Instructions on TU Verification

RECOGNITION OF UNIONS UNDER THE CODE OF DISCIPLINE

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION DIVISION

MINISTRY OF ALBOUR (DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR) GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.

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FIRST EDITION

The Code of Discipline lays down certain criteria for recognition of unions by the managements on a voluntary basis. These criteria have been further clarified by the Indian Labour Conference. A procedure for verification of membership, to determine their representative character, has also been approved by the Standing Labour Committee. For the convenience of unions, managements and verification officers all the decisions so far taken on the subject have been brought together in this brochure in a classified form. As recognition is governed by statutes in certain States, the relevant legal provisions have been given in the appendices to this brochure, for the benefit of these concerned.

November, 1961.

SECOND EDITION

The first edition having been exhausted within a year of its publication need has arisen for bringing out the second edition. This opportunity has been utilised to make this brochure up to date.

October, 1963.

THIRD EDITION

In view of the great demand for this brochure a need has arisen to bring out this edition and also to make it up to date.

December, 1969.

FOU-RTH EDITION

The earlier edition having been exhasuted and in view of the great demand for this brochure need has arisen to bring out this edition.

August, 1980.

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C O N T E N T S

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I. RECOGNITION UNDER THE CODE OF DISCIPLINE

Clause III(vii) of the Code of Discipline (Appendix I) requires managements to recognise unions in accordance with the Criteria for Recognition of Unions appended thereto. The Code provides for two types of recognition. A union can claim to be recognised as representative union for an industry as a whole in a local area or it can claim recognition as the majority union in an establishment if certain conditions, described below, are fulfilled.

II. ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS FOR RECOGNITION

(1) Where there is only one union

2. If there is only one union in an industry or in an establishment, it can claim recognition provided it has not been found responsible for a breach of the Code during the period of one year immediately before claiming recognition. Later, the Central Implementation and Evaluation Committee made the following recommendations:

(i) A union not affiliated to any of the four Central Workers' Organisations should wait for a period of one year after accepting the Code of Discipline before its request for recognition can be considered. (11th meeting - November 26, 1965).

(ii) A breach of the Code of Discipline should be established by the concerned Implementation Committee and not the Implementation Machinery for considering whether or not it was entitled to claim recognition. (15th meeting - August 24, 1966).

(2) Where there is more than one union

3. Where there are several unions in an industry or in an establishment, the one with the largest membership and fulfilling the conditions mentioned in paras 4 to 8 is to be recognised.

The Indian Labour Conference (19th Session-October 1961) decided that technicians, supervisory staff, etc., should be free to form their own unions to represent their interests. If, however, a majority of technicians, etc., are members of a general union and that union is a representative union, such a union would be entitled to represent the interests of technicians, etc., also. At the Indian Labour

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Conference (22nd Session-July 1964) which considered the matter further the consensus was that the recognition of category-wise/departmentwise unions should not be encouraged.

(a) Recognition as a representative union for an industry

4. A union can claim to be recognised as a representative union for an industry in a local area if -

(i) it has been functioning for a period of at least one year after registration under the Trade Unions Act.

(ii) it considers that it commands a majority of membership - in any case not less than 25% - of the workers in that industry in that area.

(iii) it has not been found responsible for a breach of the Code during a period of one year immediately before claiming recognition.

(iv) the existing recognised representative union, if any, has completed a period of two years after recognition under the Code.

5. For the purpose of defining an industry, the classification of industries (Appendix II) used by the Labour Bureau, Simla is to be adopted and industry would mean any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture of calling of employers including any calling, service, employment, handicraft or industrial occupation or avocation of workmen.

6. The term 'local area' occurring in the criteria is to be defined by the concerned appropriate Government.

7. A representative union has the right to represent workers in all the establishments in the industry but if a union of workers in a particular establishment has a membership of 50% or more of the workers of that establishment it would have the right to deal with matters of purely local interest such as the handling of grievances pertaining to its own members. All other workers who are not members of that union might either operate through the representative union or seek redress directly.

(b) Recognition as a majority union in an establishment

8. A union can claim to be recognised as a majority union in an establishment if -

(i) it has been functioning for a period of one year after registration under the Trade Unions Act.

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The requirement need not be fulfilled if it is the only union functioning in the establishment.

In case of branches of a union recognised under the Code as a representative union the qualifying period of one year is not to be insisted upon for granting recognition to the branch union at the unit level provided it satisfies the prescribed membership qualification and is operating in the same local industry as the representative union.

(ii) it considers that it commands a majority of membership - in any case not less than 15% - of the workers of that establishment;

(iii) it has not been found responsible for a breach of the Code within one year immediately before claiming recognition;

(iv) the existing recognised union, if any, in the establishment has completed a period of two years after recognition under the Code.

III. MEMBERSHIP CONDITION

9. Membership of a union for the purpose of recognition is to be counted only of those workers who had paid subscription for at least 3 months during the period of 6 months immediately preceding the date of reckoning. The 'date of reckoning' is the first of the month in which verification work begins, i.e., when the Verification Officer asks the unions to submit their lists and books for scrutiny.

IV. HOW TO SECURE RECOGNITION

10. A union which satisfies the conditions described above should first request the management (or the concerned Employers' Organisation in the case of a representative union) to accord recognition to it under the Code. It should send to the management all relevant particulars, such as date of registration under the Indian Trade Unions Act, its membership vis-a-vis total strength of the establishment justifying its claim for recognition. If its request for recognition is not accepted by the management, it may seek the assistance of the concerned Implementation Machinery.

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V. PROCEDURE FOR VERIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP

11. If more than one union function in an establishment, it is necessary to verify the representative character of the various unions. The verification has to be done either by the concerned Implementation Officer or an officer of the Central or State Industrial Relations Machinery. A procedure to be followed for ascertaining the membership of the unions has been laid down by the Standing Labour Committee; its details are given in Appendix III. The results of the verification are to be intimated to the management which would accord recognition to the majority union.

VI. PERIOD OF RECOGNITION

12. When a union has been recognised, there is to be no change in its position for a period of two years from the date of recognition provided it is not found responsible for a breach of the Code during this period.

VII. DE-RECOGNITION OF A UNION

13. Failure to observe the Code would entail de-recognition normally for a period of one year. This period may be increased or decreased by the Implementation Committee concerned. It is open to an employer to recognised any other union during this period provided it fulfils all necessary conditions for recognition.

14. At the 12th meeting of the Central Implementation and Evaluation Committee (August 1966) it was agreed that in order to de-recognise a union on account of a breach of the Code of Discipline the breach should be established by the concerned Implementation Committee and not the Implementation Machinery.

15. The Central Implementation and Evaluation Committee (15th meeting - August 24, 1968) recommended that the period of one year of derecognition of a union should be counted from the date on which the concerned Implementation Committee establishes the breach on the basis of which an employer desired to de-recognise the union. The Committee also recommended that the information about its decision should be conveyed to the concerned parties soon after the date of the decision and in any case, not later than a week.

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VIII. RIGHTS OF RECOGNISED UNIONS UNDER THE CODE OF DISCIPLINE

16. At the tripartite meeting on labour-management relations in coal mines held on the 5th May, 1962 at New Delhi it was decided that if in a colliery a recognised union exists the management should deal with that union only for negotiating general questions of terms of service and re-employment of workers. It was also decided that unrecognised union(s), if any, should not disturb the agreement(s) on these questions between the recognised union and the management.

17. The question of rights of unions recognised under the Code of Discipline vis-a-vis unrecognised unions was discussed at the 20th Session of the Indian Labour Conference (August, 1962). While a decision on the rights of unrecognised union was deferred for future consideration, it was agreed that unions granted recognition under the Code of Discipline should enjoy the following rights:-

(i) to raise issues and enter into collective agreements with employers on general questions concerning the terms and conditions of service of workers in an establishment or, in the case of a Representative Union, in an industry in a local area;

(ii) to collect membership fees/subscriptions payable by members to the union within the premises of the undertaking;

(iii) to put up or cause to put up a notice board on the premises of the undertaking in which its members are employed and affix or cause to be affixed thereon notices relating to meetings, statements of accounts of its income and expenditure and other announcements which are not abusive, indecent or inflammatory or subversive of discipline or otherwise countrary to the Code;

(iv) for the purpose of prevention or settlement of an industrial dispute:-

(a) to hold discussions with the employees who are members of the union at a suitable place or places within the premises of office/factory/establishment as mutually agreed upon;

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(b) to meet and discuss with an employer or any person appointed by him for the purpose, the grievances of its members employed in the undertaking;

(c) to inspect, by prior arrangement, in an undertaking, any place where any member of the union is employed.

(v) to nominate its representatives on the Grievance Committee constituted under the Grievance Procedure in an establishment.

(vi) to nominate its representatives on Joint Management Councils; and

(vii) to nominate its representatives on non-statutory bi-partite committees, e.g., production committees, welfare committees, canteen committees, house allotment committees etc., set up by managements.

18. The rights referred to above would be without prejudice to the privileges being enjoyed by the recognised unions at present, either by agreement or by usage.

19. The Indian Labour Conference (22nd Session - July 1964) recommended that unions not recognised under the Code of Discipline should have the right to represent individual grievances relating to dismissal and discharge or other disciplinary matters affecting their members. However, soon thereafter the Central Employers' Organisation represented against the above recommendation, it was therefore decided that the implementation of this recommendation need not be insisted upon for the present.

IX. PATTERN OF RECOGNITION OF UNIONS UNDER THE CODE IN LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION, STATE BANK AND RESERVE BANK OF INDIA.

20. In the Life Insurance Corporation, the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India the Code has been accepted by the managements and employees' organisations with some agreed clarifications. The pattern of recognition in these undertakings is as follows:-

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(1) Life Insurance Corporation of India

Clause III(vii)

The criteria for Recognition of Unions will govern recognition of unions in the Life Insurance Corporation subject to the following clarifications with regard to clauses 2, 3 and 6:

(a) The Life Insurance Corporation would recognise a Union/Federation which represents majority of its employees on all-India basis provided it has a membership of at least 25% of the employees of the Corporation. This Union/Federation would be called the Representative Union/Federation and it will have the right to deal with matters of all-India interest like general questions concerning the terms of employment and conditions of service of the employees of the Corporation.

(b) Similarly, the Corporation will recognise a Union operation in a Division representing the majority of its employees in the Division provided it has a membership of at least 25% of the employees of that Division. This Union will be called a Representative Union and it will deal with matters relating to that Division not having any all-India bearing.

(c) The Representative Union/Federation would have the rights to represent the employees in all the offices of the Corporation but if another union has a membership of more than 50% of the employees in the offices of a city or a branch it would have the right to deal with matters of purely local interest pertaining to that city or branch, as the case may be.

(2) State Bank of India Clause III(vii)

The Criteria for Recognition of Unions will govern recognition of unions in the State Bank of India

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subject to the following clarifications with regard to clauses 2, 3 and 6 :-

(a) The State Bank of India would recognise a Union/Federation which represents majority of its employees on an all-India basis provided it has a membership of at least 25% of the employees of the Bank. This Union/Federation would be called the Representative Union/Federation and it will have the right to deal with matters of all-India interest like general questions concerning the terms of employment and conditions of service of the employees of the Bank.

(b) Similarly, the Bank will recognise a Union operating in a Circle representing the majority of its employees in the Circle provided it has a membership of at least 25% of the employees of that Circle. This union will be called a Representative union of the Circle and will deal with matters relating to that Circle not having any all-India bearing.

(c) The Representative Union/Federation would have the rights to represent the employees in all the offices of the Bank, but if another Union has a membership of more than 25% of the employees in the offices of a city or a branch it would have the right to deal with matters of purely local interest pertaining to that city or branch, as the case may be.

(3) Reserve Bank of India

Clause III(vii)

The Criteria for Recognition of the unions in the Reserve Bank of India subject to the following clarifications with regard to clauses 2, 3 and 6 :-

(a) The Reserve Bank of India will recognise two Central Unions of workmen, one to represent the workmen staff in class IV and the other to represent the remaining workmen staff, provided that each such union has affiliated to it.

