{"id":72227,"date":"2026-04-25T18:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=72227"},"modified":"2026-04-25T18:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:38:15","slug":"weakening-trade-unions-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-04-2026\/weakening-trade-unions-india","title":{"rendered":"Weakening of Trade Unions in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the background of a number of protests for minimum wages; expansion of the social security ambit; and against the contractualisation of jobs, the<strong> role of trade unions have come up for discussion.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Trade Unions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trade Unions are voluntary organizations<\/strong> of Workers as well as Employers formed <strong>to protect and promote the interest of their members.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are the most suitable organizations for balancing and <strong>improving the relations between the employer and the employees.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The workers come together<strong> to maintain and improve their bargaining power<\/strong> on <strong>wages and working conditions.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The first organized Trade Union in India<\/strong> named as the <strong>Madras Labour Union<\/strong> was formed in the<strong> year 1918.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1926: <\/strong>Enactment of Trade Unions Act 1926 (legal recognition).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major Trade Union Organizations are:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indian National Trade Union Congress;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mazdoor Sangh;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Centre of Indian Trade Unions;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hind Mazdoor Sabha.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Role of Trade Unions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Collective Bargaining: <\/strong>Negotiate wages, bonuses, and service conditions with employers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protection of Workers\u2019 Rights: <\/strong>Safeguard against unfair dismissal, exploitation, and wage cuts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dispute Resolution: <\/strong>Act as mediator between workers and management to prevent strikes\/lockouts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Welfare Activities:<\/strong> Provide support in health, education, housing, and social security.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Awareness &amp; Education:<\/strong> Educate workers about rights, laws, and responsibilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Policy Advocacy: <\/strong>Influence labour laws and government policies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mobilization:<\/strong> Organize protests, strikes, and movements when needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Facilitating Communication: <\/strong>Bridge gap between management and labour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recent Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Declining Bargaining Power: Before 1991<\/strong>, unions had relatively better bargaining power, mainly in the public sector.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Post-liberalisation<\/strong>, mainstream trade unions gradually suffered from declining bargaining power as the labour market became predominantly informal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fragmentation &amp; Multiplicity: <\/strong>Existence of multiple unions within the same industry or enterprise leads to inter-union rivalry and weak bargaining power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political Interference: <\/strong>Many unions are affiliated with political parties which at times diverts focus from worker welfare to political agendas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Reach in New Economy: <\/strong>Poor representation of gig workers, platform workers, and freelancers leads to difficulty in organizing workers in dispersed and digital workplaces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low Awareness Among Workers: <\/strong>Workers, especially migrants and informal labourers are often unaware of rights which limit union membership and participation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional Safeguards related to Trade Unions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fundamental Right:<\/strong><strong>Article 19(1)(c)<\/strong> guarantees the right to form associations or unions. However, this right is not absolute, Article 19(4) allows reasonable restrictions in the interest of: Public order, Morality, Sovereignty and integrity of India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Constitution does not guarantee the right to strike, The Supreme Court has clarified that the right to form unions is not the right to strike.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) guide the State in labour welfare:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 38:<\/strong> Promote social order based on justice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 39:<\/strong> Ensure adequate livelihood and prevent exploitation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 41: <\/strong>Right to work, education, and public assistance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 42:<\/strong> Just and humane working conditions, maternity relief.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 43: <\/strong>Living wage and decent standard of life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 43A:<\/strong> Participation of workers in management of industries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government should prioritise expanding unionization in informal and gig sectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen legal framework for worker protection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encourage social dialogue between government, employers, and workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/has-a-weakening-of-unionisation-hurt-workers\/article70898781.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nContext<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nIn the background of a number of protests for minimum wages; expansion of the social security ambit; and against the contractualisation of jobs, the role of trade unions have come up for discussion.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/p>\n<p>Trade Unions<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\nTrade Unions are voluntary organizations of Workers as well as Employers formed to protect and promote the interest of their members.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nThey are the most suitable organizations for balancing and improving the relations between the employer and the employees.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-04-2026\/weakening-trade-unions-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72227"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72229,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72227\/revisions\/72229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}