TOPIC: REGISTRATION OF TRADE UNIONS

SUBJECT: LABOUR LAW

INDEX

S. No. TITLE Page No.

1. Introduction 3

2. Procedure for the Registration of a Trade Union 4-9

3. Time Period for the Registration of a Trade Union 10

4. Cancellation of Registration 11

5. Appeal 11

6. Registered Office 12

7. Incorporation of Registered Trade Unions 12

8. Certain Acts not to apply to Registered Trade Unions 12 - 13

9. Compulsory/Voluntary Registration 13

10. Difference Between Registration and Recognition of Trade 13

Unions

11. Conclusion 14

12. Bibliography 15

INTRODUCTION

As modernisation and industrialization emerged and grew, Trade Unions were formed
eventually. Trade unions are basically an association of employees who share common goals
to achieve. Due to various social and economic evils, it became necessary for the employees
to devise effective means to deal with the employers in the form of trade
unions. Deteriorating economic conditions and low wages resulted in further growth of the
Trade Unions.

The origin of passing of a Trade Unions Act in India was the historic Buckingham Mill case
of 1920 in which the Madras High Court granted an interim injunction against the Strike
Committee of the Madras Labour Union forbidding them to induce certain workers to break
their contracts of employment by refusing to return to work. Trade Union leaders found that
they were liable to prosecution and imprisonment for bona fide union activities and it was
felt that some legislation for the protection of trade union was necessary. In March, 1921,
Shri N. M. Joshi, then General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress,
successfully moved a resolution in the Central Legislative Assembly recommending that
Government should introduce legislation for the registration and protection of trade unions.
On a Resolution being passed, the Indian Trade Unions Bill was introduced in the Central
Legislative Assembly to provide for the registration of the Trade Unions.

The act laid down detailed provisions for the procedure, formation, conditions for the
registration of Trade Unions, advantages of the procedure, advantages of registration and
immunities available to the union leaders from civil and criminal laws for the activities of a
registered Trade Union. The Preamble of the Trade Unions Act, 1926, itself says that it is an
act to provide for the registration of Trade Unions and in certain respects to define the law
relating to registered Trade Unions.

Definition:
According to section 2(h) of the Trade Unions Act 1926, “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.

Chapter II of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 which consists of section 3 to section 14, deals
with the provisions relating to the registration of the Trade Unions. It provides certain

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requirements which are essential for the registration of a Trade Union and explain the
procedure by which a registration is done. It also provides for an Appeal in case of a
cancellation of registration. According to section 2(e) of the Act, “registered Trade Union”
means a Trade Union registered under this Act.

PROCEDURE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF A TRADE

UNION –

APPOINTMENT OF REGISTRARS –

Firstly, a Registrar need to be appointed. Registrar is a person who has the authority to
register a Trade Union. According to section 3 of the Act, the appropriate government
shall appoint a person to be the Registrar of Trade Unions for each state. Also, the
Appropriate government is authorised to appoint as many Additional and Deputy Registrars
of Trade Union 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
as it may by order specify. And it also defines the local limits within which any such
Additional or Deputy Registrar shall exercise and discharge the powers and functions so
specified.

MODE OF REGISTRATION –

Section 4 of the Trade Unions Act provide for the mode of registration of a Trade Union.
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, by subscribing their names to the rules of
the Trade Union, make an application and apply for the registration of the Trade Union
under this Act.  The reason behind the fixation of a minimum of seven members is to
encourage the formation of more and more trade unions.

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However, there are the following two conditions subsequent to the same –

Firstly, no Trade Union of workmen shall be registered unless at least ten per cent or one
hundred of the workmen, whichever is less, engaged or employed in the establishment are
its members on the date of making of its application, and

Secondly, no Trade Union shall be registered unless on the date of making of the
application, minimum seven persons who are workmen engaged or employed in the
establishment or industry, are the members of such Trade Union.

Also, according to sub-section 2 of section 4, 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 applicants, but not exceeding half of the total
number of persons who made the application, have:

 Either ceased to be members of such Trade Union or

 Has given notice in writing to the Registrar dissociating themselves form the
application.

