Archives of Indian Labour

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ARCHIVES OF INDIAN LABOUR

(copied over from the original)

The Archives of Indian Labour was set up in July, 1998 as a collaborative project of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and the Association of Indian Labour Historians. The Archives of Indian Labour is dedicated to the cause of preserving and making accessible the fast depleting documents on the working class with the belief that,

"Archive is to society what memory is to human beings"

The Archives was instituted in order to address the urgent need for preservation of rapidly decaying documents and material on labour and to provide for greater public access to these. It has long been felt that documents and data on Indian labour -now and in the past - are being irretrievably lost. This was primarily due to the neglect and lack of an organised initiative to preserve these documents in India. The Archives of Indian Labour was constituted to overcome this lacuna of adequate documentation of the life and labour of the working class. Its long-term objective is to act as a specialised repository of records and voices of workers, and preserve textual, visual and oral records on labour in India.

The archive, apart from being a repository of sources and documents also builds collections and initiates research in the field of labour history. The collections are generated through projects commissioned especially for the purpose and through institutional documents donated by various organisations. Documents related to the labour movement (generated by workers' organisations, state and business enterprises) are preserved at the archives, in addition to personal narratives, memoirs, video and audio material. The archives combine this effort with an effective public dissemination system of which the offline and on-line access to the digital archives is a major component. Seminars, working papers, film shows, and publications ensure effective ways of disseminating information generated by the archives and other research programmes. The core activities of the archives are, thus:

  • Digital Archiving
  • Research and Collection
  • Public Interface and Dissemination

Some unique features of the Archives are:

  • Full-fledged digital structure: The documents and material on labour related issues are stored and made available in digital form. This is the first fully digital archives in the country and aspires to be the prime repository of labour related records.
  • Integrated Multimedia Storage and Retrieval System: The Archives is enabled to store records and material in different media formats, such as printed material, audio, video and digital forms and provide access to these through an integrated delivery system.
  • Enhanced Public Access: The digital access system installed at the Archives enables fast and meaningful delivery of documents through different access modes, such as offline networked PCs at the Archives, through CDs, and now over the World Wide Web. This enables a far greater access directly to the documents right to the level of page of a document or a tagged audio and video clip than a traditional archival system. A much wider public now can have access to basic information on conditions of labour over time.
  • Integration of historical and contemporary records: The digital archives enables simultaneous access to records of both the historical and contemporary periods. This provides historical depth to contemporary issues and situates historical changes in a contemporary perspective.
  • Focus on Records of the Unorganised sector labour: The archive has through special collections focused on the activities of workers of the unrecorded sector. A large number of interviews of workers and labour activists and documents of the labour movement in the sector have been stored and can be accessed.

You Can Help Us

Archives of Indian Labour preserves any kind of resources on issues related to labour, including:

  • Personal correspondence and biographical material of labour leaders
  • Documents of trade unions
  • Journals and newspapers addressing the labouring poor
  • Pamphlets, leaflets and posters issued by trade unions
  • Relevant papers of employees organisations
  • Relevant documents of business corporations
  • Oral testimonies, personal narratives of participants in labour struggles
  • Photographs, video tapes and films on labour
  • Work songs and other similar material of workers' culture
  • Trial proceedings in courts of law
  • Records of individual and collective labour disputes
  • Papers on international working class bodies
  • Records of the Ministry of Labour, National Commissions on Labour and other Government Agencies

The prospective social partners, in building up the archive, include:

  • Trade Unions
  • Employer's Organisations
  • Documentation Organisations
  • Libraries
  • Government Departments
  • Journalists
  • Research Institutes
  • Individual Researchers
  • NGOs
  • Social Activists

You could help us by contributing valuable data to the Archives of Indian Labour. Please feel free to contact us at:


Archives of Indian Labour
Integrated Labour History Research Programme
V.V.Giri National Labour Institute
Sector 24, NOIDA
Uttar Pradesh, PIN: 201 301
Tele: 91-120-2411469
E-mail: ilhrpnli[at]gmail.com

ASSOCIATION of INDIAN LABOUR HISTORIANS (AILH)

The Association of Indian Labour Historians is a professional body of historians, social scientists and scholars interested in furthering the historical understanding of the conditions of labour and labouring people.

The Association was founded in December 1996. The AILH provides a forum for interaction among scholars through regular meetings, seminars, conferences and publications. A major objective of the Association is to preserve, generate and make accessible documents and materials relating to the history and heritage of the Indian working class.

The Association, through its activities, also aims to revive and disseminate research on Indian labour. These are pursued through collaboration with universities, research institutions and similar bodies and with individuals associated with the labour movement.

