Cooperatives as an inbuilt element of the pstrategy for Organizing the Workers

Surendra Pratap, Centre for Workers Education, New Delhi

WE ARE Wage Labour 403,000 people in India die every

d t k

Total workers

457.5m

7% Unionized

Self 258 2 year due to work-related problems

Selfemployed

258.2m

Wage 199 2 15%Minimum wage

Wage labour

199.2m

15% Unionized

Casual 129.7

becoming the maximum

W ki 10 12m

Regular 69.5m

43% Unioni

d

Working 10-12 hours

Rampant

l b h

zed

Manufacturing total

45.9m

Rampant violation of labour laws

Total membership of CTUs-24.8m

T (including others)-30m

Ratio of labour cost to total cost decreased from 7.78 to 5.81% (2000 01to 2004 05

total

Factory workers

6.08m

others) 30mUnionization-Only

6.35%Including others 7%

(2000-01to-2004-05

Labour cost increased by 36%, Profits by 305%

Factory Contract workers

27%

WHO WE ARE?Competition between states takes form of a war against their own working class

Footloose Capital exploiting the own working class

Appearance: competition between

labour of various

exploiting the global reserve army of labour

countriesInformalizationof labour and Post fordist

Offering•Cheap labour•Cheap land

Hazardous

Post fordistGlobal Factory

Cheap land and resources•Peaceful IR

ByM ki lHazardous

and labourintensive operations

Making laws meaning lessAllowing Self certification

For attracting capital all the

shifting to developing countries

Making SEZs and NMIZsExpanding reserve armyFor attracting capital all the

governments are competing with each other

Asia as one of the hubs of Global Factory

reserve army of labourTrade union repression

The Conflict Capital Wants

More profit, LabourWants less costs

Privatizing and Commoditizing

Wants

Job security and pension Commoditizing

everything

Control over

Decent wages and working conditions labour and all

resources

Expanding the

conditions

More leisure less workload Expanding the

reserve army

Linking all i i i

Better future for children

econ. activities with global value chain

Democratic institutions to ensure

redistributiveBalance of power decides the fate of labourLabour has only power-Its united strength

So that labourreproduces

labour

redistributive justice

Labour has only power-Its united strengthIf no union,labour laws become meaningless

Only unions ensure workers’ rights

ORGANIZINGFor Capital

Increasing

For Labour

Building unity competition& disunity by increasing diversity

g yin diversity

Reducing the reserve army diversity

Expanding reserve army

reserve army of labour

Reducing the of labour

Establishing dominance of

control of capital by creating

alternative dominance of capital in all spheres of

life

alternative ways of living and working

B ildi

Balance of power depends on

Exercising political

control by

Building new hope by

providing a socio-cultural,

who’s politics, economics and culture gets dominance

in people’s life

ypropagating

TINA syndrome

socio cultural, economic&

political alternative

CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZING LABOUR

Increased capital’s control over labour

Unemployment and huge reserve army of labour

Divisions and Competition among workers—creating

difficulty in developing collective consciousness

Resurgence of informal sector

Post fordist models of production scattering the production operations to collective consciousness

Sward of unemployment is always hanging on the head

scattering the production operations to various countries on the one hand and to various smaller units and up to the

home based level on the other

TINA syndrome established by: Capital’s propaganda at

various levels from factory to

Informalization of labour-casualization, contractualization-very

few stable workforce in factories various levels from factory to society; No space for

alternative ways of living and working; Downfall in the

ki l t

few stable workforce in factories

Large scale divisions in the workforce: big factory workers, small factory

k h b d k l working class movement

State openly favoring capital

workers, home based workers, casual, contract & regular workers—caste and

gender divisions

TASKS FOR ORGANIZING LABOUR

Developing collectiveOrganizing the informal sector Developing collective consciousness and Rights

consciousness among workers

g gworkers

Organizing the informal workers in formal sector (casual contract Insuring job security by way of

