Prime Highlights
- Nearly 70% of Nagpur meeting participants attended an IndustriALL event for the first time.
- A national women’s meeting followed, focusing on safety, harassment and leadership representation.
Key Facts
- IndustriALL is a global federation representing workers in manufacturing, mining and energy sectors.
- Participants toured Western Coalfields Limited’s mines to assess inclusivity for women workers.
Background
Young trade unionists, women leaders and senior union representatives gathered in Nagpur in the second week of July for an IndustriALL meeting focused on building more inclusive labour unions, with nearly 70 per cent of participants attending such a meeting for the first time.
Held under the IndustriALL–Union to Union Building Inclusive Unions project, the gathering brought stakeholders together to develop strategies for strengthening youth leadership, building second-tier leadership and creating more representative union structures. Participants agreed that organising must remain the movement’s top priority, particularly among young, contract and precarious workers, and developed action plans centred on grassroots organising, membership campaigns, mentorship and greater use of digital tools to engage young workers.
Senior union leaders reaffirmed commitments to strengthening youth and women committees across affiliated unions, ensuring participation translates into real decision-making roles. Sanjay Vadhavkar, general secretary of the Steel, Metal & Engineering Workers’ Federation of India, said strong unions were built by continuously developing leaders rather than waiting for them to emerge. Sanjay Singh, general secretary of the Indian National Electricity Workers Federation, said the movement’s growth depended on bringing young workers and women into leadership positions.
A national women’s meeting followed in mid-July, addressing occupational safety, gender-based violence, maternity protection and women’s leadership. Participants also toured Western Coalfields Limited’s open-cast and underground mines, sparking discussions on redesigning workplaces to better support women entering the mining sector.
Dhanyalakshmi Karthikeyan of the Working People Trade Union Council said understanding organising basics and labour rights gave young women unionists confidence. IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary Ashutosh Bhattacharya said giving young workers and women a voice in shaping the future of work was central to the effort.
