It is going to be tougher to form trade unions and sustain them. According to the Industrial Relations Code drafted by the labour ministry, only if at least 10% of the employees  in an organisation or 100 of them come together, a trade union can be formed. Currently, seven employees can register a union irrespective of the size of the establishment.

Also, the ministry has mooted that a union’s registration could be cancelled on a number of new grounds, such as its failure to maintain annual returns, submit them to the authorities and hold regular elections.

FE had earlier reported that professionals (persons not employed in the respective organisation) won’t be allowed to be members of trade unions in the organised sector.

The proposed code is also likely to propose empowering of one trade union in a factory to be the sole bargaining agent to resolve any dispute with the employer. CITU’s general-secretary Tapan Sen dubs the proposed move as a step that would undermine trade unionism in the country. Currently, multiple trade unions exist in most organised sector units, each enjoying the right to negotiate with the management exclusively or collectively.

According to the proposed code, which would supersede three existing Acts, the registration certificate of a trade union would be cancelled or withdrawn if it had obtained the the registration by misrepresentation or fraud or mistake. The certificate could also be canceled if the annual return submitted by the union is false or defective and the defect is not rectified within a specified period.

“Certificate of registration of a trade union may be withdrawn or canceled by the registrar if the trade union has willfully after the notice from the registrar contravened any provision of the code or rules made thereunder or has contravened its constitution and rules,” the draft code said.

Of course, a chance would be given to the aggrieved person to appeal against the cancellation of the registration to the industrial tribunal whose decision would be final. It might ask the registrar to register the trade union or set aside the order of the cancellation certificate.

Registration certificate of a trade union could also be canceled in case a tribunal has made an order in this regard. However, the registrar would communicate the reason to the concerned trade union while canceling the certificate.

The draft code also specifies the use of general funds of a registered trade union. It could not be spent on “any objects” other than the payment of salaries, allowances and expenses to office bearers of the trade union and to bear the administrative expenses, but could be spent on the prosecution or defence of any legal proceeding to which the trade union or a member is a party.

It also prohibits a person of becoming an office-bearer of a trade union if he is already a office-bearer of 10 trade unions. The draft code also proposing to disallow “outsiders” to be trade union office-bearers in organized sector establishments. However, in unorganised sector, outsiders can continue to be office-bearers subject to a cap of two persons per registered union.

New norms
* According to the Industrial Relations Code drafted by the labour ministry, only if at least 10% of the employees in an organisation or 100 of them come together, a trade union can be formed
* Currently, seven employees can register a union irrespective of the size of the establishment
* Ministry has mooted that a union’s registration could be cancelled on a number of new grounds, such as its failure to maintain annual returns, submit them to the authorities and hold regular elections