Chapter No.

6 Industrial Relations and Trade Unionism - Approaches to Trade Union In our last lecture we have discussed Historical Evolution and Aspects of Trade Union in India. In our lecture of date we will discuss different theories of trade union. There is no unanimity among industrial relations experts with respect of the evolutionary aspect of trade union, so accordingly, a vide varieties of ideologies have been proposed, each pro ecting a distinct point of view. In fact, the purpose of the ideologies, approaches or theories is to high light the basic factors that led to the growth of trade unions. According to !ohn. T. "unlop, any ideology pertaining to the evolution of trade union see#s to answer $ueries li#e% & i' ii' iii' iv' (hat factors led to the growth of trade union at early stages (hat conditions favoured the formation of unions) (hat are the patterns of growth and development in different industries and geographical areas where union are found) (hat are the ultimate goals of trade union) How do they affect the political, economic and social structure of the country in long run) Arthur . d. butler adds two more $uestions namely %& *. How do unions decide which goals to see# through collective bargaining) +. How do the unions decide the techni$ue to use in accomplishing their goals)

The answer of these $uestions lies in different theories, which will discuss in ensuing class lectures. The theories are as under%& *. +. 0. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 8. ,arxian -lass .truggle Theory (ebb/s theory of Industrial "emocracy -ole/s theory of Industrial Unionism Hoxies theory of business union Tannenabum/s anti&technology theory -ommon/s pragmatic approach 5earlman/s theory of scarcity consciousness 7err and Associates protest theory ,ahatama 9andhi .arvodya theory.

*. ,arxian class struggle theory. The growth of socialistic ideas has been another important force for organised labour movement. According to 7arl ,arx %

i' ii' iii' iv'

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the fight for power by proletarian class :wor#ers' to overthrow the capitalist class ,arx traced the origin of trade unionism to the growth of industrial capitalism Trade union represents a prime instrument for class struggle ;abor organi<ation provides the locus of the wor#ing class towards change in the structure of the society because with the emergence of trade union movement the decay of capitalist would be inevitable. ,otives which drive wor#ers into oining trade union are economic insecurity, political exploitation and social degradation.

Webbs theory of Industrial Democracy The husband wife team of Sydney Webb and Beatrice Webb (dominant leaders of labour party of Britain) emphasized that ! i) trade unionism is an e"tension of democracy from# political sphere to that of industry and to o$ercome the dan%er of mana%erial dictatorship & Trade unionism is not an instrument for re$olutionary to o$erthrow of the capitalist order but on the contrary# is a mean of e'ualizin% the bar%ainin% power of labour and capital and thus encoura%in% the adoption common rules which are practical and humane& placed ma(or emphasis upon the ad$erse effects of competition& In the )*i%%lin% mar+et the ruthless stru%%le for commercial and industrial sur$i$al based on the competiti$e prices with the lon% chain of pressure e"tendin% from consumer throu%h retailer, whole seller,manufacturer& pro$ide their member minimum rate of wa%es# minimum wor+in% condition# in terms of hours,sanitation!!!safety etc& union mo$ement is not an instrument of re$olution to o$erthrow the capitalist order& It is merely to eliminate industrial autocracy and replace it with industrial democracy& Webb ad$ocated the method of mutual insurance# collecti$e bar%ainin% and le%al enactment&

ii)

iii) i$)

$) $i)

$ii)

-ole/s Theory of Industrial Unionism and -ontrol of Industry

The views of -ole/s were published in =The (orld of ;abour> in *8*0. -ole/s has visuali<ed that in future the goal of labour is something more than the (ebb/s representation of interest of wor#ers and something less than the ,arxian dictatorship of the proletariat. -ole has suggested that ?control of industry/ should be by the true [producers i.e. the wor#ers . in partnership with the state. The principle of union development necessary to this end is industrial unionism, of which -ole was leading profounder. He said that the class struggle is preached not on the ground that is desirable, but one the ground that is monstrous. .ocial&5sychological Approach of @obert A.Hoxie According to Hoxie, the trade union grew out of the socio&psychological environment of the wor#ers and not purely because of economic reasons. He observed =(or#ers are economically and socially associated and too divergent and training will tend to develop a common interpretation of the social situation and a common solution of the problem of living. Hoxie has classified union according to their structural and functional operations such as%& *. Business Unionism also known as the Bread and Butter unionism These unions are trade conscious rather then class conscious. They accept the existing economic system and aim at bringing about improvement in the wages and wor#ing conditions of their members. -ollective bargaining is the usual method of achieving their goal. +. Friendly or Uplift Unionism- .uch unions are idealistic in nature and elevate the moral, social and intellectual life of the wor#ers. To achieve their aim these union advocate use of political methods such as setting of cooperative enterprises, profit sharing, mutual insurance etc. 0. Revolutionary Unionism& .uch unions are extremely radical both view point and in action. They are distinctly class conscious rather then trade consciousness. They aim at replacing the capitalistic system by socialistic system. They believe in political action or direct action in the form of stri#es, boycotts, sabotage and violence. 1. Predatory Unionism B Unions of these types does not subscribe to any ideology. .uch unions are characteri<ed by their ruthless pursuit of immediate ends. They use collective bargaining, secret bribery and violence to settle their dispute. 9angsters dominate it.