In the case of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (1993), the court held that for the purpose of
regulating the relations between the workmen and the employers, any group of employees
may be registered as a Trade Union under the Act.

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION –

According to section 5 of the Act, every application for the registration of the 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 particulars, namely-

 The names, occupations and addresses of the members making the application;
 In the case of a Trade Union of workmen, the names, occupations and addresses of
the place of work of the members of the Trade Union making the application.

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  The name of the Trade Union and the address of its head office, and
 The titles, names, ages, addresses and occupations of the office- bearers of the Trade
Union.

According to sub-section 2 of section 5, where a Trade Union has been into existence for
more than a year before the making of an application for its registration, then a general
statement of the assets and liabilities shall also be submitted to the Registrar along with the
application for registration.

PROVISIONS TO BE CONTAINED IN THE RULES OF A TRADE

UNION –

Section 6 of the Trade Unions Act provide for certain provisions which are mandatory to be
complied with in order to register a Trade Union under this Act. According to section 6 of the
Act, a Trade Union shall not be entitled to registration unless the executive committee has
been established in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules provide for the
following matters, namely –

 The name of the Trade Union;

 The whole of the objects for which the Trade Union has been established;

 The whole of the purposes for which the general funds of the Trade Union shall be
applicable;

 The maintenance of a list of the members of the Trade Union and adequate facilities
for the inspection thereof by the office-bearers and members of Trade Union;

 The admission of ordinary members who shall be persons actually engaged or

employed in an industry with which the trade union is connected, and also the
admission of the number of honorary or temporary members as office-bearers
required under section 22 to form the executive of the Trade Union.

 The payment of a minimum subscription by members of the Trade Union which shall
not be less than:

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  One rupee per annum for rural workers;
 Three rupees per annum for workers in other unorganised sectors; and
 Twelve rupees per annum for workers in any other case.

 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;

 The manner in which the rules shall be amended, varied or rescinded;

 The manner in which the members of the executive and the other office-bearers of the
Trade Union shall be elected and removed;

 The duration of period being not more than three years, for which the members of the
executive and other office-bearers of the Trade Union shall be elected;

 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;

 The manner in which the Trade Union may be dissolved.

POWER TO CALL FOR FURTHER PARTICULARS AND TO

REQUIRE ALTERATION OF NAME –

Section 7 of the Trade Unions Act provide certain powers to the Registrar to call for any
further particulars, which he may think it to be necessary and can also ask for the alteration of
the name of such Trade Union.

According to section 7, the Registrar may call members of the application to acquire further
information to check whether the application is complete as per the provisions of section 5, or
the Trade Union is competent for registration under section 6, and if all such information is
incomplete, the Registrar may refuse to register the Trade Union.

According to sub-section 2 of section 7, the Registrar has the power to call the person
applying for registration to alter the name of the Trade Union, if-

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  The name of the Trade Union proposed by the person applying for registration is
identical to the name of any existing registered Trade Union, or
 The Registrar finds it a bit similar, which tends to deceive the public or the members
of either Trade Union.

And if such alteration doesn't take place, registrar shall refuse to register the Union.

REGISTRATION –

Section 8 of the act mentions that if the Registrar is satisfied that the Trade Union has
complied with all the requirements of the act in regard to the registration, then he shall
register the Trade union by entering in a register, the particulars relating to the Trade Union
contained in the statement accompanying the application for registration.

Case Law –

 Inland Steam Navigation Workers' Union (1968)- In this case, an application was
made by the workers' union to the Registrar for registration. But the application was
declared unlawful by the Registrar by stating the reason that the objects mentioned are
for all practical purposes.
Held: It was held by the court that the duties of the Registrar are to examine the
application and to look at the objects for which the Union was formed. If those objects
were the objects set out in the Act, and if those objects did not go outside the objects
prescribed in the Act and if all the requirements of the Act and the regulations made
thereunder had been complied with, it was his duty to register the Union.

