Compliance requirements under the Rules in accordance with Act

1. Form I: Application for reference of industrial dispute to a Board or Court in Gujarat (Section 10(2) & Rule 3)

• An application under sub-section (2) of Section 10 for the reference of an industrial dispute to a Board, Court, Labour Court. or Tribunal shall be made in Form-I and shall be delivered personally or forwarded by registered post in triplicate to the Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad or the concerned Assistant Commissioner of Labour having jurisdiction in the matter.
• The application shall be accompanied by a statement setting forth:
  1. the names and addresses of the parties to the dispute;
  2. the nature and cause of the dispute, including any demands made by either party or the other to which exception is taken by the opposite party;
  3. the total number of workmen employed in the undertaking affected;
  4. an estimate of the number of workmen affected or likely to be affected by the dispute;
  5. the efforts made by the parties themselves to adjust the dispute.”

2. Form III: Arbitration Agreement by Establishment covered under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Rule 8)

An arbitration agreement for the reference of an industrial dispute to an arbitrator or arbitrators shall be made in form III and shall be delivered personally or forwarded by registered post in triplicate to the Secretary to the Government, Education and Labour Department, Ahmedabad, the Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad, the Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad and the Conciliation Officer concerned. The agreement shall be accompanied by the consent, in writing, of the arbitrator or arbitrators.

3. Form XIII- Notice of change of condition of service under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section 9A & Rule 37)

Any employer intending to effect any change in the conditions of service applicable to any workman in respect of any matter specified in Fourth Schedule appended to the act shall give notice of such intention in Form XIII.

4. Manner of Service of notice of change affecting workmen in Gujarat (Section 9A & Rule 38)

• Where there are numerous workmen affected by a notice of change and the majority of such workmen are members of any trade union, the service of notice, by registered post. on the secretary, or where there is no secretary, on the principal officer of the trade union shall be deemed to be service on all such workmen. The employer shall, at the same time, arrange to exhibit the notice by affixing it to a notice board in the manner specified in sub-rule (2).
• If the Secretary or the Principal Officer refuses to receive the notice or that for any other reason the notice cannot be served on the Secretary or the Principal Officer in the ordinary way the exhibition of the notice in the manner specified shall be deemed to be service on all such workmen.”

5. Works Committee to be formed by employer under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules(Section-3 & Rule 39)

Any employer to whom an order has been made to constitute a Works Committee shall forthwith proceed to constitute the Committee consisting of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Joint Secretary as office bearers with 2 years term of office of the representatives and meeting not less often than once in a quarter.

6. Election of workmen representatives in establishment covered under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section-3 & Rule 43,44,46)

• The employer shall provide for the election of workmen’s representatives on the Committee in two groups—
• those to be elected by the workmen of establishment who are members of the trade unions,
• those to be elected by the workmen of the establishment who are not members of the trade union or unions, bearing the same proportion to each other as the union members in the establishment bear to the non-members.
• The workmen’s representatives are to be elected in two groups, the workmen entitled to vote shall be divided into two electoral constituencies, the one consisting of those who are members of trade union and the other of those who are not.(Rule 44)
• Any workman of not less than 19 years of age and with a service of not less than 1 year in the establishment may if nominated as provided in these rules, be a candidate for election as a representative of the workmen on the Committee. The service qualification shall not apply to the first election in an establishment which has been in existence for less than a year.(Rule 46)
• Where more than half the workmen are members of the union or any one of the unions, no such divisions shall be made.
• Where a trade union neglects or fails to furnish the information called for under rule 42 within one month of the date of the notice requiring it to furnish such information, such union shall, for the purpose of this rule, be treated as if it did not exist.
  1. Qualifications for voters (As per Rule 47)
  2. Procedure for election (As per Rule 48)
  3. Every nomination shall be made on a nomination paper in form “”XIV”” (Rule 49)
  4. Scrutiny of nomination papers (Rule 50)
  5. Voting in election(Rule 51)
  6. Arrangements for election(Rule 52)

7. Form-XV: Annual Return under Gujarat Industrial Dispute Rules (Rule 61)

Every employer who is required by the State Government to constitute a Works Committee under sub-section(1) of section 3 shall submit to the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad in duplicate a yearly return in Form XV. Such return shall be delivered or sent by post so as to reach the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad not later than three weeks after the expiry of the year to which it relates.

