The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

(1) This Act may be called the Industrial Disputes Act,1947. 1[(2) It extends to the whole of India: 2* * * * * (3) It shall come into force on the first day of April, 1947.]

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-- (a) appropriate Government means-- (i) in relation to any industrial dispute concerning 1*** any industry carried on by or underthe authority of the Central Government, 2*** or by a railway company 3[or concerning any suchcontrolled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government] 4*** or inrelation to an industrial dispute concerning 5[6[7[8[a Dock Labour Board established undersection 5A of the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948 (9 of 1948), or 9[theIndustrial Finance Corporation of India Limited formed and registered under the Companies Act,1956 (1 of 1956)], or the Employees' State Insurance Corporation established under section 3 ofthe Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (34 of 1948), or the Board of Trustees constitutedunder section 3A of the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948(46 of 1948), or the Central Board of Trustees and the State Boards of Trustees constituted undersection 5A and section 5B, respectively, of the Employees' Provident Fund and MiscellaneousProvisions Act, 1952 (19 of 1952), 10***, or the Life Insurance Corporation of India establishedunder section 3 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (31 of 1956), or 11[the Oil andNatural Gas Corporation Limited registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956)], or the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation established under section 3 of the DepositInsurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 (47 of 1961), or the Central WarehousingCorporation established under section 3 of the Warehousing Corporations Act, 1962 (58 of 1962),or the Unit Trust of India established under section 3 of the Unit Trust of India Act, 1963(52 of 1963), or the Food Corporation of India established under section 3 or a Board ofManagement established for two or more contiguous States under section 16 of the FoodCorporations Act, 1964 (37 of 1964), or 12[the Airports Authority of India constituted undersection 3 of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 (55 of 1994)],or a Regional Rural Bankestablished under section 3 of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 (21 of 1976), or the ExportCredit and Guarantee Corporation Limited or the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India 13[theNational Housing Bank established under section 3 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987 (53of 1987)], or 14[15[an air transport service, or a banking or an insurance company], a mine, an oilfield] 16[, a Cantonment Board,] or a 17[major port, any company in which not less than fifty-oneper cent. of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government, or any corporation, notbeing a corporation referred to in this clause, established by or under any law made byParliament, or the Central public sector undertaking, subsidiary companies set up by the principalundertaking and autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the Central Government, the CentralGovernment, and] 18[(ii) in relation to any other industrial dispute, including the State public sector undertaking,subsidiary companies set up by the principal undertaking and autonomous bodies owned orcontrolled by the State Government, the State Government: Provided that in case of a disputebetween a contractor and the contract labour employed through the contractor in any industrialestablishment where such dispute first arose, the appropriate Government shall be the CentralGovernment or the State Government, as the case may be, which has control over such industrialestablishment;] 17[(aa) arbitrator includes an umpire;] 19[20[(aaa)] average pay means the average of the wages payable to a workman-- (i) in the case of monthly paid workman, in the three complete calendar months, (ii) in the case of weekly paid workman, in the four complete weeks, (iii) in the case of daily paid workman, in the twelve full working days, preceding the date on which the average pay becomes payable if the workman had worked for threecomplete calendar months or four complete weeks or twelve full working days, as the case may be, andwhere such calculation cannot be made, the average pay shall be calculated as the average of the wagespayable to a workman during the period he actually worked;] 21[(b) award means an interim or a final determination of any industrial dispute or of anyquestion relating thereto by any Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal andincludes an arbitration award made under section 10A;] 22[(bb) banking company means a banking company as defined in section 5 of the BankingCompanies Act, 1949 (10 of 1949), having branches or other establishments in more than one State,and includes 23[the Export-Import Bank of India,] 24[the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India,] 25[26***,] 27[the Small Industries Development Bank of India established under section 3 of the SmallIndustries Development Bank of India Act, 1989 (39 of 1989),] the Reserve Bank of India, the StateBank of India 28[,a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies(Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970) 29[, a corresponding new bankconstituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)Act, 1980 (40 of 1980), and any subsidiary bank]] as defined in the State Bank of India (SubsidiaryBanks) Act, 1959 (38 of 1959);] (c) Board means a Board of Conciliation constituted under this Act; 30[(cc) closure means the permanent closing down of a place of employment or part thereof;] (d) conciliation officer means a conciliation officer appointed under this Act; (e) conciliation proceeding means any proceeding held by a conciliation officer or Board underthis Act; 31[(ee) controlled industry means any industry the control of which by the Union has beendeclared by any Central Act to be expedient in the public interest;] 32* * * * * (f) Court means a Court of Inquiry constituted under this Act; (g) employer means,-- (i) in relation to an industry carried on by or under the authority of any department of 33[theCentral Government or a State