Background
The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Disputes Rules, 1958 were framed under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 to provide procedural guidelines for prevention and settlement of industrial disputes in the state. These rules lay down the process for filing applications, references, and appeals before conciliation officers, Labour Courts, and Industrial Tribunals, along with the prescribed forms and notices to be used. Their objective is to ensure systematic handling of disputes relating to wages, retrenchment, strikes, lockouts, and other service conditions, thereby promoting industrial peace and harmony in Andhra Pradesh.
Applicability
The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Disputes Rules, 1958 apply to all industries and industrial establishments or undertakings as defined under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 in the state of Andhra Pradesh, governing disputes between employers and workmen relating to employment, non-employment, terms of service, and working conditions.
Compliance requirement under Rules in accordance with the Act:
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-A and shall be delivered personally or forwarded by registered post ‘[to the Secretary to the Government in charge of Labour (in triplicate), the Commissioner of Labour and the Conciliation Officer of the area concerned.
An arbitration agreement for the reference of an industrial dispute to an arbitrator or arbitrators shall be made in Form-C shall be delivered personally on forwarded by registered post [to the Secretary to Government in charge of Labour (in triplicate], the Commissioner of Labour and the Conciliation Officer concerned. The agreement shall be accompanied by the consent, in writing, of the arbitrator or arbitrators.
Any employer intending to effect any change in the conditions of service applicable to any workman in respect of any matter specified in the Fourth Schedule [to the Act] shall give notice of such intention in Form-F.
Any employer to whom an order made under sub-section (1) of Section 3 relates shall forthwith proceed to constitute a Works Committee in the manner prescribed in this part.
A settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings or otherwise, shall be in form “H‟
The settlement shall be signed by,
(a) in the case of an employer by the employer, himself, or by his authorised agent or when the employer is an incorporated company or other body corporate, by the agent, manager or other principal officer of the corporation.
(b) in the case of workman,
(i) by the President and the Secretary of a registered trade union of the workmen or if both or either of them is not available by
5 representatives duly authorised by the executive of that union
(ii) where there is no registered trade union, by 5 representatives of the workmen duly authorised in the General Body meeting
by the majority of the workmen, held for this purpose.
(c) in the case of an individual workman, by himself.
The notice of lock-out to be given by an employer carrying on a public utility service shall be in Form-M. The notice shall be displayed conspicuously by the employer on a notice board at the main entrance to the establishment and in the Manager’s Office.
Provided that where a registered trade union exists, a copy of the notice shall be served on the Secretary of the Union.
The intimation of lock-out or strike in a public utility service to be sent by the employer under sub-section (3) of Section 22, shall be Form-N.
The application for permission to lay-off any workman under sub-section (1) of Section 25-M shall be made in triplicate, in Form 0-3 and delivered to the Authority specified under sub-section (1) of the said Section either personally or by registered post with acknowledgement due and where the application is sent by the Registered post the date on which the same was delivered to the Authority shall be deemed to be the date on which the application was made forth purpose of sub-section (5) of that Section.
If any workman employed in an industrial establishment as defined in the explanation below Sec. 25-A not being an industrial establishment referred to in sub-section (1) of that Section is laid-off then the employer concerned shall give notices of commencement and termination of such lay-off in Forms O-1 and O-2 respectively within three days of such commencement or termination, as the case may be.
If any employer desires to retrench any workman employed in his industrial establishment who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under him (hereinafter referred to as ‘workman’ in This rule and in Rules 79 and 80), he shall give notice of such retrenchment as in Form ‘P’ to the Government, the Commissioner of labour, the Regional Assistant Commissioner of labour and the Employment Exchange concerned and such notice shall be served on the Government, the Commissioner of labour, and the Employment Exchange concerned by registered post.
If an employer intends to close down an undertaking he shall give at least sixty days before the date on which the intended closure is to become effective, notice of such closure in Form ‘Q’ to the Government, the Commissioner of labour, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, the Regional Assistant Commissioner of labour, the labour Officer and the Employment Exchange concerned by registered post.
The application under sub-section (1) of Section 25-O for closure shall be made in Form QA in triplicate to the Government either personally or by Registered Post acknowledgement due and where the application is sent by registered post the date on which the same was delivered on the Government shall be deemed to be the date on which the application was made for the purpose of sub-section (3) of Section 25-O.
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.
At least ten days before the date on which vacancies are to be filled, the employer shall arrange for the display on a notice board in a conspicuous place in the premises of the industrial establishment details of those vacancies and shall also give intimation of those vacancies by registered post to every one of all the retrenched workmen eligible to be considered therefore to the address given by him at the time of retrenchment at any time thereafter.
Provided that where the number of such vacancies is less than the number of retrenched workmen, it shall be sufficient if intimation is given by the employer individually to the senior most retrenched workman in the list referred to in Rule 79 the number of such senior most workmen being double number of such vacancies.
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(1) 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.
(2) The Grievance Redressal Committee shall consist of equal number of members from the employer and the workmen.
(3) The chairperson of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall be selected from the employer and from among the workmen alternatively on rotation basis every year.
(4) 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.
Whenever a workman (other than a badli workman or a casual workman) whose name is borne on the muster rolls of an industrial establishment and who has completed not less than one year of continuous service under an employer is laid-off, whether continuously or intermittently, he shall be paid by the employer for all days during which he is so laid-off, except for such weekly holidays as may intervene, compensation which shall be equal to fifty per cent of the total of the basic wages and dearness allowance that would have been payable to him had he not been so laid-off.
No workman (other than a badli workman or a casual workman) whose name is borne on the muster rolls of an industrial establishment to which this Chapter applies shall be laid-off by his employer except with the prior permission of the prescribed authority, obtained on an application made in this behalf, unless such lay-off is due to shortage of power or to natural calamity, and in the case of a mine, such lay-off is due also to fire, flood, excess of inflammable gas or explosion.
Where in any case, a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal by its award directs reinstatement of any workman and the employer prefers any proceedings against such award in a High Court or the Supreme Court, the employer shall be liable to pay such workman, during the period of pendency of such proceedings in the High Court or the Supreme Court, full wages last drawn by him, inclusive of any maintenance allowance admissible to him under any rule if the workman had not been employed in any establishment during such period and an affidavit by such workman had been filed to that effect in such Court.
Where any workman in an industrial establishment, who is a citizen of India, is to be retrenched and he belongs to a particular category of workmen in that establishment, in the absence of any agreement between the employer and the workman in this behalf, the employer shall ordinarily retrench the workman who was the last person to be employed in that category, unless for reasons to be recorded the employer retrenches any other workman.
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.
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.
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.
The employer shall submit half-yearly returns as in Form G-l in triplicate to the Conciliation Officer concerned, not later than the 20th of the month following the half year.
No workman employed in any industry who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until:
(a) the workman has been given 1 month’s notice in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, or the workman has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of the notice.
(b) the workman has been paid, at the time of retrenchment, compensation which shall be equivalent to 15 days’ average pay [for every completed year of continuous service] or any part thereof in excess of six months.
(c) notice in the prescribed manner is served on the appropriate Government or such authority as may be specified by the appropriate Government by notification in the Official Gazette.
No workman employed in any industrial establishment to which this Chapter applies, who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until,-
(a) the workman has been given three months’ notice in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, or the workman has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of notice.
(b) the prior permission of the appropriate Government or such authority as may be specified by that Government by notification in the Official Gazette (hereafter in this section referred to as the specified authority) has been obtained on an application made in this behalf.
Penalties and Punishment under Andhra Pradesh Industrial Dispute Act, 1958
Any breach of these rules shall be punishable with fine not exceeding fifty rupees
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