CPI overtakes CPM on union strength
This piece of cold statistics has punctured the CPM’s vanity of being the “most credible voice” of the working class.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: This piece of cold statistics has punctured the CPM’s vanity of being the “most credible voice” of the working class. The central trade unions’ membership verification figures released by the government, the CPI-affiliated AITUC has overtaken the CITU in terms of numerical strength. And this is sure to rankle the CPM.
Though the number of unionised workers has shown an upward growth in the country, the CITU has slipped from the third to fifth place in terms of membership. The RSS-affiliated BMS is the biggest trade union in the country.
The CITU has fallen behind AITUC by nearly 7 lakh members. The strength of the CPM’s union has grown by nearly 9 lakh, taking it to 2,678,473, while the AITUC membership has increased by 24 lakh to 3,442,239, lifting the CPI’s union to the third place, with the HMS closely behind at 3,338,491.
The BMS is way ahead of the other unions with a membership of 6,215,797 and the INTUC’s strength is 3,954,012. The BMS had a membership of around 28 lakh in the previous verification and the INTUC around 25 lakh. Even the HMS has grown by around 17 lakh members.
There has been an increase in the number of trade unions, which have been resisting several pro-reform policies, including labour reforms, from around eight to nearly a dozen. SEWA, DMK’s Labour Progressive Front, CPI-ML’s AICCTU and Forward Bloc-backed TUCC are among the new unions which have been added to the list.
That the CITU has shown the lowest growth in membership would worry the Marxists, particularly at a time when there has been an increase in the drop-out rate from the CPM in Kerala, where 10.19% of the party members and 23.19% of candidate members did not renew their membership.
The CITU has also been at loggerheads with the party over issues like unionising the IT sector, pension funds and labour reforms. The results of the last verification of central trade unions were announced in 1996, while the base year for the new verification was 2002. Membership of a trade union is the barometer for its strength, and strength is the yardstick for its representation in ILO delegations and in tripartite bodies.
Though the number of unionised workers has shown an upward growth in the country, the CITU has slipped from the third to fifth place in terms of membership. The RSS-affiliated BMS is the biggest trade union in the country.
The CITU has fallen behind AITUC by nearly 7 lakh members. The strength of the CPM’s union has grown by nearly 9 lakh, taking it to 2,678,473, while the AITUC membership has increased by 24 lakh to 3,442,239, lifting the CPI’s union to the third place, with the HMS closely behind at 3,338,491.
The BMS is way ahead of the other unions with a membership of 6,215,797 and the INTUC’s strength is 3,954,012. The BMS had a membership of around 28 lakh in the previous verification and the INTUC around 25 lakh. Even the HMS has grown by around 17 lakh members.
There has been an increase in the number of trade unions, which have been resisting several pro-reform policies, including labour reforms, from around eight to nearly a dozen. SEWA, DMK’s Labour Progressive Front, CPI-ML’s AICCTU and Forward Bloc-backed TUCC are among the new unions which have been added to the list.
That the CITU has shown the lowest growth in membership would worry the Marxists, particularly at a time when there has been an increase in the drop-out rate from the CPM in Kerala, where 10.19% of the party members and 23.19% of candidate members did not renew their membership.
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The CITU has also been at loggerheads with the party over issues like unionising the IT sector, pension funds and labour reforms. The results of the last verification of central trade unions were announced in 1996, while the base year for the new verification was 2002. Membership of a trade union is the barometer for its strength, and strength is the yardstick for its representation in ILO delegations and in tripartite bodies.
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