Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1850495947

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-233603

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Off.

Year of publication:: 1931

Scope:: xviii, 580 S.; graph. Darst., Kt.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XVII. - Trade unions

Collection:: Economics Books

318 CHAPTER XVII, Legal Position. At an early stage, the movement was threatened with the penal- ties to which, in the absence of a protecting statute, certain trade union activities are exposed under English common law. Following a suit against the leaders of the Madras Labour Union in 1920, the Legislative Assembly in 1921 adopted a resolution in favour of legislation, for the registration and protection of trade unions. Five years were to elapse before a law was passed, but although we consider that development would have been more rapid had trade unionism received earlier legislative recognition, no attempt was made by emplovers in the interval to take advantage of the lecal position. Cohesion. This period was one of growth and consolidation. With the passing of the economic stress and of the acute political turmoil of 1918-21, many ad hoc unions disappeared and some leaders lost interest ; but there remained a number of genuine organisations, and these grew steadily in numbers and quality, in spite of local checks and universal handicaps. The strengthening of individual unions was accompanied by an Increasing cohesion in the movement as a whole. The foundation in 1920 of the All-India Trade Union Congress marked the first recognition of the common interests of labour throughout the country. It has held annual sessions in various centres, and has served as a meeting place for those most actively engaged in trade unionism, as a platform for the enunciation of labour policy and as a link between trade unionism in India and in Europe. The participation of trade union leaders in International Labour Con- ferences and other international meetings gave the movement encourage- ment and greater unity, while the inclusion in the Assembly and Councils after the Reforms of a few nominated labour representatives assisted by giving it further cohesion. The Trade Unions Act. An important stage was reached with the passing of the Indian Trade Unions Act in 1926. This Act differs from British and Dominion Legislation on the subject mainly in the fact that the application of its provisions is confined to those unions which seek registration under it. Registered unions incur certain obligations ; the most important of these are the requirement to furnish audited accounts and the necessity of including in the executive a majority of actual workers. At the same time registration confers on trade unions and their members a measure of immunity from civil suits and criminal prosecutions ; the provisions in this respect follow approximately the recommendations of the Royal Com- mission on Trade Disputes and Trade Combinations that sat in England in 1905. We shall return to some of the provisions of the Act in our recommendations, but would remark here that the stimulus given by the Act to trade unionism resulted, not so much from any rights or liabilities that it created, as from the enhanced status given by the recognition of trade unions in the statute book. Registered unions in particular have

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