The narrative that trade unions hinder growth is a political construction, reinforced by policy, corporate discourse, and judicial rhetoric, rather than an evidence-based assessment of economic performance.
India’s declining unionisation is the result of deliberate reforms and delegitimisation, including new labour codes that weaken collective bargaining.
The erosion of trade unions has directly undermined workplace safety and accountability, enabling corporate impunity, diluted environmental compliance, and treating worker lives as expendable in the pursuit of growth.
Growth Without Workers: How India Engineered the Collapse of Trade Unions
From labour codes to judicial rhetoric, the systematic dismantling of unions has turned safety, dignity, and accountability into casualties of “development.”
Summary
The belief that trade unions hinder industrial growth and by extension, national progress has become almost axiomatic in policy and corporate discourse. The recent remark by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which linked industrial underperformance to trade union activity, did not emerge in a vacuum. It merely echoed a long-standing narrative that casts organised labour as an obstacle to efficiency, competitiveness, and economic modernisation.
Yet this narrative collapses under scrutiny.
The decline of trade unionism in India is not a neutral outcome of economic evolution or changing labour markets. It is the result of a sustained political and ideological project aimed at weakening collective bargaining and dismantling worker power. Kali chitubabau writes for Outlook where he points out After 100 years of act, the four labour codes ushering another wave of reforms in the country are likely to be fully operational from April 1, 2026, as the ministry has begun the process for enforcing the rules under the notified law.
Haima Deshpande writes how Over the past few decades, unionisation has been systematically delegitimised. Collective action has been rebranded as “industrial sabotage,” strikes as anti-national, and worker demands as unreasonable disruptions to growth. The numbers tell a stark story: India’s overall unionisation rate stands at just 6.3%, and a negligible 1.8% in the private sector. This is not accidental attrition it is attrition by design.
The consequences of this collapse extend far beyond wage stagnation. Weak unions mean unsafe workplaces. A unionised shop floor is one where workers can collectively demand fire audits, protective equipment, and compliance with safety regulations without risking immediate termination. In non-unionised environments, such demands are treated as insubordination. Silence becomes a survival strategy. Priyanka Tpe writes for Outlook on how the resurgence of trade unions in Maharashtra has been like.
The erosion of labour rights also enables a dense web of crony networks linking corporations, political power, and regulatory authorities. Environmental compliance is diluted, labour laws are selectively enforced, and accountability is endlessly deferred. Companies that repeatedly violate safety norms continue to operate with impunity, shielded by their proximity to power. Workers, meanwhile, are rendered disposable.
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