The working committee of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the trade union arm of the Congress, which met here on Sunday (July 20, 2025), has resolved to question the Centre’s decision not to invite it to various tripartite panels.
Pointing to last month’s deadly Air India crash in Ahmedabad, INTUC said it was proof that the policy of privatisation is a serious threat to the life and safety of the common people. The trade union also favoured the formation of workers’ cooperatives against exploitation by online and platform companies.
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Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who addressed the working committee, said the Centre is doing an injustice to lakhs of workers by not inviting INTUC to tripartite meetings. Claiming that workers are the “vote bank” of the Congress, he said that the BJP-led government does not care for the welfare of workers.
‘Anti-worker policies’
The political resolution passed by the committee said that the workers and common people of the country are passing through a difficult situation because of the anti-worker, anti-people policies being pursued by the NDA government at the Centre.
“After it (came) back to power for the third term, the working class are facing serious challenges to all the basic rights of the workers, which include working hours, minimum wages, social security, unionisation, recognition, collective bargaining, agitations and the right to strike,” the resolution said. “The recent amendment in the Trade Unions Act by the West Bengal Government regarding the the eligibility of office-bearers of the unions of industrial establishments is another threat,” it added.
Another resolution said the trade union has been raising the issue of restoration of INTUC representation in various tripartite bodies, including in international fora. “Since 2017, the INTUC has been denied representation on boards and committees constituted by the Ministry of Labour & Employment and important consultations to discuss even the Labour Codes and representation in International Labour Conferences of the International Labour Organisation, which is a discriminatory attitude towards the INTUC,” the resolution said.
Cooperatives for modern times
The committee noted that cooperatives can be spaces of mutual aid and collective decision-making, aligned with union values of worker empowerment.
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“Cooperative formation gives access to state support (credit, training, subsidies), which many unions can’t avail in their current form. Cooperatives can create sustainable livelihoods, especially for informal workers, gig workers, and platform-based labour where formal unionisation is difficult. In sectors where labour laws do not apply, cooperatives offer a new foothold for organising workers without waiting for legal recognition,” another resolution said.
With growing informalisation, growth of gig and platform work, decline of standard employment, changing labour laws, diminishing collective bargaining, and the government’s push for “ease of doing business”, trade unions also are adopting innovative organising methods. it added.
‘No FIR on AI crash’
On the Air India crash, the INTUC said it was unfortunate that no FIR has yet been registered against any responsible person or private operator, nor has any punitive action been taken. “The lives of the deceased cannot be valued by just giving compensation, especially in those cases where the entire family has perished. The Government has not announced any kind of relief,” the committee said.
“This accident is enough to tell that when the important public services of the country like Airports, Railways, Electricity, Road transport, Health, Security etc. are handed over to private hands, then their purpose becomes only profit-making. Not public service, and security, accountability and transparency become secondary,” it added.
Published – July 20, 2025 11:20 pm IST
