Understanding Indian Trade Union Existence in the Zeitgeist of the Global
Published: 2009
Author(s) Name: Srinath Jagannathan & Kaushik Roy
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Abstract
Trade unions represent employee collectives’
voice to otherwise disaggregated
employees to check the arbitrary use of
managerial power. In the age of
globalisation, where state policy, free
movement of capital and the spreading
footprints of multinational corporations
across the world have intersected to
create the zeitgeist of liberalisation and
deregulation, Indian trade unions are
loosing sympathy from numerous quarters.
Though unions at the grassroots are
aligned to larger state and national
unions, these alignments appear to be
only formal in nature and devoid of the
ideological richness that they should
normally yield. There appear to be great
asymmetries in power as well. Through
interviews with seven trade union leaders,
the authors were able to discern the
expression of alienated connectedness
characterised by powerlessness, self estrangement,
normlessness, socio-cultural
isolation and disenchantment.
Keywords : Indian trade unions
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