Mechanism for Resolution of Industrial Disputes

The appropriate Government may, by notification, appoint such number of persons, as it thinks fit to be conciliation officers, charged with the duty of mediating in and promoting the settlement of industrial disputes.

A conciliation officer may be appointed for a specified area or for specified industries in a specified area or for one or more specified industries and either permanently or for a limited period.

The appropriate Government may, by notification, constitute one or more Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes and for performing such other functions as may be assigned to them under this Code and the Tribunal so constituted by the Central Government shall also exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Tribunal, as defined in clause (m) of section 2 of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 by or under that Act.

Every Industrial Tribunal shall consist of two members to be appointed by the appropriate Government out of whom one shall be a Judicial Member and the other, an Administrative Member.

A bench of the Tribunal shall consist of a Judicial Member and an Administrative Member or single Judicial Member or single Administrative Member.

The qualifications for appointment, method of recruitment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and the other terms of conditions of service of the Judicial Member and the Administrative Member of the Tribunal constituted by the Central Government shall be in accordance with the rules made under section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017:

The term of office of the Judicial Member and the Administrative Member of a Tribunal constituted by the State Government under sub-section (1), their salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and other terms and conditions of service shall be such as may be prescribed by the State Government.

The salary and allowances and the terms and conditions of service of the Judicial Member or Administrative Member referred to in sub-section (2) and appointed by a State Government shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

The procedure of the Tribunal (including distribution of cases in the benches of the Tribunal) shall be such as may be prescribed, provided a bench consisting of a Judicial Member and an Administrative Member shall entertain and decide the cases only relating to—

The Judicial Member shall preside over the Tribunal where the bench of the Tribunal consists of one Judicial Member and one Administrative Member.

If, for any reason, a vacancy (other than a temporary absence) occurs in a National Industrial Tribunal or a Tribunal, then, such vacancy shall be filled up in such manner as may be prescribed, without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (4) or sub-section (5), as the case may be, and the proceeding shall be continued before such National Industrial Tribunal or Tribunal, as the case may be, from the stage at which the vacancy is filled.

The appropriate Government may provide such number of officers and other staff as it thinks fit in consultation with the Judicial Member of the Tribunal which may be required for the due discharge of the functioning of the Tribunal.

The Central Government may, by notification, constitute one or more National Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involve questions of national importance or are of such a nature that industrial establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be interested in, or affected by, such disputes.

A National Industrial Tribunal shall consist of two members to be appointed by the Central Government out of whom one shall be a Judicial Member and the other, an Administrative Member.

A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Judicial Member of a National Industrial Tribunal unless he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court.

A person shall not be qualified for appointment as Administrative Member of a National Industrial Tribunal unless, he is or has been Secretary to the Government of India or holding an equivalent rank in the Central Government or State Government, having adequate experience of handling the labour related matters.

The Judicial Member shall preside over a National Industrial Tribunal.

The procedure of selection of Judicial Member and Administrative Member of the National Industrial Tribunal, their salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service shall be such as may be prescribed.

The Central Government may provide such number of officers and other staff as it thinks fit in consultation with the Judicial Member of the National Industrial Tribunal which may be required for the due discharge of the functioning of the National Industrial Tribunal.

The decision of a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, shall be by consensus of the members.

If the members of a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal differ in opinion on any point, they shall state the point or points on which they differ, and make a reference to the appropriate Government.

The appropriate Government shall, on receipt of a reference made under sub-section (2), appoint a Judicial Member of other Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal, who shall hear the point or points himself and such point or points shall be decided according to the majority of the members of a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, who have first heard the case, including the Judicial Member of the other Tribunal who heard the case thereafter.

he is not an independent person; or

he has attained the age of sixty-five years.

Subject to the provisions of this Code and the rules that may be made in this behalf, an arbitrator, conciliation officer, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal shall follow such procedure as the arbitrator, conciliation officer, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal may deem fit.

A conciliation officer or an officer authorised in this behalf by the Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal may, for the purpose of inquiry into any existing or apprehended industrial dispute, after giving reasonable notice, enter the premises occupied by any establishment to which the dispute relates.

The conciliation officer, Tribunal and National Industrial Tribunal shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure,1908, when trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely: —

A conciliation officer may enforce the attendance of any person for the purpose of examination of such person or call for and inspect any document which he has ground for considering to be relevant to the industrial dispute or to be necessary for the purpose of verifying the implementation of any award or carrying out any other duty imposed on him under this Code, and for the aforesaid purposes, the conciliation officer shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him or of compelling the production of documents.

