THBT Trade unionism has been largely corrupted by the ruling class and is no longer a viable

structure for a socialist organization

Opening speech Speaker 1 Saavi

“The labour movement was the principal force that transformed misery and
despair into hope and progress”. But in the modern world, the trade unions which
were the primary reason for the labour movement have been largely corrupted by
the ruling class in many countries. And that is why it is no longer viable for a
socialist organization.

Good morning to the respected judges and my worthy opponents, I, Saavi

Chouhan, representing THE VELAMMAL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL am standing
before you today to speak as the preposition for the topic “Trade unionism has
been largely corrupted by the ruling class and is no longer a viable structure for a
socialist organization”

First let us all understand what’s a trade union. A trade union is an organization of
members, mainly workers. Trade unions are mainly formed to negotiate terms
with the employer such as wages, better working conditions, benefits and other
aspects of employment. Trade unions offer many advantages to the workers such
as job security, improved wages and benefits, legal support, health and safety,
equal treatment and improved work life balance. A wide range of trade union
exists in India as well. This was the result of the Trade Union Act, 1926. The
primary objective of this act is to provide registration of trade unions and to define
the law relating to registered trade unions.
These trade unions which are supported in many countries and provide so much
for the welfare of the workers have been largely corrupted by the ruling class of
the society. The ruling class often includes the government officials, business
owners or other powerful individuals or groups. This is the sector that decides the
economical and political agenda of the society. This corruption is happening in the
modern world mainly due to the lack of autonomy and transparency within these
unions. Political parties are mainly corrupting trade unions due to reasons like
external influence. This influence can take various forms like financial support,
political pressure or attempts to co-opt union leadership. Businesses or
corporations may try to undermine trade unions to protect their own interests.
Corruption also exists within trade unions themselves.

Due to corruption, trade unions all over the world experience a loss of trust,
division of funds, ineffective representation and lack of accountability. One of the
major factors is the loss of membership. When there are so many reasons in which
corruption affects a trade union one should ask themselves, How are trade unions
still viable for a socialist structure?. Trade unions have no connection to worker
ownership of the means of production, taxpayer, funded service or any of the
other ways that people use the term socialism. In fact, most of the socialists see
trade unions as unnecessary because the workers govern the workplace and can
choose their own managers and therefore, have a say in how much everyone is
paid.

Because of this corruption, it is very futile to argue that trade unions are still
socialist.. Moreover, the long lived corruption by the ruling class has undermined
the trade unions to a large extent. In conclusion, trade unions which were created
by workers are no longer controlled by workers.
Thank you