Question

Write a note on:

Labour movement

Answer 1

Labour movement in India was organized under Trade unions that saw its birth in the background of industrialization in British India. Industrial workers frequently went on strike for their demands of better wages and improved working hours. One such incident was reported as the railway workers’ strike in 1899. The first organization for resolving workers’ issues was established in 1920, known as the All India Trade Union Congress. In the post-independence era, trade unions got more effective in 1960s and 1970s, organizing several agitations but saw its disintegration in 1980s and its steady decline in the face of globalization in 1990s. Some of the concerns of the workers’ movements are:

• Unstable employment conditions

• Contract labour and financial insecurities of workers

• Absence of legal protection for workers

• Long working hours

• Insecurities at workplace

• Health hazards at work place, etc.