CHAPTER II: BI-PARTITE FORUMS
Section 3: Works Committee
This section requires larger industrial establishments to create a joint committee of workers and management to foster peace and good relations.
Sub-Section (1): Requirement and Composition
- Legal Text: Requires a Works Committee in establishments employing one hundred or more workers on any day in the preceding twelve months. It is constituted by employer and worker representatives, with the number of worker representatives being not less than the number of employer representatives.
- Simple English: If a factory or company has 100 or more workers, the government can order it to set up a “Works Committee.” This committee must have at least as many worker members as management members.
- Example: A factory with 200 employees is directed to form a Works Committee with a total of 8 members: 4 representatives from the management and 4 representatives chosen by the workers.
Sub-Section (2): Selection of Worker Representatives
- Legal Text: Worker representatives must be chosen from among the workers and in consultation with any registered Trade Union in the establishment.
- Simple English: The workers’ members of the committee must be actual workers at the establishment. Their selection process must involve consultation with the Trade Union, if one exists.
- Example: The registered union holds an internal election or meeting to nominate candidates for the Works Committee, ensuring the process is open and involves the workers.
Sub-Section (3): Duty of the Works Committee
- Legal Text: The Committee’s duty is to promote and maintain harmony and good relations, comment on matters of common interest, and try to resolve material differences of opinion.
- Simple English: The committee’s job is to keep the peace between management and workers. It discusses shared concerns (like canteen quality or safety gear) and tries to sort out disagreements on these common issues.
- Example: The Works Committee meets to discuss the new shift timing proposal. The management suggests a new schedule; the worker representatives voice concerns. The Committee works to find a middle ground that satisfies both sides before the disagreement escalates into a formal dispute.
Section 4: Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC)
This section mandates a formal, internal mechanism for workers to resolve their individual complaints before they become larger industrial disputes.
Sub-Section (1): Requirement for GRC
- Legal Text: Every industrial establishment employing twenty or more workers must have one or more Grievance Redressal Committees (GRCs) to resolve disputes arising from individual complaints.
- Simple English: If a business has 20 or more workers, it must set up a committee to handle one-on-one complaints (like a denial of leave or a specific performance issue) quickly and internally.
- Example: A mid-sized IT firm with 50 employees must have a GRC. A new trainee is denied her allotted annual leave; she can submit her grievance to this committee.
Sub-Section (2): GRC Composition
- Legal Text: The GRC must have an equal number of members representing the employer and the workers.
- Simple English: The committee is balanced: half the members come from the management side, and half come from the worker side.
- Example: A GRC with 6 members must have 3 members from the employer’s side (e.g., HR, Supervisor) and 3 members from the worker’s side.
Sub-Section (3): Chairperson Rotation
- Legal Text: The chairperson must alternate annually on a rotational basis between the employer’s representatives and the workers’ representatives.
- Simple English: The role of the chairperson cannot be permanently held by management or by a worker. It rotates every year to ensure fairness and impartiality over time.
- Example: In 2024, the HR Manager acts as Chairperson. In 2025, a selected worker representative must take over the role.
Sub-Section (4): Maximum Members and Women’s Representation
- Legal Text: The total number of GRC members cannot exceed ten. It must also have adequate representation of women workers, not less than their proportion to the total workforce.
- Simple English: The committee can have up to 10 members. If $30\%$ of the total employees are women, then at least $30\%$ of the worker representatives on the GRC must be women.
- Example: In a 10-member GRC, if $40\%$ of the workers are female, then at least 4 of the total members (and specifically 2 of the worker representatives) must be women.
Sub-Section (5): Filing a Grievance
- Legal Text: An aggrieved worker must file an application to the GRC within one year from the date the issue (cause of action) first occurred.
- Simple English: A worker has a 12-month deadline from the day a problem happened to submit their official complaint to the GRC.
- Example: A worker was wrongfully denied an increment in April 2024. They must file their complaint with the GRC before April 2025.
Sub-Section (6): Time Limit for Resolution
- Legal Text: The GRC must complete its entire proceeding and make a decision within thirty days of receiving the application.
- Simple English: The GRC is mandated to resolve the worker’s complaint within one month. This ensures quick resolution and prevents issues from dragging on.
- Example: The GRC receives a complaint on October 10th. It must hold hearings, investigate, and finalize its decision by November 9th.
Sub-Section (7): Decision Making
- Legal Text: A decision is made by the majority view of the Committee, BUT it is valid only if more than half of the worker representatives have agreed to it. If not, it is considered that no decision was reached.
- Simple English: For the decision to be valid, it needs a majority vote overall, AND the majority of the worker-side members must agree with it. This gives the workers a necessary veto power.
- Example: In a 6-member GRC (3 management, 3 workers), the final vote is 4 in favor (all 3 management members + 1 worker member) and 2 against. Since only 1 of the 3 worker members agreed (less than half), the decision is invalid, and the grievance is considered unresolved.
Sub-Section (8): Escalation to Conciliation
- Legal Text: If a worker is unhappy with the GRC’s decision, or if the GRC fails to resolve it within the 30-day period, the worker can apply for conciliation to the Conciliation Officer within sixty days. This application must go through the Trade Union, if the worker is a member.
- Simple English: The worker has a 60-day window to appeal the GRC’s decision (or lack thereof) to the government’s Conciliation Officer. They must use their union to do this, if they belong to one.
- Example: The GRC gives its decision on November 9th. The worker finds the decision unfair. They have until January 8th to file an appeal for conciliation with the government.
Sub-Section (9): Individual Disputes become Industrial Disputes
- Legal Text: Any dispute over a single worker’s discharge, dismissal, retrenchment, or termination is automatically considered an “industrial dispute,” even if no union or other workers are involved.
- Simple English: A conflict about one worker’s firing is just as serious as a conflict involving the entire workforce and must be handled under the Code’s formal dispute resolution mechanisms.
- Example: The union refuses to take up an individual case of a worker being fired. The worker can still pursue the case on their own, and the dispute will legally be treated as a full industrial dispute.
Sub-Section (10): Direct Application to Tribunal (Skip Conciliation)
- Legal Text: A worker can apply directly to the Tribunal for adjudication if forty-five days have passed since they applied to the Conciliation Officer, and the officer has not resolved the matter.
- Simple English: After appealing to the Conciliation Officer, if nothing happens after 45 days, the worker is free to bypass that stage and take the case straight to the main judicial body (the Tribunal) for a binding decision.
- Example: The worker applies for conciliation on February 1st. By March 17th (45 days later), the Conciliation Officer has done nothing. The worker can immediately file a case in the Tribunal without waiting for a conciliation report.
Sub-Section (11): Time Limit for Tribunal Application
- Legal Text: The application to the Tribunal referred to in sub-section (10) must be made within two years of the date of discharge, dismissal, or termination.
- Simple English: There is an overall two-year limit from the date of being fired or terminated to get the case filed with the Tribunal.
- Example: A worker is dismissed on January 1, 2024. Even with the internal GRC and conciliation processes, they must make sure their case is filed with the Tribunal before January 1, 2026.
