EXCEL BOOKS

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Chapter

2
5
TRADE UNIONS
AND
EMPLOYERS
ASSOCIATIONS

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ANNOTATED OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION
A 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

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Objectives of trade unions

Securing economic benefits to members

Improving the working conditions

Protecting members from unilateral acts and disciplinary actions of

management

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

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Structure Of Trade Unions

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 and

international unions

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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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Union recognition: criteria and rights

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 an

undertaking.
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.

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The Legal Framework

Code of Discipline, 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, the

one with the largest membership should be recognised.

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The Legal Framework

Verification of trade union membership
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 one
union. 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.

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Current Trends In Trade Unionism

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.

Reasons for the Paradigm shift

aq

Militancy does not

Political base shrinking

Public sympathy disappearing

Jobs vanishing at an alarming rate

Membership figures sinking

Trade Unions And Employers Associations