hrm - excel books - chapter 25

8/9/2019 HRM - Excel Books - Chapter 25

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TRADE UNIONS

AND

EMPLOYERS

ASSOCIATIONS

EXCEL BOOKS25-1

25Chapter


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ANNOTATED OUTLINE

25-2

INTRODUCTIONA trade union is a formal association of workers, acting collectively,

who seek to protect and promote their mutual interests through

collective action

Trade Unions And Employers Associations

Features It is an association of employees or employers or of independent workers

It is a relatively permanent formation of workers

It is formed to secure certain economic benefits to members

It emphasizes joint, coordinated action and collective bargaining


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Securing economic benefits to members

Improving the working conditions

Protecting members from unilateral acts and disciplinary actions ofmanagement

Fighting against inappropriate personnel policies

Promoting the welfare of members

Improving employer-employee relations

Carrying out negotiations with management in a fair manner

Safeguarding organisational health and the interests of the industry

Functions of trade unions Intra-mural functions

Extra-mural functions

Political functions

Social functions

Objectives of trade unions



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Craft union: It is a union whose members done type of work,

often using specialised skills and training.

Industrial union: It is a union that includes many persons

working in the same industry or company regardless of jobs

held.

General union: This type of union consists of workers

employed in different industries and crafts within a particular

city or region.

Federation: It is a group of autonomous, national andinternational unions

Structure Of Trade Unions



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Growth Of Trade Union Movement AndMembership


Early period: Social workers, philanthropists, religious leaders led the

movement, mostly, on humanitarian grounds. After the Factories Act,

1881 was passed, important unions sprouted up slowly.

Modest beginning: The outbreak of World War! and the subsequent

economic, political and social conditions influenced the growth of trade

union movement. The establishment ofILO in 1919 helped formation ofseveral unions between 1919 and 1923.

All India Trade Union Congress: The AITUC was formed in 1920

followed by the establishment of All India Railwaymen's Federation in

1922. Unions began to adopt militant postures to achieve their

demands. Splits and mergers were quite common. The influence of

political parties was quite significant. Current status: It has been a long and arduous road for the trade

union movement in India, a past boasting of prominent national leaders

at centre stage, to militant presence till 1990s and a painful process of

fighting for survival till 2000 and an uncertain future in the midst of

tumultuous economic, social, political and technological changes.


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The Legal Framework

The Trade Union Act, 1926 legalises the formation of trade unions by

any seven persons employed in a unit quite easily. A registered union

has certain advantages to its credit. Due to inter union and intra union

rivalry, it is not easy to carry out negotiations with a recognised union in

India. The Act, of course, has not cleared the fog either.



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The Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, classified the registered unions as:

i. Representative union having a membership of not less than 25% of the total

employees as members in an industry;

ii. Qualified union having at least 5% of membership in an industry; and

iii. Primary union having a membership of at least 15% of employees in anundertaking.

The rights of a Representative union under the Act are:

a. First preference to appear or act in any proceedings under the Act as the

representative of employees;

b. Right to submit a dispute for arbitration;

c. To make a special application to the Labour Court to hold an inquiry; and

d. Office-bearers of the union cannot be dismissed or discharged.


Unionrecognition:criteriaandrights


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Collective bargaining can succeed only when the employer recognises a trade

union as the sole bargaining agent (in a multi-union situation) and agrees to

negotiate with it on various issues affecting the lives of workers. A union may be

strong, having a large majority of workers standing by its side, but unless it is

recognised by the employer it will not be able to deliver the goods. If the employer

refuses to recognise such a fact, for any reason whatsoever, it may not be able to

obtain any concessions for its members. Denial of recognition to a union enjoyingmajority may lead both parties to a tug-of-war situation, seriously impacting

industrial activities. Since there is no Central Law for compulsory recognition of

unions, the employers are free to recognise any union of their own choice. In a

multi-union situation the employer is compelled to verify the claims of contending

unions in a careful way, following the procedure recommended by the 16th

Tripartite Labour Conference, 1958. The employer, by and large, is also free to

grant recognition to any union, purely guided by his whims or political strength ofthe union.


Employerdecideseverything?


