Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi

Faculty of Social Work

Department of Social Work

Topic: Employee and Labour Welfare

Sub-Topic: Theories of Trade Unionism

Key-Words:
Employee, Employer, Trade Union, factory, workshop, working
conditions, Welfare measures, Industrial Relations, Industrial disputes

Subject: Social Work

Class: M.S.W. III SEM.

Paper 305(E): Employee Welfare &Trade Unionism

Creator: Prof. M.M. Verma

Mob.No.: 9452585202

Email-ID: mmverma2007@gmail.com
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The students shall be able to learn about the various theories of Trade
Unionism.

Contents:
Theories of Trade Unionism

Actually, there is no one theory of Trade Unionism, but many contributors to

these theories are revolutionaries, like Marx and Engels; Civil servants, like
Sydney Webb; academics, like Common and Hoxie; and labour leader, like
Mitchell. Important theories of trade unionism may be introduced as follows:

1. Political Revolutionary Theory of Labour Movement of Marx and Engels:

This theory is based on Adam Smiths theory of labour value. Its short run purpose
is to eliminate competition among labour, and the ultimate purpose is to overthrow
capitalist businessman. Trade union is pure simple a class struggle, and
proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains and they a world to win.

2. Webbs Theory of Industrial Democracy:

Webb‟s book „Industrial democracy‟ is the Bible of trade unionism. According to

Webb, trade unionism is an extension of democracy from political sphere to
industrial sphere. Webb agreed with Marx that trade unionism is a class struggle
and modern capitalist state is a transitional phase which will lead to democratic
socialism. He considered collective bargaining as the process which strengthens
labour.

3. Cole’s Theory of Union Control of Industry:

Cole‟s views are given in his book “World of Labour” 1913. His views are
somewhere in between Webb and Marx. He agrees that unionism is class struggle
and the ultimate is the control of industry by labour and not revolution as predicted
by Marx.
4. Common’s Environment Theory:

He was skeptical of generalisations and believed only that which could be proved
by evidence. He agreed that collective bargaining was an instrument of class
struggle, but he summarised that ultimately, there will be partnership between
employers and employees.

5. Mitchell’s Economic Protection Theory of Trade Unionism:

Mitchell, a labour leader, completely rejected individual bargaining. According to

him unions afford economic protection to the labour.

6. Simons Theory of Monopolistic, anti-Democratic Trade Unionism:

He denounced trade unionism as monopoly founded on violence. And he claimed

monopoly power has no use, save abuse.

7. Perlman’s Theory of the “Scarcity Consciousness” of Manual Workers:

He rejected the idea of class consciousness as an explanation for the origin of the
trade union movement, but substituted it with what he called job consciousness.

According to him, „working people in reality felt an urge towards collective control
of their employment opportunities, but hardly towards similar control of industry.‟
Perlman observed that three dominant factors emerged from the rich historical
data:

1. the capacity or incapacity of the capitalist system to survive as a ruling

group in the face of revolutionary attacks (e.g., failure in Russia).
2. the source of the anti-capitalist influences being primarily from among the
intellectuals in any society.
3. the most vital factor in the labour situation was the trade union movement.
Trade unionism, which is essentially pragmatic, struggles constantly not
only against the employers for an enlarged opportunity measure in income,
security and liberty in the shop and industry, but struggles also, whether
 consciously or unconsciously, actively or passively, against the intellectuals
who would frame its programmes and shape its policies.

But Perlman also felt that a theory of the labour movement should include a theory
of the psychology of the labouring man. For instance, there was a historical
continuity between the guilds and trade unions, through their common fundamental
psychology; the psychology of seeking a livelihood in the face of limited economic
opportunity. It was when manual workers became aware of a scarcity of
opportunity, that they banded together into unions for the purpose of protecting
their jobs and distributing employment opportunities among themselves equitably,
and to subordinate the interests of the individual to the whole labour organism.
Unionism was ruled, thus, by this fundamental scarcity consciousness (Perlman,
1970).

8. Hoxie’s Functional Classification of Unionism:

He classified Unionism on the basis of their functions. His classification were

Business Unionism for protecting the interest of various craftmen, “Uplift
unionism” for the purpose of contributing better life such as association of sales
engineers, etc. “Revolutionary Unionism” which is eager to replace existing social
order, “Predatory Unionism” which rests on these support of others.

