Origins (Before 1840)

-The country had primarily agricultural economy; peasants and artisans --the latter produced all the goods needed locally.

-With British consolidation in India, after 1800, the British industrial revolution needed raw materials for their industry and markets for their products. Like other colonies controlled by the British, India
became a major supplier of raw materials like cotton, coal, jute, etc. It also became a major market for British products, textiles and clothes in particular.

-This resulted in severe exploitation of the peasantry so that cheap raw material (like cotton) could be exported to England.

-This also resulted in large-scale displacement of artisans. British factory-made goods came to India and artisans became unemployed. They fell back to land, as there were not enough industrial jobs available then. The pressure on land grew, unemployment increased, and the artisans lost all their skill and expertise. Indian cottage industry was thus completely destroyed.

Early Industria1isation ( 1840-1900) : Emergency of Indian Working Class

-Industrialisation in India started in mid-nineteenth century. British tea companies came in Assam by 1839; Bengal Coal Company started in 1843; first cotton mill in Bombay and jute mill in Calcutta started in 1854.

-The first two organised industries were jute and cotton; tea plantation became other major labour employment centres.

-The British established a network of railways in 1854 to transport raw materials and manufactured goods. Railways became another major employ of labour by 1860.

-During 1840-70, more than 5 lakh Indian workers had also been sent
as indentured labour to other British co1onies.

-By 1890, about 3 lakh workers were employed in factories and mines. However, their exploitation was maximum --16 hours work day, many accidents, low wages.

Working Class Movement in India
First Phase ( l850-19QQ)

-This period coincided with early industriaiisation period and witnessed beginnings of working class movement. The main thrust of the struggles in this period was on improving the working conditions
and providing welfare facilities.

-Early supporters of workers were educated philanthropists from 'Brahrn Samaj' in -Calcutta and people like Meghajee Lokhunde in Bombay.

-Several strikes and protests were launched by workers in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Nagpur, Ahrnedabad, Kanpur, etc.

-First major strike took place in 1862 in Howrah-- Railway workers demanded 8 hours work day.

-During 1882 and 1890, more than 25 important strikes took place all over the country.

-Most of the strikes and struggles of this period had some common characteristics --they were spontaneous, short-lived (less than 3 days) , limited to a single department or factory, focused on questions of working hours, conditions and welfare.

-Between .l879-81, several workers' associations were formed around common interests of workers on wages and conditions of work.

-The employers also formed several associations during this period:
Bombay and Bengal Chamber of Commerce, Bombay Mill Owners' Association,
Indian Jute Manufacturers' Association, Indian Chamber of Commerce.

-In 1891, some textile workers formed Bombay Mill Hands Association.

Second Phase (1900-1914)

-This period saw the beginning of trade unions in the country.

-The industrialisation in the country had grown significantly in this period: by 1914, there were 264 textile mills and 64 jute mills; a total of about 10 lakh industrial workers.

-Introduction of electricity in 1905 prompted the employers to increase work loads and working hours --the workers organised several strikes against this.

-A major strike of workers in Press and Machine Section of the government press in Madras launched a six month long struggle in 1903 against over- time without payment.

-The 1905 strike of more tnan 2000 workers of government press in Calcutta led to the formation of a Press Workers' Union --one of the -first in the country.

-The period also witnessed a Politicization of workers who began to~see the link between their struggles nd those against the British rule. The then leaders of Swadeshi and freedom movement also began to recognise the importance of workers' struggles. The 1906 strike on Bengal section of East India Railway spread to other centres with the help of national freedom movement leaders.

-The first direct political struggle of Indian Working Class was launched against the British Government -in July 1908 by textile workers of Bombay. Other sections of the working class joined in this struggle and more than 1 lakh workers went on strike on July 23. Tilak's arrest and sentence was retaliated by major working class agitations allover the country.

-After the outbreak of first world war, the Indian industry began to expand rapidly, and so did the profit.

Third Phase (1915-1922)

-The October Revolution (1917) in Russia acted as a source .of great encouragement to the Indian working class movement.

-Ahmedabad textile workers launched a major struggle in 1918 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi against withdrawal of bonus by employers . Textile Labour Association was formed..
 