Dr. Rana Behal
42 Deshbandhu Society
15 Patparganj
Delhi 110092
Ph-91-11-2721744

Integrated Labour History Research Programme

The Integrated Labour History Research Programme (ILHRP) is a specialised research programme on labour history research, set up in collaboration with the Association of Indian Labour Historians (AILH), a body of professional historians and scholars interested in history of labour. The overall aim of the ILHRP is to initiate, integrate and revive historical research on labour in India and is the first of its kind in the country. The programme has three mutually reinforcing components such as digital archiving of Indian labour; writing labour history of India; and interdisciplinary research. The archive systematically collects and preserves various documents and material concerning the working class in digital form, through collaboration and networking with various stakeholders (such as trade unions, NGOs, governmental departments and business houses). Networking with similar agencies (national and international) involved in digital archiving is also a crucial aspect of the archive. So far, the archive is the country's largest digital repository of labour documents, with more than 15 gigabytes of data on the World Wide Web, for public access. The collections for the archives are generated through commissioning and monitoring research and collection projects on prioritised areas of labour history, which involves negotiation and networking with experts and agencies, both within and outside the country. The programme also organises regular academic discussions, seminars and colloquia on the prioritised areas of labour history. The programme has so far more than 50 completed/ ongoing research and collection projects. Since year 2000, the programme has published 18 working papers and organised around 85 seminars/discussions, including 10 international seminars on labour history.

ILHRP has recently launched a project titled, "History of Dalit Movement and Labour Movement in India". The Project aims to document and research dalit movement in India focusing specially on the movement's interface with labour movement. The project attempts to fill the glaring lacunae in contemporary scholarly and political discourse by researching the sociological and historical intersection between labour and dalit movement. The activities undertaken in the project will trace the emergence, track the turning points and analyze the regional dimensions of both these movements.

International Conferences on Labour History

One of the most significant contributions of the ILHRP has been the 10 major International Conferences on Labour History organised to deliberate on significant themes like 'Towards Global Labour History: New Comparisons', 'Expanding the Frontiers of Labour History', 'Work and Non-Work: Histories in the Long Term', and 'Labour History - A Return to Politics'. These conferences provide an important platform for historians, social scientists and scholars to deliberate upon varied dynamics of labour history, furthering the historical understanding of the conditions on labour and labouring people. Scholars from around 20 countries across the world have been participating in the conferences on Labour History.

Joint Advisory Committee

The programme is continuously advised and monitored by a Joint Advisory Committee, which is constituted of nominees and representatives from both the Institute and the AILH. The current JAC Members of the Programme are:
  • Dr. H. Srinivas
  • Prof. Sumit Sarkar
  • Director General, National Archives of India
  • Dr. Ravi Vasudevan
  • Prof. Madhvan K. Palat
  • Dr. Indu Agnihotri
  • Dr. Prabhu P. Mohapatra
  • Dr. Rana P. Behal
  • Dr. Chitra Joshi
  • Dr. S.K. Sasikumar
Centre Co-ordinator
Dr. S.K. Sasikumar, Senior Fellow

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Author: search.filters.author.All-India Trade Union CongressEnd date: 1959

