The role of labour unions in emerging sectors

Source– The post is based on the article “The role of labour unions in emerging sectors” published in The Hindu on 8th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS3- Indian economy and employment

Relevance– Labour rights

News-There have been many reports of layoffs in the last few months, especially in emerging sectors.

In 2022, startups including Byju’s announced lay­offs. At the global level, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Twitter and Apple have laid off employees.

What is the current status of trade unionism in the emerging sector?

There are Unionisation attempts in these giant companies. Amazon workers at the warehouse at Staten Island called JFK8 succeeded in forming the Amazon Labour Union.

On the other hand, employees at the warehouse near Albany voted overwhelmingly against unionisation in October 2022 as many of them were sceptical of the bargaining power of a union against a giant like Amazon.

In India, the Information Technology Employees Senate, which works for the welfare rights of IT professionals, complained to the Union Labour Minister about retrenchment by Amazon.

Why forming unions in modern and emerging sectors is much more difficult as compared to conventional industries?

IT­ Services employees felt no need for trade unions as unions are typically associated with manual labour. IT employees are associated with “elitism” and “professionalism”.

They have competitive compensation pay packages, supposedly good conditions of work and a mechanism to address grievances. So, they stay on and are loyal to the company and the industry.

They switch to other organisations as they have the required skill sets. They do not collectively bargain or resort to legal action as middle class employees who go to court would be stigmatised.

Unions in the IT sector have to deal with both Indian and Western giants. It is a huge task.

The state obviously needs MNCs to stay on in India.

Multi­national corporations don’t take labour departments seriously. They ignore conciliation meetings more often than trade unions.

What are other issues faced by labour Unionism in India?

Trade unions are fighting on multiple fronts. They are struggling for historical labour rights, social security for the informal workers and fighting against adversities created during and after COVID­19.

Industrial accidents are frequent. Many garment and electronics industries violate labour rights.

Unions have sometimes succeeded in securing marginal rights. But there is only so much that they can do.