Organizing in the Informal Sector: A Case Study in Mumbai’s Shipbreaking Yards

Abstract

ABSTRACTBuilding on empirical data collected through interviews with representatives of the Mumbai Port Trust Dock and General Employees Union, the International Metalworkers’ Federation, and shipbreaking workers, this paper presents the results of a case study conducted from 2011 to 2013 in the shipbreaking yards of Mumbai. I first examine India’s liberalization shift in the early 1990s and observe its effect on the transformation of labour markets, then present a brief overview of the literature related to unions and the informal economy. Using the conceptual framework developed by Sousa Santos (2004) around the “sociology of absences, the sociology of emergences and the work of translation” and the analytical tool developed by Comeau (2005) to study collective struggles, the core of the article explores the development of shipbreaking activities in India, chronicles the history of collective action in the shipbreaking industry, discusses practices, strategies and demands put forward by the unions, and identifies issues arising from the difficulties facing traditionally organized unions engaged in transforming their practices to adapt to the growth of the informal economy.