Refining Trade Union Strategies to Strike a Chord

Context: The recent strikes by various labour unions and workers in India to condemn the recent labour reforms, demands a positive reconstruction of labour laws.

Issues with the Labour Codes  

• Based on a flawed fundamental premise: that labour laws and inspection system are obstacles in attracting investment, hence the government must promote a cheaper and flexible labour mar­ket.
• Afford substantial flexibility to the employers: in terms of easy hire and fire, freedom to hire contract labour and unregulated fixed­ term­-employment,
• State retrenchment and fiscal conservatism: especially in the context of higher levels of unemployment, along with stubborn inflation, have created tremendous insecurity among workers.
• Lack of social dialogue: The central government, as per trade unions, did not conduct an effective and sustaining social dialogue (The last Indian Labour Conference, was held in 2015).
• Failure of political lobbying: Trade unions contend that many of their suggestions have not been incorporated in the Codes and the COVID­19 relief measures.
• Institutional Corrosion: there was no health discussion in the Parliament due to the boycott of Opposition.
• Judicial apathy: the Supreme Court of India did not respond quickly to pro­ vide relief to migrant workers; it has struck down the Gujarat government’s amendment of the Factories Act.

Six options available to the Trade Unions for confrontation: viz. social dialogue, political lobbying, political confrontation, approaching the judiciary, seek the International Labour Organization’s intervention, and direct industrial action.

Way Forward

• Sustain social dialogue: There is no alternative to social dialogue in a pluralistic democracy which all the parties in the industrial relations system must make effective use of.
• Trade unions must shed their judicio-phobia and approach it to challenge anti-labour reforms introduced by Central or State governments.
• Unions must rely on complaints mechanism created by the (ILO).

Conclusion: Industrial relations system must make effective use of social dialogue and make suitable amendments to labour codes to promote ease of doing business and labour rights.