unionization and building industrial and regional working

class solidarity

in formal sector (casual, contract and home based) and in the

process building unity between formal and informal workers class solidarity

Reducing the capital’s control over labour by breaking the TINA

Building unity among all workers of the same industry

syndrome --by projecting political alternative and by

creating spaces for alternative ways of living and working

Building inter-sectoral solidarity

Building national and international l d ways of living and workingsolidarity

SCOPES FOR ORGANIZING

Organizing the workers also in

community along

Organizing the Industry

Forming cooperatives as a strategy to organize the

self employed producers, community along with at workplace

-Effective for

or sector trade unions and forcing

home based wage workers and service

workers of various kind

organizing in new situations-may strengthen the

the state for industrial collective

Forming cooperatives of workers as consumers

unionization at workplaces

Al id th

bargaining and for setting

Developing a system of workers’ education as a strategy for organizingAlso may widen the

horizons of trade union activity &

transform it in to a

industrial standard for wages and

strategy for organizing

Developing alternative media for raising workers’ transform it in to a

real working class organization

gworking

conditionsconsciousness and

projecting a political alternative

Cooperatives as an Inbuilt Element of Organizing Strategy

ForReducing

For Reducing As we know that

M ff iReducing the

control of the

reserve f

Most effective weapon of capital is to exercise effective

capital army of labour

control on overall life of workers and

people at largeby creating

alternativeBy

organizing

people at large

We also know that

More than 56% workers in India are self employed and

alternative ways of

living and

g gthe

informal p ymajority of wage workers are

informal

living and working sector

workers

Cooperatives as an Organizing Strategy towards Formalisation of Informal Workers

Three approaches for transforming informal sector

Pro-capital forces

With the economicThe Reformist

socio-polit. forces

informal sector

The left and trade With the economic development (process of capital accumulation)

p

Transforming informal sector by

unions

Transforming the i f l t btraditional

occupations and small economic

forming cooperatives of the informal workers to

k th i kill

informal sector by way of regulating

the working conditions and

+

units may be absorbed (or destroyed) by the larger economic

make their skills and their products competitive and to transform them in

conditions and labour relations in all economic units

including thelarger economic units and disappear

transform them in economies of scale

including the small ones

Formalization by absorbing or destroying informal sector

Many traditional informal sectors almost completely disappeared, for example handloom, traditional pottery, traditional utensils, traditionalexample handloom, traditional pottery, traditional utensils, traditional carpentry, traditional iron implements, traditional shoe makers, traditional oil business, traditional toy making etc.

Capitalist de elopment co ld not ad ance at stead rate and er soonCapitalist development could not advance at steady rate and very soon entered in a crisis, particularly during 1970s

New Informalization: Reinventing Informal sector as a source of capital g paccumulation in new international division of labour and post fordistmodels of production-- Converting informal sector producers/workers in to wage labour at their own workplaces

New discourse on informalization: advocating for welfare of informals and not formalization-i.e. maintaining them as reserve army of labour

Two tendencies operate simultaneously; many informal sectors or units are destroyed and at the same time many new ones are created

Formalization by regulating the working condition and IR

Legislations for regulating working conditions and labour relations in different sectors like plantations, mining, Beedi industry etc.

Agriculture Workers Act in Kerala and Tripura

Industrial Disputes Act 1948 was amended in 1976 to extend applicability p pp yof Chapter V-B, and thereby extending the job security to workers in enterprises with 100 or more workers, rather than the earlier threshold limit of 300 or more workers

Enactment of Contract Labour (Regulation &Abolition) Act 1970, which ensured regularization and job security to contract and casual workers engaged in core activities and in jobs of perennial nature

Shops and Establishments Act in different states of India were legislated to regulate the smaller informal sector establishments which were not covered by the labour lawscovered by the labour laws.

Formalization by Way of forming cooperatives

Hundreds of examples of successes and failures

Most widely discussed success stories are of Amul Dairy Cooperative andMost widely discussed success stories are of Amul Dairy Cooperative and Kerala Dinesh Beedi cooperative

Several examples created by SEWA-recent interesting example of constr ction orkers cooperati econstruction workers cooperative

But cooperative movement could not emerge as a dominant social force.

