The final settlement - Interview with D. RAJA, CPI NATIONAL SECRETARY AND MP

How do you see the state of trade unions in India? What are the core issues that result in agitation and unrest?

A. In any economy – be it capitalist or a socialist – the primary productive force is the people who create wealth and surplus value. Trade unions in India have a long history. Madras Labour Union was the first that was founded in 1918 and even leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak were associated with the trade union movement.

In India, we have multiple trade unions – AITUC, CITU, Ceramic and Allied Trades Union (left trade unions) and BMS, HMS, INTUC (central trade unions). There are federations such as All India Bank Employees Association, All India Electricity Workers Federation, Defence Employees Federation.

Since 1990, there has been a conscious attack on trade unions, with attempts to restrict their rights and also curb their legitimate functioning. The issues which agitated workers are:

1. Contract labour system: There is a high demand for contract labourers across sectors, but they are paid very less as compared to regular workers. The contract labour system is opposed mainly because employees need job security.

2. Registration and recognition of trade unions: Industry must acknowledge the functioning of trade unions for peaceful and harmonious functioning. The management should also acknowledge its legitimacy. There should be labour laws which give them registration and recognition. In the post-liberalisation period, relevance of trade unions has become more important, where every individual requires some mechanism to negotiate, to settle his or her problems and redressal of their concerns.

3. Minimum wages: All international labour organisations have recommended higher wages. Indian trade unions have demanded at least INR 10,000 as minimum. The decline in real wages occurs when the value of rupee declines steadily, with rise in prices of commodity and hence increase in inflation. That is why minimum wages act must be implemented. Click here to read full interview...

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An account of how labour unions in europe emerged, crushed and re-emerged, and the prevailing trends in the crisis-hit eurozone

Between countries, there are substantial differences related to the success of company agreements – even within the same company. For example, the Tesco Partnership Agreement is the largest private sector collective agreement in the UK, but in Hungary no agreement between Tesco and the KASZ (Hungarian trade union) has been signed – though negotiations with KASZ have been going on for three years. However, in Spain, one of the immediate effects of recession on IR in the commerce sector and in other sectors generally was a slowing down of collective bargaining during 2009. There was no framework agreement on collective bargaining, which since 2002 has guided the evolution of wages and other matters. During 2009, many collective agreements were left unsigned, due to lack of consensus. The situation, however, improved after an agreement in February 2010.

Britain’s general strike, 1926

One of the largest general strikes struck Britain on May 3, 1926, and lasted for 10 days. The event was a watershed for labour relations in Britain, which bitterly divided opinion. The strike was called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in support of striking coal miners in the North of England, Scotland and Wales. The miners were making a stand against an enforced pay cut. It was the latest in a long series of industrial disputes that had dogged the coal industry since the end of the First World War and created real hardship for mining families.

Although the dispute began in the mining areas, one of the trigger events took place in London, when the Daily Mail’s Fleet Street printers refused to print a leading article criticising trade unions. Other print workers also downed tools. The T.U.C. activated its plans for sympathetic strike action and called out all trade union members in essential industries. Click here to read more..

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The system overhaul

I often wonder, why I still remember some of my nursery rhymes but not the teachers who taught them. Perhaps, the rhymes are so deeply entrenched in my system that forgetting them is out of question. Also, I must confess the delivery of those rhymes in my early formative years was innately creative to keep me engrossed. Remembering a particular teacher has a lot to do

with remembering things associated with him or her.

One barely remembers 100 per cent of what one was taught in school. And of all that one remembers, pedagogy and teaching methods have a significant role in effective recall.

Recently, a report about teacher education in Scotland laid emphasis on grooming teachers for future. The findings from international research on teaching and educational leadership highlighted a number of key features of good teachers. It demands teachers to be reflective, creative, committed to profession and development of each child, passionate about learning, enthusiastic about their subject and keen on participating in their own personal learning and development.

A survey on teacher recruitment and retention in the United States, published by Scholastic Inc., throws light on people’s perception on retaining new teachers. Around 80 per cent respondents mentioned the need to start with higher salaries. Eight per cent expressed the need for informal peer support and formal mentoring programmes. Quoting a teacher, the report said, “Although salaries are important, more money alone will not assure us of adequate number of prepared teachers. Support from administrators and fellow teachers is also important.”

The Emerging Directions in Global Education (EDGE) in its 2009 report, ‘Faculty Recruitment and Retention - The Issues and Challenges’ revealed that recruiting and retaining talent is a major challenge for every institution in India at present. The survey suggests a competitive compensation package and other employee benefits to check the attrition. According to the survey findings, introducing innovative HR tools in line with the corporate sectors is likely to bring down the attrition rate to some extent. Click here to read more IIPM Articles...

Learning, a teamwork

Q. How can the current state of academia be improved?

A. A lot of teacher training focused on developing skills is required. The emphasis should be on a model that focuses on practical rather than theoretical aspect of learning.

Q. Why do we see more women in teaching?

A. In India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, you will mostly find female teachers because they feel the teaching job is ideal for them. Even I started my career as a teacher and again I wish to go back to teaching some day.

Q. What made you switch to the corporate side?

A. Hailing from a business family, I felt there was much more I could do than just teaching. However, I think teacher training is also a key marketing strategy. If we offer training, it will reflect in students’ performance.

Q. Does the batch strength affect the efficiency of a teacher?

A. Yes, it does affect especially in terms of practical offering. We feel that lesser number are better.

We are a little slow in grasping online learning. Pearson is shifting its focus on i-Pad-based learning and we are also moving into digital content. We have digi-board solutions and interactive board solutions where our curricula is mapped to the digital content. Teachers are also trained to use them. We even have printed textbooks that have interactive stuff and have a system where teachers can post homework on the internet. Click here to read full interview..

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