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(i) In the case of a Central Union representing the majority of workmen staff in class IV, the majority of local unions (please see (b) below) recognised by the Bank together having as their members at least 25% of class IV staff of the Bank.

(ii) In the case of a Central Union representing the majority of the remaining workmen staff, the majority of local unions (please see (b) below) recognised by the Bank together having as their members at least 25% of the remaining workmen staff of the Bank.

The two Central Unions will be called the Representative all India Unions, and will have the right to deal with matters of all India interest like general questions concerning the terms and conditions of service of the workmen staff represented by them.

(b) The Bank will recognise two local unions in respect of each office of the Bank, one representing the majority of its workmen staff in class IV and the other representing the majority of the remaining workmen staff at that office, provided each such union has a membership of at least 25% of the workmen employees of the concerned class in the said office. These unions will deal with matters of purely local interest pertaining to the local office not having any all India bearing.

X. STATUTORY PROVISIONS REGARDING RECOGNITION OF UNIONS.

21. In States where statutory provisions regarding recognition exist and they are at variance with the Criteria under the Code, the legal provisions will over-ride the provisions of the Code till the State Governments concerned modified them. The statutory provisions for recognition exist in four States - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The details of the provisions in the enactments of these states are given in Appendices IV, V and VI. The Bihar Central (Standing) Labour Advisory Board has also laid down certain principles to deal with the question of rival trade unions and their recognition. These principles, which are on the lines of the Criteria for Recognition of Unions under the Code, are described in Appendix VII.

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APPENDIX I

CODE OF DISCIPLINE AND CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION OF UNIONS

I. To maintain Discipline in Industry (both in public and private sectors) - there has to be (i) a just recognition by employers and workers of the rights and responsibilities of either party, as defined by the laws and agreements (including bipartite and tripartite agreements arrived at all levels from time to time) and (ii) a proper and willing discharge by either party of its obligations consequent on such recognition.

The Central and State Governments, on their part, will arrange to examine and set right any shortcomings in the machinery they constitute for the administration of labour laws.

To ensure better Discipline in Industry.

II. Management and Union(s) agree -

(i) that no unilateral action should be taken in connection with any industrial matter and that disputes should be settle at appropriate level;

(ii) that the existing machinery for settlement of disputes should be utilised with the utmost expedition;

(iii) that there should be no strike or lock-out without notice;

(iv) that affirming their faith in democratic principles, they bind themselves to settle all future differences, disputes, and grievances by mutual negotiation, conciliation and voluntary arbitration.

(v) that neither party will have recourse to (a) coercion, (b) intimidation, (c) victimisation or (d) go-slow;

(vi) that they will avoid, (a) litigation, (b) sit-down and stay in strikes and (c) lock-outs;

(vii) that they will promote constructive co-operation between their representatives at all levels and as between workers themselves and abide by the spirit of agreements mutually entered into;

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(viii) that they will establish upon a mutually agreed basis, a grievance procedure which will ensure a speedy and full investigation leading to settlement;

(ix) that they will abide by various stages in the grievance procedure and take no arbitrary action which would by-pass this procedure; and

(x) that they will educate the management personnel and workers regarding their obligations to each other.

III. Managements agree -

(i) not to increase work-loads unless agreed upon or settled otherwise;

(ii) not to support or encourage any unfair labour practice such as (a) interference with the right of employees to enrol or continue as union members, (b) discrimination, restraint or coercion against any employee because of recognised activity of trade unions and (c) victimisation of any employee and abuse of authority in any form;

(iii) to take prompt action for (a) settlement of grievances and (b) implementation of settlements, awards, decisions and orders;

(iv) to display in conspicuous places in the undertaking the provisions of this Code in the local language(s);

(v) to distinguish between actions justifying immediate discharge and those where discharge must be preceded by warning, reprimand, suspension or some other form of disciplinary action and to arrange that all such disciplinary action should be subject to an appeal through normal grievance procedure;

(vi) to take appropriate disciplinary action against its officers and members in cases where enquiries reveal that they were responsible for precipitate action by workers leading to indiscipline; and

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(vii) to recognise the union in accordance with the criteria (Annexure I) evolved at the 16th session of the Indian Labour Conference held in may 1958.

IV. Union(s) agree-

(i) not to engage in any form of physical duress;

(ii) not to permit demonstrations which are not peaceful and not to permit rowdyism in demonstration;

(iii) that their members will not engage or cause other employees to engage in any union activity during working hours, unless as provided for by law, agreement of practice;

(iv) to discourage unfair labour practices such as (a) negligence of duty, (b) careless operation, (c) damage to property, (d) interference with or disturbance to normal work and (e) insubordination;

(v) to take prompt action to implement awards, agreements, settlements and decisions;

(vi) to display in conspicuous places in the union offices, the provisions of this Code in the local language(s); and

(vii) to express disapproval and to take appropriate action against office-bearers and members for indulging in action against the spirit of this Code.

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ANNEXURE I

CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION OF UNIONS

1. Where there is more than one union, a union claiming recognition should have been functioning for at least one year after registration. Where there is only one union, this condition would not apply.

2. The membership of the union should cover at least 15% of the workers in the establishment concerned. Membership would be counted only of those who had paid their subscription for at least three months during the period of six months immediately preceding the reckoning.

3. A union may claim to be recognised as a representative union for an industry in a local area if it has a membership of at least 25% of the workers of that industry in that area.

4. When a union has been recognised, there should be no change in its position for a period of two years.

5. Where there are several unions in an industry or establishment, the one with the largest membership should be recognised.

6. A representative union for an industry in an area should have the right to represent the workers in all the establishments in the industry, but if a union of workers in a particular establishment has a membership of 50% or more of the workers of that establishment it should have the right to deal with matters of purely local interest such as, for instance, the handling of grievances pertaining to its own members. All other workers who are not members of that union might either operate through the representative union for the industry or seek redress directly.

7. In the case of trade union federations which are not affiliated to any of the four central organisations of labour, the question of recognition would have to be dealt with separately.

8. Only unions which observed the Code of Discipline would be entitled to recognition.

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APPENDIX II

LIST OF INDUSTRIES USED BY LABOUR BUREAU, SIMLA

Division 0. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, etc.

10. Agriculture and Live Stock Production.

(a) Plantation:

1. Tea
2. Coffee
3. Rubber
4. Others

(b) Gins and Presses.

1. Cotton Ginning and Baling.

2. Jute Presses.

3. Wool Baling and Pressing.

4. Others.

5. Forestry and Logging.

6. Hunting, Trapping and Game Propagation.

7. Fishing.

Division 1. Mining and Quarrying.

110. Coal Mining.

111. Iron Ore Mining.

112. Other Mining. (a) Maaganese (b) Gold (c) others

113. Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas.

114. Stone Quarrying, Clay and Sand Pits.

115. Non-metallic Mining and Quarrying not elsewhere classified. (a) Mica (b) Others

Division 2-3 Manufacturing.

20. Food (except Beverages).
21. Grain Mill Products. (a) Flour Mills (b) Rice Mills (c) Dal Mills

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206. Bakery Products.

207. Sugar Factories and Refineries. (a) Sugar Mills (b) Gur

208. Miscellaneous Food Preparations (a) Edible oils (other than Hydrogenated oils) (b) Hydrogenated Oil Industry (c) others

201-204, 208 others.

21. Beverages. 211 & 213. Distilleries and Breweries (including Power Alcohol Manufacturing).

212 & 214 others.

22. Tobacco.

23. Tobacco Manufactures. (a) Bidi Industry (b) Cigarette (c) Others

24. Textiles.

25. Spinning, Weaving and Finishing of Textiles (a) Cotton Mills (b) Jute Mills (c) Silk Mills (d) Wooleen Mills (e) Others

26. Manufacture of Textiles not elsewhere classified. (a) Coir Factories (b) Others

232-233. Others

24. Footwear, other Wearing Apparel and Made-up Textile Goods.

25. Footwear (except Rubber Footwear).

242-244. Others

25. Wood and Cork (except Furniture)

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250. (a) Saw Mills

251. (b) Plywood

252. (c) others

253. Furniture and Fixtures.

254. Paper and Paper Products.

255. (a) Paper

256. (b) Other Products

257. Manufacture of Articles of Pulp, Paper and Paper Board.

258. Printing, Publishing and Allied Industries.

259. Leather and Leather Products (except Footwear).

260. Tanneries and Leather Finishing.

261. Manufacture of Leather Products (except Footwear and other Wearing Apparel).

262. Rubber and Rubber Products. (a) Footwear (b) Tyres (c) Others

263. Chemical and Chemical Products.

264. Basic Industrial Chemicals. (a) Heavy Chemicals (b) Fertilizers (c) Others

265. Vegetable and Animal Oils and Fats. (a) Vegetable oils and Fats(except Edible) (b) Animal oils and Fats (except Edible)

266. Miscellaneous. (a) Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Products (b) Soaps (c) Paints, Varnishes and Lacquers, etc. (d) Matches (e) Lac (Including Sheellac) (f) Others

267. Products of Petroleum and Coal.

268. Petroleum Refineries.

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322. Coke Ovens.

323. Other Products.

324. Non-metallic Mineral Products (except products of Petroleum and Coal).

325. Structural Clay Products.

326. Glass and Glass Products (except optical Lenses).

327. Pottery, China and Earther-ware.

328. Cement.

329. Non-metallic Mineral Products not elsewhere classified. (a) Mica Industries (b) Others

330. Basic Metal Industries.

331. Ferrous. (a) Iron and Steel (b) Rolling into Basic Forms (c) Other Processes

332. Non-ferrous.

333. Manufacture of Metal Produts (except machinery and Transport Equipment).

334. Machinery (except Electrical Machinery).

335. Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, Appliances and Supplies. (a) Electrical Machinery (b) Telegraph and Telephone Workshops (c) Electric Fans, Radiators and other Accessories (d) Storage Batteries (e) Others

336. Transport Equipment.

337. Ship Building.

338. Manufacture and Repair of Rail-road Equipment. (a) Railway Workshops (b) Tramway Workshops

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383. Motor Vehicles

384. Bicycles.

385. Aircraft. (a) Aeroplanes, Aircraft Parts and Assemblage (b) Others

384 & 389. Others

39. Miscellaneous

Division 4. Construction. (a) Construction, Repair and Demolition of Buildings (b) Highways, Roads, Bridges, etc. (c) Railroads, Railway Roadsheds, Bridges, etc. (d) Hydro-electric Projects. (e) Others

Division 5. Electricity, Gas, Water and Sanitary Services.

51. Electricity, Gas and Steam.

52. Water Supply.

53. Sanitary Sevices

Division 6. Commerce.

611-612. Whole-sale and Retail Trade.

620. Banks and Other Financial Institutions.

621. Insurance. (a) Life (b) others

622. Others.

Division 7. Transport and Communication (other than Workshops).

711. Railways

712. Tramways

713. Motor Transport

714. Road Transport not elsewhere classified (e.g. Rickshaws, etc.).

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715. Ocean Transport (seamen).

716. Water Transport (except Ocean Transport). (a) Docks and Ports (b) Others

717. Air Transport.

718. Communication. (a) Posts and Telegraphs (b) Others

Division 8. Services.

810. Government Services.

811. Community and Business Services.

812. Educational Services.

813. Medical and Other Public Health Services.

814. Recreation Services.

815. Motion Picutre Production, Distribution and Projection.

816. Theatres and Related Services.

817. Other Recreation Services.

818. Personnal Services.

819. Domestic Services.

820. Restaurants, Cafes, Hotels, etc.

844-849. Other Personal Services.

