TRADE UNION

 Trade unions are very important, sometimes very critical, environment of

business. While responsible trade unions would be beneficial to the workers,
business and the society, irresponsible trade unions could be harmful to all.
 Under the Trade Unions Act, the expression trade union includes both
employers’ and workers’ organisations
 According to the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926, a “Trade union means any
combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the
purpose of regulating the relations between workmen and employers, or
between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers, or for
imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and
includes any federation of two or more trade unions.”

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Causes of Industrial Disputes
 According to V.V. Giri, “trade unions are voluntary
organisations of workers formed to promote and protect their
interests by collective action.”
 A trade union “must possess definite aims; its members must
be welded together in a united front for the good of the whole
group rather than for the promotion of any selfish individual
interests; and it must, to be effective, take on a definite and
permanent form of organisation through which it strives to
accomplish its goal

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 The Act does not, however, affect:
1. Any agreement between partners as to their own business.
2. Any agreement between an employer and those employed by him as to such
employment.
3. Any agreement in consideration of the sale of the goodwill of a business or of
instruction in any profession, trade or handicraft.

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Functions of Trade Unions

 Trade unions are intended to protect the rights and enhance the welfare of the members. According to
the National Commission on Labour (NCL), the important functions of the trade unions are
1. To secure for workers fair wages.
2. To safeguard the security of tenure and improve conditions of service.
3. To improve opportunities for promotion and training.
4. To improve working and living conditions.
5. To provide for educational, cultural and recreational facilities.
6. To cooperate in and facilitate technological advancement by broadening the understanding of workers
of its underlying issues.
7. To promote identity of interests of the workers with their industry.
8. To offer responsive cooperation in improving levels of production and productivity, discipline and
high standard of quality.
9. To promote individual and collective welfare.
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Social Responsibilities of Trade Unions

 some important social responsibilities of trade unions appear to be in the

field of:
 1. Promotion of national integration;
 2. Generally influencing the socio-economic policies of the community
through active participation in their formulation at various levels; and
 3. Instilling in their members a sense of responsibility towards industry
and the community.
 According to Giri, “the scope of trade unions should not be confined
merely to the workers’ demands, but should include the inculcation in the
workers of a sense of discipline and responsibility, an appreciation of their
moral responsibility to do a fair day’s work for a fair day’s wages. The
unions should make every worker understand fully, first, his duties and
responsibilities and then, his rights and privileges.
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Limitations and Problems of Trade Unionism
in India
 Limited Representation:
 Small Size and Increasing Number
 Multiplicity of Unions
 Inter-union and Intra-union Rivalries
 Political Infiltration
 Outside Leadership
 Meagre Funds
 Low income
 Illiteracy
 Lack of Integrity
 Unhealthy attitude of employers
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Trade Union Act
 Trade unions in India are regulated by the Indian Trade Unions
Act, 1926, amended from time to time.

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Registration of Unions

 Any seven or more members of a trade union, by subscribing their names and
complying with the provisions of this Act with respect to registration may apply
for the registration of the trade union under this Act.
 Every application for the registration of a trade union shall be made to the
Registrar, accompanied by a copy of the rules of the trade union, and provide all
other particulars required by the Act.
 The Act lays down that the following Acts, namely: The Societies Registration
Act 1960; The Cooperative Societies Act, 1912; and The Companies Act, 1956,
shall not apply to any registered trade union, and that the registration of any such
trade union under any such Act shall be void .

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Rights and Responsibilities of Registered Unions

1. The general funds of a registered union shall not be spent on any other objects
than those specified in the Act. A separate fund can be created for payments of
promotion of civil and political interests of the members.
2. No office-bearer or member of a registered trade union shall be liable to
punishment under sub-section (2) of Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code in
respect of any agreement made between the members for the purpose of
furthering any such object of the trade union as is specified in Section 15,
unless the agreement is an agreement to commit an offence.
3. The account books of a registered trade union and the list of members thereof
shall be open to inspection by an office-bearer or member of the trade union at
such times as may be provided for in the rules of the trade union.

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 A person shall be disqualified for being a member of a registered trade union if:
(a) he has not attained the age of eighteen years;
(b) he has been convicted by a court in India of any offence involving moral
turpitude and sentenced to imprisonment unless a period of five years has elapsed since his
release.
 Not less than one-half of the total number of office-bearers of every registered trade
union shall be persons actually engaged or employed in an industry with which the trade
union is connected.
 Any registered trade union may, with the consent of not less than two-thirds of the total
number of its members and subject to the provisions of Section 25, change its name.
 Any two or more registered trade unions may become amalgamated together as one
trade union provided that the votes of at least one-half of the members of each or every
such trade union entitled to vote are recorded, and that at least sixty per cent of the votes
recorded are in favour of the proposal.

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 When a registered trade union is dissolved, notice of the dissolution signed by seven
members and by the secretary of the trade union shall, within fourteen days of
dissolution, be sent to the Registrar, and shall be registered by him if he is satisfied
that the dissolution has been effected in accordance with the rules of the trade union,
and the dissolution shall have effect from the date of such registration.
 Where the dissolution of a registered trade union has been registered and where its
rules do not provide for the distribution of the funds of the union on dissolution, the
Registrar shall divide the funds among the members in such manner as may be
prescribed.
 A registered trade union shall send to the Registrar a properly audited annual
statement of all receipts and expenditures in the prescribed form within the
prescribed time. Along with this, a statement showing all the changes in the office-
bearers made by the union during the year and a copy of the rules of the union
corrected up to the date of despatch should also be sent.

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 A copy of every alteration made in the rules of a registered trade union shall be
sent to the Registrar within fifteen days of the making of the alteration.
 For the purpose of examining the documents of a registered union, as specified in
the Act, the Registrar, or any officer authorised by him, may, at any reasonable
time, inspect the certificate of registration, account books, registers and other
documents relating to the trade union at its registered office or may require their
production at such place as he may specify in this behalf.

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