Know Your Labor Rights Irrespective of Country, Color, Sex, Religion or Birth : International Labour Standards

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International Labor Standards : Rights Of Workmen Irrespective Of Borders

International Labor Standards : Rights Of Workmen Irrespective Of Borders

According to International Training Center, the training arm of International Labor Organisation

"Globalization - the interlinking of national economies - has been intensifying in the last few decades and affecting almost everybody in the world.  While it has provided opportunities for some regions it has also led to increased inequality within many countries and a growing gap between the world's richest and poorest nations. If this pattern continues even more poverty, social instability and conflict will develop. Consequently there is growing recognition in the international community that to ensure fair treatment and increased prosperity for everybody basic global rules are needed."

This has been a growing concern amongst all. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the global body concerned with all matters connected to work in the world. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Since 1919 it has been setting rules about employment in order to ensure that social justice, prosperity and peace for all develop along with economic progress.

These rules - called international labour standards - are legal instruments which define basic minimum standards in the world of work. They are drawn up by representatives of governments, employers and workers in a tripartite fashion and so represent the work-related principles of the major actors in the global economy. As instruments of law which can be ratified  by governments the standards are part of the legal framework the international community is developing as it confronts the effects of globalization. But they also serve as guide posts for organizations, companies and individuals concerned with basic principles and rights at work.

There are two types of Standard CONVENTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS. Conventions are mandatory applied on all ILO Member. Recommendations are non-binding suggested guidelines.

The ILO's Fundamental Conventions

(A) Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining 

1. No. 87: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, 1948.

1. No. 98: Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining, 1949

The right to organise and bargaining collectively are basic rights for  all working people and employers, with the only exception of armed forces and police. Yet all over the world the application of these fundamental principles continues to be challenged. In many countries certain categories of workers (such as public employees, seafarers and workers in export processing zones) are denied the right to form a union.  Other countries illegally suspend or interfere with labour organizations. Some even encourage or systematically ignore the killing of unionists.  Meanwhile, there are countries which deny the rights of association to employers so that effective tripartite social dialogue of all the major actors - governments, employers and workers - is inhibited.

           

 The ILO works towards guaranteeing freedom of association, effective collective bargaining and social dialogue. Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize) sets forth the rights of  workers and employers. These include establishing and joining organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization, organize their administration and activities, formulate their programmes, and affiliate with national or international organizations.

Convention No 98 (Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining) provides that workers will be protected against acts of anti-union discrimination, including dismissal because of union membership or participation in union activities and free from requirements that a worker not join a union or relinquish union membership for employment. It also guarantees adequate protection against any acts of interference from employers’ organizations and enshrines the right to collective bargaining so workers and employers can freely negotiate wages, benefits, working conditions and other employment issues.

There are other ILO conventions relevant to freedom of association and collective bargaining. For example, Convention No. 135 (Workers' Representatives) provides facilities for workers’ representatives and protection  from being dismissed or otherwise punished based on their status, union membership or activities related to their unions. Convention No. 141 (Rural Workers' Organization) describes the freedom of association and bargaining rights of rural workers whether they are wage earners or self-employed. It also describes the obligation for governments to facilitate the establishment and growth of labour organizations.

The right to form unions and bargain collectively is not only a question of workers' rights. It is also related to the sustainable development of countries. It has been recognized that countries with highly coordinated collective bargaining systems tend to have less inequality in wages, lower and less persistent unemployment, and fewer and shorter strikes than countries where collective bargaining is less established.

(B) The elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour.

1. No. 29: Forced Labour, 1930 
2. No. 105: Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957.

            The ILO estimates that currently at least 12.3 million women, men and children across the world are victims of forced labour. They are trapped in exploitative work which they are unable to leave and are suffering at the hands of unscrupulous employers, labour contractors or agents. They may be victims of trafficking into commercial sexual exploitation but, more often, they are working in economic sectors like agriculture, construction or informal manufacturing, frequently labouring under the burden of a debt which they can never repay. Many, especially women and girls, are trapped in forced domestic service in private households, well beyond the reach of the protections afforded by labour law. Irregular migrant workers are highly vulnerable to forced labour exploitation, living and working in constant fear of being turned over to the authorities in their host country. Indigenous peoples are also among the most vulnerable, for whom forced labour is another facet of the discrimination they face in all aspects of their lives. A minority – but still a significant number of people – suffer forced labour imposed directly by the state or by its representatives. Everywhere, in rich and poor countries alike, forced labour affects the poorest and the most socially marginalized groups in the population.