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 21
  • Item
    Withdraw the Black Bills: Labour Relations Bill and Trade Union Bills analysed
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1950) All-India Trade Union Congress
    Pamphlet focuses on statements submitted by AITUC delegattion to the Triparties Labour Conference to discuss the Labour Relations Bill and Trade Unions Bill in a meeting on March 20 and 21 1950. The delegate considers these bills fascist measures.
  • Item
    24th Session of the All-India Trade Union Congress : Reports & resolutions. Calcutta, May 27-29, 1954
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1954) All-India Trade Union Congress
    See note on title. Includes: An appeal to all workers and trade unions for unity; Review of the 24th Session; Preparations and proceedings; AITUC presidential speech by V. Chakkarai Chettlar; Greetings to the session; Report of the general secretary; Report on the organisation of the AITUC; Resolutions (though these are not complete).
  • Item
    Report of The All-Hyderabad Trade Union Congress : Presented by Dr. Raj Bahudur Gour, M.P. to the Second Session of the AITUC (April 11-13, 1954.). Trade Union Publication Series No. 11
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1954) All-India Trade Union Congress
    The Hyderabad report to the Second Session of the AITUC in 1954 deals with the years 1951-54. The period has been one of deepening economic crisis and growing unemployment, signifying the failure of government policies. It contains the following sections: Growing unemployment; Industrial collapse; Rationalisation and workload; Absenteeism – Workers’ device to snatch some leisure; Corruption and waste; More accidents – Result of increased workload and corruption; Victimisation and attack on trade-union rights; Repression on the working class; Low wages and high costs of living; Fiasco of government policies; Struggles and achievements of the working class; Cement; Gold workers’ struggles; Coalminers’ struggles; Cotton textiles; Road transport; Municipalities; Cigarette workers’ achievements; Bidi workers’ struggles; Civil supplies employees; PWD employees; Chemical group; Shops and establishments; The labour department and its activities; General struggles and observance of days; Main problems facing the workers; Problems of social security; Provident fund; Deteriorating health; Housing; Fight for linguistic states; The fight for peace and against the American threat of enslavement; and Broad lessons for unity, organization and struggle.
  • Item
    Seventeenth Tripartite : Official texts of Conclusions of the 17th Indian Labour Conference. Documents on Industrial Relations, Works Committees, etc. AITUC's Memorandum on Government's Labour Policy
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1959) All-India Trade Union Congress
    Incl. Memorandum on Industrial Relations, Machinery for Collective Bargaining and the Settlement of Industrial Disputes, Problems Relating to Trade Union Organisation, Memorandum on Works Committees, Service Conditions of Domestic Servants, Payl Roll Savings Scheme, Proposal to Revise Rates of Compensation in the Workmens Compensation Act, On Delinking of Provident Fund Benefits from Gratuity for the Purpose of Granting Exemption to Establishments or Employees Covered Under the Employees' Provident Act, 1952 from the Operation of the Provisions of the Employees Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, AITUC's Comments on Government's Memorandum on Industrial Relations
  • Item
    Report of the study group on social security 1958
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1958) All-India Trade Union Congress
    To pursue the recommendations on labour policy for the second Indian five-year plan, the Ministry of Labour and Employment set up a study group of representatives. The pamphlet has the following chapters: Conclusions and recommendations; Acheivements and criticisms of existing schemes; Feasibility of an integrated scheme; The scheme; and the Conclusion, as well as different appendices and annexures.
  • Item
    All-India Trade Union Congress: Report Eighteenth Session, 1935-36
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1940) All-India Trade Union Congress
    Includes the report of the general secretary from April 1938 to September 1940: AITUC strength; Affiliations; General council and working committee meetings; Ciculars; Change of office bearers; Labour policy under provincial autonomy; the European War and its effects on the conditions of Indian labour; repression under the Defence of India Act; AITUC attitude to war; Central legislation; Conference of labour ministers; Provincial legislation; International labour office; Textile labour conference; All-India Kisan Sibha and the AITUC; National planning committee; Biennial session of AITUC. RESOLUTIONS: Amendment to the Payment of Wages Act; Conscription of skilled labour; War allowance; Repression by government; Labour legislation; Settlement of trade disputes in Bihar; Amendment to Workmen’s Compensation Act; AITUC attitude to war; Unity of AITUC and NTUF. Resolutions of the working committee 1938. Appendices: Affiliated unions; Members of the general council; List of delegates.
  • Item
    Government tribunals and the demands of railwaymen : Trade Union Publication Series No. 12
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1954) All-India Trade Union Congress
    The booklet outlines the history and the demands of railwaymen in their long-running pay (and conditions) dispute with the government.
  • Item
    All-India Trade Union Congress: Report Twenty-First Session: Madras, 1945
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1945) All-India Trade Union Congress
