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A trade union, often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers who have come together to achieve common goals, such as protecting the integrity of their trade, improving safety standards, and attaining better wages, benefits, and working conditions through the increased bargaining power wielded by solidarity among workers. Trade unions typically fund the formal organization, head office, and legal team functions of the trade union through regular fees or union dues. The delegate staff of the trade union representation in the workforce are made up of workplace volunteers who are appointed by members in democratic elections.
Labour laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union. Individual labour law concerns employees' rights at work also through the contract for work. Employment standards are social norms for the minimum socially acceptable conditions under which employees or contractors are allowed to work. Government agencies enforce labour law.
The labor history of the United States describes the history of organized labor, US labor law, and more general history of working people, in the United States. Beginning in the 1930s, unions became important allies of the Democratic Party.
A lockout is a work stoppage or denial of employment initiated by the management of a company during a labour dispute. In contrast to a strike, in which employees refuse to work, a lockout is initiated by employers or industry owners.
Trade Unions in India are registered and file annual returns under the Trade Union Act (1926). Statistics on Trade Unions are collected annually by the Labour Bureau of the Ministry of Labour, Government of India. As per the latest data, released for 2012, there were 16,154 trade unions which had a combined membership of 9.18 million. The Trade Union movement in India is largely divided along political lines and follows a pre-Independence pattern of overlapping interactions between political parties and unions. The net result of this type of system is debated as it has both advantages and disadvantages. BMS is the largest trade union of India.
The Coal strike of 1902 was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners striked for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of their union. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to major American cities. At that time, residences were typically heated with anthracite or "hard" coal, which produces higher heat value and less smoke than "soft" or bituminous coal.
The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India. It is associated with the Communist Party of India. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AITUC had a membership of 14.2 million in 2013. It was founded on 31 October 1920 with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first president.
The 2007 General Motors Strike was a labor union strike that lasted three days from September 23 to September 25 of 2007 organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The UAW were engaged in talks with General Motors (GM) to negotiate a new labor contract but were unable to come to an agreement before the deadline. Consequently, 73,000 workers walked out forcing 80 GM facilities in 30 states to cease operations. After the two day strike, the two parties reached an agreement in which the UAW union would assume the responsibility for managing retiree healthcare liabilities. The UAW previously went on strike against General Motors in 1970.
Labour in India refers to employment in the economy of India. In 2020, there were around 501 million workers in India, the second largest after China. Out of which, agriculture industry consist of 41.19%, industry sector consist of 26.18% and service sector consist 32.33% of total labour force. Of these over 94 percent work in unincorporated, unorganised enterprises ranging from pushcart vendors to home-based diamond and gem polishing operations. The organised sector includes workers employed by the government, state-owned enterprises and private sector enterprises. In 2008, the organised sector employed 27.5 million workers, of which 17.3 million worked for government or government owned entities. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that India is only doing 43.9% of what should be possible at its level of income for the right to work.
The African Mine Workers' Strike was a labour dispute involving mine workers of Witwatersrand in South Africa. It started on 12 August, 1946 and lasted approximately a week. The strike was attacked by police and over the week, at least 1,248 workers were wounded and at least 9 killed.
Indian labour law refers to law regulating labour in India. Traditionally, Indian government at the federal and state levels have sought to ensure a high degree of protection for workers, but in practice, this differs due to form of government and because labour is a subject in the concurrent list of the Indian Constitution. The Minimum Wages Act 1948 requires companies to pay the minimum wage set by the government alongside limiting working weeks to 40 hours. Overtime is strongly discouraged with the premium on overtime being 100% of the total wage. The Payment of Wages Act 1936 mandates the payment of wages on time on the last working day of every month through a bank transfer or through postal services. The Factories Act 1948 and the Shops and Establishment Act 1960 mandates 15 working days of fully paid vacation leaves each year to each employee with an addition 10 fully paid sick days. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 gives female employees of every company the right to take 6 months worth of fully paid maternity leave. It also provides for 6 weeks worth of paid leaves in case of miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and the Employees' State Insurance, governed by statutory acts provides workers with necessary social security for retirement benefits and medical and unemployment benefits respectively. Workers entitled to be covered under the Employees' State Insurance are also entitled 90 days worth of paid medical leaves. A contract of employment can always provide for more rights than the statutory minimum set rights. The Indian parliament passed four labour codes in 2019 and 2020 sessions. These four codes will consolidate 44 existing labour laws. They are: The Industrial Relations Code 2020, The Code on Social Security 2020, The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and The Code on Wages 2019.
