ILO arm against union restrictions for outsiders - Says the proposal may hinder the entry of legitimate members into the union

The labour wing of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Monday raised concerns over the Centre’s proposal to restrict outsiders in trade unions.

“The ILO convention states that it should be up to the trade unions to decide structures and the government should play the role of a facilitator,” Raghwan, desk officer for Asia and the Pacific region for the ILO-Bureau for Workers’ Activities (Actrav), told Business Standard.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the national trade union conference organised by the ILO’s labour wing and the Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“It will be important to see what the government is referring to as external. This (proposal) may hinder the entry of a legitimate and elected member into the union,” said the director of ILO-Actrav, Maria Helena Andre.

The industrial relations Bill states only people engaged or employed in an industry can become office-bearers of a trade union in the formal sector and only two outsiders can become office-bearers of a trade union in the unorganised sector. The bill also calls for disqualification of a person as an office-bearer if she is an office-bearer in 10 other trade unions.

“These (trade unions) should be a true reflection of the workers. It is not that you hijack the agenda by bringing people from outside. We are encouraging those who are stakeholders and involved with the workers to form unions,” Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal had said in an interview to this publication last month. The labour ministry’s move is also aimed at curbing the politicisation of trade unions.

“Today, the trade union movement has to be technically prepared to propose laws and should push the government to negotiate. The government’s reform process has triggered the need for trade unions to be better prepared,” Andre said during her speech at the event.

Talking to Business Standard, she said, “No modern society can go on without taking the view of workers. Trade unions say they have not been sufficiently consulted.”

Asked about her views on the Centre’s labour law proposals, Andre said, “It is not our role to take a view on the reform process, but it is up to us in the ILO to support the constituents to analyse the proposals on the table and to see how far they are in line with international labour standards.” She added the ILO was supporting trade unions “in identifying the gaps that exist.”

“Although India has ratified 43 ILO conventions, it still has to ratify some important conventions such as freedom of association, collective bargaining, and protection of child labour. All these are key to making India an attractive country to invest in. The new laws cannot ignore these instruments or go against them,” she said.

The labour wing of the ILO is assisting trade unions in preparing a position paper on labour law reforms, industrial relations, and industry development.

The Centre has proposed an industrial relations Bill to combine and amend three laws, the Industrial Disputes Act, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, and the Trade Unions Act. Proposals opposed by trade unions include easing retrenchment norms, curbing trade union formation, and restricting strikes. In protest, trade unions have called for a day’s strike on September 2.