9. Activities not adequately described.

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Appendix-III

PROCEDURE FOR VERIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP OF UNIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECOGNITION UNDER THE CODE OF DISCIPLINE*

(1) On receipt of a representation from a union** for recognition under the Code of Discipline, the Central/State Implementation Machinery will first ascertain:-

(a) the names of unions functioning in the establishment together with their numbers and date of registration by reference to the Registrar of Trade Union concerned;

(b) whether any of the unions functioning in the establishment was responsible for an established breach of the Code during the past one year. (by an established breach of the Code, is meant a breach reported to and on enquiry established by the Implementation Machinery of the state or the Centre),

(c) whether the existing recognised union, if any, has completed a period of two years of recognition.

(2) After ascertaining the above facts, the Implementation Machinery at the Centre will request the Chief Labour Commissioner to arrange verification of membership of unions entitled to recognition under the Code. In the States, either the Implementation Officer will carry out this verification or get it done through the State Labour Commissioner, depending on the practice obtaining in each State.

(3) The verification officer will ask the union by registered post/A.D. to produce before him within 10 days, at the stipulated place and time, a list of their members who have paid subscription for at least 3 months during the period of six months immediately preceding the date of reckoning along with (i) membership-cum-subscription register, (ii) receipt counterfoils, (iii) cash and account books, (iv) bank books and (v) a copy of the constitution of the

• This procedure will not be applicable in the States where recognition of unions is regulated by a Statute.

** It was later clarified that a management can also ask for verification, for the purpose of recognition of a union in its undertaking.

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union. If the number of members of a union is more than 10,000 a longer time on the basis of one additional day for every 2,000 members over 10,000 should be given for submission of its list of members and records.

If any of the unions fails to produce the lists of its members and records, a second and final notice will be given by registered post/A.D. asking it to produce them within 10 days or a longer period as mentioned above, if the membership of the union exceeds 10,000 at the stipulated place and time. If the union fails to produce the list and records on the second occasion, no further attempt will be made to verify its membership. However, in respect of the union which has submitted its list and records, the verification officer will examine them and report its membership without inviting objections from the rival union, i.e., the defaulting union, and without doing any personal verification as mentioned in para (7) below. If more than one union produces its list and records, the verification officer will check their membership in the manner described below, ignoring the union which fails to produce its records.

(4) The date of reckoning mentioned in para (3) above will be taken as the first of the month in which verification begins i.e., when the verification officer asks the unions to submit their lists and books for scrutiny.

(5) The verification officer will then check the list of members with the membership register and receipt counterfoils and exclude those who have not paid three months' subscriptions during the period of six months preceding the date of reckoning. This examination will be 100% and will be done in the presence of the office bearers of the union concerned but not in the presence of the office bearers or representatives of the rival union. If the union objects to the elimination of any member from its membership register, it will have to give full and valid reasons for such an objection. The verification officer will then re-check the records (i.e., membership register, receipt books, etc.) to ascertain the correct position. The verification officer will scrutinise carefully the cash and accounts books as well as the bank book maintained by a union to ascertain that the amount of subscription shown to have been received has been properly accounted for and that the amounts received as subscription are not incompatible with the total number of persons shown in the register and the list furnished by the union. The verification officer will also ensure that only those workers are included in the lists of the unions who were on the Muster Roll of the management on the date of reckoning.

(6) The verification officer will thereafter intimate in writing, to the unions concerned that the verified lists of their respective members are ready for inspection by the union representatives at an appointed time and place. The unions will also at the same time be informed that after

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inspection of the verified list of members of the rival union(s) they should send, in writing, their specific objections, if any, to the entries in these lists, within 10 days ** or a longer period if the number of objections is likely to exceed 2,000 objections over and above 10,000 of the date of inspection. It should be made clear to the unions that vague objections like inflated membership, etc., will not be considered; the objections should give names of persons whose membership of a union is objected to and the reasons therefor.

The union representatives will be allowed to make notes from the verified lists shown to them in the presence of the verification officer; they will, however, not be allowed to take any of the lists nor a copy of the lists will be given to them.

(7) The objections received from the unions will then be verified by personal interrogation, by the verification officer, or the members on the basis of the following systematic sampling system:-

(i) If the objection list furnished by a union consists of 500 or less names of the members, the number of persons to be personally interrogated should be 20% subject to a minimum of 100;

(ii) If the objection list furnished by a union consists of more than 500 but not more than 1,000 names, the number of persons to be personally interrogated should be 15% subject to a minimum of 100;

(iii) If the objection list furnished by a union consists of more than 1,000 but not more than 2,000 names the number of persons to be personally interrogated should be 10% subject to a minimum of 150;

A systematic sample means sampling from a list by taking individuals at equally spaced intervals called sampling intervals. The sampling interval should be:- Total number of persons in the objection list Number of persons in the sample.

Thus, for example, if there are 400 workers in the objection list and sample of 100 workers is to be selected, the verification officer should select every 400/100th or 4th worker in the list.

It is, however, not necessary that in all cases the selection should begin from the 4th name in the list; the 1st sample may be either the 1st name in the list, or the 2nd, or the 3rd or the 4th name. Thus, for example, if the 1st name is selected as the 1st sample, then subsequent samples will be 5th, 9th, 13th, etc., names; if, however, the 2nd name is taken as the 1st sample, the subsequent samples would be 6th, 10th, 14th, etc., names in the list.

** exceed 10,000 on the basis of one additional day for every

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(iv) If the objection list furnished by a union consists of more than 2,000 but not more than 5,000 names, the number of persons to be personally interrogated should be 5% subject to a minimum of 200; and

(v) If the objection list furnished by a union consists of more than 5,000 names, the number of persons to be personally interrogated should be 2% subject to minimum of 250.

The persons selected for personal interrogation should among other things be asked whether they are members of a particular union and whether they had paid subscriptions for 3 months within a period of 6 months from the date of reckoning and, if so, the amount of subscription paid, the months for which it was paid, etc. The verification officer will maintain a list of members personally interrogated, giving their ticket numbers, name of section where working, the result of personal interrogation, etc.

(8) Where the sample check reveals that certain members interrogated deny membership of union, its list of members will be modified proportionately. For example, if on checking records, it is found that a union has 2,000 valid members and the rival union objects to, say, 800, of these members, a 15% of sample of the latter has to be drawn, i.e., 120 persons have to be interrogated personally. If on personal interrogation it is found that 30 of the 120 persons (i.e., 25%) deny membership of the union, the strength of the union will be reduced by 25% of 800 persons whose membership was objected to, i.e., by 200. In other words, the final strength of the union will, in this case, be 1,800.

[2,000-(25% of 800)=1,800]

If the persons who, on interrogation, deny their membership of the union claiming them as their members inform the verification officer that they are members of a rival union, the verification officer will check their membership with the list of members and records of that union and adjust its list accordingly, i.e., their names will be added to the list of the rival union if they are not already included in it, and excluded, in the manner mentioned above from the list of the claimant union.

(9) While conducting personal verification, as mentioned in para (7) above, the verification officer will not allow the representatives of any union or management to be present.

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(10) The verification officer will report his finding to the Central/State Implementation Machinery which in turn will communicate its decision to the management as well as to the unions. In his report the verification officer will also indicate the total number of workers in the establishment and the percentage of the verified membership to it.

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Appendix IV

PROVISIONS REGARDING RECOGNITION OF UNIONS IN THE BOMBAY INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1946*

@ @ @

CHAPTER IV

Approved Unions

23. Approved list; maintenance of; conditions for being entered in. (1) On an application being made in the prescribed form by a union for being entered in the approved list, the Registrar may after holding such inquiry as he deems fit enter the union in such list if he is satisfied that the union has made rules, that the provisions of said rules are being duly observed by the union, and that the rules provide that -

(i) its membership subscription shall be not less than four annas per month;

(ii) its executive committee shall meet at intervals of not more than three months;

(iii) all resolutions passed, whether by the executive committee or the general body of the union, shall be recorded in a minute book kept for the purpose;

(iv) an auditor appointed by Government may audit its accounts at least one in each financial year;

(v) every industrial dispute in which a settlement is not reached by conciliation shall be offered to be submitted to arbitration, and that arbitration under Chapter XI shall not be refused by it in any dispute;

(vi) no strike shall be sanctioned or resorted to by it unless all the methods provided by or under this Act for the settlement of an industrial dispute have been exhausted and the majority of its members vote by ballot in favour of such strike;

&(vii) no stoppage which is illegal under this Act shall be sanctioned or resorted to by it.

• Applicable both to Gujarat and Maharashtra States. & This clause was inserted by Bom. 74 of 1948, s.5.

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Provided that the Registrar shall not enter a union in the approved list if he is satisfied that it is not being conducted bonafide in the interest of its members, but to their prejudice.

Explanation:- "Member" for the purpose of clause (vi) means a member of the union for the purpose of the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926 (XVI of 1925).

(2) The */State_7 Government may by notification in the official Gazette, direct that in the case of any union or class of unions specified in the notification the membership subscription, subject to a minimum of two annas per month, be less than four annas.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) there shall at any time be more than one approved union in respect of any industry in local area.

(4) Any union complying with the conditions specified in sub-section (1) and having a larger membership in an industry in a local area than an approved union for such industry shall on application in that behalf be entered in the approved list in place of such approved union by the Registrar after holding such inquiry as he deems fit.

@23A. Approved union to continue to be so for altered local are for some time - Notwithstanding anything contained in section 23, if there is any alteration in the local area or areas -

(a) an approved union in an industry in the altered local area or areas, or

(b) where two or more approved unions exist in an industry in the altered local area or areas the union having the largest membership, whether by agreement of the other approved unions or as determined by the Registrar after such inquiry as he deems fit,

shall be deemed to be the approved union for the altered local area or areas, as the case may be, for a period of twelve months from the date on which such alteration is effected, or where such approved union or any other union in the altered local area or areas makes an application under section 23 within such period until the disposal of such application by the Registrar.

• This word was substituted for the word "Provincial" by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950. & These words were added by Bom. 63 of 1953, s. 6. @ This section was inserted by Bom. 63 of 1953, s. 7.

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24. Removal from approved list - The Registrar shall remove a union from the approved list if its registration under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926 (XVI of 1926), is cancelled, and may also remove a union if after holding such inquiry if any as he deems fit, he is satisfied that it -

(i) was entered in the list under mistake, misrepresentation or fraud, or

(ii) has, since being included in the approved list, failed to observe the conditions specified in section 23.

25. Rights of officers of approved unions - */Such officers (members of the office staff) and members of an approved union as may be authorised by or under rules made in this behalf by the /State_7 Government shall, in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, have a right, and shall be permitted by the employer concerned -

(a) to collect sums payable by members to the union on the premises where wages are paid to them;

(b) to put up or cause to be put up a notice board on the premises of the undertakings in which its members are employed and affix or cause to be affixed notices thereon;

(c) for the purpose of the prevention of settlement of an industrial dispute -

(i) to hold discussions on the premises of the undertaking with the employees concerned who are the members of the union;

(ii) to meet and discuss with an employer or any person appointed by him for the purpose the grievances of its members employed in this undertaking;

(iii) to inspect, if necessary, in any undertaking any place where any member of the union is employed.

• These words were substituted for the original by Bo. 43 of 1948, s. 3. @ These words were inserted by Bom. 63 of 1953, s. 8. & This word was substituted for the word "Provincial" by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.

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26. Legal aid to approved unions at Government expense in important proceedings - (1) An approved union entitled to appear -

(a) before a Labour Court in a proceeding for determining whether a strike, lock-out (closure, stoppage) or change is illegal, or

(b) before the industrial Court in a proceeding involving in the opinion of the Court an important question of law or fact -

may apply to the Court for the grant of legal aid at the expense of the /State_7 Government.

(2) A copy of every application made under sub-section (1) shall be sent to the Registrar with the least practicable delay.

(3) The Court to which an application is made under sub-section (1) shall fix for the hearing of the application a day of which at least three days' clear notice shall be given to the Registrar.

(4) On the day fixed or as soon thereafter, as may be convenient, the Court shall examine the witnesses, if any, produced by the union and the Registrar, and may also examine the officers of the union, and shall make a memorandum of the substance of such evidence.

(5) The Court may after considering the evidence adduced under sub-section (4) either grant or refuse the application.

