Unionization & Collective Bargaining in India: Wages, Working Conditions & Harmony, Study notes of Business Administration

Download Unionization & Collective Bargaining in India: Wages, Working Conditions & Harmony and more Study notes Business Administration in PDF only on Docsity! Unionisation and Employment Unionisation in India has in fact reduced the employment opportunities. The capitalist employer do not like the presence of Union in the premises controlling the functioning of the factory. Wages and working conditions The wage structure in India is very low when compared with those provided in western countries. The employer and employees have now opted to arbitration and collective bargaining to get their wage raise and periodical revision of wages instead of raising industrial disputes. Collective bargaining Management and Union reconciled conflicts through collective bargaining. In collective bargaining, representatives of the Union and representatives of the Management hold joint sessions and solved problems through negotiations and discussions. Collective bargaining creates industrial harmony and peace, brings about better understanding between the labour and management. There is no work stoppage or outside intervention and minor differences are sorted out immediately through discussion and interaction. Encyclopedia of social sciences defines collective bargaining: 'It is a process through discussion and negotiation between two parties wherein the employer and workmen agree upon the conditions of work'. RF. Hoxie : 'Collective Bargaining is the mode of fixing the terms of employment by means of bargaining between organized bodies of employees and employer acting through their agents. The essence of collective bargaining is a bargain between interested parties and not a decree from outside parties'. Serlig Perlman: 'Collective bargaining is not just a means of raising wages and improving conditions of employment nor is it merely a democratic Government in industry. It is above all a technique whereby an inferior social class or group exerts a never-slackening pressure for a bigger share in social sovereignty as well for the welfare and greater security and liberty for its members. It manifests in politics, legislation, Government, administration, religion, education and propaganda.' Important factors about Collective Bargaining: 1. It is collective and not individual. 2. It is between representatives of the employers and the representatives of the Union. 3. It is a civilized bipartite confrontation. 4. It involves discussion and negotiation. 5. It is flexible and mobile. 6. It is not fixed and static. 7. It is a two-party process. 8. It is a continuous process. 9. It creates industrial democracy at work. 10. It is not competitive but complementary. 11. It increases economic strength. 12. It builds up uniform conditions. 13. It avoids industrial disputes and creates stable peace. 14. It secures fair redressal of grievances. 15. It avoids strikes and coercive methods. 16. It accords fair wages and decent working conditions. 17. It creates stability and prosperity. through work teams with team leaders who often form part of the management structure; carefully designed and fairly implemented performance appraisal systems; and so on. While many would argue that modern HRM practices undercut union effectiveness at enterprise level, there is no clear evidence of this in India. Unions have a strong presence in the firms where modern HRM practices are implemented successfully, and it is only with cooperative union- management behaviour that this has been possible. But this applies mainly to the manufacturing sector. In the skill-intensive service sectors such as information technology, HRM practices continue to pose a challenge and possibly create permanent barriers to union entry and organization. To the extent that information technology redefines the nature of work in banking and insurance, unions will have little success if they resist modernization, given the entry of new, mainly foreign, players in these sites. It is no coincidence that the most publicized post -reform industrial conflict at national level has been in banking and insurance. If labour law reforms facilitate competitive pluralism and lead to efficient collective bargaining in the private sector, and to tripartism with responsibility and accountability in the public sector, we can postulate that the effectiveness of unions would not necessarily diminish if modern HRM practices were introduced in enterprises. Inter-state variations One of the most important concerns of social scientists in India today is the effect that economic liberalization will have on inter-state variations in human development, social productivity and civil society at large. States with a less organized labour movement, if controlled by pro-capital state governments, may attempt to attract capital with implicit promises of a union-free environment. This has clearly happened to some extent and has often taken violent forms. Ruling governments in other states with a long history of proletarian politics are desperately attempting to change their signals. These attempts are causing confusion within the union movement, both among the leaders and the rank and file, and also leading to chasms between political parties and their affiliated unions. In several instances, temporary or issue-based alliances have been formed between unions affiliated to opposition parties, especially with regard to privatization of public sector services and utilities. Other Factors As suggested earlier, the employee legislations in India are totally out-moded and impractical. The Union Government has been suggesting on legislating a new labour code in tune with the demand made by the global economic governance as to eradicate poverty, regularize wage fixation, raise the standard of living of the working class and to opt for privatization of all sectors to improve the functioning of the industries in India and to free the Government- controlled industries from the egoistic and bureaucratic style of functioning. The Trade Unions with their age-long ideologies are opposing every move of the Government on the above lines. Apart from the TATA companies, the multi- national companies have become model employers catering to the statutory and non-statutory welfare measures of the workmen. The declaration on the Human Rights and the covenants that follow, clearly reiterate that the standard of living means that every citizen on the globe must enjoy the standard of living that is given to the American citizen. It is not the question of minimum standard of living but the real and the actual standard of living. It is high time that the Government of India raises the labour standards in India as currently such standards are appalling and pathetic. Women and Children employed in factories need better care. Abolition of child labour is voiced vociferously in India currently and we fondly believe all children are sent to school and not to working places. To conclude, let us recall the 1998 International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The core labour rights are :