Trade Union Movement

South Asia consists essentially of agrarian economies as the agriculture sector, apart from being the largest employer of the workforce, is also the single largest contributor to the nation’s GDP. Agriculture, however, is practiced on a traditional basis using generations old tools with a heavy component of labour. Manmade irrigation facilities are negligible. Consequently, economic performance in the region is greatly influenced by weather conditions. Agriculture production in Bangladesh, parts of India and Sri Lanka continues to be affected by severe drought and in Nepal by poor monsoon. Flood too is a common occurrence in the region.

Although for the majority income from work is the only source of livelihood, labour issues have receive negligible attention of the concerned authorities. The worker's weak social status and its unorganized nature are primary reasons for his.Consequently, workers’ organizations are either ignored or at worst are considered as a disturbing factor. The employers as well as the governments have been treating unions as less than equal partners in progress, in particular during thepost-liberalization period.

Trade unions, as a representative body of the working class, are functional in all the countries in the region except in Bhutan and Maldives. In Bhutan trade unionism is not permitted, as such there are no unions. In other countries the union’s presence is however confined to the organized sector, which engages less than 10% of the workforce while the unorganized sector accounting for over 90% remains out of their focus. Resultantly, one finds that on the one hand workers in the organized sector are fully protected and are in receipt of the benefits under various schemes, and on the other hand the workers in the unorganized sector, where employment is of informal nature, are practically deprived of protection accruable under various legislation, leaving them to be most exploited section of the population

.Trade Unionism is also facing difficult times in the post reform period. The old protective environment had given way to a competitive environment where their old strategies are proving to be worthless. As such member workers are increasingly becoming dissatisfied with the functioning of their unions as also with its leadership. The proximity of political party as also outside leaders is being questioned. The multiplicity of unions, narrow membership, neglect to workers in the unorganized sector, etc. too has become issues of concern particularly to lower tier of leadership. The emerging nature of trade unionism in South Asia, thus, is faced with declining membership in their traditional areas / industries of concentration in wake of expanding unorganized sector; multiplicity of trade unions; external and politically inclined leadership; emergence of non federated independent unions, obsolete strategies, desire for professionalization etc.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADE UNIONISM IN SOUTH ASIA

An important feature of the union movements in South Asia is related to its origin.
Many of the countries in the region were parts of India prior to their independence.Thus India had acted as a main source of labour philosophy, leadership and legislation. Consequently, the basic features of the trade union movement in South Asian countries are identical with those of India.

Sinha has given characteristic features of the Indian Trade Union Movement,
which could be taken as representative of trade union movements in other South Asian countries as well. Accordingly the Indian Trade Union Movement is close to political parties, has a narrow support base, there is multiplicity of unions, centralized decision making, ad hoc management, obsolete strategies, external and over-aged leaders, personalized and power-oriented leadership, confrontationist attitude, non-existent second tier leadership, and negligible gender representation.

Consequently, the movement is faced with declining power, declining membership, distancing from political parties, emergence of independent/ nonaffiliated trade unions, merger moves amongst trade unions, more co-operative attitude, professionalization of trade union management, etc. These trends have had a negative impact on the growth of trade union movements in the region in the form of:

Declining Membership: One of the most serious developments in the post liberalization period had been declining trends of the trade union membership. Almost all the central trade union organizations have confirmed that they have been losing membership, causing a further narrowing of the membership base. Some of the trade union leaders in India have claimed that decline in membership had been as high as 25%.

Declining Powers: With the onset of the liberalization process, the governments seem to have adopted a less than supportive attitude towards the trade unions. The unsettled nature of current politics and coalition forms of government has had an adverse effect on labour leaders' capability to extract additional benefits from the government. In fact in almost all the South Asian countries the traditional party in power as well as its labour counterpart have been dislodged. Consequently, the main trade unions are facing difficulties in exerting the same level of pressure on the political party in power. During a recent discussion, the General Secretary of one of the Indian CTUOs opined that the leaders of their political party of affiliation have ignored them even in matters relating labour policy matters.

