History of Trade Unions in India


- —As an organized movement, trade unions began to take shape in India in the years    
       immediately following the end of the World War I.
—- Indian trade unions did not grow out of any existing institutions in the society.—- The 
       necessity of the formation and development of Trade Unions in India was realized  
       from 1875 onwards by plulanthropists, social workers like Shri Soirabji Shapaji Bengalle  
        and Shri N.M. Lokhandey.
—- As a result of their concrete efforts there was awakening among the workers and they  
       had formed a few trade unions like The Printers Union, Calcutta (1905) the Bombay  
       Postal Union (1907) etc.
—- The necessity of having workers organization on a large scale was realized only after the  
      I World War
—- Labor leaders like Mahatma Gandhi had given due 1mpetus to the organization of 
       workers.
- —Gandhiji  advised the working class, "to combine themselves in the form of 
       unions but not for political motives but for bettering their social or economic positions.
—- By combining into unions the labor would become intelligent enough firstly "to co-- 
       operate with itself' ''and secondly " then to offer co-operation with capital on terms of  
       honorable equality".
- —Besides Gandhiji, the Whitley Commission on Labor in India (1929-31) it emphasized that 
       the need of organization among Indian workmen is great and it further recommended 
       that "nothing but a strong Trade Union movement will give the Indian working class 
       adequate protection .”
—- Besides Gandhi and the Royal Commission on Labor (1929- 31) the necessity of forming 
      Trade Unions has increasingly become more and more on attainment of independence in 
      India.
—- The Trade union movement in India was born after the end of the 1st World War, when -   
       there was an outburst of Industrial strike.
—- This first union was started in Madras by the initiative of Mr. B.P. Wadia in 1918.
—  It was known as the Madras Textile Union.
It did excellent work in redressing the grievances of workers, but in 1921 the law was  
       made use of against it by employers who obtained an order from the Madras High Court  
       restraining the union activities.
- —The event focused the attention of the public, on the need for trade union legislation 
       which did not exist till then in the country.
- —Under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi, the Ahmedabad Textile Labourer's Association    
       in 1920 was able to build up a solidarity among the workers which was unrivalled. The 
       union was one of the strongest in the country.
- —The year 1920 also saw the establishment of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) 
       as a central organization of labor.
—- The main impetus to its founding was the association of India with the International -
       Labor Organization.
—- 'The passing of the Indian Trade Union Act of 1926 conferred a legal and corporate status 
        on registered trade unions and granted them certain immunitiesin regard to trade 
        disputes.
—- The act makes provision for two matters:
The conditions governing the registration
The right and privilege accorded to registered unions.
—- The Act also allowed the funds of the registered unions to be spent for the conduct of -  
       trade disputes and for the provision of benefits to its members.
—- In 1919 the international labor organization was founded and for the purpose of sending 
       representatives to the organization the AITUC was started.
—- In 1926, the Trade Unions Act was passed which was a landmark in the history of the -  
       trade union movement in this country.
—- The Act gave a legal status to the registered trade unions and conferred on them and -  
       their members a measure of immunity from civil suits and criminal prosecution.
- —Registration of Trade Unions enhanced the status of unions in the eyes of the general -  
       public and of the employers.
Towards the end of 1920's there was a split in the Trade Union movement on account of 
       ideological differences among trade union leaders.
—- The AITUC was captured by the communists while the moderates started a new central - 
       labor  organization known as the All India Trade Union Federation.
—- The conflict among the leaders resulted in the failure of many strikes.
—- The Second World War created an emergency and the trade union leaders again were  
        split on the question of participating in the war.
- —The communists following the Russian Communist party wanted to help the British to  
       fight out the Nazis while Nationalist leaders wanted to strengthen the national -   
       movement to over throw the British rule from India.
—- This led to a sharp ideological rift and the trade union movement was split again.
—- Industrial unrest increased during the war because of the mounting cost of livings.
The government used the Defense of India Rules and prohibited strikes and lockouts and  
       referred industries disputes to conciliation and adjudication.
—- The deteriorating economic conditions made workers conscious of the need for making 
        organized efforts for securing relief.
—- This gave a fillip to the union movement and there was a marked increase both in the - 
        number of unions and of organized workers.


Local Brand vs. Worldwide Brands


Worldwide Brand
- based on assumption of market homogeneity
- uniform brand image
- convenient identification
- status and prestige
- maximum market impact
- lower production costs
- lower advertising costs

Local Brands
- allowing quality variations
- easier pronunciation by local consumers
- avoiding negative connotation. 
- avoiding legal complications
- circumventing price control
- discouraging gray marketing


Single Brand vs. Multiple Brands (in one country)


Single Brand
- full attention for maximum impact
- based on assumption of market homogeneity
Multiple Brands
- market segmentation
- based on assumption of market heterogeneity

Some Current Industrial Relations Issues


¢Minimum Wages
¢Flexible/Performance Pay
¢Cross Cultural Management
¢Dispute Prevention
¢IR/ HRM Training
¢Balancing Efficiency with Equity and Labor Market Flexibility
¢Freedom of Association, Labor Rights and Changing Patterns of Work
¢Women
¢Migration
¢Transition Economies

Factors Influencing Change


¢ Changes in labor relations within an organization are often affected by management practices.
¢ The scientific management school (best represented by F. Taylor) viewed the worker as a mere cog in the organizational structure.
¢ Since, according to Taylor, the worker does not possess creative ability let alone intelligence and wisdom, the elements of a human-oriented management system which promotes sound industrial relations such as communication, consultation and participation, found no place in the theory.
¢ The hallmarks of organizations based on this model are centralized and clear lines of authority, a high degree of specialization, a distinct division of labor, numerous rules pertaining to authority and responsibility, and close supervision.
¢ This concept of management can be seen as an ideal breeding ground for an industrial relations system based on conflict rather than on cooperation
¢ The opposite theory, appropriately styled the human relations school, proposed by Douglas McGregor who gave an impetus to the development of a management theory which focused on the human being as part of an enterprise which, in turn, was viewed as a biological system, rather than as a machine.
¢ Human relations, trust, delegation of authority, etc. were some of the features of this theory.
¢ The present trend in labor relations and human resource management is to place greater emphasis on employee involvement, harmonious employer - employee relations and mechanisms, and on practices which promote them.
¢ One of the important consequences of globalization and intense competition has been the pressure on firms to be flexible.
¢ Traditional assumptions that efficiency is achieved through managerial control, technology and allocation of resources have given way to the view that efficiency is the result of greater involvement of employees in their jobs, teams and the enterprise.
¢ Organizations which have made this shift tend to reflect the following characteristics:
¢ Few hierarchical levels;
¢ Wide spans of control;
¢ Continuous staff development;
¢ Self managing work teams;
¢ Job rotation; commitment to quality;
¢ Information sharing;
¢ Pay systems which cater to performance rewards and not only payment for the job;
¢ Generation of high performance expectations;
¢  A common corporate vision; and
¢ Participative leadership styles.
¢ At its inception, the labor market was dominated by the classical economics view which espoused free and unregulated labor markets.
¢ This laissez-faire capitalism led to social injustices and inequities since labor did not have the power to bargain with employers on terms which even approached a degree of equality in bargaining strength.
¢ In more recent times industrial relations has been influenced by other social sciences such as organizational psychology and behavior.
¢ Traditionally economics and law were two main influences on industrial relations, which led to a concentration on macro level industrial relations, and therefore on unions, government and collective bargaining.
¢ Organizational behavior has been influenced by psychology which centers on the individual, and by social psychology which focuses on relationship between people and on group behavior