            Forced labour, wherever it occurs, represents a brake on social and economic development and a violation of human rights. The ILO’s clear message is that it can be and must be stopped. The numbers of people affected are large, but not so large that abolition appears an unattainable goal.         

            The Forced Labour Convention (No. 29) demands suppression of  the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period. Forced labour is defined as any work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered him or herself voluntarily. However, work or services exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws, as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law , in cases of emergency, which forms part of normal civic obligations, and minor community services are not considered forced labour. The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), that supplements Convention No 29, asks to suppress and not to make use of any form of forced or compulsory labour as a means of political coercion, education or punishment. It also prohibits using forced labour as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development, as a means of labour discipline, or as a penalty for having participated in strikes, or still as a means of racial, social, national, or religious discrimination.

            Forced or compulsory labour is also covered by the ILO's Convention on the worst forms of child labour, 1999 (No. 182).

(C) The effective abolition of child labour

1. No. 138: Minimum Age, 1973.
2. No 182: Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999.

            According to ILO estimates  there are some 317.4 million children aged 5 to 17 engaged in some form of economic activity in the world (2004), including 190.7 million in the age group from 5 to 14 years. “Economic activity” encompasses most productive activities of children: it includes both work that is permissible under the ILO Child Labour Conventions and work that is not permissible. “Child labour”, however, is a narrower concept: it excludes the activities of children 12 years and older who are working only a few hours a week in permitted light work and those of children 15 years and above whose work is not classified as “hazardous”. ILO action targets the elimination of child labour as defined in the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) and not all economic activities of children. The ILO research mentioned above also identified an estimated 217.7 million children in child labour aged 5 to 17 years (of which 165.8 million were below the age of 15), 107.6 million below the age of 12, and 126.3 million child labourers working in hazardous situations or conditions (of which 74.3 million children were below 15 years of age).  

     

            Child labour is a violation of fundamental human rights. It has been shown to perpetuate poverty across generations as children grow up without access to education or decent health care.

            ILO standards on child labour are primary international tools for addressing the problem. The Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) sets a general minimum age for admission to employment or work that shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years, 13 years for light labour. For hazardous work the minimum age is 18 (or 16 under strict conditions). The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) was adopted by the ILO in 1999, and supplements Convention No. 138. It requires member states of the ILO to eliminate all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery (such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, forced or compulsory labour, and the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict); the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution and pornography; the use, procuring or offering or children for illicit activities such as the production and trafficking of drugs; and work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.

            The convention requires ratifying states to provide the means to remove children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It also requires states to ensure access to free basic education and, wherever possible or appropriate, provide vocational training for children removed from the worst forms of child labour.             

(d) The elimination of discrimination related to employment and occupation.

1. No. 100: Equal Remuneration, 1951
2. No. 111:  Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), 1958

Millions of men and women around the world are denied access to jobs and training, receive low wages, or are restricted to certain occupations simply on the basis of their sex, skin colour, ethnicity or beliefs without regard for their skills and capabilities.

            Freedom from discrimination is a fundamental human right which is essential for workers and job seekers to choose their employment freely, to develop their potential to the full, and reap economic rewards on the basis of merit.

            One of the ILO's fundamental conventions is No. 100 on Equal Remuneration between men and women. The convention requires countries that have ratified it to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The term "remuneration" is broadly defined to include the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary and any other compensation payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the workers' employment.  The term equal value means that men and women who  have different positions should be paid equally if the content of their job is objectively of equal value. According to this concept, Convention No. 100 requires member states to evaluate the respective value of different jobs in order to end the under evaluation of jobs mostly performed by women.