In the current rapidly changing environment the manner of trade unions’ functioning too is having its effect on the efficacy of decision taken since any delay in the existing scenario not only makes the decisions and directives a futile exercise but also gives the impression of insensitiveness of the leaders.

Declining powers of trade unions and fear of losing relevance have induced trade unions to come closer to each other and to even initiate steps towards merger or formation of confederations. For example, about eight national centers in Pakistan have recently come together to form the Pakistan Workers Federation [PWF]; in Bangladesh, the trade union Centre have joined to form Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies; in India, too, there are moves towards a merger of AITUC and HMS as well as towards a formation of a confederation by other CTUOs.

Another development in this regard had been concerning issue-based cooperation.On July 15th, 2002 the major CTUOs joined hands in opposing anti-labour policies of the Government of India.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

In summarizing the prevailing situation as well as future trends in the South Asian labour market one could conclude that there are trends towards increasing migration to urban areas in search of employment [formal or informal] on the background of a deteriorating rural economy; increasing demand for people with higher skills whereas demand for people with old skills or no skills have drastically gone down; a widening wage disparity not only between skilled and semi/unskilled workers but also between male and female workers; non-existent or inadequate social security provision or coverage; sub-contracting of the production process; informalization of employment; etc. Consequently, there are increasing cases of home-based, part-time, temporary forms of work relationships.

“The informalization of employment and individualistic trends are the greatest challenges for the trade unions as they are based on collective actions and collective benefits,” declares ICFTU.
To meet the challenges posed by emerging conditions the unions would be
required to take actions on three fronts:

Conducive Environment: At the outset there is a need to realize that the involvement of labour as a tool for promoting regional development through cooperation is not dependent on the working class itself. There are two other parties to this issue. The Employer in South Asia regards it to be his prerogative to decide all factors relating to an industry or establishment. This is on the background of him being the sole supplier of capital and thus the risk bearer. The other party is Government. In most of the countries the government was viewed as a balancing factor in the relation between the two unequal partners [i.e. employer and employee] till the onset of the reform process. The economic reforms transformed the role of the government from an active to passive partner, thus exposing the weak worker to a strong employer. The increased surplus workforce had further weakened the position of workers.

In the post-liberalized economies the labour finds its skill un-matched to the requirements of the emerging industries. The variances in labour market situations have lead to great disparity in the returns on various classes of work force. The most adversely affected are the unskilled and semi-skilled workforce. The productivity norms, the competitive environment, discussion on labour standards, retrenchment, skill obsoleteness, etc. are causing workers immense concern as well as hardship. These problems are multiplied due to the rigid or unconcerned attitude of the employers and government. The primary need of the hour is to promote a congenial atmosphere wherein both the Employers and the Government treat labour at par with the capital.

Effective mechanism: Labour has always occupied a prominent place in national plans and programs. Further the concerns of the government to promote a healthy industrial relations environment as well as sufficient welfare measures for workers are evident from the large number of labour legislation enacted as well as from the activities of the labour ministries of the countries in the region. Year after year a heavy sum of money is allocated to promote activities aimed at promoting workers’ welfare. SAARC too has undertaken a number of training programs for the development of skills etc.

It is however unfortunate that despite a well-developed legal system and an administrative machinery of labour ministries in almost all the countries in South Asia, the majority of workers remains outside the purview of these provisions.
There could be many reasons for this but ignorance and non-assertiveness of the trade unions on these issues could be the prime cause. Many a time labour leaders adopt a casual approach thus causing undue hardship to member workers. There is no alternative but to professionalize the functioning of trade unions.