-The first modern trade union was formed in Madras in 1918, called Madras Labour Union.

-At the international level, International Labour Organisatioh (ILO)
was formed (1919) , which acted as a source of initial inspiration for workers' movements in some countries.

-By 1920, more than 125 trade unions existed in the country with more than 2.5 lakh members.

-In early 1920, more than 2 lakhs . textile workers of Bombay launched a major struggle for increased wages and shorter working hours, resulting in a major victory.

-On October 30, 1920, representatives of 64 trade unions with 1.5 lakh members met in Bombay to form All Indian Trade Union Congress under the leadership of Lala'Lajpat Rai and other national leaders.

-Several trade unions began to get formed in jute and textile industry, railways and transport.. Several.struggles of workers were launched in this period. In 1921 alone, about 400 strikes were conducted, more than half successfully.

Fourth Phase (1923-1939)

-Under the leadership of S.A. Dange and M.N. Roy, communist ideology began to influence the working class movement. Many communists were arrested after a series of major strikes in 1924. By 1926, several states saw the emergence of the communist party.

-The workers' struggles finally won them the right to form trade unions. Trade Union Act was passed in 1926.

-Bombay Textile Labour Union, under the leadership of N.M. Joshi, became the first trade union to be recognised under this Act in 1926.

-This period saw the emergence of leftist ideology in trade unions as class organisations --working class struggles as class struggle with overthrowing capitalism as its political aim. However, Congress leadership did not see this political role of trade unions.

-A series of strikes took place in 1928. First nationwide general strike of textile workers lasted for six months.

-As the struggles intensified, so did British repression; and, between 1929 and 1933, the AITUC split twice -- first congress leaders formed a separate union, then communists led by Ranadive. They later rejoined in 1935.

-After first World War, the economies in the West began to collapse; by early 1930's that effect was felt on Indian industries and a large scale retrenchment of workers took place.In Bombay alone, half the textile mills closed down rendering more than, 60,000 workers jobless.

-The workers' retailiated with intensified struggles. Increased organisation qf workers is reflected in more than 200 trade unions (registered under the TU Act) with 2.5 lakh members by 1935.

-Women workers also became very active in the movement. The class consciousness and solidarity increased among the Indian working class during. this period.

Fifth Phase (1940-1947)

-1939 saw the outbreak of the second World War. As the British dragged India into the war, the trade union movement began to face its impact. One section of AITUC wanted to support the 'anti-fascist' war, the other did riot. Consequently, the former left AITTJC and formed another federation.

-Increased production requirements saw the employers using shifts, longer
work hours and even child labour. On the one hand, employers got exemptions from the laws; on the other, unions got recognised and some welfare measures were introduced.

-The period also witnessed a tremendous rise in prices. About 1.75 lakh textile workers of Bombay launched a struggle in 1940 to demand Dearness Allowance. Similar strikes spread all over the country. The British retaliated against communist leader- ship, btit the workers finally won.

-After the war was over, the working class joined in the increasing
struggle for national independence.The 1946 strike of postal workers led by AITUC also focused upon anti labour attitude of the British government and put renewed pressure for independence.

-The continued dominance of communists in AITUC made many Congress leaders uncomfortable. So, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) was born in early 1947 with the support of Congress and nationalist employers. It quickly acquired the support of about 200 unions with a membership of 5.75 lakh workers.

Sixth Phase (Post Independence )

-As different political parties emerged in the country after independence, this also affected the Trade Union movement. The workers' movement faced several splits. In early 1948, the socialists broke away from Congress and formed Hind Mazdoor Panchayat (HMP) , which later got merged in Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) .HMS further split when united Trade Union Congress (UTUC) was formed
in 1949.

-As Jana Sangh party gained ground, it formed its own labour organisation -Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) .

-With the split among the communists, the AITUC got further split and Communist Party (Marxist) formed its owh labour organization --Centre for i Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

-Despite these splits, the working class movement in India gained significantly after independence.
In recent years, several successful efforts have been made to put up joint nationwide struggles on specific issues. There has been a growing recognition of the need for working class solidarity. As the size of the working class population increased, so did the workers' organisations .'

