The last verification of the trade union membership numbers was started in December 2002 and completed in 2008.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh inspired trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh is the largest trade union in the country, as per the data released by the Union government.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment put on record the membership numbers of the different trade unions in the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question from Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha.
The BMS membership stands at more than 62 lakh, whereas Congress’s trade union INTUC numbers are 39. Communist trade union AITUC numbers are 34 lakh.
“Bhartiyta Majdoor Sangh (BMS) continues to be the largest trade union organization leaving far behind leftist trade unions in the country- Hon’ble minister Shri @Rameswar_Teli Ji’s reply to my question on trade unions in the Rajya Sabha,” posted Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha on the microblogging platform Twitter.
The minister also replied that the new verification of trade union memberships started in 2011 and is yet to conclude.
The reply noted, “the Ministry of Labour and Employment, through the office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), conducts the general verification of registered Trade Unions affiliated to various Central Trade Union Organisations.”