8. Form XVI: Memorandum of settlement by Ind. Estab. covered under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Rule 62)

A settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings or otherwise, shall be in form “”XVI‟

The settlement shall be signed by—

• in the case of an employer, by the employer himself, or by his authorised agent, or where the employer is an incorporated company or other body corporate, by the agent, manager, or other principal officer of the of such company or body;
• in the case of the workmen, either by the President and Secretary of a trade union of workmen, or by five representatives of the workmen duly authorised in this behalf at a meeting of the workmen held for the purpose.

9. Form XXVII : Application for permission to lay-off under Section 25-M (Section 25M & Rule 79-B)

• Application for permission to lay-off any workman in an Industrial Est employing 300 or more workmen on an average per working day for preceding12 months ( and engaged in industries which are not seasonal /with intermittent work ) or for permission to continue a lay-off section 25M shall be made in Form XXVII  to the prescribed authority.
• Where the permission to lay-off has been granted by the said Authority, the employer concerned shall give to the Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad, a notice of commencement and termination of such lay-off in Forms-XXIII-A and XXIII-B respectively and where permission to continue a lay-off has been granted by the said authority, the employer shall give to Commissioner of Labour, Ahmedabad a notice of Commencement of such lay off in Form XXIII-A, in case such a notice has not already been given under sub-rule (1) of rule -79-A,and a notice of termination of such lay off in Form XXIII-B.

10. Forms XXIII-A and XXIII-B : Notice of lay-off (Section-25A & Rule 79-A)

• If any workman employed in an industrial establishment as defined in the explanation to section 25A of the Act, not being an industrial establishment referred to in sub-section (1) of that section is laid off, then the employer concerned shall give notice of the commencement and the termination of such lay off in XXIII-A and XXIII-B respectively within three days of such commencement or termination, as the case may be.
• Such notices shall be given by an employer in every case irrespective of whether, in his opinion, the workman laid off is or is not entitled to compensation under section 25C.

11. Maintenance of seniority list of workmen by employer under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section 25H & Rule 81)

The employer shall prepare a list of all workmen in the particular category from which retrenchment is contemplated, arranged according to the seniority of their service in that category and cause a copy thereof to be posted on a notice board in a conspicuous place in the premises of the industrial establishment at least seven days before the actual date of retrenchment.

12. Submission of disputes for arbitration to Registrar under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section 10B, 10C)

• Any employer and a Representative Union or, in the absence of any registered Representative Union, any other Union which is representative of employees may, by a written agreement, agree to submit any present or future industrial dispute or class of such disputes to the arbitration of any person whether such arbitrator is named in such agreement or not. Such agreement shall be called a submission.
• A copy of every such submission shall be sent to the Registrar who shall register it in the register to be maintained for the purpose and shall publish it in such manner as may be prescribed.

13. Grievance Redressal Committee under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section-9C)

• Every industrial establishment employing twenty or more workmen shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committee for the resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances.
• The Grievance Redressal Committee shall consist of equal number of members from the employer and the workmen.
• The chairperson of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall be selected from the employer and from among the workmen alternatively on rotation basis every year.
• The total number of members of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall not exceed more than six. Provided that there shall be, as far as practicable, one woman member if the Grievance Redressal Committee has two members and in case the number of members are more than two, the number of women members may be increased proportionately.

14. Right of workmen laid-off for compensation under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section 25C)

• A workman, employed for at least 1 year of continuous service, if laid-off, shall be paid for all days during which he is so laid-off, compensation equal to 50% of total wages & DA that would have been payable to him had he not been so laid-off.
• This provision will not apply :
  • to industrial establishments to which Chapter VB (Special provisions relating to lay-off, retrenchment and closure in certain establishments) applies i.e. where at least 300 workmen are employed on an average per working day for the preceding twelve months & is not of seasonal character or where work is performed intermittently
  • to industrial establishments in which less than fifty workmen on an average per working day have been employed in the preceding calendar month
  • to industrial establishments which are of a seasonal character or in which work is performed only intermittently