 ONGC Workmen’s Association v. State of West Bengal (1988)- In this case, it was
held that the Registrar is not a quasi-judicial authority and cannot, therefore, decide
any disputed question of fact or law.

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  R.N. Singh v. State of Bihar (1998)- In this case, it was held that the provisions of
section 7 of the Act relate to only registration of a Trade Union. There is no provision
permitting or empowering the Registrar to refer internal disputes relating to office-
bearers for adjudication to any other forum.

Therefore, it can be said that under section-8, the authority given to the Registrar is limited in
nature.

CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION –

If all of the above-mentioned procedures are fulfilled then the last step in the procedure of the
registration of a Trade Union is the issue of certificate of registration. According to section 9
of the Act, the Registrar shall issue a certificate of registration to the Trade Union after
registration under section 8, within a period not exceeding thirty days, and which shall be the
conclusive proof that a trade union has been duly registered under this Act.

In the case of Food Corporation of India Staff Union v. Food Corporation of India, 1955, it
was held that the object of giving the certificate of registration is that the registration gives a
stamp of due formation of the Trade Union and assures the mind of the employer that the
Trade Union is an authenticated body.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENT ABOUT MEMBERSHIP OF A TRADE

UNION –

Section 9A of this Act provide for the minimum requirement of the members of the Trade
Union. According to this section, a registered Trade Union of workmen shall at all times,
subject to a minimum of seven members who are engaged or employed in an establishment
of the Union, continue to have at least ten per cent or one hundred of the workmen,
whichever is less, as its members.

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TIME PERIOD FOR THE REGISTRATION OF A TRADE
UNION –

In the Trade Unions Act,1926, no time period has been mentioned for the approval or refusal
of registration. It is a statutory duty of the Registrar to register the Trade Union if all the
requirements of registration are fulfilled duly. But in case, if any provision is not fulfilled
then there is no time limit for the grant or refuse the registration.

CASE LAW- 

ACC Rajanka Lime Stone Quarries Mazdoor Union v. Registrar of Trade unions (1958)-

Facts- The petitioner sent an application for registration of Union on 31st July 1957 to the
registrar of Trade Unions Government of Bihar, Patna, under a registered postal cover with
acknowledgement due. The Registrar of Trade Union received the application on the 3rd of
August, 1957. For a long time, there was no action taken by the Registrar of Trade Unions. 

Petitioner sent many reminders to the Registrar to speed up the process of registration and on
23rd September, a telegraphic reminder was sent by the petitioner, but there was no response
to it.

No action was taken for over 3 months. Therefore, the Union filed a writ petition before the
Patna High Court. It requested that the Registrar of Trade Unions should be governed to
register or refuse to register the Union as his statutory duty. 

Judgement– It was held by the High Court of Patna that, if the Registrar is satisfied that
application of registration is fulfilled with all the requirements of the Act, then as per Section
8 it is his statutory duty to register a trade union. The court authorized the registrar to deal
with the application of the trade union according to the law as soon as possible.

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CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION –

Section 10 of the Act provides for the cancellation of registration. As per section 10 of the
act, the registration of the Trade Union can be cancelled if the certificate of registration of a
Trade Union is withdrawn or cancelled by the Registrar:

 On the application of the Trade union; or

 If the Registrar is satisfied that the certificate of registration is obtained by mistake or
fraud; or
 The Trade union has ceased to exist; or
 The Trade union has wilfully contravened any provisions of this Act even after the
notice from the registrar; or
 If a registered Trade Union of workmen ceases to have the requisite number of
members.

APPEAL –

According to section 11 of the Act, any person who does not agree with the refusal of the
Registrar to register a Trade Union or by the withdrawal or cancellation of a certificate of
registration may, within such period as may be prescribed, appeal in any of the following-

 The head office of Trade Union which is situated within the restrictions of a
presidency town to the High Court; or
 The head office of Trade Union which is situate, within the jurisdiction of a Labour
Court or an Industrial Tribunal, to that court or tribunal as the case may be; or
 The head office of Trade Union which is situated in any area, to such court, not
subordinate to the court of an additional or assistant judge of a principal Civil Court
of original jurisdiction, as the appropriate government may appoint.