The appropriate Government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint one or more persons having special knowledge of the matter under consideration as assessors or experts to advise a Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, in respect of any proceeding before either of the said Tribunals.

All conciliation officers and the members of a Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

Subject to any rules made under this Code, the costs of, and incidental to, any proceeding before a Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal shall be in the discretion of that Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal and the Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, shall have full powers to determine by and to whom and to what extent and subject to what conditions, if any, such costs are to be paid, and to give all necessary directions for the purposes aforesaid and such costs may, on application made to the appropriate Government by the person entitled, be recovered by that Government in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue.

Every Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal shall be deemed to be civil court for the purposes of sections 345, 346, and 348 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Every award made, order issued or settlement arrived at by or before a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal shall be executed in accordance with the procedure laid down for execution of orders and decree of a civil court under Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and for that purpose such Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal shall be deemed to be a civil court.

Where the application under sub-section (6) of section 53 relating to an industrial dispute involving discharge or dismissal or otherwise termination of a worker has been made to a Tribunal or has been referred to a National Industrial Tribunal for adjudication, and, in the course of adjudication proceedings, the Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, is satisfied that the order of discharge or dismissal or otherwise termination was not justified, it may, by its award, set aside the order of discharge or dismissal or termination and direct reinstatement of the worker on such terms and conditions, if any, as it thinks fit, or give such other relief to the worker including the award of any lesser punishment in lieu of discharge or dismissal or otherwise termination, as the circumstances of the case may require.

A Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, may, in the interest of justice, grant such interim relief to the worker referred to in sub-section (1) during the pendency of the industrial dispute as the circumstances of the case may require:

On and from the date of commencement of this Code, the cases pending immediately before such commencement—

The cases transferred under sub-section (1) to the Tribunal or the National Industrial Tribunal shall be dealt with de novo or from the stage at which they were pending before such transfer, as it may deem fit.

Where any industrial dispute exists or is apprehended or a notice under section 62 has been given, the conciliation officer shall, hold conciliation proceedings in such manner as may be prescribed:

The conciliation officer shall, for the purpose of bringing about a settlement of the dispute, without delay, investigate the dispute and all matters affecting the merits and right settlement thereof and may do all such things as he thinks fit for the purpose of inducing the parties to come to a fair and amicable settlement of the dispute.

If a settlement of the dispute or of any of the matters in dispute is arrived at in the course of the conciliation proceedings, the conciliation officer shall send a report thereof to the appropriate Government or an officer authorised in this behalf by the appropriate Government together with a memorandum of the settlement signed by the parties to the dispute.

If no such settlement is arrived at, the conciliation officer shall, as soon as practicable, after the close of the investigation, send to the concerned parties and to the appropriate Government a full report, in the electronic or other form as may be prescribed, setting forth the steps taken by him for ascertaining the facts and circumstances relating to the dispute and for bringing about a settlement thereof, together with a full statement of such facts and circumstances, and the reasons on account of which, in his opinion, a settlement could not be arrived at.

Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4), the conciliation officer shall send the report to the concerned parties and the appropriate Government within forty-five days of the commencement of the conciliation proceedings or within such shorter period as may be fixed by the appropriate Government:

Any concerned party may make application in the prescribed form to the Tribunal in the matters not settled by the conciliation officer under this section within ninety days from the date on which the report under sub-section (4) is received to the concerned party and the Tribunal shall decide such application in the prescribed manner.

The Central Government may refer an industrial dispute to a National Industrial Tribunal which in the opinion of such Government involves question of national importance or is of such a nature that industrial establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be interested in, or affected by such industrial dispute.

Where an industrial dispute has been referred under sub-section (1) or transferred under section 92 by the Central Government to a National Industrial Tribunal for adjudication, it shall hold its proceedings expeditiously and shall, within the period specified in the order referring or transferring such industrial dispute or further period extended by the Central Government, submit its award to that Government.

The award of —

Every arbitration award and every award of Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal shall be communicated to the parties concerned and the appropriate Government.

An award made under this Code shall become enforceable on the expiry of thirty days from the date of its communication under sub-section (2):

Where any declaration has been made in relation to an award under the proviso to sub-section (3), the appropriate Government or the Central Government, as the case may be, may, within ninety days from the date of communication of the award under sub-section (2), make an order rejecting or modifying the award, and shall, on the first available opportunity, lay the award together with a copy of the order before the Legislature of the State, if the order has been made by a State Government, or before Parliament, if the order has been made by the Central Government.