(6) The /State_7 Government may in consultation with the Industrial Court prescribe the fees for legal advice to and appearance on behalf of a union before a Court.

---

CHAPTER V

Representatives of employers and employees and appearance on their behalf

27. Recognition of combination of employers as associations of employers - (1) The /State_7 Government may from

• These words were inserted by Bom. 74 of 1948, s.6. @ This word was substituted for the word "Provincial" by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.

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time to time by notification in the official Gazette -

(a) recognise any combination of employers in an industry whether incorporated or not as an association of employers for the purpose of this Act provided that one of the objects of such combination is the regulation of conditions of employment in the industry;

(b) withdraw any recognition granted under clause (a): Provided that no recognition shall be withdrawn unless an opportunity has been given to such association of employers to be heard.

(2) In any proceeding under this Act an association of employers shall be entitled to represent -

(a) any employer who is a member of the association;

(b) any employer connected with the same industry not being a member of the association, who has intimated in writing to the prescribed authority that he has agreed to be represented by the association in such proceeding;

and any notice or intimation given by or to such association shall be deemed to have been given by or to every employer it is entitled to represent.

(3) Where more employers than one are affected or under any of the provisions of this Act deemed to be affected and no association of employers is under sub-section (2) entitled to represent all of them, the representative determined in the prescribed manner shall be entitled to act as their representatives.

*/27-A. Appearance on behalf of employees - Save as provided in section 32 and 33, no employee shall be allowed to appear or act in any proceeding under this Act except through the representative of employees_7.

28. Election of representatives of employees - (1) Where there is no representative union in respect of any industry in any local area, the employees in each undertaking in the industry and in each occupation therein may, in the prescribed manner, elect five persons from among themselves to represent

• Section 27A was inserted by Bom. 55 of 1949, s.4.

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them for the purpose of this Act -

Provided that no such persons shall be elected for any occupation the number of employees in which does not exceed ten.

(2) The persons, if any, elected under sub-section (1) shall function in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3) Within */two years_7 from the date on which an election under sub-section (1) is held, and within each succeeding */two years_7 thereafter, a fresh election shall be held:-

Provided that any person may be re-elected at any such election.

(4) The employees may in the prescribed manner recall any or all of the persons elected under sub-section (1) or (3).

(5) Vacancies in the number of the persons elected under sub-section (1) or (3) shall be filled by election in the prescribed manner.

29. Act or decision of majority to be deemed to be act or decision of all - Any act or decision of the majority of the persons elected under section 28 by any employees shall be deemed to be the act or decision of all the persons so elected by them.

30. Representatives of employees - The following shall be entitled, @ to appear or act@ in the order of preference specified as the representative of employees in an industry in any local area -

(i) a representative union for such industry;

(ii) a qualified or primary union of which the majority of employees directly affected by the change concerned are members;

(iii) any qualified or primary union in respect of such industry authorised in the prescribed manner in that behalf by the employees concerned;

(iv) the Labour officer if authorised by the employees concerned;

• These words were substituted for the words "twelve months" by Bom. 7 of 1948, s. 7. @ These words were substituted for the words "to act" by Bom. 55 of 1949, s.5.

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(v) the persons elected by the employees in accordance with provisions of section 28 or where the proviso to sub-section (1) thereof applies, the employees themselves;

(vi) the Labour officer;

Provided -

Firstly, that the persons entitled */to appear or act_7 under clause (v) may authorise any qualified or primary union in respect of such industry */to appear or act_7 instead of them;

Secondly, that where the Labour Officer is the representative of the employees, he shall not enter into any agreement under section 44 or settlement under section 58 unless the terms of such agreement or settlement, as the case may be, are accepted by them in the prescribed manner;

Thirdly, where in any proceeding the persons entitled */to appear or act_7 under clause (v) are more than five, the prescribed number elected from amongst them in the prescribed manner shall be entitled */to appear or act_7 instead.

[31. Registered or representative union to continue to be so for altered local area for some time - Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, if there is any alteration in any local area or areas notified for the purposes of this Act -

(a) a registered or representative union entitled under this Act to appear or act as a representative of employees in an industry immediately before the alteration in the local area or areas concerned, or

(b) where more than one registered or representative union are entitled to appear or act as a representative of employees in an industry under this section the union having the largest membership of employees employed in the industry, whether by agreement of the other registered or representative unions or as determined by the Registrar after inquiry as he deems fit,

shall be entitled to appear or act for the altered local area or areas, as the case may be, for a period of twelve months from the date on which such alteration is effected, or if an application under section 13 is made within such period by such union /or any other union_7 in the altered local area or areas, until the disposal of such application by the Registrar.

• These words were substituted for the words "to act" by Bom. 55 of 1949, s.5. @ Section 31 was substituted for the original by Bom. 63 of 1953, s.9.

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@/32. Persons who may appear in proceedings - A conciliator, a Board, an Arbitrator, a Wage Board, a Labour Court and the Industrial Court may, if he or it considers it expedient for the ends of justice, permit an individual whether an employee or not, to appear in any proceeding before him or it;

Provided that no such individual shall be permitted to appear in any proceedings in which a representative union has appeared as the representative of employees./

33. */Appearance for employees_7 Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, an employee */or a representative union shall be entitled to appear through any person,

(a) in all proceedings before the Industrial Court;

@@(aa) in all proceedings before a Wage Board;

(b) in proceedings before a Labour Court for deciding whether a strike, lock-out -/closure or stoppage or change or an order passed by an employer under the standing orders is illegal -/or for deciding any industrial dispute referred to it under section 72_7;

(c) in such other proceedings as the Industrial Court may, on application made in that behalf, permit:-

Provided that a legal practitioner shall not be permitted under clause (c) to appear in any proceedings under this Act except before a Labour Court -/as provided in section 83-A or the Industrial Court;

**Provided further that no employee shall be entitled to appear through any person in any proceeding in this Act in which a representative union has appeared as the representative of employees/.

@ Section 32 was substituted for the original by Bom. 55 of 1949, s.7.

• Section 31 was substituted for the original by Bom. 55 of 1949, s.7. & These words were inserted by Bom. 43 of 1948, s.4(a). @@ This clause was inserted, ibid, s.4(b).

• These words were inserted by Bom. 74 of 1948, s.8(a).

• This portion was inserted ibid, s.8(b). = These words, figures and letter were inserted by Bo. 55 of 1949, s.8(1). ** This provision was added, ibid, s.8(ii).

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APPENDIX V

PROVISIONS REGARDING RECOGNITION OF UNIONS IN THE MADHYA PRADESH INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1960 ...... XX XX XX

CHAPTER III

Recognition of representative unions and associations of employers

13. Application for recognition as a representative union - (1) Any union may apply in the prescribed form to the Registrar for recognition as a representative union in respect of any industry in a local area.

(a) on receipt of such application and on payment of the prescribed fee the Registrar shall hold an enquiry in such manner as may be prescribed and if he is satisfied that such union fulfils the conditions necessary for recognition specified in section 14, he shall enter the name of such union in the register maintained under section 15 and shall issue a certificate of recognition in such form as may be prescribed;

Provided that -

(i) where two or more unions fulfilling the conditions necessary for recognition apply for recognition in respect of the same industry in any local area, the union having the largest membership of employees employed in the industry shall alone be recognised.

(ii) The Registrar shall not recognise any union if he is satisfied for reasons to be recorded in writing that the application for recognition is not made bona fide in the interests of employees but is made in the interests of employer;

(iii) the Registrar shall not recognise any union if at any time within six months immediately preceding the date of the application for recognition or thereafter the union has instigated, aided or assisted the continuation of a strike or stoppage which has been held or declared to be illegal.

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14. Conditions of recognition - No union shall be recognised as a representative union under this Act, unless -

(i) membership of the union is open to every employees employed in the industry in the local area;

(ii) the union has for the whole of the period of 3 months immediately preceding the month in which the application for recognition is made under section 13, a membership of not less than 25 per centum of the total number of employees employed in the industry in such local area.

15. Register of representative unions - The Registrar shall maintain a register of representative unions recognised by him under this Act in such form as may be prescribed.

16. Cancellation of recognition - The Registrar shall cancel the recognition of a union - (a) if the Industrial Court directs on appeal under sub-section (3) of section 22 that the recognition of such union shall be cancelled;

therein and after holding an enquiry in the prescribed manner.

(b) if after giving notice to such union to show cause why its recognition should not be cancelled on the grounds specified he is satisfied -

(i) that it was recognised under mistake, misrepresentation or fraud; or

(ii) that the membership of the union has for a continuous period of 3 months fallen below the minimum required under section 14 for its recognition:

Provided that when a strike or stoppage which is not illegal or a lock-out or closure has extended to a period exceeding fourteen days in any month, such month shall be excluded in computing the said period of three months:

Provided further that the recognition of a union shall not be cancelled under the provisions of this sub-clause unless its membership for the month in which the show cause notice under this section was issued was less than such minimum; or

(iii) that the representative union is not being conducted bona fide in the interests of employees but in the interests of employers to the prejudice of the interests of employees; or

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(iv) that the membership of such union is no longer open to all employees employed in the local area concerned and that the membership is refused to employees of such area on unsatisfactory or unreasonable grounds; or

(v) that the union has ceased to function according to its constitution; or

(vi) that it has instigated, aided or assisted the commencement or continuance of a strike or stoppage which has been held or declared to be illegal;

(c) if its registration under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926 (XVI of 1926) is cancelled.

17. Recognition of another union in place of existing union. (1) if at any time any union makes an application to the Registrar for being recognised in place of the union already recognised as the representative union for an industry in a local area on the ground that it has a larger membership of employees employed in such industry, the Registrar shall call upon the representative union by a notice in writing accompanied by a copy of the application to show cause within one month of the receipt of such notice why the applicant union shall not be recognised in its place. An application made under this sub-section shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.

(2) The Registrar shall forward to the Labour officer a copy of the said application and notice.

(3) If, on the expiry of the period of notice under sub-section (1), and after holding such inquiry as may be prescribed the Registrar is satisfied that the applicant union complies with the conditions of recognition specified in section 14 and that its membership was, during the whole of the period of, three months immediately preceding the date of the application under this section, larger than the membership of the representative union, he shall, subject to the provisions of section 13, recognise the applicant as the representative union.

(4) On the recognition of the applicant union under sub-section (3), the recognition of the representative union shall stand cancelled.

18. Application for re-recognition - A union, the recognition of which has been cancelled, may, at any time after three months from the date of such cancellation and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, apply for re-reapply in respect of such application:

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Provided that a union, the recognition of which has been cancelled, on any ground other than -

(1) a mistake; or

(2) any ground specified in sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of section 16;

shall not be entitled to apply for recognition within six months of the cancellation.

19. Dismissal of certain applications for want of prosecution -

The Registrar may after giving fifteen days' notice dismiss any application made under section 13, 17 or 16, if he is satisfied that the applicant union has failed to pursue or prosecute the application diligently without any sufficient cause.

20. Liability of union or members not relieved by cancellation - Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, the cancellation of the recognition of a representative union shall not relieve that union or any member thereof from any penalty or liability incurred under this Act prior to such cancellation.

21. Periodical returns to be submitted to Registrar - Every representative union shall submit to the Registrar on such dates and in such manner as may be prescribed, periodical returns of its membership.

22. Appeal to Industrial Court from order of Registrar cancelling recognition - (1) Any party to a proceeding before the Registrar may, within thirty days from the date of the communication of the order passed by the Registrar under this Chapter, appeal against such order to the Industrial Court.

Provided that the Industrial Court may, for sufficient reason, admit any appeal made after the expiry of such period.

(2) The Industrial Court may admit an appeal under sub-section (1) if on a perusal of the memorandum of appeal and the decision appealed against it finds that the decision is contrary to law or is otherwise erroneous.

(3) The Industrial Court in appeal may confirm, modify or rescind any order passed by the Registrar and may pass such consequential orders as it may deem fit. A copy of the orders passed by the Industrial Court shall be sent to the Registrar.

