The IT industry seems to be spick and span as far as the role of trade unions are concerned however there seems to be much more than what meets the eye.

The emergence of the trade unions in the early 18th century was the impact of the atrocities, exploitation and lack of due attention towards them by the management since time immemorial. There and then it existed with men, women and children drawing up in large numbers as an organized workforce asking for their rights and fulfillment of demands. Their array of demands were related to the following issues; wage and wage hours, working rules and procedures, complaints and grievances redressal, workplace safety and guidelines etc.

The main motive of the trade unions was to put their ideas across the management and get those converted into well-structured plans. The trade unionists came to be called as leaders in their own self while protecting the rights of the union members inclusive of rank and file employees. The agreements between the employer and employees were reached through a rife negotiation.



Over the years the trade unions have assumed different roles often spurred by the economic and political situations across various countries. Ironically, history of the trade unionism has revealed that it’s concerns were not contracted to just improving the conditions of employment but much more than this. By entering into a collective bargaining with the management, trade unions made their voices heard and materialized their goals.



What all can a trade union do?

* It can negotiate with the employer or the management over their working conditions.
* It can also set forth a lockout or a strike while disconcerting the complete industry environment.
* It can strongly provide support to the political candidates.



In spite of being such a strong base, the big question is whether the trade unions have assumed its importance in the IT industry. More so, does the IT industry really need trade unions. With the reigning IT industries today, one really wonders if there is any occurrence of trade unionism in it and if at all it is there, to what extent it would be helpful to the white collar workers and so benefit the whole organization in turn. In this regard, a proposal was for the first time put by CITU ( Centre for Indian Trade Unions) which is the trade union wing of the CPI (Communist Party of India).





Observing the need for protection of the employment rights of the IT professionals, experts and trade analysts are of the view that IT industry too should have trade unions.



Why the act for trade unions in IT industry should be enforced? The following are the answers to it.

* This is the only industry perhaps which is not governed by any laws. The IT professionals today have created landmarks in the field of information systems by toiling for days and months together. In spite of this, some of the IT professionals have not been able to reap rewards and good pay packets.
* There are no specific modules designed for them so that they can think of a succession plan. Most of the IT professionals receive good salary package owing to their demand and the needs of the market, but rarely do they get chance to avail career progression. It has also been felt that they can not manage to be leaders of an organization due to their knowledge being limited to information technology.
* The IT professionals hardly are exposed to the training programs linked to other areas.
* If these professionals have their own trade unions, it will benefit not only them, but also the IT organizations and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services).
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Many analysts are of the view that the emergence of trade unions will spoil the booming IT industry because of the insurgence for the off beam demands.



Although a number of IT organizations in the form of forums have developed lately, but the need of the hour is to pep up the formation of trade unions.