Trade-Union Democracy

HE PROBLEM OF TRADE-UNION DEMOCRACY faces the young but growing labor movements in many underdeveloped countries. The standard taken in this article for measuring democracy in such unions is the degree of responsiveness to the short-run economic demands of the rank and file. We examine the three predominant types of trade-unions in the Indian cotton textile industry, all of which belong to the country's major federation of labor, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).1 Most INTUC cotton textile unions fall within two sharply contrasting categories: they are either very or very weak. The former are independent organizations which possess a large and loyal membership in addition to considerable political influence within the Congress party and the government: the latter are small in size and dependent upon the Congress party's state governments for their existence. The Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS) of Bombay City serves as the major exception to this dual classification and thus constitutes a third type of textile union. In comparison with the weak areas the RMMS is thoroughly entrenched in its legal representative status and enjoys a significant degree of independence from political ties. However, in contrast to the strong areas the RMMS holds onto its membership through a very limited and calculated sense of commitment

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