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4 March, 2025A workshop on organizing and union building in the ICT, electrical & electronics sector under the India MNC supply chain project was held in Mumbai on 24-25 February. IndustriALL affiliates representing workers in the fast growing sector of India attended the event with the objective of strengthening union organizing and increasing their presence in the sector.
India's major electronics manufacturing hubs in Delhi's metropolitan area, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were a key focus, as these regions house most of the country's electronics companies.
At the event organized with assistance of the Swedish trade union organization Union to Union, workers’ representatives discussed challenges in their respective regions, particularly the decline in permanent employment, with no new permanent recruitments over the past decade. Instead, new hires are brought in on precarious contracts, meaning that, despite being highly skilled and performing the same shop-floor tasks as permanent workers, they are employed primarily on short-term or fixed-term contracts.
The networking of unions during the past three years has succeeded in organising in four companies with a total of around 600 new members.
There was consensus on the need to organize contract workers and increase union density. Additionally, unions will map the supply chains of key companies and strengthen the existing network.
A review of recent collective bargaining agreements was presented the unions that signed new CBAs were able to obtain increments ranging from INR 10,000/- to 20,000/-, followed by discussions on key demands to be included in the next charter of demands to be submitted to management. Importantly, the unions resolved to advocate for improved working conditions for contract workers, even though they are not yet union members.
To build awareness, unions will conduct meetings on trade union rights, with the support of permanent workers' unions. Presentations were also made on the global trends and challenges in the sector, including developments in semiconductors, supply chains, human rights due diligence (HRDD), occupational health and safety. The discussions highlighted the rapid growth of the sector in Asia, with many multinational corporations shifting production to India.
Alexander Ivanou, IndustriALL sector director said:
“We very much appreciate our affiliates active participation in this two-day event, which served a strong foundation for advancing workers’ rights in the India electronics sector. Through this workshop, participants have developed a focused action plan to organize key electronics companies and strengthen networks. We continue with regular review of this plan, strategies refined and progress closely monitored to ensure its effective implementation."