Government], the authority prescribed in this behalf, or where noauthority is prescribed, the head of the department; (ii) in relation to an industry carried on by or on behalf of a local authority, the chiefexecutive officer of that authority; 34[(gg) executive, in relation to a trade union, means the body, by whatever name called, towhich the management of the affairs of the trade union is entrusted;] 35* * * * * (i) a person shall be deemed to be independent for the purpose of his appointment as thechairman or other member of a Board, Court or Tribunal, if he is unconnected with the industrialdispute referred to such Board, Court or Tribunal or with any industry directly affected by suchdispute: 36[Provided that no person shall cease to be independent by reason only of the fact that he is ashareholder of an incorporated company which is connected with, or likely to be affected by, suchindustrial dispute; but in such a case, he shall disclose to the appropriate Government the nature andextent of the shares held by him in such company;] 37[(j) industry means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employers andincludes any calling, service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation or avocation ofworkmen; (k) industrial dispute means any dispute or difference between employers and employers, orbetween employers and workmen, or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with theemployment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of anyperson; 38[(ka) industrial establishment or undertaking means an establishment or undertaking in whichany industry is carried on: Provided that where several activities are carried on in an establishment or undertaking and onlyone or some of such activities is or are an industry or industries, then,-- (a) if any unit of such establishment or undertaking carrying on any activity, being anindustry, is severable from the other unit or units of such establishment or undertaking, such unitshall be deemed to be a separate industrial establishment or undertaking; (b) if the predominant activity or each of the predominant activities carried on in suchestablishment or undertaking or any unit thereof is an industry and the other activity or each ofthe other activities carried on in such establishment or undertaking or unit thereof is not severablefrom and is, for the purpose of carrying on, or aiding the carrying on of, such predominantactivity or activities, the entire establishment or undertaking or, as the case may be, unit thereofshall be deemed to be an industrial establishment or undertaking;] 39[(kk) insurance company means an insurance company as defined in section 2 of the InsuranceInsurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938), having branches or other establishments in more than one State;] 40[(kka) khadi has the meaning assigned to it in clause (d) of section 2 of the Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission Act, 1956 (61 of 1956);] 41[42[(kkb)] Labour Court means a Labour Court constituted under section 7;] 43[(kkk) lay-off (with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions) means the failure,refusal or inability of an employer on account of shortage of coal, power or raw materials or theaccumulation of stocks or the break-down of machinery 44[or natural calamity or for any otherconnected reason] to give employment to a workman whose name is borne on the muster rolls of hisindustrial establishment and who has not been retrenched. Explanation.--Every workman whose name is borne on the muster rolls of the industrialestablishment and who presents himself for work at the establishment at the time appointed for thepurpose during normal working hours on any day and is not given employment by the employerwithin two hours of his so presenting himself shall be deemed to have been laid-off for that daywithin the meaning of this clause: Provided that if the workman, instead of being given employment at the commencement of anyshift for any day is asked to present himself for the purpose during the second half of the shift for theday and is given employment then, he shall be deemed to have been laid-off only for one-half of thatday: Provided further that if he is not given any such employment even after so presenting himself, heshall not be deemed to have been laid-off for the second half of the shift for the day and shall beentitled to full basic wages and dearness allowance for that part of the day;] (l) lock-out means the45[temporary closing of a place of employment], or the suspension ofwork, or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him; 46[(la) major port means a major port as defined in clause (8) of section 3 of the Indian PortsAct, 1908 (15 of 1908); (lb) mine means a mine as defined in clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Mines Act,1952 (35 of 1952)]; 41[(ll) National Tribunal means a National Industrial Tribunal constituted under section 7B;] 47[(lll) office bearer, in relation to a trade union, includes any member of the executive thereof,but does not include an auditor;] (m) prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (n) public utility service means-- (i) any railway service 46[or any transport service for the carriage of passengers or goods byair]; 47[(ia) any service in, or in connection with the working of, any major port or dock;] (ii) any section of an industrial establishment, on the working of which the safety of theestablishment or the workmen employed therein depends; (iii) any postal, telegraph or telephone service; (iv) any industry which supplies power, light or water to the public; (v) any system of public conservancy or sanitation; (vi) any industry specified in the 48[First Schedule] which the appropriate Government may, ifsatisfied that public emergency or public interest so requires, by notification in the OfficialGazette, declare to be a public utility service for the purposes of this Act, for such period as maybe specified in the notification: Provided that the period so specified shall not, in the first instance, exceed six months butmay, by a like notification, be extended from time to time, by any period not exceeding sixmonths, at any one time if in the opinion of the appropriate Government public emergency orpublic interest requires such extension; (o) railway company means a railway company as defined in section 3 of