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Code ofDiscipline, 1958

When multiple unions exit, the union claiming recognition should

be functioning for at least one year after recognition

The membership of the union should cover at least 15% of

workers in the establishment

To be recognised as a representative union for an industry in a

local area, the union should have membership of at least 25 per

cent of workers in that area

In case of multiple unions in an establishment or industry, theone with the largest membership should be recognised.


The Legal Framework


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Verificationoftradeunionmembership

The majority character of a union is not easy to decide because of

claims and counter claims from warring factions. Proper

membership records, often, are not available. There is the problem

of common names appearing in the registers of more than oneunion. Union leaders often divide workers along caste, community,

religion, linguistic and regional lines. The check off system

(whereby members pay their respective fee directly into the

account of the union concerned) is offered as a viable alternative

to solve the knotty issue.


The Legal Framework


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Problems Of Trade Unions

The factors responsible for the ever-growing list of problems faced

by trade unions in India may be recounted thus:


Trade union leadership: Outside leaders have hijacked the

trade union movement right from the beginning. Absence of

strong leaders from the ranks of workers, inability to representthe woes of workers in a forceful manner, the presence of

towering political personalities willing to serve the cause of

workers, the illiteracy of workers, by and large, contributed to

this peculiar phenomenon.


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Evileffectsofoutsideleadership

Slow growth of unions

Weakening of the overall goals for which unions existed

Coming in the way of nurturing strong leaders from the ranks of workers

Inability to understand the problems of workers

Inhibiting the development of one union in one industry

Personal agendas of leaders gaining priority over workers' overall interests


Multiple unions: This came in the way of a healthy and

democratic growth of labour movement in the country. The

small size, naturally, affected the bargaining powers of theunion severely.


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The Legal Framework

Union rivalry: The inter-union and intra-union rivalry helped the

cause of the employer more than that of workers. The warring

factions, consequently, had very little time to put up a joint,

coordinated fight before employers even under extremely trying

conditions.

Financial woes: The membership fee is pathetically low. There

were very few opportunities to raise funds otherwise. To keep

workers in good humour, often, unions had to organised

functions and programmes, out of merciful grants offered by

employers. This had a telling effect on their bargaining powers.

Other problems: Illiteracy, low membership, heterogeneous

nature of labour, lack of interest on the part of a large majority of

workers, absence of paid office bearers etc were some of the

other problems faced by trade unions.


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Of late, trade unions have been pushed to the wall due to factors

such as: global competition, restructuring exercises carried out by

companies from time to time just to survive, rising costs of

manufacturing, lack of support from the general public and the

government; privatisation, failure to deliver results in case of a

prolonged battle etc.


Current Trends In Trade Unionism

ReasonsfortheParadigmshift

Militancy does not

Political base shrinking

Public sympathy disappearing

Jobs vanishing at an alarming rate

Membership figures sinking

aq


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Measurestostrengthentradeunionmovement

In order to strengthen the trade union movement in the country, there

is an urgent need to improve trade union finances, develop leaders

from the ranks of workers, recognise a bargaining agent on the basis

of strong membership figures, promote one union one industry

policy, strict criteria for recognising a representative union , strongpolitical support for labour-related issues etc.



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Employers Associations


Employers associations are formed, primarily, to promote and protect

the interests of employers in trade and industry.

ObjectivesEmployers Associations are formed to promote and protect interests of employers in

trade and industry. They are formal groups of employers set up to defend, representor advise affiliated employers . They perform several important functions:

Primary

a. Promote and protect the interests of employers engaged in industry, trade and

commerce in India.

b. Study, analyse and disseminate information relating to labour policy, labour-

management relations, collective bargaining, etc.

c. Offer advice concerning various aspects of labour policy.

d. Liaise with Union Government and initiate steps that are representative and

legislative in nature.

Cont


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Secondary

e. Train and develop staff and members.

f. Obtain data on wages and conditions of work in industries attached to them.

g. Come out with surveys, research-based reports on issues of importance to

both labour and management.

h. Take up projects for social and family welfare.

i. Deal with safety and health at work place and working environment.

j. Initiate steps to improve public image and improve public relations.

k. Educate the public regarding the character, scope, importance and needs of

trade, industry and commerce represented by members.




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Status in India

All India Organisation Of Employers

The Employers Federation OfIndia

International Organisation Of Employers


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