“1a 
CHAPTER XVII—TRADE UNIONS, 
Employers’ Associations. 
Collective bargaining in India is a development of recent years, 
Associations of merchants in the form of Chambers of Commerce had 
long been in existence to deal with matters of common interest in the 
field of trade and commerce. During the second half of the last century 
the introduction of organised industry led to the formation of associa 
tions to secure united action for the encouragement of different industries. 
With a view to the promotion and protection of the interests of members, 
these associations took an active part in the discussion of legislative 
proposals and other matters of common policy affecting industry. They 
were thus able to make representations and to take common action 
concerning the interests of members as a whole, including social and 
labour legislation, but they had no power to interfere in matters pertain- 
ing to the internal working of individual concerns. In this period the 
only important exception to this general rule was in the jute industry 
where for nearly 50 years, it has been the practice for the association 
to regulate working hours in the factories of its members with a view 
to meeting variations in the supply and demand of the product. 
With the introduction of new and the expansion of existing indus- 
tries, competition for trained labour increased. The efforts of in- 
dividual employers to attract new workers took different forms, for 
example, higher wages, improved housing accommodation, provision 
of water supplies and similar amenities. These improvements, however, 
were almost wholly due to the initiative of individual employers, and 
it was not until the period of unrest created by war conditions that em- 
ployers found it advisable to act together in labour matters. In 1918 
the Committee of the Indian Jute Mills Association, on the curtailment 
of working time owing to war conditions, made a recommendation which 
was adopted by its members for the payment of khoraki (i.e., an allowance) 
to their employees in respect of the enforced short-time working. In 
1920 the Committee of the Bombay Millowners’ Association made a 
recommendation, which also was adopted by its members, for the in- 
troduction of a 10 hour working day before it was enacted by legislation. 
Since then associations of employers have been compelled to devote 
considerable attention to the demands of employees for improved working 
conditions. This period coincides with the beginnings of trade unions 
in India, and the growth of trade unionism may be said to have been one 
of the factors in bringing home to associations of employers the 
need for common action, not only as regards working time and output, 
but also in respect of wages and other matters affecting the lives of their 
workers. Meanwhile the influence of employers’ associations on the 
Legislatures grew, as in course of time representatives were first nominated 
and then mainly elected to them. There are now 8 representatives 
of commercial and industrial Chambers or Associations in the Central 
Legislature and over 50 in the provincial Councils. The evidence we 
received from employers’ associations satisfied us that they contain 
many who are capable of doing much to solve the labour problems