The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

History

The HMS was founded in

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

in west Bengal on 29 December 1948, by socialists,

Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party a ...

followers and independent unionists. Its founders included

Basawon Singh (Sinha) Basawon Singh or Basawan Singh also known as Basawon Sinha, (23 March 1909 7 April 1989) was an Indian independence activist and a campaigner for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labourers and agricultural workers. He spent a tot ...

Ashok Mehta Ashok Mehta (1947 – 15 August 2012) was a noted national film award-winning Indian film cinematographer, known for films such as '' Bandit Queen'' (1994), '' 36 Chowringhee Lane'' (1981) and ''Utsav'' (1984). He won the National Film Award f ...

, R.S. Ruikar,

Maniben Kara Maniben Kara (1905-1979) was an Indian social worker and trade unionist. She was a founder member of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha and served as its president. She was honoured by the Government of India in 1970 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Ind ...

, Shibnath Banerjee, R.A. Khedgikar, T.S. Ramanujam, V.S. Mathur, G.G. Mehta. R.S. Ruikar was elected president and Ashok Mehta general secretary. HMS absorbed the Royist

Indian Federation of Labour Indian Federation of Labour is a federation of trade unions in India. IFL was founded in 1941 by M.N. Roy, after a split from the All India Trade Union Congress. IFL strongly supported the British war effort. Maniben Kara was a prominent IFL lea ...

and the Hind Mazdoor Panchayat, which was formed in 1948 by socialists leaving the increasingly communist dominated

AITUC The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India. It is associated with the Communist Party of India. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AITUC had a membership of 14.2 milli ...

. In March 1949, HMS claimed to have 380 affiliated unions with a combined membership of 618,802.header3

Membership

According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, HMS had a membership of 3,342,213 in 2002.(13% of the total trade union membership in the country). All India Railwaymen's Federation, the largest trade union in the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

with a membership of 1.4 million is affiliated with Hind Mazdoor Sabha.. All India Port and Dock Workers Federation, the largest trade union representing workers at India's 12 major government-owned ports is also affiliated with the Hind Mazdoor Sabha.

International affiliations

In 1949 HMS became a founding member of the ICFTU. Currently, it is affiliated with the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Trade unions in India navbox Trade unions in India 1948 establishments in India International Trade Union Confederation Trade unions established in 1948