 -After the early growth of the fifties, the country faced economic depression in the sixties. As a result, it became difficult to acquire further economic concessions from the manage- ment. The ongoing need for improving the economic status of workers has kept the unions busy in fighting for economic issues only.

-With the passage of Industrial Disputes Act, a legal machinery was created for settlement of disputes.
The unions began to use this machinery more and more. But this machinery had its own limitations. As a result, workers and their unions got entarigled in the labour machinery and use of direct action decreased over this period.

-In some cases, the government set up industrywise wage boards, tribunals and joint consultative machinery to settle disputes for the whole industry. Coal and steel are prominent examples.

-With the rise of public sector undertakings in the country, the government also introduced measures
for controlling disputes of public sector employees. Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) became a major mediator,of the disputes of such workers.

-After independence, political parties began to see workers as major vote banks. So eactl party has launched its own trade union centre. Over the years, the ruling parties in the states and the centre actively promoted unions affiliated to them." A's a result, many trade union centres (.like INTUC,BMS etc.) have consolidated large membership even though their ideolog'y is not based on the interests by the working class.

-In the late seventies and early eighties, many workers became frustrated with the inaction and bureaucratization of national federation. As a result, there is nowa growing trend to form independent, local level unions, primarily managed by the workers themselves. These are able to respond to the needs of the workers more effectively and are run more democratically. Sometimes, these unions are also able to take up new issues like community services. However, there is no national level coordination among these as yet to tackle issues that can be confronted only at the national level.

The Current. Reality

Out of a total population of about 66 crore, one-third is the working population in the country today. Out of this working population, women workers constitute about 20%. However, only 10% of the working population (2.3 crores} is  employed in organised sector of industry. The rest are working in the unorganised sector, informal, cottage and agricultural sectors. Public sector is twice as large as private sector industry -more than  1.5 crore workers are in public sector.

The overall size of unionised  workers .in the country is still quite small. A little over one fourth (28%) of the entire working force (outside agriculture sector) is uriionised .In comparison, more than 75% workers are unionised in many European countries.
 
The growth of industrialisation in the country h,as been geographically quite uneven. Consequently, trade unions are also most prevalent in some parts of the country. Thus, Maharashtra, West Bengal, UP, Tamilnadu, Bihar and Kerala -six states' -account for 70% of trade ,unions and 66% of total membership.

Similarly, growth of unionisation has been uneven in different industries. More than 61% of workers in coal mining are unionised; in textiles, 56% are unionised; iron and steel 63%; banks 51%.

The number of trade unions has been steadily increasing in the country. There are now estimated to be more ,  than 40,000 unions.

But the average size of membership in each union has been decreasing. Indian Unions have less than 1000 members, on average. In comparison, unions in England have 17,000 members , on averagei in USA 10,000 members on  average, and in Russia 2.5 lakh members on average. Since independence, growth in membership has been less fast than the growth in number,of unions.

The trade union movement has become a major movement in India today.

Through its history of more than lOO years of struggle, the working class has acquired important economic and political gains.

AS the working class struggle intensifies, so does  the repression. Thousands of struggles are launched
every year but recently only less than half are estimated to be successful.  Though number of strkes
more than the lockouts, total mandays lost due to lockouts are much 'higher than due to strikes. The  employers are taking an increasingly more hardened position.

Though the workers haveacquired significant economic gains through their struggles, these gains have
been lost due to continuous increase in prices of basic commodities.  So the real wages of workers have hardly arisen.

It is in this historical context that the working class movement acquires great importance in the years to  come. And worker activists will be called upon to play,a historic role in the country.
 

Major Labour Struggles in 1920

1. 1400 Madras Tramways workers on wages.
2. More than 10,000 railway workers in Jamalpur on wages.
3. About 5,000 workers of Empress Mill, Nagpur on wages.
4. More than 20,000 Cot tort Textile, tannery and other workers in Kanpur on wages and working hours.
5. About 10,000 masons in Calcutta art wages.
6. 67,000 Jute Mill workers in Howrah on wages.
7. More than 2.35 lakh Textile workers in Bombay on allowances and working hours.
8. About 4;000 dock workers in Bombay on wages.
9. About 14,000 textile workers in Sholapur iron wages.
10.About 5,000 copper workers in Ahmedabad on wages and bonus.
 
 
 
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