EMERGED ACROSS THE GLOBE. THEY CAN BE CLASSIFIED UNDER TWO BROAD HEADS: (A) THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS FORMED; AND (B) ON THE BASIS OF MEMBERSHIP The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)
The INTUC came into existence on May 4, 1948 as a
result of the resolution passed by the Central Board of Hindustan Mazdoor Sevak Sangh (HMSS) on 17 November, 1947. A conference was held under the chairmanship of its president Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which was inaugurated by J. B. Kripalani on May 3, 1947 and was attended by J.L.Nehru, Jagjiwan Ram, R.S.Shukla, Hare Krishna Mehtab, Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, Aruna Asaf Ali, Ashok Mehta and S.C.Banerjee (the grand old man of labour in Bengal) Objectives: (i) to establish an order of society which is free from hindrances to an all round development of its members
(ii) to place industry under national ownership
(iii) to secure increasing association of members in the administration of industry (iv) to organize society in such a manner as to ensure full employment (v) to promote social, civic and political interest of workers,etc Basic objectives were inspired by the Sarvodaya philosophy The constitution of the INTUC emphasizes on the adoption of peaceful means, consistent with the Gandhian philosophy of co- trusteeship, Ahimsa and Satya The means, therefore, are negotiation, conciliation and if necessary adjudication of disputes It is associated with the ILO since 1949 and is the founder member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Union Congress. It publishes an English weekly Indian Worker and a Hindi weekly
All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
It was established as a result of a resolution passed by the organized workers of Bombay in a conference, which was attended by Motilal Nehru, M.A.Jinnah, Annie Besant, and Patel, on 31st October, 1920 Its first president was Lala Lajpat Rai Objectives: There are in all eight objectives: (i) to establish a socialist state in India (ii) to socialise and nationalise means of production, distribution and exchange (iii) to ameliorate the economic and social conditions of the working class
(iv) to watch, promote and further the interests, rights,
and privileges of workers in all matters of employment (v) to secure and maintain for the workers freedom of speech, of press, of assembly, and the right to strike The AITUC endeavours to achieve these objectives by the legitimate, peaceful and democratic methods In its 17th session AITUC adopted a two pillar policy: to help in the development of the economy and to defend the interest of the working class in that economy AITUC is affiliated to World Federation of Trade Unions. It publishes Hindi version of its organ Vishwa Darshan United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)
Some trade union leaders of Socialist bent formed Hind
Mazdoor Sabha. Some leaders did not agree to it and they formed on April 30, 1949 a new union called United Trade Union Congress (UTUC) Objectives: In all there are 6 objectives. Major ones are: (i) to establish a socialist society in India (ii) to establish a workers and peasants state in India (iii) to nationalise and socialise the means of production, distribution and exchange (iv) to protect and promote workers rights & privileges (v) to secure and promote workers freedom of speech of press, of association, of assembly, right to strike, etc
These objectives are to be achieved by the peaceful,
democratic means. Strike should be the last resort Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) It is the outcome of a decision taken by Jan Sangh at Bhopal on 23rd July, 1954. Its General Secretary was Dattopant Thengadi Objectives: (i) to establish the Bharatiya order of classless society in which there shall be secured full employment (ii) to assist workers in organising themselves in trade unions as a medium of service to the motherland (iii) the right to strike; and (iv) to inculcate in the mindset of the workers the spirit of service, cooperation, and dutifulness
The BMS is a productivity-oriented , non-political
trade union. Its ideological basis is the triple formula: (i) Nationalise the labour; (ii) labourise the country; and industrialise the nation It rejects the idea of state control. It tries to bring consumers as the third and the most important party to industrial relations. Its accent is on patriotism For the furtherance and realisation of its aims and objectives the Sangh employs all legitimate means National Front of Indian Trade Union (NFITU)
This union was founded in 1967 with the claim of not
being controlled by any political party Objectives: (i) to organise and unite trade unions with the object of bringing up a National Central Organisation of trade unions, independent of political parties, employers and the government (ii) to secure to members full facilities of recognition and to raise their social, economic, and cultural conditions (iii) to help in every possible way to raise real wages of workers In the fourth Congress of NFITU (November 1975) a declaration of principles was adopted, which stated
Every human being possesses fundamental, spiritual, and
