Trade Unions’ Influence on Wages during 2004/05–2011/12:Evidence from NSS Rounds

This paper looks into the influence of trade union-membership on wages of their members and also the non-union members in comparison to workers in enterprises without any union during 2004-05 to 2011-12. The findings indicate towards decline in the effectiveness of trade union-membership in enterprises with unions as the real wage gaps and unexplained wage gaps between union and non-union members declined. The relative wages of workers in non-unionized enterprises deteriorated. The effectiveness of trade union-membership on wages declined more in the case of low-wage, low-skill workers indicating declining focus of trade unions on them. Trade unions' influence on wages became even less in public/private limited companies when compared to other enterprises.