            The second fundamental convention related to equality is No. 111: Discrimination (Employment and Occupation).  It defines discrimination as any distinction, exclusion or preference  made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation. The convention requires countries which ratify it to implement policies designed to promote, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation with a view to eliminating any discrimination in this area. As a first step, the state is expected to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any administrative instructions or practices which are inconsistent with the policy. It is important to notice that prohibition of discrimination should cover not only the conditions of employment but also recruitment and access to vocational training and guidance.

            A related convention is No. 156: Workers with Family Responsibilities. This convention requires states to make it a national goal to enable people with family responsibilities who are engaged, or wish to engage, in employment to exercise their right without discrimination.

(E) Payment of Respectable Wages

According to Protection of Wages Convention, 1949. The objective of Convention No. 95 is to guarantee the payment of wages in full and in a timely manner.

Wages: remuneration or earnings, however designated or calculated, capable of being expressed in terms of money and fixed by mutual agreement or by national laws or regulations, which are payable in virtue of a written or unwritten contract of employment by an employer to an employed person for work done or to be done or for services rendered or to be rendered.

The Convention applies to all persons to whom wages are paid or payable. Although the competent national authority may, after consultation with the organizations of employers and employed persons, exclude from the application of all or any of the provisions of the Convention, categories of persons whose circumstances and conditions of employment are such that the application to them of all or any of the said provisions would be inappropriate and who are:

1. not employed in manual labour; or 
2. are employed in domestic service.

 Workers have to be informed of the conditions in respect of wages under which they are employed and the particulars of their wages in so far as they may be subject to change.

 Wages payable in money have to be paid only in legal tender. However, the competent authority may permit their payment by cheque in certain circumstances. Furthermore, the payment of wages when made in cash has to be on working days only and in principle at or near the workplace, but never in taverns. 

The partial payment of wages in the form of allowances in kind may be authorized under the following conditions:

• it is customary or desirable in the industry or occupation concerned; 
• they are in no case paid in the form of liquor of high alcoholic content or of noxious drugs;     
• they are appropriate for the personal use and benefit of the worker and her or his family; 
• they are reasonable wages

Wages have to be paid regularly. Upon the termination of a contract of employment, a final settlement of all wages due has to be made within a reasonable period of time.

Wages normally have to be paid directly to the worker, and employers may not limit in any manner the freedom of the workers to dispose of their wages.

Deductions from wages may be permitted only under conditions and to the extent prescribed by national laws or regulations, or fixed by collective agreement or arbitration award, and must not be made for the purpose of obtaining or retaining employment.

Applying and promoting International Labour Standards : ILO supervisory system

International labour standards are backed by a supervisory system that is unique at the international level and that helps to ensure that countries implement the conventions they ratify. The ILO regularly examines the application of standards in member states and points out areas where they could be better applied. If there are any problems in the application of standards, the ILO seeks to assist countries through social dialogue and technical assistance.

The ILO has developed various means of supervising the application of Conventions and Recommendations in law and practice following their adoption by the International Labour Conference and their ratification by States. There are two kinds of supervisory mechanism:

The regular system of supervision: examination of periodic reports submitted by Member States on the measures they have taken to implement the provisions of the ratified Conventions

Special procedures: a representations procedure and a complaints procedure of general application, together with a special procedure for freedom of association 

The regular system of supervision is based on the examination by two ILO bodies of reports on the application in law and practice sent by member States and on observations in this regard sent by workers’ organizations and employers’ organizations.

The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations

The International Labour Conference’s Tripartite Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations

Unlike the regular system of supervision in Special Procedure, the three procedures listed below are based on the submission of a representation or a complaint:

1. Procedure for representations  on the application of ratified Conventions.
2. Procedure for complaints  over the application of ratified Conventions.
3. Special procedure for complaints regarding freedom of association through the Freedom of Association Committee 

International labour standards are universal instruments adopted by the international community and reflecting common values and principles on work-related issues. While member States can choose whether or not to ratify any conventions, the ILO considers it important to keep track of developments in all countries, whether or not they have ratified them. Under article 19 of the ILO Constitution , member States are required to report at regular intervals on measures they have taken to give effect to any provision of certain conventions or recommendations, and to indicate any obstacles which have prevented or delayed the ratification of a particular convention.

