"employer" means a person who employs, whether directly or through any person, or on his behalf or on behalf of any person, one or more employee or worker in his establishment and where the establishment is carried on by any department of the Central Government or the State Government, the authority specified by the head of the department in this behalf or where no authority is so specified, the head of the department, and in relation to an establishment carried on by a local authority, the chief executive of that authority, and includes,— (i) in relation to an establishment which is a factory, the occupier of the factory as defined in clause (n) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 and, where a person has been named as a manager of the factory under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the said Act, the person so named; (ii) in relation to any other establishment, the person who, or the authority which has ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment and where the said affairs are entrusted to a manager or managing director, such manager or managing director; (iii) Contractor; and
"employee" means any person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed by an industrial establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and also includes a person declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government,
but does not include
any member of the Armed Forces of the Union;
Worker (Sec. 2(zr))
"worker" means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause (aa) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and includes working journalists as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 and sales promotion employees as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Sales Promotion Employees
purposes of any proceeding under this Code in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched or otherwise terminated in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute,
but does not include any such person—
(i) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950, or the Army Act, 1950, or the Navy Act, 1957; or (ii) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison; or (iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or (iv) who is employed in a supervisory capacity drawing wages exceeding eighteen thousand rupees per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time:
Provided that for the purposes of Chapter III,
"worker"— (a) means all persons employed in trade or industry; and (b) includes the worker as defined in clause (m) of section 2 of the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008
"industry" means any systematic activity carried on by co-operation between an employer and worker (whether such worker is employed by such employer directly or by or through any agency, including a contractor) for the production, supply or distribution of goods or services with a view to satisfy human wants or wishes (not being wants or wishes which are merely spiritual or religious in nature), whether or not, — (i) any capital has been invested for the purpose of carrying on such activity; or (ii) such activity is carried on with a motive to make any gain or profit,
but does not include-
(i) institutions owned or managed by organisations wholly or substantially engaged in any charitable, social or philanthropic service; or (ii) any activity of the appropriate Government relatable to the sovereign functions of the appropriate Government including all the activities carried on by the departments of the Central Government dealing with defence research, atomic energy and space; or (iii) any domestic service; or
"industrial dispute" means any dispute or difference between employers and employers or between employers and workers or between workers and workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person and includes any dispute or difference between an individual worker and an employer connected with, or arising out of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of such worker;
Certifying Officer (Sec. 2(g))
"certifying officer" means any officer appointed by the appropriate Government, by notification, to perform the functions of a certifying officer under the provisions of Chapter IV;
Standing Orders (Sec. 2(zj))
"standing orders" means orders relating to matters set-out in the First Schedule; Trade Union (Sec. 2(zl)) "Trade Union" means any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workers
between employers 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: Provided that the provisions of Chapter III of this Code shall not affect — (i) any agreement between partners as to their own business; or (ii) any agreement between an employer and those employed by him as to such employment; or (iii) any agreement in consideration of the sale of the goodwill of a business or of instruction in any profession, trade or handicraft;
Works Committee (Sec. 3)
(1) In the case of any industrial establishment in which 100 or more workers are employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding 12 months, the appropriate Government may by general or special order require the employer to constitute a Works Committee, in such manner as may be prescribed, consisting of representatives of employer and workers engaged in the establishment: Provided that the number of representatives of workers in such Committee shall not be less than the number of representatives of the employer.
chosen, in such manner as may be prescribed, from among the workers engaged in the establishment and in consultation with their Trade Union, if any, registered in accordance with the provisions of section 9.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Works Committee to
promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between the employer and workers and, to that end, to comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and endeavour to compose any material difference of opinion in respect of such matters.
Grievance Redressal Committee (Sec. 4)
(1) Every industrial establishment employing 20 or more workers shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committees for resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances. (2) The Grievance Redressal Committee shall consist of equal number of members representing the employer and the workers to be chosen in such manner as may be prescribed.
Redressal Committee shall not exceed 10 : Provided that there shall be adequate representation of women workers in the Grievance Redressal Committee and such representation shall not be less than the proportion of women workers to the total workers employed in the industrial establishment.
(5) An application in respect of any dispute referred to
in sub-section (1) may be filed before the Grievance Redressal Committee by any aggrieved worker in such manner as may be prescribed within one year from the date on which the cause of action of such dispute arises.
(6) The Grievance Redressal Committee may
complete its proceedings within 30 days of receipt of the application under sub-section (5).
(7) The decision of the Grievance Redressal
Committee on any application filed under sub-section (5) shall be made on the basis of majority view of the Committee, provided more than half of the members representing the workers have agreed to such
(8) The worker who is aggrieved by the decision of the
Grievance Redressal Committee or whose grievance is not resolved in the said Committee within the period specified in sub-section (6), may, within a period of 60 days from the date of the decision of the Grievance Redressal Committee or from the date on which the period specified in sub-section (6) expires, as the case may be, file an application for the conciliation of such grievance to the conciliation officer through the Trade Union, of which he is a member, in such manner as may be prescribed.
(9) Where any employer discharges, dismisses,
retrenches, or otherwise terminates the services of an individual worker, any dispute or difference between that worker and his employer connected with, or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination shall be deemed to be an industrial dispute notwithstanding that no other worker nor any Trade Union is a party to the dispute.
(10) Notwithstanding anything contained in this
section or section 53, any worker as is specified in sub-section (5) may, make an application directly to the Tribunal for adjudication of the dispute referred to
therein after the expiry of 45 days from the date he
has made the application to the conciliation officer of the appropriate Government for conciliation of the dispute, and on receipt of such application the Tribunal shall have powers and jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the dispute, as the Tribunal has in respect of the application filed under sub-section (6) of section 53.
(11) The application referred to in sub-section (10)
shall be made to the Tribunal before the expiry of 2 years from the date of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or otherwise termination of service as specified in sub-section (9).
The Objective of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 is to Secure Industrial Peace and Harmony by Providing Machinery and Procedure for the Investigation and Settlement of Industrial Disputes by Negotiations