Business Standard

Anatomy of trade union: Collective bargaining, realising workers' strength

Since India is a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), it has to provide representation to the workers in various forums that involve tripartite discussions

Workers staging a sit-in, demanding higher wages, at Samsung’s plant in Sriperumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters)

File image of Samsung workers staging a sit-in | (Photo: Reuters)

Shiva Rajora New Delhi

Listen to This Article

Over a century after India’s first trade union Madras Labour Union was formed in Chennai by B P Wadia in 1918, the recent month-long strike by nearly 1,400 workers at a Samsung Electronics manufacturing unit near Chennai has put the spotlight back on labour unions in India. Here is a look at various facets related to the formation and membership of trade unions.
 
What is the role of a trade union?
 
One of the fundamental principles behind forming a trade union is the realisation of the ‘collective bargaining’ principle by the workers against their employers. The Madras High Court in the  Rangaswami versus Registrar of Trade Unions, 1962, case said that the objective of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 is “the organisation of labour to enable collective bargaining”. Collective bargaining is statutorily recognised under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947.
 
 
The Supreme Court in Ram Prasad Vishwakarma versus The Chairman, Industrial Tribunal, 1960 also noted how labour was at a “great disadvantage” before the “days of collective bargaining”.
 
Tapan Sen, general secretary, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) says that it is to realise the collective strength that workers form a trade union.
 
Who can form a trade union?
 
Under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution, all Indian citizens are guaranteed the right "to form associations and unions or cooperative societies". This was upheld by the Supreme Court in the B R Singh versus Union of India case in 1989, where the apex court noted that “Trade unionists act as mouthpieces of labour”. However, like other fundamental rights, the right to form a union is also not absolute and the state or the courts could “reasonably” restrict it if there is a danger to public order, morality, sovereignty or integrity of India.
 
Sen says the rise of contractual workers has led to the putting of explicit conditions on employees to not join a trade union, which is a greater restriction and infringes on the fundamental right of a worker while weakening the ‘collective bargaining’ principle.  
 
How are trade unions registered and recognised?
 
Under the Trade Union Act 1926, it is the obligation of the state, acting through the Registrar of Trade Unions, to register the trade unions. The benefits of registration include immunity from both civil and criminal action. Section 4 of the Act notes that even seven members could apply for registration of their union. Under Section 6, the Registrar has to merely examine whether a trade union’s rules conform with the rules of the Act.
 
Since India is a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), it has to provide representation to the workers in various forums that involve tripartite discussions. However, no law governs the recognition of a trade union by the government.
 
For this purpose, a ‘Code of Discipline’ was adopted in 1958 by all the participating workers and employers organisations in the 16th Indian Labour Conference which paved the way for evolving a mechanism to recognise trade unions by the government. This includes the decennial census conducted by the labour ministry.
 
The last such census started in 2011 but got mired in procedural delays and could not be completed. Hence, according to the 2002 trade union census, there are 12 recognised Central Unions.
 
The new Industrial Relations Code 2020 provides a statutory mechanism to recognise trade unions. Under section 99, the new code provides for the 'appropriate government' to make rules for the recognition of a trade union or a federation of trade unions at both the central and state levels for such purpose, as may be prescribed.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Oct 27 2024 | 1:25 PM IST

Explore News