by N.S.Venkataraman
Ever since the
great revolutionary and philosopher Karl Marx gave his clarion call to the workers around the world a few centuries back , that the workers had
nothing to lose except the chain, the
world trade union movement was virtually
established. Since then, the workers
by their consistent struggle and
by raising demands , have largely
achieved the objectives of the concept of trade union movement that Karl Marx initiated.
Now, in the last few
decades, the trade union movement around the world have gone full circle
and has taken different style and shape , making people wonder as to whether the present day pattern of
trade union movement is what Karl Marx really envisaged. Many people think Karl
Marx would have disapproved the functioning style and mechanism of the present day trade union
movement . Possibly, denouncing the present day trade union movement, Karl Marx
would have given another call that the workers in the world have nothing to
lose except the vice like grip of political leaders who have virtually taken
over the control of the trade unions and have effectively converted it into a
political organization with different political leanings. This is particularly
true in India , where there is really no trade union that has no affiliation to
one political party or the other.
Today, the employees in the government departments in
India and public sector organisations go
on strike very frequently under one pretext or the other, as per the dictates of the political
leadership to serve the interests of the political masters.
The strike calls have become so frequent that common man
do not anymore care to know as to what is the reason for the strike and
most people have come to think that
the frequent strike by the government
employees including teachers in
government schools and colleges , bank staff , employees in postal department
and doctors in the government hospitals have become the new normal in India
today.
While the calls are given for strike very frequently, on
most occasions they are not for any justifiable reason. The government
employees go on strike protesting
against the privatization of public sector units , most of which are sick and
not profit making and merger of weak public sector banks with stronger ones
which are sought to be done to optimize
the performance etc. Such matters have
to be discussed in parliament and are
not subjects to be dictated by the trade union leadership to resorting to
strikes and agitations.
The demand for wage revisions are under one pretext or
the other are frequent justification to go on strike , though the government
employees and those in the other public sector organisations like banks,
postal departments etc. are by no means poorly paid. All of them enjoy considerable benefits apart
from fat monthly pay commensurate with their responsibility and justifiably
they can be termed as belonging to middle or upper middle income group. One should keep in view that 30% of the
Indians who are not employed in
government departments or public sector undertakings live below poverty line
not knowing where their next meal would come from. The government employees
never care to think about their plight while all the time thinking about their
own demands. The government employees are certainly not so impoverished to justify going on
strike demanding wage revisions, using the strike as first and immediate
weapon.
What is particularly
tyrannical about the Indian trade
union leadership is that the decision to go on strike is taken by a coterie of politically
inclined leaders, who have a strangle hold
over the leadership. The mass of employees are not consulted and they
are dictated to join the strike.
On many occasions, just like the common men, most of the government employees themselves do not
understand the justification to go on strike. Feeling helpless , they just participate in the strike unwillingly and
routinely. . On the strike days, not many employees come out and demonstrate
but simply go for picnics and enjoy the holiday mood on strike days.
It is noteworthy that no employee is daring enough to
defy the strike call, as the dictator
like leadership of the trade union
movement would ensure that such defying employees are isolated and
humiliated in one way or the other and
may be harassed.
It is unfortunate that Indian trade union leadership do
not have the practice of conducting a poll amongst the employees before giving
a strike call to know their opinion and get their approval for going on strike.
Such healthy practices are prevalent in some developed countries but not in India.
The ground reality today is that trade union
movement as inspired by Karl Marx, has
lost it’s face and is no more considered as a movement of oppressed class.
Indian trade union movement needs reform and this can
happen only if the employees in government departments and public sector
undertakings and other organisations who hold the country and government to
ransom by frequent strike calls, can
free themselves from the political
leadership and from the control of the self seeking vested interest .
The public disappointment
and frustration with the present functioning pattern and style of Indian
trade union movement would perhaps, bring around the much needed changes in the
structure and the fabric of trade union movement in India sooner or later and
perhaps, sooner than later.
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