indefensible rights as man is a creature of Supreme Being Centre Of Indian Trade Union (CITU) This union was founded in 1970. Its constitution says: (i) The CITU stands for achieving complete emancipation of the society from all exploitation (ii) The CITU fights against all encroachments on the economic and social rights of the workers (iii) The CITU demands (i) nationalization of all foreign monopoly concerns (ii) and of all concerns owned by Indian monopolists and big industrialists Unions classified according to purpose
Normally two types of union fall under this category:
1. Reformist and 2. Revolutionary Reformist Unions: These unions aim at preserving the capitalist society and the maintenance of usual employer-employee relationship along with elimination of competitive system of production They neither seek comprehensive change nor wish to destroy the existing social, economic or political structure of the state. They desire only to modify them in accordance with the current modes in society
For example, they may wish to increase labours share in the increased production or they may improve the working conditions by enforcing safety measures
They seek to dignify labour by educating the masses
about it In the U.S.A the unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labour and the Congress of Industrial Organization are predominantly of this type Hoxie has subdivided them into Business unionism and Uplift unionism Business unionism is that form of labour cooperation in which employees enter a successful business relationship with the employers They represent workers in collective bargaining with their employers. They are craft-conscious and not class- conscious
They wish to bring economic advantages to their
members, including increased wages and improved working conditions They use peaceful means and depend primarily upon collective bargaining Such unions favour voluntary arbitration, deprecate strikes and avoid political action, which may be used if all measures fail Friendly or uplift unionism is idealistic in nature and aspires to elevate the moral, intellectual and social life of workers and advocates plans for social regeneration It emphasises such other considerations as education, health, insurance and benefits
It is not craft-conscious but interest-conscious of
workers Revolutionary Unions: These unions aim at destroying the present structure completely and replace it with new and different institutions These unions seek to destroy the capitalist industry, to abolish the wage system and private property This union is extremely class-conscious rather than trade-conscious In the USA Industrial Workers of the World is of this type Revolutionary unionism is of two types: The anarchist and the political
Anarchist unions are those that try to destroy the
existing economic system by revolutionary means Political unions are those that gain power through political action, enactment of laws to eliminate the power of capital and the capitalists, redistributing wealth and giving power to workers Hoxie has also given a third type of union known as the predatory union A predatory union does not subscribe to any ideology It can adopt any method which may deliver results and it sticks at nothing Its characteristic is the ruthless pursuit of the matter in hand by whatever means that seem appropriate at that moment
It is dominated by gangsters and is a tool for the
enrichment of its leaders A hold-up union represents a combination of unscrupulous business agents of a labour organization with equally unscrupulous employers to thrust exorbitant prices upon customers. The workers generally receive only a small part of the increase in the prices and their bosses and employers retain the larger chunk A guerrilla union does not believe in cooperation with the employers. It aims at exploiting whatever it can. It is generally not democratic but boss-ridden. Its leaders are unscrupulous, ruthless and irresponsible and they frequently make use of violence and exploitation
This type of union resorts to terrorism to enforce their
demands A dependent union is one that is dependent wholly or partly on the other unions of employees Unions classified according to membership Four types under this classification: Craft union, Staff union, Industrial union and General union 1. Craft union: It is an organization of workers employed in a particular craft or trade or in a single or two or three related crafts/trades/occupations Such organizations link together those workers that have similar skills, craft training and specialization
Historically speaking it were the craft unions that lent
stability to trade unionism Their members are generally craft-conscious rather than class-conscious and they aim at safeguarding their members against the onslaught of employers Such unions are horizontal in character, for they enroll workers engaged in one or a single group of processes such as spinning, weaving, warping, carpenters, joiners Such unions provide the barest minimum of associative integration 2. Staff union: It is an organization based on the sense of common status and common need for help
It implies a communality of outlook and presupposes
some solidarity between workers of different trades It recruits members from related sectors such as clerks, supervisors, draughtsmen etc. These unions adopt more sophisticated method of bargaining than other unions 3. Industrial union: It is an organization of workers which links all craftsmen and skilled workers in any one industry (such as coal, engineering, textiles) regardless of the differences in craft, skill, grade, position or sex