Collective Bargaining in IndiaRecent Trends

Surendra Pratap
Asia Monitor Resource Centre

Introduction
Collective bargaining is actually a struggle for building a democratic and civilized society We can not imagine a civilized society without independent sectional organizations and political parties representing the overall socioeconomic-political interests of the masses

 Whenever capitalist development moved forward at extraordinarily speedy rate, most autocratic regimes ruled the states
Seems most of the third world countries have entered in a similar phase Liberalization and Globalisation means- state acting as corporate agent to remove all barriers for capital accumulation and mobility of capital Therefore suddenly in almost all the third world countries, an all-round attack on right to organizes and collective bargaining

Structure of Work force

> 97 % enterprises in informal sector; 3% formal sector T. Employment: 396 million in 2000 to 456 million in 2005) Informal sector: 393.2 million (86 percent)--Agriculture: 251.7 million self-employed (63%), regular wage workers (17%) and casual 20 % Formal sector employment increased from 54.9 to 62.6 million; but formal employment increased only from 33.6 million to 35.0 million 70,000 registered unions (politically affiliated and independent) and non-registered organizations Total verified membership about 2.5 crore (25.5 million) about 30% of it represented by agricultural workers Union density in India only 8 percent

Labour Legislations in India

1. Laws for regulating Conditions of Service The Factories Act, 1948---10 or more workers (Crche: if 30 or more women; rest room: if 150 or more workers; canteen: if 250 or more workers; ambulance, dispensary, and medical and paramedical staff: if 500 or more workers). Mines Act, 1952; Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966; Building and Other Construction Workers Act 1995; Motor Transport Workers Act 1961; Plantation Labour Act 1951; Working Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1955; Sales promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act 1976; Apprentices Act 1961; Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1979 Weekly Holidays Act 1942 Contract Labour (Regulation) Act 1970 Shops and Establishment Acts of various States (establishments not registered under Factories Act)

Labour Legislations in India

2. Labour Relations Laws a) Trades Union Act, 1926 (7 or more workers) b) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (Procedural aspects to all workers; Chapter V B: 100 or more workers, VA: 50 or more workers) c) Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946: (100 or more workers----in some states 50 or more, only in UP-10 or more) 3. Wage Laws: Minimum Wage Act 1948 (all workers) Payment of Wages Act 1936; (10 or more workers, < Rs 1600 pm) Payment of Bonus Act 1965; (20 or more workers, < Rs 3500 pm) 4. Labour Laws regarding Human Rights: Child Labour (Prohibition and regulation) Act 1986; The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act; Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 Equal Remuneration Act 1976.

Labour Legislations in India

5. Social Security Laws: Employees Provident and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952: (if 10 or more workers) Employees State Insurance Act 1948: (20 or more workers) Maternity Benefit Act 1961 (if 10 or more workers) Payment Gratuity Act 1972 (if 10 or more workers) Workmens Compensation Act 1923 (all workers) Unorganized Workers Social Security Act 2008 : (unorganized workers below poverty line)(National Old Age Pension Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme, Scheme for protection during maternity, medical insurance schemes etc.)

Legal Boundaries for Collective Bargaining

No ratification of ILO conventions-C-87 and C-98 Limited scope and coverage of R2A and CB with in legal boundaries of TU Act and ID Act TU Act and ID Act silent on the issue of recognition of trade unions

Legal Boundaries for Collective Bargaining

Right to strike is not a fundamental right but a legal right governed by Industrial Disputes Act 1947. Section 10k: can be imposed to prohibit strikes or Lockouts; section 22 : In Public Utility Services---strike notice of 6 weeks Section 23: Prohibition of strikes during the pendency of conciliation, arbitration and court proceedings TU activities granted immunity from the applicability of CRPC but not in case of illegal strikes

CTUOs in India
BMS - Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (far right political party BJP)members: 6 million INTUC - Indian National Trade Union Congress (Congress Party), members: 3.8 million AITUC - All India Trade Union Congress (CPI)- members: 3.3 million HMS - Hind Mazdoor Sabha (independent-socialist) -members: 3.2 million CITU - Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CPI-M) members: 2.6 million UTUC (LS) - United Trade Union Congress (Lenin Sarani) (SUCI) UTUC - United Trade Union Congress (Revolutionary Socialist Party) TUCC - Trade Unions co-ordination Centre (All India Forward Block) SEWA- Self-Employed Women's Association (independent)recently listed LPF- Labour Progressive Front (DMK)recently listed ICCTU- All-India Central Council of Trade Unions (CPI-ML-liberation)recently listed INTTUC-Indian National Trinmool Trade Union Congress (All India Trinmool Congress)-recently listed

