Directorate of distance education master of business administration

Trends in Trade Union Movement 
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ӹ A major trend witnessed these days is the change in the attitude 
of unions towards management, industry, government and the 
economy. Unions are becoming increasingly mature, responsive 
and realistic in their thinking and action. Gone are the days of 
catcall strikes, bandhs, gheraoes and violence.
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ӹ Depoliticisation of unions is another trend witnessed these 
days. The trend towards depoliticisation started in the 1960’s 
and received further boost in the post-liberalization era. The 
experience of politically free unions is pleasant; reinforcing the 
belief that  the farther the unions are from politics, the  more 
advantageous it is for them.
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ӹ Workers associations in our country are highly fragmented and 
the consequence has been the multiplicity of unions. Multiplicity 
is caused by ideological rifts, personal ambitions of leaders, craft 
divisions among workers and the management’s own myopia. 
The multiplicity of unions weakens the bargaining strength of 
employees.
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ӹ One of the defects of the trade union movement in our country 
has been the phenomenon of outside leadership. Individuals who 
were not connected with a factory would assume the leadership 
mantle of the union.
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ӹ The clout of the central trade unions, which peaked during the 
post nationalization years, has started waning. One of the reasons 
for this trend is the gradual realization on the part of the workers, 
who are young and well educated, that independent unions are 
more advantageous than all India federations.
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ӹ Faced with the problem of declining membership and the fear of 

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losing their relevance, trade unions are taking initiatives to fight 
unitedly. Many unions, including those affiliated to Left parties, 
have joined together to fight for such causes as disinvestments, 
closure and modernization.
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ӹ Professionlisation of trade union movement is yet another trend 
witnessed these days. To counter criticism and to fight organized 
forces of employers, trade unions, through various institutions 
such as Ambedkar Institute of Labour Studies, Maniber Kara 
Institute and National Labour Institute, are trying to upgrade the 
leadership quality, personnel as well as the services rendered.