Where any award as rejected or modified by an order made under sub-section (4) is laid before the Legislature of a State or before Parliament, such award shall become enforceable on the expiry of fifteen days from the date on which it is so laid; and where no order under sub-section (4) is made in pursuance of a declaration under the proviso to sub-section (3), the award shall become enforceable on the expiry of the period of ninety days referred to in sub-section (4).

Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) and sub-section (5) regarding the enforceability of an award, the award shall come into operation with effect from such date as may be specified therein, but where no date is so specified, it shall come into operation on the date when the award becomes enforceable under sub-section (3) or sub-section (5), as the case may be.

A settlement arrived at by agreement between the employer and worker otherwise than in the course of conciliation proceeding shall be binding on the parties to the agreement.

Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), an arbitration award which has become enforceable shall be binding on the parties to the agreement who referred the dispute to arbitration.

A settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings under this Code or an arbitration or an award of a Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal which has become enforceable shall be binding on—

A settlement shall come into operation on such date as is agreed upon by the parties to the dispute, and if no date is agreed upon, on the date on which the memorandum of the settlement is signed by the parties to the dispute.

Such settlement shall be binding for such period as is agreed upon by the parties, and if no such period is agreed upon, for a period of six months from the date on which the memorandum of settlement is signed by the parties to the dispute, and shall continue to be binding on the parties after the expiry of the period aforesaid, until the expiry of sixty days from the date on which a notice in writing of an intention to terminate the settlement is given by one of the parties to the other party or parties to the settlement.

An award shall, subject to the provisions of this section, remain in operation for a period of one year from the date on which the award becomes enforceable under section 55:

Where the appropriate Government, whether of its own motion or on the application of any party bound by the award, considers that since the award was made, there has been a material change in the circumstances on which it was based, the appropriate Government may refer the award or part of it to the Tribunal, if the award is made by the Tribunal for decision whether the period of operation should not, by reason of such change, be shortened and the decision of the Tribunal on such reference shall be final.

Nothing contained in sub-section (3) shall apply to any award which by its nature, terms or other circumstances does not impose, after it has been given effect to, any continuing obligation on the parties bound by the award.

Notwithstanding the expiry of the period of operation under sub-section (3), the award shall continue to be binding on the parties until a period of sixty days has elapsed from the date on which notice is given by any party bound by the award to the other party or parties intimating its intention to terminate the award.

No notice given under sub-section (2) or sub-section (6) shall have effect, unless it is given by a party representing the majority of persons bound by the settlement or award, as the case may be.

Where any money is due to a worker from an employer under a settlement or an award or under the provisions of Chapter IX or Chapter X, the worker himself or any other person authorised by him in writing in this behalf, or, in the case of the death of the worker, his assignee or heirs may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, make an application to the appropriate Government for the recovery of the money due to him, and if the appropriate Government is satisfied that any money is so due, it shall issue a certificate for that amount to the Collector who shall proceed to recover the same in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue:

Where any worker is entitled to receive from the employer any money or any benefit which is capable of being computed in terms of money and if any question arises as to the amount of money due or as to the amount at which such benefit should be computed, then the question may, subject to any rules that may be made under this Code, be decided by such Tribunal as may be specified in this behalf by the appropriate Government within a period not exceeding three months:

For the purposes of computing the money value of a benefit referred to in sub-section (2), the Tribunal may, if it so thinks fit, appoint a Commissioner who shall, after taking such evidence as may be necessary, submit a report to the Tribunal and the Tribunal shall determine the amount after considering the report of the Commissioner and other circumstances of the case.

The decision of the Tribunal shall be forwarded by it to the appropriate Government and any amount found due by the Tribunal may be recovered in the manner provided for in sub-section (1).

Where workers employed under the same employer are entitled to receive from him any money or any benefit capable of being computed in terms of money, then, subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf, a single application for the recovery of the amount due may be made on behalf of or in respect of any number of such workers.

A conciliation proceeding shall be deemed to have commenced on the date on which the first meeting is held by the conciliation officer in an industrial dispute after the receipt of the notice of strike or lock-out by the conciliation officer.

A conciliation proceeding shall be deemed to have concluded—

Proceedings before an arbitrator or a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal under this Code shall be deemed to have commenced on the date of filing application or appeal or on the date of reference of the dispute for arbitration or adjudication, as the case may be, and such proceedings shall be deemed to have concluded on the date on which the award becomes enforceable.