Trade Union

Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business

Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Trade union

Trade union means any combination of
workers or of employers formed primarily
for the purpose of regulating the relation
between employers and workers or
between workers and worker, or between
employers and employers
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Functions of Trade Unions in
Bangladesh
Organizing the workers: The objective of
an industrial relations system is to provide
a framework within which the conflicts
inherent in a worker-employer relation
may be peacefully resolved.
Collective Bargaining: Collective
bargaining is the process whereby workers
organize together to meet, converse, and
compromise upon the work environment
with their employers.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Functions of Trade Unions in
Bangladesh (Contd.)
Democratizing: The Trade Unions rank
and file are provided with the opportunity
of electing their stewards, committees of
management, and through the delegate
system, their executives and other
leaders.
Industrial action: Trade unions may
organize strikes or resistance to lockouts in
furtherance of particular goals.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Functions of Trade Unions in
Bangladesh (Contd.)
Provision of benefits to members: Trade
unions often provide a range of benefits
to insure members against
unemployment, ill health, old age and
funeral expenses etc.
Fostering education for workers:
Educational schemes are meant to
enhance the workers knowledge of his
work environment and to inform him fully
about the issues that concern him.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Functions of Trade Unions in
Bangladesh (Contd.)
Communicating with others about the
activities of the union: Many large unions
publish a newsletter or a magazine. Their
main aim is to clarify the unions policy or
stand on certain principal issues and also
to pass on information about the union
and its activities.
Welfare activities: Many unions provide a
number of welfare activities to improve
the quality of the workers lives.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Functions of Trade Unions in
Bangladesh (Contd.)
Political activities: Trade unions may
promote legislation favorable to the
interests of their members or workers as a
whole.
Enhancement of human potential: Trade
unions also play a role in helping to
develop the human potential of the
members.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Objectives of Trade Union
To ensure the reasonable wages for the workers
To improve the working condition, like- working hour,
leave, social security and some benefits and
opportunities for the employees.
To ensure the participation of employees in profit
Trade union ensure the job security of the member
employee.
To establish the appropriate industrial relations by
reducing/eliminating the conflict between the
employers and workers.
To ensure the promotional facility to the employees
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Objective of Trade Union (Contd.)
To increase the morality of the employees by
which they can consider themselves as a powerful
person for the organization

To represents the workers rights or necessities by
selecting the representative of the employees

To participate in the management by their own
management capabilities

To resolve the economical problem, and protects
the rights of the employees and ensure security in
the works environment.

To ensure the allocation of wages on the basis of
equity by negotiation with the employers
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Disadvantages of Trade Union
Sometime trade union influences the union member to
participate in illogical strike and same types of activities.

The trade union which influence by the political party, always
save the interest of those political party. So, they can not
protect the employees interest.

Sometime it creates unrest in the organization. For this reason
the industry loses their productivity and increase production
cost.

Trade union creates the conflict between the employee and
employee or between the union and union.

Sometime trade union creates pressure for increase profit which
becomes the economic loss of the organization.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Reasons why Workers Join
Union?
Bargaining power: trade union is the legal
organization of a company. Employees join
trade union and increase their power for
bargaining with the employer. For this reason
the employees join themselves with a trade
union.
Job security: trade union ensures the job
security of the member employee. If an
employee engages himself with trade union the
employers can not discharge those employees
without any reason.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Reasons why Workers Join
Union? (Contd.)
More income: by collective bargaining with the employer,
trade union make the environment for getting the
overtime payment, gratuity, provident fund, medical
allowances, bonus, festival bonus for the employees. Trade
union ensures the environment where an employee gets
the overtime payment.

Implementation of labor laws in proper way: every country
has some labor law, factory act, industrial law and
industrial relation. Most of the times the employers dont
want to practice this rule in their organization. Because,
they face some economical loss for the practice of those
rule. Trade union creates pressure to the employers for
practice these rules.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Reasons why Workers Join
Union? (Contd.)
Opportunity for submission of workers opinion to
the employers: if an employee personally
complaint to the employer, then the employer
may not give emphasize to the complaint. If the
trade union member of such kinds of activity
then the employers give emphasis to the
complaint.
Economic development: trade union creates
pressure to the employers for increase the wages
and other allowances by which the employee
can develop them economically.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Reasons why Workers Join
Union? (Contd.)
Participation for recognition: sometime the
employee join themselves in trade union for
make him famous and he want to recognition by
the employers.

Industrial peace: employee may joint trade
union for reducing the conflict between
employer and employees or between
management and employees. By which trade
union can maintain a peace full environment in
the organization.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Reasons Why Workers do not
Join Trade Union?
Corruption of the trade union may restricted the
employees to join this trade union
Employees do not join trade union for confusing
behavior and activities of the union leader
Most of the employee dont join trade union for
the autocratic behavior of the leader
Some employees dont join trade union for
misconception about trade union
If the trade union can not solve the fundamental
problem of the employee, then the employee
do not join trade union.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Types and Structure of
Trade Unions
1. According to the purpose for which they
are established
2. Types of their membership
Trade unions based on their purposes :-
a) Reformist
b) Revolutionary
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
(i) Reformist Unions : aims to preserve the
capitalist economy and maintenance of
competitive production based industrial
relations, like to continue the existing
social, economic and political structure.
Seek to improve the wages, working
conditions, quality of work life by
increasing the productivity level and by
bargaining for a share in the increased
productivity.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Reformist further divided into
1. Business Union : They believe in congenial
employee-employer relation, protect the
workers interest by participating in
collective bargaining, prefer voluntary
arbitration and conciliation

2. Uplift Union : they concentrate on
education, health insurance and benefits,
aspire to elevate the moral, intellectual and
social life of workers, these unions are
interest-conscious of the workers.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Revolutionary Unions :-
They aim at replacing the present system with
the new and different situations that are
preferable.

aims at destroying the capitalistic system
abolish private property and installing socialist
or communistic systems.

Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Revolutionary divided into 2 types
a) Political Unions : gain power through
political actions. These resort to political
action to protect the workers interest.

a) Anarchist Unions : try to destroy the
existing economic system by
revolutionary means.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Trade Union Structure
Craft Unions if the workers of the same craft or
category of the job form into an union, that union is
called Craft union. Such organizations include those
workers having similar skills, training and specialization.
The Ahmedabad Weavers Union, the Kanpur Suti Mill
Mazdoor Sabha

General Unions if the workers of any industry, any
region and of any job or occupation form into one
union in order to protect the overall interests of the
workers. The Jamshedpur labour Union, the National
Union of Municipal and General Workers.
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Industrial Unions workers of different
categories form into a union that is
called industrial union. It links all
craftsmen and skilled workers in any
one industry. It is organized upon and
industry-wise rather than a craft-wise
basis.

Textile Labour Association of
Ahmedabad, The Rashtriya Mill
Mazdoor Sangh, Bombay.

Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University
Federations : Industrial unions, either of
same industry or of the different
industry may form into an association
in order to improve Trade Union Unity.
Such Unions of Unions are called
federations. During critical situations
the unions in different industries may
resort to concerted action without
losing their individuality. In such
situation the federations form into an
Association and such and association
is called Confederation.
Eg; Federation of Indian Railways
Mir Sohrab Hossain, Associate Professor, Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University