Labour Rights in Globalising India - THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF 在全球化的印度劳工权利的印度社会.pptVIP

T.S. Papola ICSSR National Fellow and Honorary Professor ISID, New Delhi NATIONAL SEMINAR on Globalisation, Labour Markets and Employment Relations in India Mumbai University 9-10 July 2012 decline in bargaining power vis a vis capital political groups/parties based on support of, or providing support to labour, losing power smaller increase/stagnation/decline in labour incomes/share vis a vis capital income erosion in labour rights, waning of support of governments, general public, judiciary increased mobility of capital as part of globalisation with continuing, or even increased, restrictions on the mobility of labour high and rising levels of unemployment in developed countries and slow growth of employment (“Jobless growth”) in developing countries pressures to increase labour market flexibility and reduce labour protection due to increasing international competition for markets (WCSDG, 2004, para 210) increasing hegemony and influence of neo-liberal economic ideology small base: only 2% of all workers (9.57 million / 474 million) and 35% of ‘organised’ sector workers (9.57 million / 27.12 million) unionised (2008), yet influence much larger earlier percentage unionisation declining due most new employment in informal sector or non-regular failure to organise the unorganised declining political influence due loosening of ties with affiliating political parties (How many TU leaders MPs now as compared to earlier?) ascendency of ‘employer militancy’, as seen in rising importance of ‘lockouts’ over ‘strikes’, within an overall decline in “industrial disputes” Year Number Persondays Lost (million) Strikes Lockouts Strikes Lockouts 1990 528 403 10.6 13.5 2000 426 345 11.96 16.80 2003 255 297 3.21 27.05 2006 154 192 3.16 10.60 2010 262 168 5.12 8.18 public no longer sympathetic to the cause of labour, not willing to bear any inconvenience due to a strike/bandh unions no longer viewed as useful social institutions contributing to democracy and social change