Industrial Relations

Chapter: 02. Trade Union

Trade Union
Trade Union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals
such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of
employees an employer hires, and better working conditions. It’s a group of employees in a
particular sector, whose aim is to negotiate with employees overpay, job security, working hours,
etc. using the collective power of the members. It is very common to form a trade union in our
industrial society.

“Trade union is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining
and improving the conditions of their working lives.”
-Sydney & Webb

“Trade union is an association the chief aim of which is the regulation of mutual relations
between the workers and the employers.”
- Shvernik

Characteristics of Trade Union in Bangladesh

There are some common characteristics which are found in Bangladeshi trade unions. Such as:
1. Lack of awareness about trade unions: Most of our Bangladeshi industrial workers come
from the rural area and approximately maximum of them have a very low educational background
or none. So they don’t well understand that what are trade union for and how can they achieve
their legal right by trade union.

2. Paternalistic/hierarchical system: Our society is more or less used to the paternalistic method
of governing. There are some factors which do not let the system to be fully democratic. The
workers do not have equal say in the decision making.

3. Lack of proper information: Information gap to the root level members in the associations is
common phenomena. So they just fall victims of sudden decision given by the leaders.

4. Leaders sometimes forgo common interest: Sometimes leaders do not take proper care of
employee interest. They give emphasize on their personal interest and let the common interest be
relaxed.

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5. Negative attitude towards unionism: As all the members are not appropriately known to the
legal rights and functions of trade union, they may slower trade union for achieving its goal by
creating negative impact.

6. Provision of equal right of men and women: Our trade unions have long sought about the
portions enjoyed by men and women workers and they have achieved a result that our workers
regardless of men and women enjoy equal wages.

7. Take part in political activities: Our trade union leaders not only lead the workers of the
organizations but also play an important role in the political field of the nation thus contributing
to the national development.

8. Instigated by political interest: Too much involving in politics of the leaders may create
consolidations in the way of achieving goal.

9. Take part in management process: Our union leaders take active part in the decision making
of the organization management and thus they make sure that the sayings and frustrations of
common workers are being presented before the employer.

10. Bargaining with the employer: In the time of bargaining situations our trade union leaders
take active part in the bargaining and present their issue on behalf of the members. Thus they
manage to collect the rightful position of the workers in the organization.

Functions of Trade Union

1. Provision of benefits to members
Early unions would give their members unemployment pay in case they were hurt on the job,
unfairly fired, or sick. This is usually done by the government today. Unions may also give their
members a lawyer to represent them if they are ever sued in court or charged with a crime. Early
trade unions, like Friendly Societies, often provided a range of benefits to insure members against
unemployment, ill health, old age and funeral expenses. In many developed countries, these
functions have been assumed by the state; however, the provision of professional training, legal
advice and representation for members is still an important benefit of trade union membership.
2. Collective bargaining
Where trade unions are able to operate openly and are recognized by employers, they may
negotiate with employers over wages and working conditions. The leaders of a union work with
management (the people who run the business) in order to get a contract that gives workers what
they want. This is because union leaders can threaten to strike.
3. Industrial action
Trade unions may enforce strikes or resistance to lockouts in furtherance of particular goals.

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4. Political activity
Trade unions may promote legislation favorable to the interests of their members or workers as a
whole. To this end they may pursue campaigns, undertake lobbying, or financially support
individual candidates or parties (such as the Labor Party in Britain) for public office. Unions often
work to get laws passed which help their cause. Some raise money for politicians who are friendly
to unions. They also lobby for laws which help out unions. Some political parties are very close to
unions, like the Labor Party in the United Kingdom. Article 8 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ensure the right to form and join trade union and use strikes
5. Strikes
If collective bargaining does not work, unions often use strikes to get their demands. However, the
threat of a strike is usually enough: over 98% of union contracts are renewed without a strike.
6. Democratizing
Another function of Trade union is to create industrial democracy at the workplace. The trade
union’s rank and file is provided with the opportunity of electing their stewards, committees of
management, and through the delegate system, their executives and other leaders. The process of
preparation for collective bargaining also encourages the worker participation.