Accordingly, court may either refuse the appeal or pass an order governing the Registrar to
take suitable course of action.

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REGISTERED OFFICE –

Section 12 of the Act provides that all the communications and notices to a registered Trade
Union may be addressed to its registered office. According to section 2(d) of this Act,
“registered office” means that office of a Trade Union which is registered under this Act as
the head office thereof. Notice of any change in the address of the head office shall be given
to the Registrar in writing within the fourteen days of such change and the same shall be
recorded by the Registrar in the register referred to in section 8.

INCORPORATION OF REGISTERED TRADE UNIONS –

Section 13 of the Trade Union Act provide a separate legal status to a registered Trade
Union. According to this section, every registered Trade Union shall-

 Be a body corporate under the name it has been registered,

 Have perpetual succession which means the existence of the Union or the
continuation with regardless to any death, change in membership, etc. and a common
seal,
 Have power to acquire and hold both movable and immovable property,
 Have power to enter into a contract in its own name,
 Have the power to sue and be sued in its own name.

CERTAIN ACTS NOT TO APPLY TO REGISTERED TRADE

UNIONS –

Section 14 of the Trade Union Act provides the name of the following acts which do not
apply on a registered Trade Union –

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  The Societies Registration Act,1860 (21 of 1860)
 The Co-operatives Societies Act, 1912 (2 of 1912)
 The Companies Act,1956 (1 of 1956)

Such acts shall not apply to any registered trade union, and if any Trade union gets itself
registered under any of these acts, then such a registration would be void in nature.

COMPULSORY/VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION –

As per the act, the registration of a trade union is not compulsory but it is just voluntary in
nature. It is believed that compulsory registration would prove burdensome and expensive
and therefore, it is voluntary in nature.

On the other hand, it is argued that the registration should be made compulsory for the trade
unions so that they could be governed by the provisions and rules laid down in the act in a
similar manner.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGISTRATION AND

RECOGNITION OF TRADE UNIONS –

The main difference between registration and recognition of Trade Union is that registration
is done by the Registrar and recognition is done by the management as collective bargaining
agent. None of them is mandatory under the Trade Union Act.

However, a Registered Trade Union have certain inherent benefits with it whereas,
Recognition of Trade Union has no inherent right and once they are recognised, it leads to
conferred certain rights upon them.

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 CONCLUSION

The existence of Trade union creates a healthy working relationship between the employer
and the employees. It is because of Trade union that the workers feel that their rights are duly
protected and can anytime create a pressure on the employers if they feel that employers are
overpowering them unnecessarily.

Apart from this, the registration of Trade union under the Trade union Act, 1926 helped the
Trade Unions to gain recognition and certification. The detailed provisions of the Act talk
about the procedure, advantages of registering Trade unions and various immunities available
to the union leaders from civil and criminal laws for the activities of a registered Trade
Union.

Section 17 and 18 of the Trade Union Act provide immunities from the civil and criminal
liability to the registered Trade Union respectively. Section 19 of the Act gives the privilege
to make agreements in restraint of trade. A registered Trade Union also has a separate legal
entity and thus it can sue and be sued in its own name.

However, in view of the Trade unions Act, 1926 the National Labour Commission has
proposed various recommendations in the year 1969 –

 The registration of Trade unions which is voluntary should be made compulsory.

 Some time limit should be prescribed for the Registrar to decide on the issue of
registration.
 Effective measures must be taken for cancellation if the conditions mentioned in the
Act are not complied with by the unions.
After the above-mentioned recommendations, various enactments were passed.

After this, a Second National Labour Commission was established and consequently, a
second report was submitted in the year 2002. In this report, the commission recommended

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the eligibility condition i.e., requirement of 10 per cent membership shall not apply in the
case of unions in the unorganised sector.

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