23. Legal aid to approved unions at Government expenses in important proceedings - (1) An approved union entitled to appeal under this Act -

45

(a) before a Labour Court in a proceeding for determining whether a strike, lock-outs, stoppage, closure or change is illegal; or

(b) before the Industrial Court in a proceeding involving in the opinion of the Court an impor- tant question of law or fact;

may apply to the Industrial Court for the grant of legal aid at the expense of the State Government.

(2) Where an approved union is a party to any case arising out of proceedings under this Act, before the High Court or the Supreme Court, it may apply to the Industrial Court for the grant of legal aid at the expense of the State Government for purposes of such case.

(3) The Industrial Court may, after obtaining a report from the Registrar on the financial condition of the union, refuse the legal aid or grant it in accordance with rules framed under this Act.

xx xx xx

CHAPTER IV

Representatives of employers and employees and appearance on their behalf

xx xx xx

26. Appearance on behalf of employees - Save as provided in section 25, no employee shall be allowed to appear or act in any proceeding under this Act except through the representative of the employees.

27. Representation of employees - The following shall be entitled to act and appear in the order of pre- ference specified below as the representative of employees in an industry in any local area:-

(i) a representative union for such industry;

(ii) any union of which the employee of such industry is a member;

(iii) Labour officer:

Provided that where the Labour Officer is the repre- sentative of employees he shall not enter into any agreement under section 33 or settlement under section 43 on their behalf unless the terms of such agreement or settlement, as the case may be, are accepted by them in the prescribed manner:

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APPENDIX VI

PROVISIONS REGARDING REGISTRATION OF REPRESENTATIVE UNIONS IN THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES (RAJASTHAN AMENDMENT) ACT, 1958

CHAPTER II B

Registration of Unions

9C. Maintenance of register - It shall be the duty of the Registrar to maintain in such form as may be prescribed a register of unions registered by him under the provisions of this Act.

9D. Application for registration - Any union which has for the whole of the period of three months next preceding the date of its so applying under this section a membership of not less than fifteen per cent of the total number of workmen employed in a unit of an industry may apply in the prescribed form to the Registrar for registration as a representative union.

9E. Registration of union - On receipt of an appli- cation from a union for registration under section 9D and on payment of the fee prescribed, the Registrar shall, if, after holding such inquiry as he deems fit, he comes to the conclusion that the conditions requisite for registration specified in the said section are satisfied and that the union is not otherwise disqualified for registration, enter the name of the union in the appropriate register maintained under section 9 C and issue a certificate of registration in such form as may be prescribed;

Provided that -

(i) where two or more unions fulfilling the condi- tions necessary for registration under this Act apply for registration in respect of the same unit of an industry, the union having the largest membership of employees employed in the unit of the industry shall be registered; and

(ii) the Registrar shall not register any union if he is satisfied that the application for its registration is not made bona fide in the interest of the workmen but is made in the interest of the employers to the prejudice of the interest of the workmen.

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9F. Cancellation of registration - The Registrar shall cancel the registration of a union -

(a) if, after holding such inquiry, if any, as he deems fit he is satisfied -

(i) That it was registered under mistake, misrepresentation of fraud; or

(ii) that the membership of the union has for a continuous period of three months fallen below the minimum required under section 9D for its registration;

Provided that where a strike or a closure not being an illegal strike or closure under this Act in a unit of in- dustry involving more than one-third of the workmen in the unit of the industry has extended to a period exceeding four- teen days in any calendar month such moth shall be excluded in computing the said period of three months;

Provided further that the registration of a union shall not be cancelled under the provisions of this sub-clause unless its membership at the time of the cancellation is less than such minimum; or

(iii) that the registered union is being conduc- ted not bona fide in the interests of work- men but in the interests of employers to the prejudice of the interests of workmen; or

(iv) that it has instigated, aided or assisted the commencement or continuance of an illegal strike;

(b) if its registration under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926 (Central Act XVI of 1926) is cancelled.

9G. Registration of another union in place of exist- ing registered unions - (1) if at any time any union (hereinafter in this section referred to as "applicant union") makes an application to the Registrar for being registered in place of the union (hereinafter in this section referred to as "representative union") for a unit of an industry on the ground that it has a larger membership of workmen employed in such unit of the industry, the Registrar shall call upon the representative union by a notice in writing to show cause within one month of the receipt of such notice why the applicant union should not be registered in its place. An application made under this sub-section shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.

(2) The Registrar shall forward to the Labour Commi- ssioner of the State Government a copy of the said application and notice.

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(3) If, on the expiry of the period of notice under sub-section (1) and after holding such inquiry as he deems fit, the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the applicant union complies with the conditions necessary for registra- tion specified in section 9D and that its membership was during the whole of the period of three months immediately preceding the date of the application under this section larger than the membership of the representative union, he shall, subject to the provisions of section 9D, register the applicant union in place of the representative union.

(4) Every application made under this section shall be published in the prescribed manner not less than 14 days before the expiry of the period of notice under sub-section (1).

9H. Application for re-registration - (1) Any union the registration of which has been cancelled on the ground that it was registered under mistake or on the ground specified in sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of section 9F may, at any time after three months from the date of such cancell- ation and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed, apply for re-registration. The provisions of sections 9D and 9E shall apply in respect of such application.

(2) A union the registration of which has been cancelled on any other ground shall, not save with the permission of the State Government, be entitled to apply for re-registration.

9I. Appeal to Industrial Tribunal from order of Registrar - (1) Any party to a proceeding before the Registrar may, within thirty days from the date of an order passed by the Registrar under this Chapter, appeal against such order to the Industrial Tribunal.

Provided that the Industrial Tribunal may, for sufficient reason, admit any appeal made after the expiry of such period.

(2) The Industrial Tribunal may admit an appeal under sub-section (1) if, on a perusal of the memorandum of appeal and the decision appealed against, it finds that the decision is contrary to law or otherwise erroneous.

(3) The Industrial Tribunal in appeal, may confirm, modify or rescind any order passed by the Registrar and may pass such consequential orders as it may deem fit. A copy of the orders passed by the Industrial Tribunal, shall be sent to the Registrar.

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APPENDIX VII

BIHAR CENTRAL (STANDING) LABOUR ADVISORY BOARD'S RESOLUTION DATED MARCH 21, 1968 REGARDING RECOGNITION OF UNIONS

RESOLUTION

The following principles should be followed in dealing with the question of rival trade unions and their recognition:-

(1) Where there is only one registered union in an industry or establishment, that union must be recognised by the employer.

(2) Status quo should be maintained in the case of the unions which are at present registered and recognised unless their registration is cancelled by the Registrar of Trade Unions, in which case the recognition should be withdrawn.

(3) A rival union can claim recognition only after it has functioned for at least one year at the particular establishment from the date of its registration under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926.

(4) The employer should deal with all questions of general interest to the workmen with the recognised union only provided that the employer shall not enter into any agreement with the recognised union about specific grievances of individual character of workmen who are not members of such registered unions as are not recognised.

"Provided that a registered union which is not recognised may raise before the State Implementation and Evaluation Committee any question about:-

(a) breach of Code of Discipline; (b) breach of any award of agreement; (c) violation of this Resolution; (d) question of the Implementation and recommendations of the Wage Boards."

(5) Cases of individual workmen, having no general application to other can be brought up before an employer by a registered union of which the workman is a member even though that union is not recognised and the employer shall negotiate with such registered trade union; in no case, however, will the employer enter into an agreement on the matters of general interest with a union which is not recognised.

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(6) When there is a dispute about the representa- tive charter of unions for the purposes of recognition the dispute shall be referred to an Independent Board consisting of one representative each of A.I.T.U.C., I.N.T.U.C., H.M.S. and U.T.U.C. on representative of industries in the private sector and one representative of industries in the public sector and the President of Bihar Chamber of Commerce, ex- officio, the Secretary to Government of Bihar, Department of Labour and Employment and the Commissioner of Labour, Bihar, who will act as Convener and Member-secretary of the Board.

The aforesaid Board will try to determine as expediti- ously as possible the representative character in accordance with the rules and procedures to be formulated by the said Board in advance for disposal of the matters referred to the voting by secret ballot should be taken to determine the representative character of the rival unions, it may proceed to take the votes in accordance with the procedure prescribed by it notwithstanding any disagreement or non-participation of any of the parties to the dispute.

(7) Recognition granted to a union as a result to voting in accordance with the procedure laid down in para- graph 6 of this resolution should not be disturbed for two years.

(8) All disputes arising out of internal rivalry within any union shall be referred for decision to the Central Organisation to which the union in question is affiliated and the said central organisation shall decide the matter within a period of two months from the date of reference of the dispute to it.

(9) Disputes arising out of rivalry within the trade union, which is not affiliated to any of the four central organisations and such disputes arising out of rivalry within a trade union which is not decided by a central labour organisation to which it is referred within a period of two months shall be decided by the aforesaid Independent Board in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down by the Board for the purpose.

(10) For withdrawing recognition of a union, the employers shall obtain the prior approval of the State Imple- mentation and Evaluation Committee whose decision in the matter shall be final.

Government trust that the employers and the employees will lend cooperation in solving the dispute regarding rival trade unions in the manner indicated above.

The Government-resolution No.III/DI-26014/59L-4650 dated the 11th March, 1959 is hereby repealed.

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PROCEDURE FRAMED BY THE INDEPENDENT BOARD FOR ASCERTAINING THE REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER OF TRADE UNIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECOGNITION IN THE STATE OF BIHAR.

Whenever there are claims for recognition by trade unions which have been in existence for at least one year from the date of their registration, the Labour Commissioner will get an enquiry made about the following facts:-

(a) The names of the union functioning in the establishment together with their number and date of registration;

(b) Whether any of the unions functioning in the establishment was responsible for an es- tablished breach of the Code during the past two years (by an established breach is meant a breach reported and on enquiry es- tablished by the implementation machinery of the State);

(c) The date when the existing recognised union was given recognition by the management.

The Labour Commissioner will complete his enquiry within a period of 30 days from the receipt of the claim and will place his result of the enquiry before the Independent Board. After ascertaining the above facts the Independent Board may direct verification of the claim. In doing so it may direct that particular union which has been responsible for the breach of the Code should not be allowed to participate in the enquiry. All the registered trade unions in the establishment concerned shall then be informed of the claim/claims and shall be requested to send, if they so like, within 15 days of the receipt of the letter, nomination for participating in the verification. If a registered trade union does not file its nomination within 15 days, it will be given another chance to file nomination within 15 days from the date of issue of the letter. If a union does not file its nomination even after the second chance then it will be debarred from contesting the verification. If there are two registered trade unions and one is thus debarred, the verification shall proceed exparte.

2. After receipt of the nomination papers from the contestant unions, the Verification Officer shall ask, by registered post with acknowledgement due, all such

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registered trade unions to send the list of their members as on the 31st December of the year immediately preceding the date of the issue of the notice, within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the letter. If any union fails to send the membership list within the time prescribed or requests for time, it would be given another chance to send its membership list within a period of 15 days from the date of the receipt of the second letter. In exceptional circumstances, another chance may be given by the Labour Commissioner under intimation to the Board. If any union fails to submit the membership list, within the time allowed, the verification will proceed in the absence of the defaulting union. If the claimant union dies not submit the membership list even after the second chance, the claim may be rejected and the defaulting claimant union may be debarred from making any such claim for a period of one year. For the purpose of verification, the Verification Officer shall examine the membership Registers, Receipt Counterfoils and Statement of Accounts as in paragraph 4 below and shall also conduct personal interrogation of the union members in the manner prescribed in paragraph 7 below.

3. Verification by personal interrogation shall normally be the first step taken in resolving any prima facie dispute regarding recognition. The result of verification by personal interrogation shall be brought upto the Independent Board for consideration and decision and the result shall be communicated to the parties by the Board.

