Prakash Karat may have been the only Communist leader invited for the official lunch with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang while CPI National Secretary D Raja had to wait in the hotel lobby to get a chance to shake hands with the Chinese comrade. But it’s Raja and his party who could have the last laugh once the Government releases its latest census results on trade union membership.
As per figures available with the Labour Ministry, CPI’s trade union AITUC has shown the ‘big brother’ CPM’s CITU its place by emerging as the third biggest trade union in the country. As per the figures, which are being verified by the Labour Commission right now, the AITUC has come third behind INTUC and BMS affiliated to Congress and BJP respectively. AITUC’s membership has risen to a whopping 1.45 crore from 33.42 lakh in the previous decade while CITU’s membership is still hovering around 55 lakh. The CITU has been upstaged even by the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, an apolitical union which controls the Indian Railways. The HMS has claimed a membership of 92 lakh.
"There is a drastic difference between the two Left affiliated trade unions this time. While CPI’s union has almost increased five times, CPM’s has doubled its number,’’ said an official with the labour ministry. But the CPM is not willing to buy this.
“This is only a claim. I would like to say only one thing that all our memberships are original. Nobody will be able to find out a fake member,’’ said CITU President A K Padmanabhan.
Another CITU leader said that the AITUC has managed the numbers by including the agriculture labourers in the head count. “This is not fair and we are going to oppose this,”’ he said.
According to the leader, agriculture labourers have not been included as TU members in the previous census. “Any trade union will be able to show inflated numbers by including agriculture labourers. There will be no end to it,” said the CPM leader.
The third position is quite crucial for the unions as it would ensure their presence in official committees and also a proof of their bargaining power; hence the fight for the third slot between the two Left unions. According to the CITU leader, the union will be lodging an official protest soon with the Ministry.
AITUC leaders, however, scoff at this saying that all trade unions do that. “Take the case of INTUC or BMS which are the largest trade unions. Theyall have included agriculture labourers in their headcount,” said the AITUC leader who is also a CPI national Executive member. “Let them go and complain,’’ he said, when told about the CITU’s move to lodge a protest.
According to the ministry official, the inclusion of agriculture labourer as a TU member has created a dicey situation for the ministry too. “There is no strict guideline regarding this. Most unions have been increasingly doing this. If any union raises an objection to such a practice, we will look into it,” said the official.
According to him, all unions have registered an increase in their membership. “It is a surprising trend. All trade union memberships have increased by huge margins even at a time when trade union is considered a bad word,’’ said the official who had handled the census held in 2002.
As per the provisional figures available with the ministry, INTUC has emerged as the top most union in the country with the BMS in the second position. “The commission will be verifying these figures before they are formally announced,’’ said the official.