SHANMUGAM T.R., VIJAYALAKSHMY K.
Abstract
The organisation of agricultural labourers emerged in various region of India. It varied from region to region because the emergence of labour union were intertwined with many socio-cultural factors. Along with this, the strength of the bargaining power of the union also varied from region to region. In this context the present study has been conducted to assess the role of labour unions on labour mobilization, by analysing the labour use pattern and socio-economic factors motivating participation of labours in organisation. The study was conducted in Palakkad district of Kerala state and Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state in view of the strong agricultural labour unions in these districts. In this study Probit function was used to estimate the influence of the selected socio-economic factors on labour union participation. The results revealed that education and income from non-agricultural activities were the most significant factors influencing the labour union participation. The influence of education on labour union participation was more or less same for both the districts whereas the labour union participation in Palakkad was more dependent on income from non-agricultural activities than that of Nagapattinam. These empirical findings gave number of policy implications for the labourers to organise themselves.
Key words:
Labour Union, Participation, Organisation, Collective bargaining, Probit model.