the Indian RailwaysAct, 1890 (9 of 1890); 49[(oo) retrenchment means the termination by the employer of the service of a workman for anyany reason whatsoever, otherwise than as a punishment inflicted by way of disciplinary action, butdoes not include-- (a) voluntary retirement of the workman; or (b) retirement of the workman on reaching the age of superannuation if the contract ofemployment between the employer and the workman concerned contains a stipulation in thatbehalf; or 50[(bb) termination of the service of the workman as a result of the non-renewal of the contractcontract of employment between the employer and the workman concerned on its expiry or ofsuch contract being terminated under a stipulation in that behalf contained therein; or] (c) termination of the service of a workman on the ground of continued ill-health;] 51[(p) settlement means a settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceeding andincludes a written agreement between the employer and workmen arrived at otherwise than in thecourse of conciliation proceeding where such agreement has been signed by the parties thereto in suchmanner as may be prescribed and a copy thereof has been sent to 52[an officer authorised in this behalfby] the appropriate Government and the conciliation officer;] (q) strike means a cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any industry acting incombination or a concerned refusal, or a refusal under a common understanding, of any number ofpersons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment; 53[(qq) trade union means a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926(16 of 1926);] 54[(r) Tribunal means an Industrial Tribunal constituted under section 7A and includes anIndustrial Tribunal constituted before the 10th day of March, 1957, under this Act;] 55[(ra) unfair labour practice means any of the practices specified in the Fifth Schedule; (rb) village industries has the meaning assigned to it in clause (h) of section 2 of the Khadi andVillage Industries Commission Act, 1956 (61 of 1956);] 56[(rr) wages means all remuneration capable of being expressed in terms of money, whichwould, if the terms of employment, expressed or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to a workman inrespect of his employment or of work done in such employment, and includes-- (i) such allowances (including dearness allowance) as the workman is for the time beingentitled to; (ii) the value of any house accommodation, or of supply of light, water, medical attendance orother amenity or of any service or of any concessional supply offoodgrains or other articles; (iii) any travelling concession; 57[(iv) any commission payable on the promotion of sales or business or both;] but does not include-- (a) any bonus; (b) any contribution paid or payable by the employer to any pension fund or provident fundor for the benefit of the workman under any law for the time being in force; (c) any gratuity payable on the termination of his service;] 58[(s) workman means any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do anymanual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward,whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and for the purposes of any proceedingunder this Act in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed,discharged or retrenched 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 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act, 1950(46 of 1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 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, being employed in a supervisory capacity, draws wages exceeding 59[ten thousandrupees] per mensem or exercises, either by the nature of the duties attached to the office or byreason of the powers vested in him, functions mainly of a managerial nature.] STATE AMENDMENT Kerala-- Amendment of section 2.--In section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (Central Act 14 of1947), in clause (s), for the words clerical or supervisory work the words clerical, supervisorywork or any work for the promotion of sales shall be substituted. [Vide Kerala Act 12 of 2017, s. 2] Assam-- Amendment of section 2.--In the principal Act, in section 2, in clause (s), in between the wordsor supervisory work and for hire or reward, the words or any work for the promotion of sales,shall be inserted. [Vide Assam Act 22 of 2007, s. 2] Orissa-- Amendment of section 2.--In clause(s) of section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 (14 of1947), for the words and comma operational, clerical or supervisory work, the words and commassales promotion, operational, clerical or supervisory work or any work for promotion of sales shall besubstituted. [Vide Orissa Act 5 of 2014, s. 2] Rajasthan Amendment of section 2, Central Act No. 14 of 1947.- In the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947(Central Act No. 14 of 1947), in its application to the State of Rajasthan, hereinafter referred to as theprincipal Act, in section 2,- (a) the existing sub-clause (iii) of clause (g) shall be deleted; and (b) in clause (s), the existing expression “by an employer or by a contractor in relation to theexecution of his contract with such employer” shall be deleted. [VideRajasthan Act 21 of 2014, s. 2] Amendment of section 2A, Central Act No. 14 of 1947.- In section 2A of the principal Act, afterthe existing sub-section (3), the following new sub-section shall be added, namely:- “(4) Notwithstanding anything in sub-sections (1), (2) and (3), no such dispute or differencebetween that workman and his employer connected with, or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal,retrenchment or termination shall be deemed to be an industrial dispute if such dispute is not raised inconciliation proceeding within a period of three years from the date of such discharge, dismissal,retrenchment or termination: Provided that an authority, as may be specified by the State Government, may consider to extendthe said period of three years when the applicant workman satisfies the authority that he had sufficientcause for not raising the dispute within the period of three years.”. [VideRajasthan Act 21 of 2014, s. 3] Rajasthan Amendment of section 2, Central Act XIV of 1947.