2. "ependent Unionism B .uch type of union is dependent on the support of wor#ers or other labour groups. This type of union appears in two forms B -ompany Union and ;abel Union. The former depend entirely on employer whereas the second type depends upon the label imprinted on the products made by the union members. Tannenbaum/s Anti&Technology Theory& According to Tannenbaum, machine is the center of gravity in present day industrial community because the emergence of trade union is lin#ed with the dominance of machinery. The trade union movement aims at control over the machinery so as to overcome insecurity. -ommon/s 5ragmatic Approach B The theory of -ommon is based mostly on environmental factors. That is why it is called =environmental theory of labour movement>. -ommon regarded the labour movement in America as delayed due to following factors% i' ii' iii' iv' Aree ;and Tremendous expansion of mar#ets Effect of the new competition upon labour movement Immigration with its influx of races, nationalities and languages

-ommon observed that the above factors had positive correlation with the rise and fall of union activity. 5erlman/s Theory of .carcity -onsciousness B .elig 5erlman wrote extensively on labour movement and being the author of =A History of Trade Unionism in United .tates>:*8++' and =A Theory of ;abour ,ovement>:*8+6'. According to 5erlman the trade unionism developed because to the wor#er/s scarcity consciousness. This arose in the minds of wor#ers because of the fact that their economic position cannot improve beyond that which is barely sufficient to cover minimum essential of an ordinary standard of living.The union established certain ob rights which is rationale. 7err and Associate/s 5rotest Theory & 7err, "unlop etc observed that the wor#er protest is inherent in industrialisation. These authors used the more general term ?labour organisation/ in place of trade union. 7err and Associates feel that the leadership of industrialisation process is ta#en by one of the five ideal types, namely Dynastic Elite B the unions underta#e social function at the plant level and indulge in political activities challenging the wor#ers.

The Middle Class B the union underta#es the regulation of management at the local level as well as independent political activity, which does not challenge the wor#ers. The Re olutionary Intellectuals- union/s main function is to act as an instrument of the party to educate and lead the wor#ers. The Colonial Administrators ! nationalist and independence leaders and intellectual leaders with large following provide the leadership of such union. Ideologically such unions are anti colonial and fight for independence. Nationalist elites- Ideologically the unions are nationalist and nationalist leaders provide the leadership. ,ahatma 9andhi .arvodaya Theory ,ahatma 9andhi/s philosophy is based upon the ?.arvodaya/ principle of Truth, Con&violence and trusteeship in which class harmony prevails. 9andhi i has put emphasis on %& i' ii' iii' iv' v' Union are not anti&capitalist organi<ation Union fights for the wor#ers for ?rightfully due to the wor#ers/ Union is reformist organi<ation and economic institution -apital and labour are not antagonistic but are supplement to each other. 9andhi i preached the union leader to underta#e programme for teaching supplementary occupations to labour so that uncertainty of unemployment during stri#e period may be reduced.

9andhi was not against stri#e. "uring the stri#e of Textile (or#er at Ahemdabad he said that the stri#e was =inherent right of the wor#ing men for the purpose of securing ustice, but the stri#e must be considered a crime immediately the capitalist accept the principle of arbitration. According to 9andhi i the stri#e could succeeds if following conditions are fulfilled% & *. The cause of the stri#e must be ust +. (or#ers should go on stri#e if capitalist does not respond moral appeal before stri#e and other approached are exhausted. 0. .tri#e should be resorted if period of fair notice has expired 1. The .tri#e should be peaceful and non&violent. 2. There should be practical unanimity amongst the wor#ers