Further Shrinking the Space for Collective Bargaining

Amending the Trade union Act 10% or 100, whichever is less, subject to a minimum of 7 workmen members for registrationlimiting no. of outsiders Banning the Strikes by using ESMA TN-ESMA in 2003: imposed on general strike of government and public sector employees- 170000 employees were dismissed-lastly reduced to 6074

Judicial Precedents Imposing Further Limitations General strike in Tamil Nadu (2003) TR Rangarajan vs Government of Tamil Nadu, AIR 2003 SC 3032): government employees have no fundamental right to strike Kerala geneal strike 1997: Bandhs (general Strikes) are illegal; Order of HC Kerala upheld by SC In 2004, Calcutta High Court delivered similar decision Making SEZs and NMIZs Immune to Trade Union Actions All SEZs and NIMZs declared as public utility services Amendments proposed: applicability of protective sections of ID Act and CL Act, No outsiders in trade unions etc. Right to join unions in NMIZs only to low paid workers

Declining wage share in India, 19932007 World of Work Report, ILO

2010

New Trends : 1
New wave of labour movement for unionization A new wave of workers struggle for unionization; Workers struggle in Graziano Transmissioni in Noida, NCR Delhi, Rico Auto Ltd and Sunbeam Auto Ltd in Gurgaon, Pricol in Coimbtore, Hyundai motors, Foxconn and Madras Rubber Factory in Chennai, Nestle in Uttarakhand, and Viva Global in Gurgaon etc. Efforts to develop unity among the CTUOs resulted in Coordination Committee of eight CTUOs and the first joint action was successful all India strike on Nov 7, 2010. Individualized Bargaining : Spurt in individualised bargaining mainly due to rampant informalisation

Strikes and Lockouts from 2002 to 2005

ITEM No. of Strikes No. of Workers Involved Man-days lost No. of Lockouts No. of Workers Involved Man-days lost 16,921,382 2,70,49,961 19,037,630 18,864,313 9,664,537 284 179,048 3,205,950 297 804,969 4,828,737 241 169,167 10,800,686 229 190,817 2002 295 900,386 2003 255 1,010,976 2004 236 1,903,054 2005 227 2,722,784

Labour Bureau, Government of India

Strikes and Lockouts 2005-09

www.livemint.com/2009/12/.../The-rise-of-the-new-proletaria.html

The case of Viva Global

400 male workers and 200 females workers in company --- demand for wage increment in April 2010 after minimum wages revised in January 2010--- stopped the work for two hrs every day April 8-10 One worker dismissed---protest----15 workers taken in custody Workers started their efforts to form trade union Protest ended-demands fulfilled---minimum wage, formal contract-ESI and PF But Soon management started throwing out workers one by one Workers successfully registered union in May 2010; collectively protested against this move Aug 21: all contract workers thrown out-protest at the factory gate Management locked out the factory, regular workers also thrown out August 25: 20-25 local goons brutally attacked the factory workers

The case of Viva Global

One worker was caught and abducted by the goons.

Accounts of Abducted worker: I was put in backside box of a car. Lastly the car stopped and the goons closed my eyes with some cloth before taking me out of the box. They took me to a house and hit me with whatever they had till they received directions on phone to take me to another place. Thereafter they took me to a jungle and threatened to kill me. But soon after they received directions on phone and therefore they again put me in the same backside box of the car and threw me out at Delhi-Gurgaon Border. As soon as I reached my residence from there, the police also reached there and took me to the Police Station and then to the hospital and from there I again came to the place where sit-in-protest of workers was going on.

New Trends: 2
Informalisation and New Paradigm of CB Emphasis on Community organizing rather than at shopfloor; Collective Bargaining at Industry or National level rather than factory level; adopting more political forms of struggle than traditional union tactics In many industrial sectors, for example in garment-the situation provides only two options: individual bargaining or Industry level/national level bargaining and requires political forms of struggle New initiatives to organize informal sector workers: Many local level unions of rural workers and also regional platforms of rural workers have started emerging Particularly arround NREGA.

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