Few if any, in-depth studies exploring on this issue with above perspective

One of the critical factors behind the failure: More emphasis on its economic aspect and ignoring its political aspect (alternative ways of livingeconomic aspect and ignoring its political aspect (alternative ways of living and working)

Linked with the inability in synthesizing the left and reformist strategies which is reflected in the disunity between the left and the reformist political forces

Forms of Cooperatives

Production ServiceConsumerProduction

C i

Service

C

Consumer

C iCooperatives

Cooperatives

Cooperatives

Production Cooperatives

SScopes

Cooperatives of self employed producers-agriculture, fisheries etc

Cooperatives of self employed wage labour---home based industry workers, garments, beedi etc

fExample of Thailand garment cooperative-Creating Brand (TRIMS??)Scope of Adda workers cooperative in Delhi-Job work for factories

Better collective bargaining powerBetter collective bargaining power

Cheaper inputs and better prices

B tt t h b d kBetter wages to home based workers

Collective consciousness and collective political power of workers

Inter-linkages may reduce control of capital and market

Alternative way of living and working

Service Cooperatives

ScopesScopes

Cooperatives of various kinds of self employed service workers like masons, barbers, tailors, plumbers, electricians, and the workers doing various kinds of repair works

Cooperatives of construction workers------SEWA example

May ensure Better collective bargaining power

May ensure a sustainable livelihood

May develop a Collective consciousness of workers

Alternative way of living and workingte at e ay o g a d o g

Consumer Cooperatives

Scopes

Cooperatives of workers as consumers for purchasing the consumer items in bulk at cheaper prices

Cooperatives may run schools medicine stores hospitals etcCooperatives may run schools, medicine stores, hospitals etc

Cooperatives may run community kitchens

ll bMay ensure Better collective bargaining power

May reduce the cost of living and ensure better life and better future

May develop a Collective consciousness of workers

May develop a collective power of workers as consumers and citizens

Alternative way of living and working

Challenges for Workers Cooperatives

f d kAcquiring a factory and running it as a workers cooperative is highly difficult because they are completely different economies

Capitalist factory bases more on capital Cooperative bases moreCapitalist factory bases more on capital , Cooperative bases more on labour

Linkages of capitalist factory in the market may not be favourableLinkages of capitalist factory in the market may not be favourablefor cooperative

Cooperative needs to build its own linkages in the market and Coope at e eeds to bu d ts o ages t e a et a dsociety according to its own social structure and economy. This transformation needs a longer period and generally before it happens, cooperatives collapse

Building a sustainable workers’ cooperative needs a completely new initiative-primarily as an initiative of organizing the self

l d d h b d k h kemployed producers or home based workers, or the workers as consumers—A process in which gradually a collective enterprise emerges with its own market and its own social linkages

Challenges for Workers Cooperatives

Primary aspect of Cooperatives is politics and notPrimary aspect of Cooperatives is politics and not economics

It is bound to fail or loose its significance if there is more emphasis on economics than politics

Politics here means an alternative way of living and working

It helps in organizing the workers and its success and significance depends on organized strength of workers

Lastly

Cooperatives can also be looked at as a practical way to challenge privatization—along p y g p gwith challenging the privatization at policy level

If h i i h f iIf the state is vacating the spaces for private capital, the people’s forces can also compete for those spaces (with in their limitations) byfor those spaces (with in their limitations) by way of building cooperatives

Thank You

Table: Distribution of Workforce in various sectors of Formal and Informal Economy in India (1993‐94)

S. No. Sectors of Economy Workforce in Organised segment (million)

Workforce in Unorganised segment (million)

1 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 1.413 235.865

2 Mining and quarrying 1.097 1.641

Manufacturing 5.048 37.328Electricity, gas and water supply 0.989 0.467

Construction 1.197 11.019Trade,  0.315 25.744hotels and restaurants  0.155 3.006

Rail Transport 1.316 0.478Other transport 0.922 6.933Storage 0.119 0.021gCommunication 0.744 0.424Banking and insurance 1.505 0.993

Real estate 0.005 0.111Real estate 0.005 0.111Business services 0.101 0.362Legal services 0.013 0.363Public admin. and defence 4.482 6.286

Education 4.061 3.942Research  0.277 0Medical and health  1.175 1.450Religious and other community

0.728 0.779

Domestic services 0 1.485Laundary, dying and dry cleaning

0.002 1.204

Barber and beauty shops 0 0.959

Tailoring services 0.001 3.170Other personal services 0.005 1.203

Sanitary services 0.142 0.227Services not categorised  0.006 1.999

i l dInternational and extraterritorial bodies

0 0.060

Recreational and cultural 0.126 0.487Recreational and cultural services

0.126 0.487

Uncategorised 0 0.068All sectors 25.980 348.069