The debate on the loss of credibility as also relevancy of trade unions in the
present from of globalisation is not confined
to India alone, as also to the
present day activism. No doubt the present day environment of capital intensive production line, mass unemployment and union’s preoccupation with employed workforce
have created a crises situation world over. But does these rally justify the assumptions frequently made that the “trade unions have outlived their usefulness”. The countries in South Asia in general and India in particular, is not untouched by the debate on the relavance or other wise of trade unions. India, the hub centre for IT industry which currently employees more than 500,000 people speaks of no union work environment. A senior HR Officer at one of the prominent Call Centre said that unions have no place in his company as their HR Department is sensitive to its employees concerns. These claims are being challenged by the trade unions through concerted effort to enter into new areas. In this connection a trade union of Call Centre workers has been granted registration in Karnataka State.Prof. Michael Schneider, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Bonn as also the head of FES Archive of Social Democracy has challenged the assumption. He is however in agreement to the opinions that the character of trade unionism ought to change as human being as also their organisation are of dynamic nature. Drawing lesions from the German trade union movement, the book looks into as to how the trade unions have contributed to the social and economic development, in particular the improvement of working conditions, the formation of the “Social State” and the construction, defence and stabilization of democracy; What are the necessary conditions for union’s success and the factors behind the unions defeats; and how have the trade unions importance and role changed in course of 150 years of German Social history.The history of the German Trade Unions is traced through nine chapters. The first chapter has traced the factors that led to the formation of first trade unions in 1847 but it was only during 1860-70s that the German trade unions acquired the character of a movement and received recognition as such. Subsequent chapter traces the development in trade unions under Wilhelminian Empire, during World War – 1, Weiman Republic, the period of depression during 1930-33, persecution under National Socialist dictatorship, and so on. I had the opportunity to witness the strength of a unified trade union during the May 2006 Congress of the German Federation of Trade Unions . The manner in which DGB Chairman Michael Sommer responded to the comments of German Chancellor Ms. Angela Merkal, was indicative of the position that the trade union has in Germany. The book is, undisputedly, an important contribution in the areas of trade unionism, more so the German trade union movement. It not only inform the reader about the various stages that the trade unions in Germany have gone through but also how it has been able to secure the dominant role in the German political and economic structure.The book, originally written in German and, is translated in English by Barrie Selman and Annette Brinkmann, which flows like a novel, is a must for student and practitioners of trade unions as also of industrial relationsWrite your abstract here.