4. There shall be a hundred percent check of the list of members with reference to the Membership Registers and the union subscription receipt counterfoils of the respective unions as on the 31st December of the year immediately preceding the date of issue of first notice for membership list. Members who have not paid membership dues for the period ending on the said 31st December, shall be excluded for the purpose of verification. This checking will be done in the presence of the office bearers of the contesting unions, but if any union is not represented inspite of adequate chance and opportunity given, the checking will proceed exparte. If a union objects to the elimination of any member from its membership registers, it will have to give valid reasons for such an objection. The Verification Officer will ensure that only those workers are included in the membership lists of the unions who are on the rolls of the management on the 31st December of the year immediately preceding the date of first notice for membership list from the unions. If the management does not supply list of employees within a reasonable time, then the verification

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roll will be prepared from the membership lists of unions only. For this, Labour Commissioner shall be the final authority to decide whether reasonable time has been allowed to the management to submit list of its employees.

5. The verification Officer will thereafter intimate, in writing, to the unions concerned that the verified lists of their respective members are ready for inspection by the union representatives at an appointed time and place. The unions will also at the same time be informed that after inspection of the verified list of members of the rival union(s) they should send, in writing, their specific objections, if any to the entries in these lists, within 10 days (or a longer period if the number of objections is likely to exceed 10,000 on the basis of one additional day for every 2,000 objections over and above 10,000) of the date of inspection. It should be made clear to the unions that general and vague objections like inflated membership, etc., will not be considered; the objections should give names of persons whose membership of a union is objected to and the to make notes from the verified lists shown to them in the presence of the verification officer. They will, however, not be allowed to take any of the lists nor a copy of the lists will be given to them.

The verification roll of the members shall contain all the names in the verified membership lists of all the contestant unions.

6. The impartiality of the Verification Officer shall be ensured.

7. When the verified roll contains names upto 1000 members, each member shall be called for personal interro- gation.

When the number of members on the verified roll exceeds 1000, but does not exceed 2000, personal interro- gation will be conducted in respect of 1000 members plus 50% of the number on the roll exceeding 1000.

When the number on the verified roll exceeds 2000 but does not exceed 5000, personal interrogation will be conducted in respect of 1500 members plus 25% of the number exceeding 2000.

When the number on the roll exceeds 5000 then personal interrogation will be conducted in respect of 2250 members plus 10% of the number exceeding 5000.

Provided that the correct identity of the persons offering for interrogation will be established before they are allowed to enter the room in which the interrogation is conducted.

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8. In case the Board decides on the receipt of the report of the Verification officer to have voting by secret ballot, the voting shall be conducted by a Presiding officer, duly authorised by the Board in this behalf at some convenient place on a date, time and place communicated to the contesting unions and the management 15 days in advance of the date of voting. A copy of the verified roll will be furnished to the parties at least 15 days in advance of the date of voting. Ballot boxes used in the General Elections shall be utilised for casting votes. Before the voting starts, the ballot boxes shall be sealed according to the rules and procedure for the General Elections. The contesting unions shall be required to appoint two polling agents each and inform the Returning Officer of such appointment in writing before the poll starts. The duties of the polling agents shall be to challenge the bogus voters, if any, and to sign the paper seal kept inside the sealed box.

The polling agents shall also represent their unions at the time of counting of votes and shall be required to sign on behalf of the unions the paper on which the result of voting would be recorded by the Presiding Officer. The ballot papers would be printed in the same manner as adopted in the General Elections. The name of each contesting union in Hindi with a distinct symbol allotted to it would be printed on the ballot paper. Each worker whose name is en- tered in the voters list shall be required to mark X with a rubber stamp on the symbol of the union it wants to vote for or within the space allotted to the union on the ballot paper. Each union shall be informed of the symbol allotted to it 7 days before the date of polling. As soon as the polling is over, the ballot boxes would be opened in the presence of the polling agents of the contestant unions and the Presiding officer for the counting of votes and the result of the counting would be recorded on a sheet of paper which shall be signed by the Presiding officer and the polling agents of each contestant union. Provided that, in case it is not possible to start the counting soon after the completion of the poll, the Presiding officer may post- pone the counting to the following day after making himself sure of the proper custody and safety of the ballot boxes. If the polling agent of any contestant unions refuses to sign the result sheet, the Presiding officer shall make a note of it on the sheet and the union whose polling agent refuses to sign the result sheet shall be debarred to make any appeal to the Board.

9. The following categories of workers shall be considered for the purposes of verification, and shall also be entitled to vote in a secret ballot, provided they are members of any

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of the contestant unions and provided they have paid the union dues in full for the period ending 31st December imme- diately preceding the date of reckoning:

(a) Permanent employees including seasonal employees in seasonal factories, and

(b) All other categories of employees on the rolls of the Company who have completed not less than 1 year of continuous service as defined in Section 25B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Any casual, temporary or substitute employees, employed in the place of a discharged employee, while the dispute regarding his discharge is pending settlement or disposal according to the provisions of the law shall not be entitled to vote; but discharged, dismissed or retrenched employees, who continue to be workmen as defined in Section 2(S) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, shall be entitled to vote.

NOTE :-

(a) Apprentices, Trainees, Learners on the roll of the Company shall be excluded from voting.

(b) Workers engaged by contractors and not on the rolls of the Company shall also be excluded from voting.

10. If there is no recognised union in an establishment, the union polling the highest number of votes shall be declared as entitled to recognition. An existing recognised union shall, however, be dislodged from this status by another union only when the latter union gets 75% or more of the total votes polled.

Provided that a union shall not be entitled to part- icipate in verification and secret ballot nor shall it be entitled to recognition unless it or its central organisation has agreed in writing to abide by the Inter-Union Code of Conduct and Code of Discipline in Industry.

11. Any union not satisfied with the verification including personal interrogation, or voting by secret ballot, may appeal to the Board within 7 days from the conclusion of personal interrogation or voting, as the case may be. The decision of the Board on all matters concerning verification, voting by secret ballot and recognition shall be final.

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA Ministry of Labour Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner(C) Shram Shakti Bhawan Rafi Marg

New Delhi, dt- 2-11-72

CLC's Instruction No.16/72/Genl.

M_E_M_O_R_A_N_D_U_M

Subject: Verification of membership of unions for the purpose of recognition under the Code of Discipline Instructions regarding.

On receipt of a request either from the manage- ment or a union for the purpose of grant of recognition in an establishment under the Code of Discipline, the Department of Labour and Employment have to examine particulars of union(s) to consider their eligibility for recognition under the Code. For this, the field officers of the CIRM are required to collect preliminary date relating to fulfilment of certain conditions laid down under the Code, supplemented by various tripartite decisions, from time to time. Of late, it has been observed that either the aforesaid preliminary data is not properly collected, or it takes consi- derable time to collect the requisite information because the parties involved viz. Management, unions and the Registrar of Trade Unions in various States, take considerable time to supply the same. The field officers of the CIRM also in quite a large number of cases furnish this information in bits and pieces.

2. Quite a number of cases have also come to the notice of this office/the Ministry of Labour where verification of membership has either not been conducted in accordance with the prescribed procedure or departures have been made from the procedure by the verification machinery. With a view, there- fore, to streamlining the entire procedure connected with (a) collection of preliminary informa- tion and (b) the actual process of verification, the enclosed set of instructions, in supersession of all previous instructions, are issued for the guidance of the officers of the CIRM.

3. Part-I of the instructions deals with the detailed procedure of collection of preliminary information. Complete information relevant to the consideration of the claims for recognition should be collected and furnished to the Ministry by the RLCs within a period of 8 weeks at the most from the date of receipt of communication for

...2/-

---

• 2 -

the purpose from the Ministry.

4. Part-II of the instructions deals with the process of actual verification. The officers of the CIRM will initiate verification. The officers of the CIRM will initiate verification proceedings in an establishment on receipt of a communication from this office and shall in no case do so on their own. Assuming that everything goes normal viz. the verification work proceeds according to the procedure laid down under the Code, no unnecessary queries are raised etc. the verification officer should take about three months at the most to complete all the stages of actual verification.

5. These instructions, which issue with the approval of the Department of Labour and Employment should be strictly adhered to.

6. The receipt of this Memorandum may please be acknowledged.

(S.M. Dikhale) Dy. Chief Labour Commissioner(C)

To

All R.L.Cs.

Copy to : All A.L.Cs.

Copy forwarded to the Department of Labour & Employment with reference to their U.O. No. L-52025/ 46/71/I&E(E) dated 28-9-1972.

(File No. 32(43)/71-Vfn.

...

akt

2

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OFFICE OF THE CHIEF LABOUR COMMISSIONER(C) NEW DELHI

For official use only

RECOGNITION OF UNIONS UNDER THE CODE OF DISCIPLINE

Verification of membership of unions for the purpose of recogni- tion in accordance with Procedure laid down under the Code of Discipline Instructions regarding.

3

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA Ministry of Labour Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner(C) Shram Shakti Bhawan Rafi Marg

New Delhi, dt- [unclear in source]-11-72

CLC's Instruction No.16/72/Genl

M_E_M_O_R_A_N_D_U_M

Subject: Verification of membership of unions for the purpose of recognition under the Code of Discipline Instructions regarding.

On receipt of a request either from the management or a union for the purpose of grant of recognition in an establishment under the Code of Discipline, the Department of Labour and Employment have to examine particulars of union(s) to consider their eligibility for recognition under the Code. For this purpose, the field officers of the CIRM are required to collect preliminary data relating to fulfilment of certain conditions laid down under the Code, supplemented by various tripartite decisions, from time to time. Of late, it has been observed that either the aforesaid preliminary data is not properly collected, or it takes considerable time to collect the requisite information because the parties involved viz. Management, unions and the Registrar of Trade Unions in various States, take considerable time to supply the same. The field officers of the CIRM also in quite a large number of cases furnish this information in bits and pieces.

2. Quite a number of cases have also come to the notice of this office/the Ministry of Labour where verification of membership has either not been conducted in accordance with the prescribed procedure or departures have been made from the procedure by the verification machinery. With a view, therefore, to streamlining the entire procedure connected with (a) collection of preliminary information and (b) the actual process of verification, the enclosed set of instructions, in supersession of all previous instructions, are issued for the guidance of the officers of the CIRM.

3. Part-I of the instructions deals with the detailed procedure of collection of preliminary information. Complete information relevant to the consideration of the claims for recognition should be collected and furnished to the Ministry by the RLCs within a period of 8 weeks at the most from the date of receipt of communication for

...2/-

• 2 -

the purpose from the Ministry.

4. Part-II of the instructions deals with the process of actual verification. The officers of the CIRM will initiate verification proceedings in an establishment on receipt of a communication from this office and shall in no case do so on their own. Assuming that everything goes normal viz. the verification work proceeds according to the procedure laid down under the Code, the unions co-operate in producing their records, no unnecessary queries are raised etc. the verification officer should take about three months at the most to complete all the stages of actual verification.

5. These instructions, which issue with the approval of the Department of Labour and Employment, should be strictly adhered to.

6. The receipt of this Memorandum may please be acknowledged.

(S.M. Dikhalo) Dy. Chief Labour Commissioner(C)

To

All R.L.Cs.

Copy to: All A.L.Cs.

Copy forwarded to the Department of Labour & Employment with reference to their U.O. No. L-52025/46/71/IR(E) dated 28-9-1972.

(File No. 32(43)/71-Vfn.)

...

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VERIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP OF UNIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECOGNITION UNDER THE CODE OF DISCIPLINE

p a r t - 1

COLLECTION OF PRELIMINARY INFORMATION

Whenever any claim/request for recognition of union etc. is received in the Department of Labour and Employment the RLCs are required to collect preliminary details in respect of unions operating in establishments, falling in their respective jurisdiction, for the purpose of considering the eligibility of their claims for recognition. The information required to be collected is as under :-

1. Names of all unions, whether registered or unregistered, together with the names of Central Organisations of Workers, if any, to which they are affiliated (in case a union is affiliated to UTUC, it should be clearly specified whether the union belongs to UTUC with headquarters at 249 Bepin Behari Ganguli Street, Calcutta, or of 48, Lenin Sarani, Calcutta) as INTUC AITUC, HMS and UTUC (with headquarters at 249, Bepin Behari Ganguli Street, Calcutta and not the other faction of the UTUC) have accepted the Code of Discipline.

