NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.: Trade Unions

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In India, trade unions doest a not enjoy a healthy situations for various reasons. Can you illustrate the major obstacles in trade unions?

Answer: Sufficient time has elapsed since the founding of trade unions in India. But unlike western countries, the Indian trade unions have not made the expected progress. They suffer from a number of lacunas. They have trade unions have not made the expected progress. They have not developed on proper growth of trade unions. In India industries all these conditions are not fully met. There are various types of obstacles in the development of Indian labour unions. Chiefly this fall into two categories internal and external difficulties. The internal difficulties are related to labor and the external difficulties pertain to industrialists, intermediaries and official laws. Following discussion will make the nature of these two types of difficulties clear.

Internal Obstacles

Indian labour has certain traits peculiar to it. Some of these traits have proved to be obstacles in the way of growth of labour unions. Mainly following traits of labour prove to be hindrances in the way of labour unions development and growth.

Migratory compulsions: The majority of Indian labour hails from rural areas. The families of the most of them reside in villages. Under these circumstance workers do not reside permanently in cities. As and when they get leave or holidays they go to their wives and children. Thus they are unable to visit participate regularly in the confabulations and discussions of trade unions.

Majority of Indian labour is illiterate: For any organization it is vitally important its members are educated or not. The educated members are an asset and the illiterate members a liability to the organizations. Education broadens the outlook of the individuals. An educated person understands what is beneficial and what is harmful to him. Because of illiterate members and not able to read or write

  • ignorant: Uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field; “she is ignorant of quantum mechanics” “he is musically illiterate”
  • lacking culture, especially in language and literature
  • a person unable to read

Heterogeneous Character

from the above discussion it is plain that Indian labour has a tendency to migrate form place to place. In every big industrial center one can find workers coming from almost all regions of India. These workers are of very heterogeneous character. They differ inter se in regard to language, religion and habits of food and dress. On the account of wide heterogeneity of the workers a sense of unity cannot easily take root among them. On account of wide heterogeneity of the workers a sense of unity cannot easily take root among them. But for the success of trade unions the trait of unity is of paramount importance. Any workers even to day practice unsociability. Thus it is plain that the heterogeneous character of Indian labor proves to be stumbling block in the progress and development of the Indian trade union movement.

Low Economic Standards

The economies conditions of Indian labour are not good. The average Indian workers earnings are too low that he can bearly meet the expenses of this family with his wages. On account of low wages he is usually in debt on account of their poverty, the workers are unable to take active part in trade union activity.

Mutual Strike

in India there are numerous independent functioning trade unions. Each of these trade unions is under the influences of one or the other political party. The political parties are usually at cross purposes and pursing contradictory policies. The political parties misuse trade unions to further their own political ends. This tendency foments dissensions and the strike among trade unions. The mutual strike among trade unions weakens them.

Lack of Able Leadership

the majority of Indian workers is illiterate and ignorant. None of these illiterate workers father the courage to take up the leadership of trade union. Besides not processing courage these persons lack the ability and capacity for leadership. Under these circumstances outsiders are usually the leaders of Indian trade unions.

An unemployment problem the problem of unemployment in India is greeting worse every day, the workers have to toil hard in order to find a job. Once person finds job he is most reluctant to leave it. This is so because finding an alternative job is both uncertain and hazardous. Average Indian workers under the impression that by joining trade unions he is putting his job in danger

External Obstacles

Beside internal Impediments there are certain external obstacles which impede and the growth of trade unionism in India. The more important of these obstacles are concerned with role of intermediaries, recruitments of workers, the industrialists management boards and labour and industrial laws.

Advantage and Disadvantages of Broken Recruitment

Advantages of Broker Recruitments

Following are the main advantage if recruitments

  • Easy availability of workers
  • There are times when workers are not easily available. In certain industries average workers repelled by them and do not want to work under those conditions at any cost whatever. The industrialist are unable to find sufficient workers for running of their industries. Under circumstances are unable to find sufficient workers for running of their industries. Under the circumstances where workers are not easy to come by the industrialists feel constrains to rely upon brokers for the recruitment. These brokers go around places to persuade, entices and entangle workers. They bring workers to the industries under many pretexts and gradually gain such hold over them that the workers can ill afforded to defy them. In India the coal-mines and tea-gardens are the two industries where brokers do the recruitments of workers almost exclusively. Facility in industrial management
  • The brokers in industries know everything about workers. They are well informed about their background, their adaptability and above all their problems regarding work. Therefore they are able to give to the employers from time to time a correct assessment about them. Based on this assessment they are able to take advance action to rectify the genuine problems of the workers and also check the building up of frustration in workers. Thus the brokers play a useful role in keeping the wheels of industry moving by aiding in successful management of the problems of workers. The brokers are useful to the employers in another way. They know everything about the activities of the workers and are able to give advance information about strike, sabotage etc. Lessening of employer՚s responsibility as it is clear from the above discussion the brokers perform many functions of the employers. The overseeing of workers problems, maintenance of their attendances record and settlement of intra-factional rivalries of workers are some of the tasks, which the brokers competently look after. In some places the brokers impart general training to workers. On account of all these factors the responsibility of the employers in much reduced.

Disadvantages of Broker Recruitment

It is fact that a large section of workers recruited to industry in India through the via media of brokers. There are certain advantage of recruitment of workers through brokers, bit f we view the overall situation we should find that the system of recruitment through brokers is very defective. On account of its glaring lacunas this system has always been subject to criticism. Some of the defects of this system are

  • Exploitation of workers: The majority of industrial workers in India are illiterate and poor. Moreover India is a populous country and the supply of workers for jobs far exceeds the demand under these circumstances it is rather difficult to find any suitable job. Taking advantage of this situation and brokers exploit the workers and charge commission for getting them jobs.
  • Sometimes the workers are forced to make regular monthly payments to brokers. The brokers also charge money for condoning inefficient work, granting leave and for recommending promotions. Thus brokers exploit the workers in every possible way. Recruitment of incompetent workers: It is quite apparent form the above discussion that the real criterion of recruitment of workers by brokers is commission graft or bribe. As can be easily appreciated, payment or commission manes that preference in recruitment will be given to those who are able to give the maximum bribe. Under these conditions the necessary conditions of getting employment is not efficiently of work but ability to pay. Thus in broker-recruitment system many an income tenet worker gets entry into industry.
  • Increase in industrial conflicts: The brokers as a rule in extremely hard hearted. In order to remain in the good books of industrialists they give exaggerated or false accounts about the activities of workers.
  • Their game is not one sided; it is dual. They not only report against workers and employers in dark about real situation and try to exploit both to their personal advantage.
  • Thus while acting as go between or contact man between workers and employers they normally are instrumental in increasing of industrial conflicts.
  • Non availability of permanent workers: By employing various forms of enticement, percussion etc, and brokers bring innocent persons form far off villages and primitive tribal belts to cities for industrial jobs.
  • These innocents persons are unable to adjust with the urban climate and the complexities of urban life terrify them. Therefore they do not like to stay in the cities for any length of time and rush back to their villages at the first available opportunity. Thus the recruitment by brokers fails to get the industrialists permanents workers. The transient labour as can be well appreciated is great liability.