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. According to the latest data released for 2012, there were 16,154 trade unions with a combined membership of 9.18 million, based on returns from 15 states out of a total of 28 states and 9 union territories. 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 system is debated, as it has both advantages and disadvantages. According to data submitted by various trade unions to the Ministry of Labour and Employment as part of a survey, INTUC, with a combined membership of 33.3 million, emerged as the largest trade union in India as of 2013.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.
All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) is a central trade union federation in India. It is politically attached to Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AICCTU had a membership of 639,962 in 2002.
Trade Union Coordination Centre is a central trade union federation in India. TUCC is politically attached to All India Forward Bloc.
The Labour Progressive Federation is a trade union federation in Tamil Nadu, India. The LPF is politically attached to the ruling Tamil Nadu party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is a national level trade union in India. It has presence mostly in the Indian state of Tripura, followed by West Bengal, Kerala and Kanpur. They have also have some presence in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) is a national trade union centre in India. Founded on 3 May 1947, it is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. The INTUC claims a membership of over 30 million.
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.
Ramchandra Sakharam Ruikar was a pioneer of the Indian labour movement. He was born on 8 January 1895 in Rui, Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He went graduated from college from Pune and Nagpur with a masters in history and economics. He created a legal service in Nagpur, where he founded the Nagpur Textile Union. The union was the first to registered under the Trade Unions Act. He went on to help create more unions around India. He was elected as president of the All India Trade Union Congress twice. He was arrested and imprisoned many times for his beliefs. In 1938, he joined the All India Forward Bloc and soon became general secretary of that party.
The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
United Trade Union Congress (Bolshevik) is a federation of trade unions in Kerala, India. UTUC(B) emerged from a split in the United Trade Union Congress. UTUC(B) is politically tied to Revolutionary Socialist Party (Bolshevik). Initially, K.C. Vamadevan was president of UTUC(B) and T.M. Prabha was the general secretary of UTUC(B).
Indian Federation of Labour is a federation of trade unions in India. IFL was founded in 1941 by M.N. Roy, after a split from the All India Trade Union Congress. IFL strongly supported the British war effort. Maniben Kara was a prominent IFL leader in the railways and V.B. Karnik was a prominent IFL leader amongst the dock workers.
The All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), formerly known as United Trade Union Centre or UTUC-LS, is a Central Trade Union Organisation in India and the labour wing of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist). Presently its activities are spread over 19 states. The organisation claims to have 600 affiliated unions, comprising an individual membership of over two million. It is the 6th largest trade union in India. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, UTUC-LS had a membership of 1,368,535 in 2002.
The Bolshevik Party of India is an Indian political party in India. The party was founded in 1939. The party had a certain role in the trade union movement in West Bengal and was briefly represented in the state government in 1969. In later years the party has played a negligible role in Indian politics.
The Pakistan Socialist Party was a political party in Pakistan. It was formed out of the branches of the Indian Socialist Party in the areas ceded to the new state of Pakistan. The PSP failed to make any political breakthrough in Pakistani politics. Being a secular socialist party, which had strongly opposed the creation of the state Pakistan, the PSP found itself politically isolated and with little mass appeal. The party was labelled as traitors and kafirs by its opponents. The PSP found it difficult to compete with the Islamic socialism that Liaquat Ali Khan professed to in 1949.
The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress (AHTUC) was a trade union centre in the Hyderabad State. Affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress, it claimed a membership of around 72,000. The trade union centre, which was aligned with the Communist Party of India, was one of the organisations that took part in the Telangana Rebellion against the Nizam regime.
The South African Trades Union Congress (TUC) was a national trade union federation in South Africa.
The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa.
Sudha Roy (1914–1987) was an Indian communist trade unionist and politician. She was a prominent leader of the Bengal Labour Party, the Bolshevik Party of India and later joined the Communist Party of India. She was one of the most prominent female leaders of the Bengali left.
Sisir Roy (1912–1960) was an Indian communist politician and trade unionist. He served as general secretary of the Bolshevik Party of India and the United Trade Union Congress, and was active in organizing dock workers in Calcutta.
