Sufficient
time has elapsed since the founding of trade unions in India. But unlike
western countries, the Indian trade unions have not made the expected progress.
They suffer from a number of lacunas. They have trade unions have not made the
expected progress. They have not developed on proper growth of trade unions.
In India industries all these conditions are not fully met. There are
various types of obstacles in the development of Indian labour unions. Chiefly
this fall into two categories internal and external difficulties. The internal
difficulties are related to labour and the external difficulties pertain to
industrialists, intermediaries and official laws. Following discussion will
make the nature of these two types of difficulties clear.
Internal
obstacles
Indian
labour has certain traits peculiar to it. Some of these traits have proved to
be obstacles in the way of growth of labour unions. Mainly following traits of
labour prove to be hindrances in the way of labour unions development and
growth.
a) Majority of Indian
labour is illiterate:
For any
organization it is vitally important its members are educated or not. The
educated members are an asset and the illiterate members a liability to the
organizations. Education broadens the outlook of the individuals. An educated
person understands what is beneficial and what is harmful to him. Because of
illiterate members:
• not able to read or write
• Ignorant: uneducated in the
fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a
specific field; "she is ignorant of quantum mechanics"; "he is
musically illiterate"
• lacking culture, especially
in language and literature
• A person unable to read
b) Migratory
compulsions:
The
majority of Indian labour hails from rural areas. The families of the most of
them reside in villages. Under these circumstance workers do not reside
permanently in cities. As and when they get leave or holidays they go to their
wives and children. Thus they are unable to visit participate regularly in the
confabulations and discussions of trade unions.
c) Heterogeneous
character:
From the
above discussion it is plain that Indian labour has a tendency to migrate form
place to place. In every big industrial centre one can find workers coming from
almost all regions of India. These workers are of very heterogeneous
character. They differ inter se in regard to language, religion and habits of
food and dress. On the account of wide heterogeneity of the workers a sense of
unity cannot easily take root among them. on account of wide heterogeneity of
the workers a sense of unity cannot easily take root among them. But for the
success of trade unions the trait of unity is of paramount importance. Any
workers even to day practice unsociability. Thus it is plain that the
heterogeneous character of Indian labour proves to be stumbling block in the
progress and development of the Indian trade union movement.
d) Low economic
standards:
The
economies conditions of Indian labour are not good. The average Indian workers
earnings are too low that he can barely meet the expenses of this family with
his wages. On account of low wages he is usually in debt on account of their
poverty, the workers are unable to take active part in trade union activity.
e) Mutual strike:
In India there
are numerous independent functioning trade unions. Each of these trade unions
is under the influences of one or the other political party. The political
parties are usually at cross purposes and pursing contradictory policies. The
political parties misuse trade unions to further their own political ends. This
tendency foments dissensions and the strike among trade unions. The mutual
strike among trade unions weakens them.
f) Lack of able
leadership:
The
majority of Indian workers is illiterate and ignorant. None of these illiterate
workers father the courage to take up the leadership of trade union. Besides
not processing courage these persons lack the ability and capacity for
leadership. Under these circumstances outsiders are usually the leaders of
Indian trade unions.
An
unemployment problem the problem of unemployment in India is greeting
worse every day; the workers have to toil hard in order to find a job. Once
person finds job he is most reluctant to leave it. This is so because finding
an alternative job is both uncertain and hazardous.
Average
Indian workers under the impression that by joining trade unions he is putting
his job in danger External obstacles beside internal Impediments there are
certain external obstacles which impede and the growth of trade unionism in India.
The more important of these obstacles are concerned with role of
intermediaries, recruitments of workers, the industrialist’s management boards
and labour and industrial laws.
