Trade Unions in India are registered and file annual returns under the Trade Union Act (1926). Statistics on Trade Unions are collected annually by the Labour Bureau of the Ministry of Labour, Government of India. As per the latest data, released for 2012, there were 16,154 trade unions which had a combined membership of 9.18 million (based on returns from 15 States – out of a total of 28 States and 9 Union Territories).[1] The Trade Union movement in India is largely divided along political lines and follows a pre-Independence pattern of overlapping interactions between political parties and unions.[2] The net result of this type of system is debated as it has both advantages and disadvantages. According to the data submitted by various trade unions to the Ministry of Labour and Employment as part of a survey, INTUC with a combined membership of 33.3 million, has emerged as the largest trade union in India as of 2013.[3] The firm or industry level trade unions are often affiliated to larger Federations. The largest Federations in the country represent labour at the National level and are known as Central Trade Union Organisations (CTUO). As of 2002, when the last Trade Union verification was carried out, there are 12 CTUOs recognised by the Ministry of Labour.

2. INTRODUCTION
 According to the Trade Unions Act, 1926, ‘trade
union’ means “any combination, whether temporary or
permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of
regulating the relations between workmen and
employers or between workmen and workmen or
between employers and employers, or for imposing
restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or
business, and includes any federation of two or more
trade unions”

3. TRADE UNION
 The term trade union can be expressed both in an
ordinary sense and in broad sense. In ordinary sense it
is a combination of workmen and in a broader sense it
includes combination of employers and federation of
two or more such combinations.

5. Object of Trade Unions Act
 The object of passing the Act was to make necessary
provisions in regard to the registration of Trade Unions and
to define the law relating to registered Trade Unions.
 The Royal Commission on Labour in India observed that
the object is to give trade unions the necessary protection
from civil suits and criminal laws relating to conspiracy in
order to enable them to carry on their legitimate activities.
 The Act extends to the whole of India including the state of
Jammu and Kashmir. It came into force on the first day of
June, 1927.

6. Trade Dispute
 A trade dispute means any dispute:
 between employers and workmen
 between workmen and workmen
 between employers and employers
 Any such dispute as mentioned to be a Trade Dispute
must also be associated with:
 the employment
 non-employment
 the terms of employment
 the conditions of labour of any person

7. TRADE UNION IN INDIA
 INTUC (INDIAN NATIONAL TRADE UNION
CONGRESS)
 AITUC (ALL INDIA TRADE UNION CONGRESS)
 CITU (CENTER OF INDIAN TRADE UNIONS)
 NLO (NATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION )
 TUCC (TRADE UNION CONGRESS COMMITEE)