Education and Training: The importance of training and education can never be over-emphasized. This is particularly true in the present-day South Asian economic environment, which is rapidly changing. There is need for training and education of workers as well as of their leaders so that they are adequately equipped to adjust to a rapidly changing industrial environment. Workers’ Education Programs in its broadest sense is aimed at developing the workers’ understanding of “Labour Issues” such as working conditions; occupational health and safety; trade unionism; labour legislation; social security; applied economics; cooperation; social democracy; etc. Unlike the general education system, the workers’ education has always to be need-based and adaptable to changing situations. In some of the South Asian countries there exista a well-developed network of infrastructure of workers’ education institutions developed by either government or individual trade unions. The academics too are rendering assistance in such programs.

However, various studies evaluating workers’ education programs in South Asian countries have pointed out that the nature and curriculum of workers’ education programs have not been able to maintain the degree of desired flexibility. This has been primarily due to negligible importance accorded to training and education activities. The institutions are grossly under-equipped and courses being taught have little relevance to the existing or emerging situations. Further, with the industrial development, new areas of workers’ concern have crept up but are not being handled or taught. There are many such issues which need to be highlighted and experience shared.

Trade unions are an interest group. As such their primary concern ought to be to safeguard and promote the interest of workers. While doing so they ought to keep in mind that their existence is dependent on the viability and continuation of the establishment where they are employed. In the present day competitive environment the employers are too facing difficult time as their profit margin is rapidly decreasing. The workers and their unions therefore have to be considerate and cooperative. On the other hand employers have to see that workers’ view are taken into consideration while incorporating any change.

Tripartite Labour Meeting: As of now there is no forum at the regional level where employers, employees and government representatives could meet to share concerns and adopt policy measures for the promotion of labour and issues concerning them. Frequent meetings and discussions are held including those organized by organizations of workers, employers and government, etc., but rarely these are able to secure adequate attendance of persons in power in the three categories. There is, thus, need to organize a South Asian Regional Conference on Labour. These conferences should be designed to be held annually and be of tripartite nature. The Conference could be held prior to the SAARC summit.

Labour Cell in SAARC Secretariat: While keeping in view the objectives of SAARC, there is need for the creation of a Labour Cell in the SAARC Secretariat. The justification of such a Cell is on the background of the existence of similar sections for employers. In this connection the national labour movement could put pressure on their respective governments through the Ministry of Labour for the creation of a labour cell in the SAARC Secretariat.

SARTUC was formed almost a decade back. The concept, although interesting, is still more or less on paper only as its activities are confined to annual meetings of ritual nature. Efforts could be made to activate this organization. In this connection it would be more practical if the membership to SARTUC was made open to non-ICFTU affiliates also. Alternatively, a new structure for consultation among all types of trade unions in the region has to be developed.

Regional Resource Centre: The importance of experiences and other information in development activities is of pivotal nature. A lot of activities in various spheres of labour are being undertaken in one or the other country in the region. The outcome or the benefits of these exercises however remained under-utilized as the same is not brought to the notice of others in the same field. A Regional Resource Centre for Labour could be established to collect, analyze and disseminate relevant information on Labour and Trade Unions.

Labour Leaders Exchange program: There is no alternative to first-hand exposure and experience. There exist a lot of gaps in information due to misconceived perceptions. Direct contact among labour leaders would go along way in reducing gaps and promoting cooperation and understanding among labour leaders in South Asia. In this connection a “Lectures and Exchange Program” could be organized.

Tools for action:
One of the major drawbacks of the practices in South Asia had been non-effective involvement of the stakeholders. The polices and program are formulated in haste and without the involvement of those who are expected to transform these into practice. However, the non-visible hurdles are overlooked causing non-achievement of the set objectives.

Cooperation in all spheres of action would prove useful in enhancing efficiency levels in the resource utilization. The spirit of cooperation has to be introduced in the economic sphere also. Joint consultation and collective action at all level is the only way to salvation. Gone are the days where one party had the overriding powers. The principles and practice of codetermination can only find ways to strengthen the already fragile South Asian trade union movement.