The Andhra Pradesh Vyavsaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU) is a state level

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

federation in the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in India. The APVVU comprises 448

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

(block) level trade unions of agricultural workers, marginal farmers, fisher folk, indigenous people, shepherds and rural artisans. The APVVU is part of the

National Alliance of People's Movements National Alliance of People's Movements is an alliance of alter-globalisation activist groups in India. It is an umbrella organisation for various civil society organisations and individuals working towards similar goals. It has led protests on ...

and the

Progressive International The Progressive International is an international organization uniting and mobilizing progressive left-wing activists and organizations. Origins It was launched after the Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25) and The Sanders Institute announ ...

History

The APVVU started in 1991 from three districts:

Ranga Reddy Ranga Reddy district ( R. R. district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Lakdikapool, Hyderabad. The district was named after the former deputy chief minister of the United Andhra Pradesh, K ...

Chittoor Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popul ...

and Mahbub Nagar. It became a full-fledged federation at the state level in 1998. It was the first registered state-level federation in AP under the Trade Union Act, 1926. In 2009, the APVVU organised a 120 km padyatra to Chodavaram seeking work for eligible families under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. In 2013, APVVU state secretary, J. Bapuji was arrested while leading a campaign for implementation of the

Forest Rights Act The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, is a key piece of forest legislation passed in India on 18 December 2006. It has also been called the Forest Rights Act, the Tribal Rights Act ...

in Jillellagudem, West Godavari District.

Composition and Organisational Structure

In 2014, the APVVU had 577,850 members, of which 56% were women. 92% of its members are Dalits or Adivasis. Every village elects a nit leader to the mandal level union. The mandal union is headed by a secretary. Two members, a man and a woman, from the mandal level are elected to the district committees. The state working committee consists of the district secretaries. Five elected state secretaries represent each of the workers' sectors. A secretary for national coordination is nominated from the general body.

References

{{Reflist 1991 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Progressive International Trade unions established in 1991 Trade unions in Andhra Pradesh