I just read a long article in today’s Business Standard (how I used to miss the paper until I resubscribed to it last week!) about the ongoing labour struggles at the Maruti Suzuki factory in Manesar. So the workers there want to form a new union, and allow a whopping 33% of the new union’s members to come from outside the factory. And the management is understandably not accepting it.
That workers need a union is understandable. That the Manesar unit wants its own union disjoint from that in Gurgaon is understandable. But a third of its members from outside? What is the average worker in the factory who is supporting this new demand even thinking? How the hell is such a union going to represent him in any way?
Some simple arithmetic. Considering that the “outside third” is going to come from the CPI/AITUC, it can be assumed that they’ll vote in one bloc. So to get something passed, they need a further 1/6 of the total votes in the union. Which amounts to a fourth of the actual workers in the union. So, as long as something is supported by this “outside bloc”, it takes the support of only a fourth, a measly one fourth, of the “real members” to go through.
I understand that the “worker leaders” who are championing this ongoing strike will have some incentives in bringing in AITUC/CPI. But what’s in it for the average worker? If he were to think rationally, this new proposed union makes absolutely no sense for him. I guess (and hope) that the Maruti management knows this, that it is not in the interest of the average worker to join this union. And I hope they’re somehow using this fact in their ongoing negotiations.
Will be fun if the guys who tried to consolidate their own power by bringing in outside representation into the union get shafted.
You are assuming that the outsiders (AITUC etc) will bring in only their self-interest and nothing else in return for the 30% representation in the union. I think it is quite likely that the workers want them to be part of the union for the union-related skills they bring to the table – negotiation skills, dispute resolution, etc. Also, given their scale, they can help the workers at the time of strikes etc by providing temporary relief to the workers. Think of it as Maruti workers outsourcing some of the union work to these outside specialists and in return giving them 30% representation in the union.
Very fact that management doesn’t want it to happen must mean it is in the interest of the workers.