-In section 2 of the principal Act;-- (i) after clause (aa) the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely- (aaa) arbitration proceeding means- (i) any proceeding under Chapter III-A of this Act before an arbitrator, or (ii) any proceeding before an Industrial Tribunal in arbitration; (aaaa) arbitrator means an arbitrator to whom a dispute is referred forarbitration under the provisions of Chapter III-A of this Act and includes an umpire; (ii) in clause (b), for the words, figures and letter under section 10A, the words,figures and letter under Chapter III-A shall be substituted; (iii) after clause (eee) the following new clause shall be inserted, namely- (eeee) member means a person who is an ordinary member of a Unionand who has paid a subscription of not less than four annas per month: Provided that no person shall at any time be deemed to be a member if hissubscription is in arrears for a period of three months or more next preceding such time;; (iv) in clause (g), after sub-clause (ii), the following sub-clause shall be inserted, namely- (iii) where the owner of any industry in the course of or for the purpose of conductingthe industry contracts with any person for the execution by or under the contractor of thewhole or any part of any work which is ordinarily a part of the industry, the owner of theindustry;; (v) after clause (oo) the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely- (ooo) Registrar means the person for the time being appointed to be theRegistrar of Unions under this Act and includes in respect of such powers and dutiesof the Registrar as may be conferred and imposed on him, an Assistant Registrar ofUnions; (oooo) Representative Union means a Union for the time being registered as aRepresentative Union under this Act;; (vi) after clause (rr), the following new clause shall be inserted, namely- (rrr) Union means a Trade Union of employees registered under the IndianTrade Unions Act, 1926 (Central Act XVI of 1926);; and (vii) in clause (s), after the words employed in any industry, the words by an employeror by a contractor in relation to the execution of his contract with such employer shall beinserted. [VideRajasthan Act 34 of 1958, s. 3]

1[2A. Dismissal, etc., of an individual workman to be deemed to be an industrial dispute.-- 2[(1)]Where any employer discharges, dismisses, retrenches, or otherwise terminates the services of anindividual workman, any dispute or difference between that workman and his employer connected with,or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination shall be deemed to be anindustrial dispute notwithstanding that no other workman nor any union of workmen is a party to thedispute.] 3[(2)Notwithstanding anything contained in section l0, any such workman as is specified insub-section (1)may, make an application direct to the Labour Court or Tribunal for adjudication of thedispute referred to therein after the expiry of forty-five days from the date he has made the application tothe Conciliation Officer of the appropriate Government for conciliation of the dispute, and in receipt ofsuch application the Labour Court or Tribunal shall have powers and jurisdiction to adjudicate upon thedispute, as if it were a dispute referred to it by the appropriate Government in accordance with theprovisions of this Act and all the provisions of this Act shall apply in relation to such adjudication as theyapply in relation to an industrial dispute referred to it by the appropriate Government. (3) The application referred to in sub-section (2) shall be made to the Labour Court or Tribunal beforethe expiry of three years from the date of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or otherwise termination ofservice as specified in sub-section (1).] STATE AMENDMENT Andhra Pradesh-- 2. In Section 2A The following sub-section shall be added, namely:-- "(3) Notwithstanding anything in sub-sections (1) and (2), no such dispute or difference betweenthat workman and his employer connected with or arising out of, such discharge, dismissal,retrenchment or termination shall be deemed to be an industrial dispute if such dispute is not raised inconciliation proceeding within a period of three years from the date of such discharge, dismissal,retrenchment or termination: Provided that the Labour Court or the Conciliation Officer, as the case may be, may consider toextend the said period of three years when the applicant workman satisfies the Court or ConciliationOfficer that he had sufficient cause for not raising the dispute within the period of three years.". [Vide Andhra Pradesh 12 of 2015, s. 2] Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Section 2A.--In sub-section (3), for "three years", substitute "one year". [Vide Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) SecondOrder, 2020, Notification No. S.O. 3465(E), dated (5-10-2020) and Vide Union Territory of LadakhReorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Order, 2020, Notification No. S.O. 3774(E), dated(23-10-2020).

(1) In the case of any industrial establishment in which one hundred or moreworkmen are employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding twelve months, theappropriate Government may by general or special order require the employer to constitute in theprescribed manner a Works Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workmen engagedin the establishment so however that the number of representatives of workmen on the Committee shallnot be less than the number of representatives of the employer. The representatives of the workmen shallbe chosen in the prescribed manner from among the workmen engaged in the establishment and inconsultation with their trade union, if any, registered under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926(16 of 1926). (2) It shall be the duty of the Works Committee to promote measures for securing and preservingamity and good relations between the employer and workmen and, to that end, to comment upon mattersof their common interest or concern and endeavour to compose any material difference of opinion inrespect of such matters.

(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, appoint such number of persons as it thinks fit, to be conciliation officers, charged with the dutyof mediating in and promoting the settlement of industrial disputes. (2) A conciliation officer may be appointed for a specified area or for specified industries in aspecified area or for one or more specified industries and either permanently or for a limited period.