An institution for workers’ rights is an abstract entity. It derives its life, productivity and credibility from the labour and commitment of its employees. To prioritise the institution over employees is to prioritise the shell over the soul. But in recent times, there are instances where trade unions have spoken about “Employer first, employee second” approach. This is amateur and flawed, as it becomes a narrative to legitimise exploitation.
Institutional strength matters, but only when measured in terms of distributive welfare and collective good. The very philosophy of the institution first becomes distorted when institutional strength is measured through efficiency metrics designed to squeeze labour rights and maximise profit. When the capitalist tilt grows overwhelmingly and the parameters of institutional strength shift from instruments of equity to tools for profit extraction, “institution first ” turns into a convenient cover-up.
In an era where competition dictates every move, and there is limited scope for corporates to maximise profit, labour becomes the only variable to play with. Since labour is abundantly available and replaceable at a lower cost, efficiency indicators and cost-cutting strategies are weaponised to usurp employee rights.
This is precisely why the slogan “Employer first, employee second” is not just flawed but a normalisation tool to exploit. Any trade union platform that echoes such a slogan ceases to be a protector of worker rights and instead becomes an extended arm of the very machinery that oppresses them.
In recent years, whenever trade unions have declared that they have “merged with management” and that “our interests and management interests are the same,” catastrophe has followed for both the institution and employee welfare.
Trade unions and management are like two riverbanks that must maintain a proper distance for the water to flow smoothly, neither drying up nor flooding. What matters most is the purpose the water serves, not the water itself. This purpose represents the greater good.
However, today's capitalist mindset has abandoned this balance by obsessively pursuing profit maximization, focusing solely on the flow of water while ignoring the purpose it should serve.
In such a situation, worker interests must never be subordinated to profit targets. The institution survives because the worker survives, the balance sheet breathes because the worker breathes. When the challenges of privatisation are severe, and the people behind privatization are a small but affluent class that believes that institutions are the instruments for maximising profits, then a trade union that follows the dictum of ‘the employer first and the employee last’ becomes an enabler.
A trade union’s job is to defend labour rights and not to play to the tune of the management. The role of a trade unionist is to safeguard dignity, secure fair progression and ensure that no metric, whether technical or apparently glamorous, is being allowed to propagate a false narrative. It must act as a vanguard against the weaponisation of a narrative that overlooks the interests of broader stakeholders and usurps the rights of the workers.
The role of trade unionists is to act as watchdogs for protecting the rights of employees. They must not morally surrender but remain vigilant and continuously monitor the actions of the employees they represent. A trade union becomes a real force of protection only when its members participate actively, rather than becoming passive participants, and act as vigilant watchdogs.
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