2. Number and names of unregistered unions, if any.

3. No. and date of registration under the Trade Unions Act of union(s) in the Undertaking.

4. Names of the President and General Secretary, together with their postal addresses.

5. Membership shown in the latest annual return filed with the Registrar under the Trade Unions Act.

(a) Date from which the Code of Discipline has been accepted in case any union is not affiliated to any of the four Central Workers' Organisations (Unions affiliated to UTUC, 48, Lenin Sarani should be treated as if they are not affiliated to any of the four Central Workers Organisation).

Contd. 2/-

• 2 -

(b) In case a union was earlier affiliated to AITUC but has since been dis-affiliated from it and joined the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the following details should also be furnished :-

i) When was it affiliated to CITU? ii) Has it accepted the Code formally independent of the CITU and if so from what date?

(c) Names of the unions, if any, affiliated to the Hind Mazdoor Panchayat, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh etc. which have accepted the Code of Discipline independent of their Central Organisations and the date of acceptance of the Code by them.

6. The names of recognised union(s), if any in the establishment, date from which the recognition was granted, under the Code of Discipline or otherwise.

7. The total number of workers employed in the establishment.

8. Copies of constitutions of all the unions functioning in the establishment.

9. Details of breaches of the Code of Discipline, if any, by the unions during the year preceding the date of collection of information, whether reported to the CIRM; if so, when, and the action taken thereon. The No. and date of communications under which the reports on the alleged breaches of the Code, if sent, should invariably be given.

10. Name of the Central Employers Organisation, the Employers' Federation of India, the All India Organisation of Employers, the All India Manufacturers Organisation to which the management is affiliated. if not affiliated to any of these organisations, whether it has accepted the Code of Discipline or not.

The above information should be collected in 2 months time from the date of the receipt of the communication from the Ministry of Labour and Empt. in Co-ordination with the following agencies :-

REGISTRAR OF TRADE UNIONS

3. Immediately on receipt of a communication

• 3 -

Department of Labour and Employment, the Regional Labour Commissioner concerned will issue a letter (as at Annexure-I) to the concerned Registrar of Trade Unions requesting him to furnish information in respect of items listed in the proforma to Annexure-I within a week. A copy of this letter will also be enclosed to the ALC whose headquarters may be located at or near the headquarters of the Registrar of Trade Unions concerned, to enable him to get into touch with the Registrar for getting the required information expedited.

MANAGEMENT

4. The Regional Labour Commissioner will also get in touch with concerned management to supply the following information within a week :-

i) Names of all the unions, whether Registered or Unregistered, functioning in the establishment. For this purpose the management may, inter alia, display on their notice Board a notice requesting all the unions in the estt. to furnish details of their Registration number and date of registration to the Regional Labour Commissioner concerned, under intimation to the management for purposes of conducting verification of membership to assess their representative character for purposes of recognition under the Code of Discipline.

ii) No. of workers employed in the estt.

iii) Name of the Central Employer Organisation to which the management is affiliated.

iv) Details of breaches of the Code by the union(s) functioning in the estt. during the period of one year preceding the date of obtaining information from the management.

5. The Regional Labour Commissioner would make one more attempt after an interval of one week or so, if there is no response to the first communication. All the communications to the management will be sent under Registered/A.D. covers.

UNIONS

6. Immediately after collection of particulars of unions from the Registrar of Trade Union and/or the management, the Regional Labour Commissioner will address the unions as in Annexure II for

Contd...4/-

• 4 -

supplying the following information within a week. The letters to the unions will be addressed by Registered Cover Acknowledgement due.

i) Two copies of their constitution, duly attested by the General Secretary or President of the Union.

ii) Registration number and date.

iii) Name of the Central Workers' Organisation to which the union(s) is/are affiliated. RLCs will ensure that documentary proof of the affiliation is available. In case a union is not affiliated to any of the four Central Workers' Organisations, the date of acceptance of the Code of Discipline should be ascertained. If possible a copy of the letter by which the Code of Discipline had formally been agreed upon or accepted may, also be obtained and furnished.

7. The union which fails to respond to the first notice will be given one more chance by Registered A.D. While giving second notice to the union, it should be made clear in the said communication that if requisite information was not given within the stipulated period which should be specified in the communication it will be presumed that the union is not interested in verification proceedings and no further attempt would be made to contact the concerned union.

8. The information collected by the Regional Labour Commissioner concerned will be scrutinised and among other things he will ensure that the constitution of the respective union(s) provide for enrolment of members in the establishment concerned yet if it is found functioning, this fact will be brought out in the report. After resolving other discrepancies, if any, a report will be sent to the CLC(C) in one lot and not piece meal as has been the practice in some cases, heretofore, within a fortnight. The total period to be taken by the Regional Labour Commissioner concerned will, therefore not exceed 8 weeks from the time the communication was first received by him from the Ministry, if not earlier. It will be the responsibility of the Regional Labour Commissioner to ensure that the time limit at every stage is strictly adhered to. Supplementary information relevant to the consideration of eligibility claims, if any, should be given on a separate sheet especially where information could not be obtained despite efforts made.

Contd...5/-

• 5 -

Regional Labour Commissioners should also send details of any other union/unions etc. which may come to their notice even after sending the preliminary information, so that their cases could also be considered by the Ministry/CLC while ordering verification. This should be done even in respect of newly formed unions, though prima facie they may not be eligible to participate in verification proceedings.

P A R T - I I

PROCESS OF ACTUAL VERIFICATION

Allocation of verification work

9. On receipt of advice from the Department of Labour and Employment (Evaluation Wing) for undertaking verification of membership of eligible unions for purposes of recognition under the Code of Discipline, CLC(C) will immediately issue instructions to the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) concerned, who will allot the work to an officer (normally an ALC) who has undertaken verification work in the past. Wherever a copy of such communication is endorsed to the ALC concerned, he will initiate the verification process without waiting for formal allocation of the work by the Regional Labour Commissioner (C).

Preliminary Step

10. The Verification Officer, to whom the work is allotted, will follow the procedure laid down for verification of membership of unions for purposes of recognition under the Code of Discipline supplemented by various Tripartite decisions from time to time (copies enclosed). While issuing the first notice to the eligible unions, he will simultaneously make enquiries from the management to ensure that no additional union functioning in the establishment (and also eligible) is left out of verification. In case any additional union is found to be functioning in the establishment, he will immediately report the fact to CLC's office under intimation to the Ministry and take steps to collect preliminary information, such as, registration number, Date of acceptance of the Code of Discipline (in case it is not affiliated to any of the four Central Trade Union Organisations) Names of its office-bearers, details of breaches committed by the union during the one year, a copy of the constitution of the union etc., in the manner explained in paragraphs 3 to 7 of the instructions contained in Part-I and furnish the same (in duplicate) to CLC's office at the earliest.

contd....6/-

• 6 -

On receipt of these particulars, CLC's Office, in consultation with the Department of Labour and Employment (Evaluation Wing), will examine the eligibility or otherwise of the union, and issue instructions to the Verification Officer concerned accordingly. Till the eligibility of the newly known union has been decided, verification work if already undertaken will remain suspended.

Production of records - 1st Notice

11. (i) Mode of addressing

(a) The Verification Officer will issue a notice to all the eligible unions (as in Annexure-III) by registered post acknowledgement due, wherever the letter cannot be delivered by hand delivery, for production of a list of such of their members (in triplicate) as have paid subscription in accordance with the provisions of para 3 of the procedure (copy enclosed) along with necessary records detailed therein. The notice by registered post will be issued by designation to the General Secretary of the union concerned. Copies of this letter may also be sent to the General Secretary and President of the union(s) by name at their residential addresses, if available, and possible.

(b) The Verification Officer should incorporate in para 1(i) of the notice in Annexure-I the date of reckoning, being the 1st of the month in which he writes to the union for the first time for production of records. The date of reckoning will remain unchanged for subsequent notices.

(ii) Fixation of date and time for Verification:

The Verification Officer will fix the date for production of the list of members and other records in such a manner that the unions will have a clear period of 10 days, (excluding the time ordinarily required for delivery of registered letters) Unions having a membership exceeding 10,000 as ascertained from the Registrar's records) will be given additional time as indicated in para 3 of the procedure. The date will also be fixed in such a manner that the Verification Officer is in a position to complete examination of lists and records of all the unions during one visit. For instance, if one union is given the date 15th morning the other union will be called later in the afternoon, if possible or on the following day. However, each of the unions will be given different timings so that there may be no possibility of inter-union arguments or clashes before the Verification Officer.

....7/-

• 7 -

(iii) Mode of Delivery of notices:

Wherever possible, efforts will be made to get the notices served on the unions by hand and to obtain acknowledgement thereof. Care will have to be taken in such cases that the notices are delivered to the right person so that no complications arise subsequently. Where it is not possible to deliver letters by hand the notices addressed to the General Secretary of the union will invariably be sent under Registered post acknowledgement due. Wherever acknowledgement due is not received back, the Verification Officer should get in touch with the postal authorities and ascertain that the registered letter was delivered to the union before the date fixed for the production of records. In case the letter is found to have reached the union after the date fixed for verification the Verification Officer will issue a fresh notice to the union giving it atleast 10 days clear notice (this notice being treated as the first notice).

(iv) Place of inspection of records:

The Verification officer will ordinarily ask the union for the production of records before him at suitable place, normally in the city/town in which the office of the union is located. However, in case of unions having very large membership where production of records will entail transport difficulties, the Verification Officer will conduct this inspection in the Union's office instead of calling for production of records at any other place, on receipt of a specific request from the union for the purpose.

Second Notice

12. When a union fails to produce list of members and other records, the second and final notice (as in Annexure IV) will be given in similar manner as in the case of first notice. Where, however, in-response to the first notice, the union requests for the postponement of the verification work, or raised some preliminary objections, a copy of the union's letter should immediately be sent to this office indicating the action, if any, taken by the Verification Officer thereon and/or the comments/recommendations of the Verification Officer.

In case the Verification Officer seeks advice of CLC's office or of the Ministry on any issue raised by a union in reply to the first notice the 2nd notice to the concerned union would be issued only after the clarification has been

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received by the Verification Officer. The same drill will be followed for giving the 2nd notice as in the case of the first notice for the purpose.

3rd or Special Chance

13. When a union fails to produce records inspite of two chances, no further attempt is normally to be made to verify its membership. In case, however, a union expresses its inability to produce the relevant records due to some unavoidable and reasonable circumstances beyond its control, the Verification Officer will forward such requests to this office indicating (a) Dates of issue of the first notice/2nd notice (b) Dates of receipt of the notices by the union & (c) Dates fixed for production of records together with the recommendation of the Verification Officer for giving (or otherwise) any special chance to the union while recommending or otherwise for a third chance the Verification Officer will give detailed reasons as to why this chance should be given and if not, why not. On receipt of such recommendations from the Verification Officer, this office will issue necessary advice in the matter to the Verification Officer. The Verification Officer, in no circumstances, will give third chance to the concerned union on his own.

Checking of Records

14. When in response to the notice issued by the Verification Officer, the union produces the list of members and other records, the Verification Officer will check the list of members keeping in view the following instructions :-

(a) While ascertaining the membership, the Verification Officer will take into account the membership of only those persons who have paid at least 3 months subscription during the period of 6 months immediately preceding the date of reckoning. These 3 months/need not necessarily be three consecutive months.

(b) For the purpose of giving credit of membership to a union, it is clarified that the membership of the following will be taken into account :-

(i) Those members who have paid annual subscription before the period of six months, prior to the date of reckoning.

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ii) Annual subscription paid by a member for next year in advance.

iii) Annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly subscription paid by a member before the date of reckoning.

(c) Subscription paid by any member after the date of reckoning, for the period of six months prior to the date of reckoning, will not be taken into account for determining the valid membership.