15. Prohibition of workmen’s lay-off by employer under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Act (Section-25M)

• No workman shall be laid-off except with prior permission of prescribed authority, obtained on an application made in this behalf, unless such lay-off is due to shortage of power/ natural calamity, and in case of a mine, due to fire, flood, excess of inflammable gas or explosion.
• Where the workmen (other than badli workmen or casual workmen) of an industrial establishment, being a mine, have been laid-off for reasons of fire, flood or excess of inflammable gas or explosion, the employer, in relation to such establishment, shall, within a period of thirty days from the date of commencement, of such lay-off, apply, in the prescribed manner, to the appropriate Government or the specified authority for permission to continue the lay-off.

16. Payment of wages during period of proceedings in Courts under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section-17B)

• Industrial establishment shall be liable to pay full wages last drawn by the workmen in case of any proceedings pending in High Court or Supreme Court, during the period of pendency of such proceedings.
• Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the High Court or the Supreme Court that such workman had been employed and had been receiving adequate remuneration during any such period or part thereof, the Court shall order that no wages shall be payable under this section for such period or part, as the case may be.

17. Retrenchment of workman by Industrial Establishment covered under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section-25G)

In case of retrenchment of any workmen, employer shall ensure:

• Category of workmen to be retrenched
• Notice of retrenchment to Central Government & labour commissioner as applicable
• Workmen is served required notice and compensation or wages for notice period in lieu of such retrenchment

18. Muster rolls of workmen by establishment covered under Gujarat Industrial Disputes Rules (Section-25D)

• It shall be the duty of every employer to maintain a muster-roll, notwithstanding that workmen in any industrial establishment have been laid-off and to provide for the making of entries therein by workmen who may present themselves for work at the establishment at the appointed time during normal working hours.
• This provision will not apply :
  • to industrial establishments to which Chapter VB (Special provisions relating to lay-off, retrenchment and closure in certain establishments) applies i.e. where at least 300 workmen are employed on an average per working day for the preceding twelve months & is not of seasonal character or where work is performed intermittently
  • to industrial establishments in which less than fifty workmen on an average per working day have been employed in the preceding calendar month
  • to industrial establishments which are of a seasonal character or in which work is performed only intermittently

19. Compensation to workmen in case of transfer of undertakings in Gujarat (Section-25FF)

• Where the ownership or management of an undertaking is transferred, whether by agreement or by operation of law, from the employer in relation to that undertaking to a new employer, every workman who has been in continuous service for not less than one year in that undertaking immediately before such transfer shall be entitled to notice and compensation in accordance with the provisions of Section 25-F, as if the workman had been retrenched
• Nothing in this section shall apply to a workman in any case where there has been a change of employers by reason of the transfer, if
  1. the service of the workman has not been interrupted by such transfer.
  2. the terms and conditions of service applicable to the workman after such transfer are not in any way less favourable to the workman than those applicable to him immediately before the transfer.
  3. the new employer is, under the terms of such transfer or otherwise, legally liable to pay to the workman, in the event of his retrenchment, compensation on the basis that his service has been continuous and has not been interrupted by the transfer.

20. Compensation for lay off for more than 45 days in Gujarat (Section 25C)

If during any period of twelve months, a workman is laid-off for more than forty-five days, no such compensation shall be payable in respect of any period of the lay-off after the expiry of the first forty-five days, if there is an agreement to that effect between the workman and the employer.

This provision will not apply :

• to industrial establishments to which Chapter VB (Special provisions relating to lay-off, retrenchment and closure in certain establishments) applies i.e. where at least 300 workmen are employed on an average per working day for the preceding twelve months & is not of seasonal character or where work is performed intermittently
• to industrial establishments in which less than fifty workmen on an average per working day have been employed in the preceding calendar month
• to industrial establishments which are of a seasonal character or in which work is performed only intermittently
• It shall be lawful for the employer in this case falling to retrench the workman in accordance with the provisions contained in section 25F at any time after the expiry of the first forty-five days of the lay-off and when he does so, any compensation paid to the workman for having been laid-off during the preceding twelve months may be set off against the compensation payable for retrenchment.