The Committee of Experts publishes an in-depth annual General Survey on member States' national law and practice, on a subject chosen by the Governing Body. These surveys  are established mainly on the basis of reports received from member states and information transmitted by employers' and workers' organizations. They allow the Committee of Experts to examine the impact of conventions and recommendations, to analyse the difficulties indicated by governments as impeding their application, and to identify means of overcoming these obstacles.

Article 22 of the ILO Constitution: Obligation to report on ratified Conventions

"Each of the Members agrees to make an annual report to the International Labour Office on the measures which it has taken to give effect to the provisions of Conventions to which it is a party. These reports shall be made in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Governing Body may request."

Article 19 (5e): Obligation to report on unratified Conventions

"If the Member does not obtain the consent of the authority or authorities within whose competence the matter lies, no further obligation shall rest upon the Member except that it shall report to the Director-General of the International Labour Office, at appropriate intervals as requested by the Governing Body, the position of its law and practice in regard to the matters dealt with in the Convention, showing the extent to which effect has been given, or is proposed to be given, to any of the provisions of the Convention by legislation, administrative action, collective agreement or otherwise and stating the difficulties which prevent or delay the ratification of such Convention."

Article 19 (6d): Obligation to report on Recommendations

"Apart from bringing the Recommendation before the said competent authority or authorities, no further obligation shall rest upon the Members, except that they shall report to the Director-General of the International Labour Office, at appropriate intervals as requested by the Governing Body, the position of the law and practice in their country in regard to the matters dealt with in the Recommendation, showing the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given, to the provisions of the Recommendation and such modifications of these provisions as it has been found or may be found necessary to make in adopting or applying them."

Article 23: Ratified Conventions, unratified Conventions and Recommendations

"The Director-General shall lay before the next meeting of the Conference a summary of the information and reports communicated to him by Members in pursuance of articles 19 and 22."

"Each Member shall communicate to the representative organizations […] copies of the information and reports communicated to the Director-General in pursuance of articles 19 and 22."

Effect of Registration on Trade Union under Trade Union Act, 1926

Under Section 10, incorporation of registered Trade Union results in following.-

1. Every registered Trade Union shall be a body corporate
2. by the name under which it is registered, and
3. shall have perpetual succession and
4. a common seal
5. with power to acquire and hold both movable and immovable property and
6. to contract, and 
7. shall by the said name sue and be sued.

Under Section 17 of Trade Union Act, 1926.-

No office-bearer or member of a Registered Trade Union shall be liable to punishment under sub-section (2) of section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860) in respect of any agreement made between the members for the purpose of furthering any such object of the Trade Union as is specified in section 15, unless the agreement is an agreement to commit an offence.

Under Section 18 a Registered Trade Union has Immunity from civil suit in certain cases.-

1. No suit or other legal proceeding 
2. shall be maintainable in any Civil Court 
3. against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member thereof 
4. in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute to which a member of the Trade Union is a party 
5. 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. Also 
6. A registered Trade Union shall not be liable in any suit or other legal proceeding in any civil court 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 Unions.

"Trade Dispute" means any dispute between employers and workmen or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers which is connected with the employment or non-employment, or the terms of employment or the conditions of labour, of any person, and "workmen" means all persons employed in trade or industry whether or not in the employment of the employer with whom the trade dispute arises;

Under Section 19 Enforceability of agreements.-

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an agreement between the members of a registered Trade Union shall not be void or voidable merely by reason of the fact that any of the objects of the agreement are in restraint of trade: 

Provided that nothing in this section shall enable any Civil Court to entertain any legal proceeding instituted for the express purpose of enforcing or recovering damages for the breach of any agreement concerning the conditions on which any members of a Trade Union shall or shall not sell their goods transact business, work, employ or be employed.

 The recognition of a trade union is not regulated by any statutory provision. The trade union cannot enforce the right of recognition against the management by a writ petition. An agreement ought to have been entered into between the trade union and the management for granting recognition; Workmen of Kampli Co-op, Sugar Factory Ltd, v. Management of Kampli Co-op Sugar Factory Ltd" (1995) 1, LLJ 727 (Karn),

Cancellation of Registration & Appeal against cancellation of a Trade Union

Under 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;

(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 or has rescinded any rule providing for any matter provision for which is required by section 6:

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.

