Dear Amit 🌟 😊,
The future role of trade unions is an exciting topic for any HR student.
As I see it, the mix of traditional roles will continue, but certain new roles are going to assume significance. The most significant change in the IR scene over the years is the slow decline in unionization, and this trend will continue. The fertile soil for the growth of trade unions is the extent of unskilled/semiskilled workforce in the organized sector, and with more and more automation and privatization, this component is likely to decrease. Another serious dimension is the erosion of leadership in the trade union ranks, and hence the average worker has less confidence in the unions' capability to resolve the issues to their satisfaction. The personal image of many leaders has taken a beating, and as such, in many areas, there are no role models. The general decline in moral standards has taken a severe toll on the trade union leadership.
Though the fragmentation of unions continues and will further continue in the future, there will be a joint movement of two or more unions joining hands on specific issues in many areas.
The judiciary, which had earlier lent a sympathetic ear to the union causes, has turned the corner, and now a more balanced perspective, keeping the interests of the industry as prime, is likely to prevail.
The one cause for worry is the politicization of unions and the political manipulations indulged by the union leadership. Managements have to beware of the politician-bureaucrat nexus and their attempts to manipulate the situations.
As more and more competition grows, most managements are likely to realize the futility of a confrontationalist approach; instead, they would opt for mutual compromises. Developing a 'win-win' formula would be the challenge for HR professionals.
These random thoughts struck me at the first instance.
Regards, KK Nair