Trade Unions have to adapt to new
realities in new business environment.
 Trade unions should extend welfare measures to the
members and actively pursue social responsibilities.
Social responsibility of Trade Unions should go beyond
their limited constituency within members only.
 The Trade Union Act, 1926 should be amended and the
number of members required to form a trade union
should be increased from 7 to 50% of the employees of
an organization. Similarly, the scope for the outside
leadership should be reduced from 50% to about 10%.
The membership subscription should be enhanced to 1
% of the monthly wage of the worker.
 Measures to minimize union rivalry: In view of the evil
effects of inter-union rivalry and the problem of formation of
one union in one industry, it may be necessary to consider
the recommendations of National Commission on Labour,
1969. The recommendations of NCL to minimize union
rivalry are:

 Elimination of party politics and outsiders through building

up of internal leaders;
 Promotion of collective bargaining through recognition of
sole bargaining agents;
 Improving the system of union recognition;
 Encouraging union security; and
 Empowering labour courts to settle inter-union disputes if
they are not settled within the organization.