Features of Trade Unions Act

 

The Trade Unions Act of 1926 has been amended from time to time and the most important being the Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, of 2001. This Act has been enacted in order to bring more transparency and to provide greater support to trade unionism in India. Some of the salient features of the Trade Unions (Amendment) Act, of 2001 are:-

No trade union of workmen shall be registered unless at least 10% or 100, whichever is less, subject to a minimum of 7 workmen engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which it is connected are the members of such trade union on the date of making of an application for registration.

A registered trade union of workmen shall at all times continue to have not less than 10% or 100 of the workmen, whichever is less, subject to a minimum of 7 persons engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which it is connected, as its members.

A provision for filing an appeal before the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court in case of non-registration or for restoration of registration has been provided.

All office bearers of a registered trade union, except not more than one-third of the total number of office bearers or five, whichever is less, shall be persons actually engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which the trade union is connected. 

Minimum rate of subscription by members of the trade union is fixed at one rupee per annum for rural workers, three rupees per annum for workers in other unorganized sectors and 12 rupees per annum in all other cases.

The employees who have been retired or have been retrenched shall not be construed as outsiders for the purpose of holding an office in the trade union concerned.

For the promotion of the civic and political interests of its members, unions are authorized to set up separate political funds.

Hence, trade union legislation ensures their orderly growth, reduces their multiplicity and promotes internal democracy in the industrial organization and the economy. The trade unions have thus acquired an important place in the economic, political and social set-up of the country.

Scope and Coverage

The expression “Trade Union” under the Act includes both employers' and workers' organizations Employers' organizations also can be registered as trade unions. The intention is to place both on par in matters of rights and responsibilities. It is primarily the objective of an association or combination which determines whether it is a trade union or not.

The federation of two or more trade unions mentioned in the definition can be seen in shape of Industrial Federations of Trade Unions.

Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1948 is. The most important state enactment. The relevant features of the Act are (a) compulsory recognition of the union by employers, (b) giving the right to workers to get their case represented either through a representative union or where there is no representative union in industry/centre/unit through the elected representative of workers or through Government labour officer. 

There is no provision in the Trade Unions Act, 1926 about sorting out inter or intra trade union disputes. In such eventuality, the intra-trade aggrieved party has to take recourse e to common law of the land and redressal through courts.

This Act extends to the whole of India. Under the Act, the term “Trade Union” is defined as any combination whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workmen and employers, or between workmen and workmen, or between employer and employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more trade unions. In other words, a trade union is a combination or association of not only workmen but also employers. The Act, therefore, applies not only to the unions of workers but also to the associations of employers. (Sec. 2H)

Appointment of Registrars

Under Section 3, the appropriate Government shall appoint a person to be the Registrar of Trade Unions for each State. The appropriate Government may appoint as many Additional and Deputy Registrars of Trade Unions as it thinks fit. The appropriate Government may appoint as many Additional and Deputy Registrars of Trade Unions as it thinks fit for the purpose of exercising and discharging, under the superintendence and direction of the Registrar, such powers and functions of the Registrar under this Act as it may, by order, specify and define the local limits within which any such Additional or Deputy Registrar shall exercise and discharge the powers and functions so specified.

Subject to the provisions of any order under sub-section (2), where an Additional or Deputy Registrar exercises and discharges the powers and functions of a Registrar in an area within which the registered office of a Trade Union is situated, the Additional or Deputy Registrar shall be deemed to be the Registrar in relation to the Trade Union for the purposes of this Act.