(d) As laid down in para 5 of the verification procedure, the checking of the names with receipt counterfoils will be 100% in the presence of the office bearers of the union concerned but not in the presence of the office bearers or representatives of the rival union(s). The membership shown in the list will be taken into account only if it is duly supported by entries in the membership register as well as in receipt counterfoils. The entries in the bank book and Cash Book should be checked and it should be ascertained whether they tally with the amount of subscription shown as collected from the members. Any discrepancy noticed in this connection should be carefully examined.

(e) After the scrutiny of records and counterfoils is completed, the Verification Officer will score out the names of such persons as had not paid subscription for 3 months in a period of 6 months before the date of reckoning. (exception the case of situations mentioned in para 14(b) above) with blue pencil and initial thereon in token of having scored the entry.

(f) Before any elimination is made from the list, the Verification officer will give an opportunity to the union office-bearers to give full and valid reasons in support of the elimination of such members.

(g) The Verification Officer will carefully check the affiliation papers i.e. affiliation certificate receipts on account of affiliation fee paid to the Central Organisations to which the union is affiliated etc. of the union(s) in order to ascertain correct affiliation. If as a result of check the affiliation of the union is not found correct or differs with that shown in preliminary information, this fact would be brought out very clearly in the report.

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Muster roll Checking

15. After completing the work of examination of union's records, the Verification Officer will visit the establishment of the management, with prior appointment, and tally all the names in the list with the muster rolls of the management. All such, names which do not born on the rolls of the management on the date of reckoning will be scored out with red pencil and initialled in token of having scored the entry. In this connection, it may be clarified that muster roll checking is essential even in cases where only one union is in the field, or one union participates in the verification proceedings.

Invitation of Objections

16. Immediately on completion of the work of muster roll checking of all the unions, the Verification Officer will give an opportunity to the various unions which had participated in verification proceedings and produced records to examine and raise objections, if any, in respect of the muster roll checking and the membership physically verified after muster roll checking only of their rivals (as in Annexure V). For this purpose, the Verification Officer will intimate in writing under Registered A.D. cover, to each of the unions, the time and place fixed for scrutinising the membership lists of its rival unions. In this very intimation, it will be made clear to the unions that after scrutiny they have to raise objections against the inclusion of any of the names in the list of members of their rival unions, they will do so in writing within 10 days (more time to be allowed to the unions having large membership as stated in para 6 of the procedure for verification of unions under the Code of Discipline) from the date allotted for scrutiny of the lists. It will also be made clear that only specific and not vague objections made in the prescribed proforma (separate for each union) giving invariably the S.No. and name of the member objected in the claimed list together with exact nature of objection thereon, would be taken into consideration. General and vague objections like inflated membership, etc. will not be entertained.

17. When in response to the notice issued by the Verification Officer, only one union produces records and the other union/unions fail to produce records inspite of two/special chances given to them, the verification officer will examine the records of the union producing the list of members and ascertained its membership without inviting objections from its rival unions and without resorting to any personal interrogation of any member.

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18. The Verification Officer will particularly note that the union representatives are allowed to take notes only from the physically verified list of their rivals in his presence and they are not allowed to take away the lists nor they be furnished any copy of the list of members of their rivals.

Systematic Sampling

19. On receipt of the list of objected members from each of the unions, the Verification Officer will select samples at equally spaced intervals for personal interrogation of an appropriate percentage of workers in accordance with para 7 of the procedure. A separate sample will be drawn from the objections raised by each union and the percentage will be applied separately in the case of each objections list. In case of establishments where more than two unions participate in the verification proceedings, obviously two or more objection lists may be submitted against one union and same objected names may find place in more than one list. In such cases the Verification Officer will, in the first instance, draw a list of common objections taking the objected names once and then draw samples on the percentage basis e.g. In an establishment 3 unions viz. A, B, and C are functioning and all the three participate in the verification proceedings. The unions A&B submit a list of objections say 130 and 190 members of the 'C' union respectively. If the scrutiny of the objections lists reveals that name of 50 workers from one of the 'C' union find places in the lists of both A&B unions, the verification officer will, in such a case, delete the names of 50 workers from one of the lists and then the total number of objected members of 'C' union will remain 130+190-50 = 270. In such cases cent per cent spot verification may be conducted so as to obtain better results.

20. It may be clarified with regard to para 7(1) of the Procedure for verification of membership of unions under the Code of Discipline, that where the objection list of a union contains less than 100 objections, all the members objected are required to be interrogated.

Personal Interrogations

21. The Verification Officer will then immediately fix a date for personal interrogation of workers and keep the management informed of the proposed visit and will request the management in writing to extend all possible help. He will also request the management to make available to him a separate room for purposes of interrogation as it is not to be done in the presence of representatives of either of the management or the unions.

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22. As it is important that the entire work of interrogation should be finalised in a day or so, the Regional Labour Commissioners will depute adequate number of officers and staff for completion of this work, specially where the number of persons to be interrogated is substantially large.

23. The lists of workers to be interrogated will not be handed over to the representatives of the management or the unions. On reaching the establishment the Verification Officer will intimate to the representatives of the management the names of persons to be interrogated in bunches of 20 or 30 for calling the objected members for interview.

24. If any of the persons called for interview is reported to be on leave or absence etc. the Verification Officer will check the fact from the attendance register. In case it is found that the worker concerned is not present, another person next in the objection list shall be called for interrogation in his place. However, if substantial number of persons to be interrogated are present on that day, first the set of workers present may be interrogated and then another list prepared on the same system of systematic sampling in respect of the remaining objected workers for purpose of selecting persons to be called in place of those who were not present. Continuing the illustration given in para 19, if the Verification Officer finds that 20 persons out of the list of 100 are not available he will draw 20 fresh samples by selecting every 15th name from the remaining 200 objects persons.

25. If any person called for interrogation though present fails to turn up, the Verification Officer will send a second message through the union. If he is required to be present for interrogation, that he is important that the Verification Officer reaches the man to be called for interrogation and while compiling a list of persons interrogated, it will be distinctly stated against the name of each persons that they did not turn up in-spite of two intimations. Those who are present in the establishment on the day of verification but fail to turn up for interrogation after being called twice will be taken to have denied being member of the union and no action will be taken by the Verification Officer to call another person in his place. Credit of membership of such workers will not be given to any of the unions.

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26. The result of personal examination will be entered against each name as given in the list along with full details. Where a member has been objected to by two or more rival unions elimination on account of denial will be taken only once into account.

27. Before finalising the results, the Verification Officer will ensure that the persons who, on interrogation, deny being members of the union claiming them but inform that they are members of a rival union, in case their names do not already appear in the list of the rival union, and would be excluded from the list of the claimant-union in accordance with para 8 of the procedure.

Submission of Reports

28. The verification officer to whom the work is allotted will submit periodically a fortnightly progress report (as in Annexure-VI) to the concerned Regional Labour Commissioner and endorse a copy there of to this office quoting their file numbers. The Regional Labour Commissioner will keep a watch over the progress of the verification work and will instruct the verification officer accordingly wherever any delay is observed by him. A consolidated list of all such cases will be submitted to this office for onward transmission to the Ministry.

Furnishing of Reports

29. The Verification Officer will communicate the results of verification to the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) concerned with the endorsement to the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), in the enclosed proforma (Annexure VII) or VIII as the case may be, with the following enclosures :-

(i) A copy of the claimed list submitted by the union indicating therein elimination made on account of examination of union's records/muster roll checking.

(ii) A copy each of the lists of objections raised by the rival unions indicating therein distinctly the members selected for personal interrogation.

(iii) The list of workers examined at the work spot together with the result of interrogation.

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The verification report should invariably be forwarded with a detailed narrative note elucidating therein the various process of verification undertaken by the Verification Officer and the disposal of various proceedings raised during the process in chronological order. In the report the dates of issue of notices (Annexure III, IV & V) and their receipts will be furnished

30. The Verification Officer will keep the results of verification strictly confidential.

Sd/- S.M. Dikhale Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner(C)

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ANNEXURE-II

BALLOT PAPER

Signature of the (Presiding Officer) Date

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ANNEXURE-III

Election Result in respect of ____________________ (Establishment/Industry).

Part I

Signature of the Presiding Officer

(The above account is to be given by each Presiding Officer separately and the overall account will be consolidated by the Returning Officer by representative separately).

Part-II

Result of initial counting of individual union

1. Total No. of ballot papers found in the ballot box(es) received at each polling station.
2. Total No. of invalid votes polled.
3. Total No. of valid votes, after deducting invalid votes polled.
4. Break-up of valid votes, union-wise.

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Part - III

Name of union found in majority ____________

Counting of votes done in the presence of

Signature of Returning Officer Date ____________

Signature & name of the Representative of the union.

1. ---

2. ---

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Part IV

Objections, if any, raised by any union at the time of election.

Signature of Returning Officer

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MOST IMMEDIATE

No. L-52025/5/2011-IR(IMP-I) Government of India/ Bharat Sarkar M/o Labour & Employment/ Shram Aur Rozgar Mantralaya Shram Shakti Bhawan, Rafi Marg,

New Delhi, the 08th April, 2011.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Verification of membership of Trade Unions for the purpose of 'recognition' under the Code of Discipline in Industry.

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The right to collective bargaining by the workers is an important right and in Establishments where there are more than one Trade Union, it is essential to have an effective, fair and simple method to determine the strength of the membership of the Trade Unions so that it can be designated as the 'recognized' Union to represent the majority of the workers and can act as a bargaining agent to protect the rights of the workers.

2. At present, verification of membership of Trade Unions for the purpose of 'recognition' continues to be done under the Code of Discipline which was adopted at the 15th session of Indian Labor Conference held in May, 1958. The Code of Discipline is a set of Guidelines mutually and voluntarily accepted by all Parties to maintain discipline in Industry, both in Public and Private sectors. Clause III (vii) of the Code of Discipline states that the Management agrees to recognize the Union in accordance with the criteria evolved in the Code of Discipline. Though the Code of Discipline does not provide for verification through secret ballot, over a period of time, verification through 'Secret Ballot' has evolved to become an important method of verification. The Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) had formulated detailed Guidelines on conducting such verification, which were circulated in 1980 as Executive Instructions.

3. Many cases have been reported to this Ministry where the verification process have been held up due to lack of consent of all the parties for the same or when the existing 'recognized' Union has opposed the Secret Ballot method as a method for verification of the strength of Unions. This matter was discussed in a meeting chaired by the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment with the representatives of all the Central Trade Union organizations on 29th March, 2011 at New Delhi.

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4. Based on the general consensus of the representatives of the CTUOs who attended this Meeting, the following guidelines have been prescribed and communicated to all concerned for strict compliance:

(i) For Verification of membership of Trade Unions in any establishment, the existing method adopted (Check Off or Secret Ballot system) would be permitted to be continued and the existing 'recognized' Union would not have any veto power to stop that method.

(ii) In case however, there is a demand for change in the method of verification (i.e; from Check off to Secret Ballot system and vice versa), this can be adopted only if consent of all the parties is available.

(iii) Consultations should continue so that a wider consensus is achieved through the ILC forum. Amendments in the Code of Discipline will also be deliberated upon and decided in that Forum.

5. Henceforth, verification of the strength of the membership of Trade Unions for the purpose of giving them 'recognition' by the Management in the Central sphere, including all pending cases, may be processed as per the above guidelines. CLC(C) may kindly advise the field officers, accordingly.

(Babu Cherian) Deputy Secretary to the Government of India Telefax: 23753079 E-mail: cherian.babu@nic.in

Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) (Kind Attn: Shri. N.K. Prasad) Ministry of Labour & Employment Shram Shakti Bhavan, New Delhi.

Copy for information and necessary action to:

1. General Secretaries of all the CTUOs.
2. All the Administrative Ministries dealing with Central Public Sector Undertakings/Bodies.

Copy for kind information to:

PS to LEM, Sr. PPS to Secretary (L&E), PS to AS (L&E).

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