The Trade Unions Act,

1926
 Section 2(h): Definition of Trade Union

► “Trade Union” means any combination, whether temporary or permanent,

formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between
workmen and employers or between workmen and workmen, or 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 this Act shall not affect— (i) any agreement between partners
as to their own business; (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.
Section 3: Appointment of Registrars

► The appropriate Government shall appoint a person to be the Registrar of

Trade Unions for each State.
► The appropriate Government may appoint as many Additional and Deputy
Registrars of Trade Unions as it thinks fit for the purpose of exercising and
discharging, under the superintendence and direction of the Registrar, such
powers and functions of the Registrar under this Act as it may, by order,
specify and define the local limits within which any such Additional or Deputy
Registrar shall exercise and discharge the powers and functions so specified.
 Mode of registration

► According to section 4 of the Act, any seven or more members of a

Trade Union in accordance with the provisions of the Act may make
an application for registration of the trade union.
► No trade union of workmen shall be registered unless at least 10%
or 100 of the workmen, whichever is less engaged in the
employment of the establishment are its members on the date of
making of its application
► Also, such application shall not be deemed to be invalid merely on
the ground that at any time after the date of the application, but
before the registration of the trade union some of the members but
not exceeding half of the total number of persons who made
the application has ceased to be members.
Section 5: Application for registration

► Every application for registration of a Trade Union shall be made to the

Registrar, and shall be accompanied by a copy of the rules of the Trade
Union and a statement of the following particular’s, namely:—
► (a) the names, occupations and addresses of the members making the
application;
► (b) the name of the Trade Union and the address of its head office; and
► (c) the titles, names, ages, addresses and occupations of the office-bearers
of the Trade Union
► Where a Trade Union has been in existence for more than one year before the
making of an application for its registration, there shall be delivered to the
Registrar, together with the application, a general statement of the assets
and liabilities of the Trade Union prepared in such form and containing such
particulars as may be prescribed.
Provisions to be contained in the rules of
a Trade Union
► According to section 6 of the Act, a Trade Union shall not be entitled to
registration under the Act unless the executive committee has been
established in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules
provide for the following-
1. The name of the trade union;
2. The whole of the objects for which the trade union has been established;
3. The whole of the purposes for which the general funds of the trade union
shall be applicable;
4. The maintenance of a list of the members of the trade union;
5. The admission of ordinary members who shall be persons actually engaged
or employed in an industry with which the trade union is connected;
6. The conditions under which any member shall be entitled to any
benefit assured by the rules and under which any fine or forfeiture may
be imposed on the members;
7. The manner in which the rules shall be amended, varied or rescinded;
8. The manner in which the members of the executive and the other
office bearers of the Trade Union shall be elected and removed;
9. The safe custody of the funds of the trade union, an annual audit, in
such manner, as may be prescribed, of the accounts thereof, and
adequate facilities for the inspection of the account books by the office
bearers and members of the trade union, and;
10. The manner in which the trade union may be dissolved.
Power to call for further particulars and
to require alteration of name
► According to section 7 of the Act, the registrar may call for further
information for the purpose of satisfying himself that whether all the
particulars are in accordance with section 5 and 6 of the Act.
► In case the trade union applying for registration bears a name
identical to that of an existing trade union and the registrar feels that
the name so resembles that of the other that there are fairs chances
of the persons being misled then the registrar shall ask the trade
union applying to change the name and shall refuse to register the
same until such alteration has been made.
 Registration and Certificate of
registration
► According to section 8 of the Act, if the registrar thinks that the trade
union has complied with all the provisions of the Act, it shall register
the Trade Union by entering in a register all the particulars in
accordance with the provisions of the Act.
► According to section 9 of the Act, the registrar shall issue a certificate
of registration to the trade union after registration under section 8
which shall be conclusive proof that a trade union has been duly
registered.
 Section 10: Cancellation of registration

► A certificate of registration of a Trade Union may be withdrawn or cancelled

by the Registrar—
► (a) on the application of the Trade Union to be verified in such manner as
may be prescribed, or
► (b) if the Registrar is satisfied that the certificate has been obtained by fraud
or mistake, or that the Trade Union has ceased to exist or has wilfully and
after notice from the Registrar contravened any provision of this Act or
allowed any rule to continue in force which is inconsistent with any such
provision
► Provided that not less than two months’ previous notice in writing
specifying the ground on which it is proposed to withdraw or cancel the
certificate shall be given by the Registrar to the Trade Union before the
certificate is withdrawn or cancelled otherwise than on the application of the
Trade Union.
 APPEAL
► According to section 11 of the Act, any person aggrieved by any refusal to
register a trade union or withdrawal of registration, etc by registrar may
file an appeal where the trade union head office is situated within the limits
of a presidency town to the High Court, or where the head office is situated
in an area, falling within the jurisdiction of a Labour Court or an Industrial
Tribunal, to that court or tribunal as the case may be; where the head
office is situated in any area, to such court, not inferior to the court of an
additional or assistant judge of a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction
as the appropriate government may appoint.
► On an application to the appropriate forum, the court may either dismiss
the appeal or pass an order directing the registrar to take appropriate
measures.
► The court shall have the same powers of a civil court under Civil Procedure
Code, 1908 and may follow the same procedures.
► The highest appeal can be made to the High Court.
Incorporation of registered trade union

► According to section 13 of the Act, every registered trade union shall

be a body corporate having a common seal and perpetual
succession with power to acquire and hold movable and
immovable property and shall by the said name sue and be
sued.
► An unregistered trade union does not get these things. Further, once
a trade union is registered, all communications and notices to the
registered trade union may be addressed to its registered
office.
Privileges and immunities of a registered
trade union
► Immunity from civil liability – Section 18 - on the ground only that such act
induces some other person to break a contract of employment, or that it is in
interference with the trade, business or employment of some other person or
with the right of some other person to dispose of his capital or of his labour as
he wills
► Immunity from tortious liability - in respect of any tortious act done in
contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute by an agent of the Trade Union
if it is proved that such person acted without the knowledge of, or contrary to
express instructions given by, the executive of the Trade Union.
► Immunity from criminal liability -Section 17 of the Trade Unions Act of 1926
exempts registered trade union officers from prosecution for criminal
conspiracy in respect of any agreement made between the members for the
purpose of furthering any such object of the Trade Union as contemplated
under section 15.
 Rights of registered trade unions

► Right of admission
► Right of representation
► Right to spend general funds
► Right to constitute a separate political fund
► Rights granted to it as a legal person
► Right to inspect books
► Right to amalgamate
► Right to change its name
Duties and liabilities of a registered
trade union
► Duty to make trade union rules
► Duty to constitute executive board as required
► Duty to spend general funds as required
► Duty to constitute a separate political fund
► Duty to provide access to books of trade union
► Duty to send notice to the registrar
► Relevant case laws can be read from the following study materials. You can
also study collective bargaining from the same :
► https://blog.ipleaders.in/trade-unions-act-1926/

► https://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research%20Pap
ers/India-Trade-Unions-and-Collective-Bargaining.pdf
► https://www.mlsu.ac.in/econtents/1197_Collective%20Bargaining%20.pdf

► Link to the Trade Union Act

► https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13322/1/trade_unions_a
ct_1926.pdf