The Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Implications For Workers' Rights

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 that was notified by the central government on 29 September 2020 consolidates the provisions of the three major central laws in the country relating to industrial relations, namely, the Trade Unions Act, 1926; the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 and the Industrial Employment Act 1946. The following example will illustrate the confusion brought about by the usage of the two terms: The definition of 'industrial dispute' under section 2 refers only to the term 'worker' and not 'employee' implying that only workers will have the right to access the mechanisms for resolution of industrial disputes under the Code, However, section 91 of the Code enables an 'employee' to make a complaint to the concerned authority or forum if his or her employer prejudicially alters his or her conditions during the pendency of an industrial dispute. 3.1 Mandatory requirement of advance notice While under the Industrial Disputes Act, only workers in any industry classified as a public utility service are required to give notice to their employer before going on a strike, under sub-section of section 62 of the Code, workers in all industrial establishments are required to give notice of a minimum of fourteen days and a maximum of sixty days before going on a strike. 3.3 Expanded definition of the term 'strike' Section 2 of the Code defines the term 'strike' in a wider manner than section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act to include concerted casual leave on a given day by fifty percent or more workers employed in an industry. 5.5 Transfer of Pending cases As per section 51 of the Code, cases pending before the existing Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals are to be transferred to the Tribunals to be constituted under the Code and either be heard de novo or from the stage at which they were pending prior to the transfer 5.6 Jurisdiction over trade union disputes In addition to the resolution of industrial disputes defined under section 2 in a manner similar to that under section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, the Code also provides for the resolution of 'trade union disputes.'