Trade union act

Objectives:
Following are the objectives of trade unions:
1. Ensure Security of Workers:
This involves continued employment of workers, prevent retrenchment, lay off or lock-
outs. Restrict application of “fire” or dismissal or discharge and VRS.

2. Obtain Better Economic Returns:

This involves wages hike at periodic intervals, bonus at higher rate, other admissible
allowances, subsidized canteen and transport facilities.

3. Secure Power To Influence Management:

This involves workers’ participation in management, decision making, role of union in
policy decisions affecting workers, and staff members.

4. Secure Power To Influence Government:

This involves influence on government to pass labour legislation which improves working
conditions, safety, welfare, security and retirement benefits of workers and their
dependents, seek redressal of grievances as and when needed.

Functions of a Trade Union:

The important basic functions of unions listed by National Commission on labour are:

(i) To secure fair wages to workers.

(ii) To safeguard security of tenure and improve conditions of service.

(iii) To enlarge opportunities for promotion and training.

(iv) To improve working and living conditions

(v) To provide for educational, cultural and recreational facilities.

(vi) To co-operate in and facilitate technological advance by broadening the understanding

of workers on its underlying issues.

(vii) To promote identity of interests of workers with their industry.

(viii) To offer responsive co-operation in improving levels of production and productivity,
discipline and high standards of quality and

(ix) To promote individual and collective welfare.

Registration:

The four procedure involved in registration of trade unions are as follows: 1. Appointment
of Registrar 2. Mode of Registration 3. Rights and Duties of Registrar 4. Legal Status of
Registered Trade Union.

1. Appointment of Registrar:
Section 3 of the Trade Union Act, 1926 empowers the appropriate Government to appoint a
person to be registrar of Trade Unions. The appropriate Government be it State or Central,
as the case may be is also empowered to appoint additional and Deputy Registrars as it
thinks fit for the purpose of exercising and discharging the powers and duties of the
Registrar. However, such person will work under the superintendence and direction of the
Registrar. He may exercise such powers and functions of Registrar with local limit as may
be specified for this purpose.

2. Mode of Registration:
Any seven or more persons who want to form trade union, can apply for its registration to
the Registration of Trade Unions under Section 4 (1) of the Trade Unions Act, 1926. These
applicants must be members of a trade union.

In order to check the multiplicity of trade unions, one school of thought has proposed the
number of persons farming a trade union for the purposes of registration be reasonably
increased to 10 per cent of employees of the unit, subject to minimum of seven persons
employed therein This is expected to strengthen the trade union movement. The
application for registration must be sent to the Registrar of Trade Unions in Form “A” as
required by the Trade Union Act, 1926 under Section 5.

Every application must be accompanied with the following particulars:

1. The names, occupations and addresses of the members making application.

2. The name of the trade union and the address of its head office.

3. The titles, names, ages, addresses and occupations of the office bearers of the trade
union.
4 If a trade union has been in existence for more than one year prior to application of its
registration, a financial statement showing its assets and liabilities prepared in the
prescribed form has also to be submitted to the Registrar along with the application for
registration.

5. Besides, every application must be accompanied with a copy of Rules of Trade union
complying with the items as specified under Section 6 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926.

3. Rights and Duties of Registrar:

Section 7 of the Act empowers the Registrar of Trade Union to make, if required so, further
enquiries on receipt of an application for registration to fully satisfy himself that the
application complies with the provisions of section 5. However, such enquiries can be made
only from the application and not from any other source.

The duties of the Registrar of Trade Unions in matters of registration of trade union are laid
down under Section 8 of the Act. On having being satisfied with the requirements for the
registration of the union, the Registrar shall register the trade union by entering in a
register. The letter to this effect will be issued to the Trade Union. In case of non-
satisfaction of registrar with the compliance of requirements, the refusal for registration
will be issued to the trade union.

No time limit for the grant or refusal of registration has been prescribed in the Trade Union
Act, 1926. However, there are legal directives issued by the Court to the Registrar of Trade
Unions to perform me statutory duty imposed upon mm under sections 7 and 8 to deal
with the application of the Trade Union according to law at an early date

The National Commission on Labour has suggested 30 days excluding the time which the
Union takes in answering queries from the Registrar for the grant or refusal of registration
by the Registrar. The Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill, 1982 has provided for insertion of
the words “within a period of 60 days from the date of such compliance” after the words
“Register the Trade Unions” in Section 8 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926. Where, however,
Registrar refuses to grant registration to a trade union, he is under an obligation to state
reasons for refusing to grant registration.

The Societies of Registration Act, 1860, Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 and the Companies
Act, 1956 do not apply to trade unions and registration thereof under any of these Acts is
void ab initio.
4. Legal Status of Registered Trade Union: section 13
Upon the registration, a trade union assumes to a corporate body by the name under which
it is registered. A registered trade union shall have perpetual succession and its common
seal. A registered trade union is an entity distinct from the members of which, the trade
union is composed of It enjoys power to contract and to hold property both moveable and
immoveable and to sue and be sued by the name in which it is registered.

CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION [SEC. 10] (2001 AMENDMENT) 

Registrar of the Trade Union can cancel the registration of the Trade Union in following
circumstances :

1. When Trade Union registration certificate has been obtained by fraud or other
illegal means.
2. Disobey the rules and regulation of Trade Union act.
3. All the provision contained in section 6 of this act not followed by the members of
the Trade Union.
4. When there are no minimum required numbers of members in the Trade Union.

Appeal[Section:11] 

If Registrar of the Trade Union stops registration of the Trade Union or withdrawal of the
registration, members can appeal to Labour Court or an Industrial Tribunal, with in
jurisdiction