Trade Unions, Politics and Reform in India

This paper assesses the role of trade unions in economic reforms in India. The study looks at labor market reforms as the area of negotiation and conflict to determine the role of trade unions in reforms. The paper argues that the importance of trade union as an interest group impeding reform is overstated. In fact all available evidence points to the failure of trade unions to protect the interests of organized sector leading to emaciated labor. What is conceived as union strength is actually partisan political dynamics operating through the unions. It is not the independent strength of trade union but the location in wider politics that determines its relevance in reform process.