Registration of Trade Union

The four procedure involved in registration of trade unions are as follows:
1. Appointment of Registrar
2. Mode of Registration
3. Rights and Duties of Registrar
4. Legal Status of Registered Trade Union.
1. Appointment of Registrar
Section 3 of the Trade Union Act, 1926 empowers the appropriate Government to appoint a person
to be registrar of Trade Unions. The appropriate Government be it State or Central, as the case
may be is also empowered to appoint additional and Deputy Registrars as it thinks fit for the
purpose of exercising and discharging the powers and duties of the Registrar. However, such
person will work under the superintendence and direction of the Registrar. He may exercise such
powers and functions of Registrar with local limit as may be specified for this purpose.
2. Mode of Registration:
Any seven or more persons who want to form trade union, can apply for its registration to the
Registration of Trade Unions under Section 4 (1) of the Trade Unions Act, 1926. These applicants
must be members of a trade union.
In order to check the multiplicity of trade unions, one school of thought has proposed the number
of persons farming a trade union for the purposes of registration be reasonably increased to 10 per
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cent of employees of the unit, subject to minimum of seven persons employed therein This is
expected to strengthen the trade union movement. The application for registration must be sent to
the Registrar of Trade Unions in Form “A” as required by the Trade Union Act, 1926 under Section
5.
Every application must be accompanied with the following particulars:
1. The names, occupations and addresses of the members making application.
2. The name of the trade union and the address of its head office.
3. The titles, names, ages, addresses and occupations of the office bearers of the trade union.
4. 4 If a trade union has been in existence for more than one year prior to application of its
registration, a financial statement showing its assets and liabilities prepared in the
prescribed form has also to be submitted to the Registrar along with the applica-tion for
registration.
5. Besides, every application must be accompanied with a copy of Rules of Trade union
complying with the items as specified under Section 6 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926.
3. Rights and Duties of Registrar
Section 7 of the Act empowers the Registrar of Trade Union to make, if required so, further
enquiries on receipt of an application for registration to fully satisfy himself that the application
complies with the provisions of section 5. However, such enquiries can be made only from the
application and not from any other source.
The duties of the Registrar of Trade Unions in matters of registration of trade union are laid down
under Section 8 of the Act. On having being satisfied with the requirements for the registration of
the union, the Registrar shall register the trade union by entering in a register. The letter to this
effect will be issued to the Trade Union. In case of non-satisfaction of registrar with the compliance
of require-ments, the refusal for registration will be issued to the trade union.
4. Legal Status of Registered Trade Union
Upon the registration, a trade union assumes to a corporate body by the name under which it is
registered. A registered trade union shall have perpetual succession and its common seal. A
regis-tered trade union is an entity distinct from the members of which, the trade union is composed
of It enjoys power to contract and to hold property both moveable and immoveable and to sue and
be sued by the name in which it is registered.

Impact of Trade Unions on National Development

For the economic growth and prosperity of the country, industrial peace is essential. Both labor
and management should endeavor to maintain industrial peace through their active and whole
hearted cooperation. Trade union puts a notable impact on the country’s development in many
way. Both the positive and negative impact of trade union are discussed below:

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Positive Impacts
Trade union plays a major role in creating ideal working conditions. Some positive impact of trade
union are discussed below:

1. Trade union always helps management to create better policies for workers.

2. Trade unions negotiate for the standard wage and benefits with the management.

3. Trade union helps the management to increases the productivity as well as the profit.

4. Political influence’s existence makes the trade union not to interfere in management
decisions.

5. Trade union is hugely helping the management to produce more and implementing
management tactics.

Negative Impacts
Along with the positive impact trade union also have some negative impact too. It is said that there
is no light without shadow. The major negative impact of trade union are discussed below:

1. Trade Unions are creating a surplus of manpower but not of productivity.

2. Trade union of Bangladesh bargains more than they understand because of the
limitations of their knowledge. If don’t consult then they strike.

3. Trade Unions have equal power of management then clashes are started.

4. In companies labors are awarded for good work and threatened for bad work. But if it’s
punished then trade union interfere and don’t let to happen the punishment. So it increases
crime of the labors.

5. Trade union leaders always try to save their interest first then the labor.

6. For the power of politics trade union always dishonor the management.

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