    " Includes: the proceedings: amendments to the constitution. Elections. General council meeting. Table of affiliated membership. GENERAL SECRETARY’S REPORT: Strength of the AITUC; Meetings; Provincial and regional conferences; Visits to affiliated unions; Activities of provincial and regional committees; Regional councils in Gujarat, Khandesh, Andhra, Kerala; Programme for extension of AITUC activities; AITUC circulars and publications; AITUC finances; Tripartite deliberations—Standing labour committees, plenary tripartite conferences, action on tripartite deliberations; Representations made to government; AITUC representation on government committees; Indian workers representative at ILO conference; World trade union conference; Economic and political situation; Workers and the political situation; Labour in Indian states; AITUC presidents tour to Great Britain; Fraternal greetings; ILO conference for Southeast Asua; 21st session of the AITUC. RESOLUTIONS: The faith of the AITUC; Martyrs for Indian Freedom; Workers and the political situation; Suppression of civil liberties; Ban on the Indian National Congress; Release of the Congress Working Committee members; Chimur and Ashti prisoners; Greetings to the Red Army; Greece; British labour delegation; Invitation to Soviet Trade Union representatives; On planning; Dearness allowance and public wages; Rationing for industrial workers; Involuntary unemployment; Operation of National Service ordinance; Delay in adjudication and conciliation; Weekly Holidays’ Act; Recommendations of Labour Enquiry Committee; Indian states; Malaria epidemic in workers’ areas in Bengal; Labour policy of the Madras government; Railway wokers’ demands; Private motor drivers; Textile workers; Handloom weavers; Jute workers; Labour in coal mines; Kolar gold fields workers; Khewra salt mine workers; Mica workers; Iron and steel industry workers at Jamshedpur; Paper and press workers; Tea plantation workers; Workers employed by contract system. Affiliated unions; General council members; Addresses of provincial committees and regional councils of AITUC; List of attendees to 21st session; AITUC constitution. "
  • Item
    All-India Trade Union Congress Report of the Twenty-third Session, 1949
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1949) All-India Trade Union Congress
    Includes: Report on Work Done (From Feb. 1947 to March 1949): Deepening economic crisis; Jute; Cotton textiles; Railways; Mines; Mineral and metal industry; Tea plantations; Municipal services; Other employees; Agricultural labour; Dearness allowance; Unemployment; Increased workload; Capitalist profits; Textiles; Clarification of strikes; The struggle; AITUC and WFTU. Working committee (in relation to Pakistan); General council; Standing credentials committee; Organizational work at head office. WORK ON OFFICIAL BODIES: 8th Indian Labour Conference; 9th Labour Conference and 10th Standing Labour Committee; 11th Standing Labour Committee; Committees under Industrial Truce Resolution. Indian Industrial tripartite committees; Other committees appointed by the Indian government; ILO. Appendices: Resolution on desertions; Resolution on Industrial Truce; N. M. Joshi’s statement; Statement of accounts. RESOLUTIONS on: Basic demands; Workers resist; Unemployment; Trade union rights; Railways; Railway enquiry report; INTUC; Comrade Ganapathy; Telangala struggle; Detenus’ demands; Repression and release of trade union leaders; Commonwealth pact; Atlantic pact; Peasants’ struggle against procurement plan; Post and telegraph employees; Bombay municipal workers’ strike; World Peace Congress; Jute workers; Kali Bannerji’s arrest; Firings in Calcutta; Textile workers’ conference; Martyrs; Death sentences on Hyderabad peasant leaders; Detenus’ aid relief; Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation; Militant movement of the middle class; Calcutta tram workers; Municipal workers of West Bengal. STRIKE DIARY: Textiles; Jute; Other industries; Ordnance factories; Mines; Railways; Dock and port trust workers; Bus and tram labour; Municipal employees; Miscellaneous; Bidi (Beedi), cigar and hotel etc. workers. Constitutional amendments.
  • Item
    All-India Trade Union Congress Report of the Eight Session 1927
    (All-India Trade Union Congress, 1927) All-India Trade Union Congress
    Includes: proceedings. Speeches by the AITUC president, and appendices relating to labour on the railway; Seamen; Coal; Infant mortality; Housing; Truck act; Prompt payment of wages; Indian labour abroad. GENERAL SECRETARY’S REPORT: AITUC strength; Provincial committees and provincial secretaries; Delhi session of congress; Executive council meetings; Election; Circulars; Affiliated unions; Strikes and lockouts; Petroleum workers strike; Textile workers strike at Coimbatore; Mill worker strikes; Labour legislation; Indian Mines Act; Government resolution on International Labour Conference; Indian Penal Code; All-India Trade Union Bulletin; Indian Labour Journals; May Day celebrations; International labour conference; Indian fraternal delegates; Delegations from abroad; T. Mardy Jones, MP, tour of India on labour conditions; General labour conditions in India; AITUC financial position; Money from USSR. Speeches by A. A. Parcell, MP; J. Hallsworth; T Mardy Jones, MP; British delegations speeches. RESOLUTIONS: Royal commission on reforms; Miss Mayo’s “Mother India”; Political prisoners; Passport to Messrs. Saklatwala, Thengdi and Ghate; Protest against imperialism; Soviet anniversary; China; Anglo-Russian unity; Prosecution of P. Spratt; General labour demands; Unemployment; Workmen’s Compensation Act; Policy of protection and workers’ interests; Industrial Housing conditions; Legislation against imposition of fines; Amendment of Indian Factories Act; Seamen’s grievances; Textile workers grievances; Railwaymen’s grievances; Press workers’ grievances; Miners’ grievances; Cordite factory workers; Telegragh peons; Government Employees’ Unions; Council of actions; Delegation to International Labour Conference. Statement showing the affiliation fees received and due from affiliated unions. Statement of accounts. List of affiliated unions with their addresses. Constitution of the AITUC.