9. Tannenbaum’s Theory of Man Vs. Machine:

According to him, Union is formed in reaction to alienation and loss of community

in an individualistic and unfeeling society. In his words, the union returns to the
workers his society, which he left behind him when he migrated from a rural
background to the anonymity of an urban industrial location. The union gives the
worker a fellowship and a value system that he shares with others like him.
Institutionally, the trade union movement is an unconscious effort to harness the
drift of our time and reorganize it around the cohesive identity that men working
together always achieve.

Classification of Theories of Trade Unionism:

The various approaches/theories of trade unions can be classified into the

following five types:
1. Revolutionary Theory:
The revolutionary approach/theory of trade union is developed by Karl Marx.
“This theory is also known as “the theory of class war and dialectical materialism”.
According to Marx, trade union was the foremost organising centre to provide
locus for streamlining the forces of working classes The trade unions are, for Marx,
the instruments to overthrow capitalism.

These are, thus, prime instruments of the class struggle between proletarian
workers and capitalist businessmen. Marx advocated that the working class must
not divert itself from its revolutionary programme, because it is labour struggle
only that can abolish capitalism. To Marx, workers‟ emancipation involves
abolition of capitalism.

2. Evolutionary Theory:
This theory also known as “theory of industrial democracy” was enunciated by
Sydney and Beatrice Webbs. To Webbs, trade unionism is an extension of the
principle of democracy in the industrial sphere. In other words, trade unionism is
not an instrument to overthrow the capitalism, but a means of equalizing the
bargaining power of labour and capital.

Trade unionism provides a means, by which workers overcome managerial

dictatorship, on the one hand, and express their voice in the determination of the
conditions under which they have to work, on the other.

3. Theory of Industrial Jurisprudence:

According to S. H. Slitcher, the propounder of the “Theory of Industrial
Jurisprudence”, workers individually fail in bargaining with employers for pro-
tecting their interests. In his view, trade unionism served as a means for workers to
protect them in work. Such an approach of trade unionism, Slitcher termed as, “a
system of industrial jurisprudence”.

4. Rebellion Theory:
To Frank Tannenbaum, the propounder of “Rebellion Theory”, trade unionism is a
spontaneous outcome in the growth of mechanisation. He believes that the use of
machines leads to exploitation of workers. Thus, machine is the cause and labour
movement, i.e., trade unionism is the result. In other words, trade unionism is a
rebellion approach against mechanisation and automatization of industrial society
to protect workers‟ interest in the enterprises.
5. The Gandhian Approach:
The Gandhian approach of trade unionism is based on “class collaboration rather
than class conflict and struggle”. The idea to take worker‟s due share from
capitalist by reform and self-consciousness among workers led to the emergence of
trade unionism. Thus, the Gandhian approach of trade unionism is not only related
to material aspect, but also moral and intellectual aspects.

Gandhi emphasized that the direct aim of a trade unionism is not, in the last degree
political. Instead, its direct aim is internal reform and also evolution of internal
strength. Also, trade unionism, according to the Gandhian approach is not anti-
capitalistic as is generally viewed.
[Ref.: www.yourarticlelibrary.com>5 Classification of Theories of Trade Union]

Summary:
This presentation brings out various approaches and theories, which try to explain
the logic and legacy behind idea of Trade Unionism. These approaches and
theories have been broadly classified in to five categories, whilst various thinkers
and authors have given their respective views on the origin and growth of trade
unions.

Questions to Check Progress:

1. What are the Theories of Trade Unionism?

2. What is the classification of the theories of Trade Unionism?

Web References:

1. www.yourarticlelibrary.com>5 Classification of Theories of Trade Union

2. www.link.springer.com>contents>pdf
3. www.abhipedia.abhimanyu.com>EPFO
4. www.clc.gov.in
5. www.en.m.wikipedia.org>
6. www.ilo.org>docs>WEBTEXT
7. Indiankanoon.org>doc

References:

 Poole, Michael (1981): ‘Theories of Trade Union: A Sociology of

Industrial Relations‟, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

 Joyce, P.; Paul Corrigan ;and Mike Hayes (1988): ‘Theories of Trade
Unionism‟, www.link.springer.com>contents>pdf
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