As the Economy of China has rapidly developed, issues of labor relations have evolved. Prior to this reform, Chinese citizens were only allowed to work where they originated from. Since 1978 when China began labor force reforms the overwhelming majority of the labor force were either working at State owned enterprises or as farm workers in the rural countryside. However, over time China began to reform and by the late 90's many had moved from the countryside into the cities in hopes of higher paying jobs and more opportunities. The only connection between the countryside and the city soon became that there was a huge floating population connecting them. Independent unions are illegal in China with only the All-China Federation of Trade Unions permitted to operate. China has been the largest exporter of goods in the world since 2009. Not only that, in 2013 China became the largest trading nation in the world. As China moved away from their planned economy and more towards a market economy the government has brought on many reforms. The aim of this shift in economies was to match the international standards set by the World Trade Organization and other economic entities. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACTFU) that was established to protect the interests of national and local trade unions failed to represent the workers, but instead failed to do so leading to the 2010 crackdowns. However these strikes were centered around foreign companies.
The 1928 South Indian railway strike was a general strike by the South Indian Railway Workers Union against plans of the South Indian Railway Company to lay off over 3,100 workers in order to reduce the expenditures of the company. The strike lasted from 29 June – 2 August 1928, and severely affected the transportation of people and goods across South India. The Madras government and the South Indian Railway Company responded with a crackdown. Most of the leaders of the strike were arrested and recognition to the union was withdrawn.The Government of Madras recorded it as the "most important event of the year".
The Fight for $15 is an American political movement advocating for the minimum wage to be raised to $15 per hour. The federal minimum wage was last set at $7.25 per hour in 2009. The movement has involved strikes by child care, home healthcare, airport, gas station, convenience store, and fast food workers for increased wages and the right to form a labor union. The "Fight for $15" movement started in 2012, in response to workers' inability to cover their costs on such a low salary, as well as the stressful work conditions of many of the service jobs which pay the minimum wage.
Nepal has a labour force of 16.8-million-workers, the 37th largest in the world as of 2017. Although agriculture makes up only about 28 per cent of Nepal's GDP, it employs more than two-thirds of the workforce. Millions of men work as unskilled labourers in foreign countries, leaving the household, agriculture, and raising of children to women alone. Most of the working-age women are employed in agricultural sector, contributions to which are usually ignored or undervalued in official statistics. Few women who are employed in the formal sectors face discrimination and significant wage gap. Almost half of all children are economically active, half of which are child labourers. Millions of people, men, women and children of both sexes, are employed as bonded labourers, in slavery-like conditions. Trade unions have played a significant role in earning better working conditions and workers' rights, both at the company level and the national government level. Worker-friendly labour laws, endorsed by the labour unions as well as business owners, provide a framework for better working conditions and secure future for the employees, but their implementation is severely lacking in practice. Among the highly educated, there is a significant brain-drain, posing a significant hurdle in fulfilling the demand for skilled workforce in the country.
The 2020 Indian general strike was a mass general strike that was held across India on 26 November 2020.
The 2010 General Strike in Spain was a general strike called for Wednesday, 29 September 2010 in Spain by the two main Spanish trade union centrals—Comisiones Obreras and Unión General de Trabajadores—against the labor reform of 2010, promoted by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and approved in the Congress of Deputies on 9 September 2010, entering into force on 19 September 2010, and against the reform of the public pension system announced by the Government of Spain.
The Great Resignation, also known as the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle, is an ongoing economic trend in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs en masse, beginning in early 2021. Possible causes include wage stagnation amid rising cost of living, long-lasting job dissatisfaction, safety concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the desire to work for companies with better remote-working policies. Some economists have described the Great Resignation as akin to a general strike.
Like many large technology companies, Apple Inc. has limited recognition of worker organizations. Apple does not recognize any trade unions in the United States, while it does recognize some unions and works councils in Europe, and a union in Japan. The majority of industrial and labor disputes involving Apple occur indirectly through its suppliers and contractors, notably Foxconn plants in China.
References
- ↑ "Tens of millions of Indian workers strike in fight for higher wages". The Guardian. 2 September 2016.
- ↑ Banerji, Annie (September 3, 2016). "Tens of millions in India strike for higher wages". The China Post. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ↑ Madan, Karuna (September 2, 2016). "Strike call evokes mixed response in India". Gulf News India. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ↑ "Millions strike in India over reforms". BBC News. September 2, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ↑ Khan, Shehab (September 3, 2016). "Humanity's biggest ever strike is underway" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ↑ "Millions of Indian workers strike for better wages". Aljazeera. September 3, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ↑ "General strike: trade unions claim success, normal life unaffected". The Hindu . September 3, 2016. ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 2016-09-04.
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