<b>Letters:</b> Towards partnership

In the article, “Choosing dying over changing” (February 14), Manish Sabharwal and Sonal Arora suggest laudable and lofty roles for Indian trade unions. However, the ground reality is discouraging.

The biggest hurdle in crafting these roles is the adversarial attitude of the unions towards employers, their strong roots with political parties and lack of enlightened leadership. 

Besides, the unions have gained strength through legislation and adjudication rather than through collective bargaining. That is why they overlooked the interest of the much-exploited informal labour sector, though it constitutes nearly 95 per cent of the workforce. Trade unions cannot enforce higher wages or better work conditions for that sector in the absence of conciliation and judicial intervention.

Trade unions’ affiliation with political parties would not allow them to play a constructive role in reforming society or uplifting the economy. Which national trade union except the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh would support the goods and services tax or campaign for empowered mayors?

The quality and style of union leadership has not changed over time. Strikes, not partnership, are their weapon even now. Even young leaders are reluctant to take a collaborative path, as the case of Sonu Gujjar in the Maruti Suzuki strike shows.

This does not mean that status quo should continue. There is a need for a structured and sequential approach to steer the mindset of the unions and management from confrontation towards partnership.

Y G Chouksey, Pune

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