(i) Registration of a trade union, once registered, cannot be cancelled save and except under section 10; Phillips Workers Union v. Registrar of Trade Unions, (1989) 58 FLR 58 (Cal).

(ii) The Order of cancellation of registration of Trade Union passed by the Registrar without hearing the Union is violative of principles of natural justice and illegal, hence liable to be quashed; Nagda Rashtra Sevak Karamchari Congress v. Industrial Court, 1997 (77) FLR 139.

Under Section 11. Appeal against an order of Registrar can be Submitted. -

(1) Any person aggrieved by any 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-

(a) where the head office of the Trade Union is situated within the limits of a Presidency town to the High Court, or

(b) 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 in this behalf for that area.

(2) The appellate court may dismiss the appeal, or pass an order directing the Registrar to register the Union and to issue a certificate of registration under the provisions of section 9 or setting aside the order or withdrawal or cancellation of the certificate, as the case may be, and the Registrar shall comply with such order.

3) For the purpose of an appeal under sub-section (1) an appellate court shall, so far as may be, follow the same procedure and have the same power as it follows and has when trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), and may direct by whom the whole or any part of the costs of the appeal shall be paid, and such costs shall be recovered as if they had been awarded in a suit under the said Code.

(4) In the event of the dismissal of an appeal by any court appointed under clause (b) of sub-section (1) the person aggrieved shall have a right of appeal to the High Court, and the High Court shall, for the purpose of such appeal, have all the powers of an appellate court under sub-sections (2) and (3), and the provisions of those sub-sections shall apply accordingly.)

Registration of a Trade Union Under Trade Union Act, 1926

Under Section 4 of Trade Union Act 1926, The Following is needed for registration of a Trade Union : 

1. Any seven or more members of a Trade Union may, 
2. by subscribing their names to the rules of the Trade Union and
3. by otherwise complying with the provisions of this Act with respect to registration,
4. apply for registration of the Trade Union under this Act.

Where an application has been made under above mentioned for the registration of a Trade Union, such application shall not be deemed to have become invalid merely by reason of the tact 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 ceased to be members of the Trade Union or have given notice in writing to the Registrar dissociating themselves from the application.

Under Section 5 of Trade union Act, Application for Registration of a Trade Union is to be made in the following way :-

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 particulars, namely:-

(a) the names, occupations and address of the members making 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 ³[office-bearers] of the Trade Union.

(2) 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.

Under Section 6 of Trade Union Act, No Trade Union can be registered if the following is not mentioned in their rules :-

A Trade Union shall not be entitled to registration under this Act, unless the executive thereof is constituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the rules thereof provide for the following matters, namely:-

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, all of which purposes shall be purposes to which such funds are lawfully applicable under this Act;
4. 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;
5. 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;
6. the payment of a subscription by members of the Trade Union which shall be not less than twenty-five naye paise per month per member;
7. 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:
8. the manner in which the rules shall be amended, varied or rescinded;
9. the manner in which the members of the executive and the other office-bearers of the Trade union shall be appointed and removed;
10. 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
11. the manner in which the Trade Union may be dissolved.

Under Section 7 of Trade union act Power is vested on Registrar to call for further particulars and to require alterations of names.-

(1) The Registrar may call for further information for the purpose of satisfying himself that any application complies with the provisions of section 5, or that the Trade Union is entitled to registration under section 6, and may refuse to register the Trade Union until such information is supplied.

(2) If the name under which a Trade Union is proposed to be registered is identical with that by which any other existing Trade Union has been registered or, in the opinion of the Registrar, so nearly resembles such name as to be likely to deceive the public or the members of either Trade Union, the Registrar shall require the persons applying for registration to alter the name of the Trade Union stated in the application, and shall refuse to register tile Union until such alteration has been made.

Under Section 8 Registration Of Trade Union is Granted.-

The Registrar, on being satisfied that the Trade Union has complied with all the requirements of this Act in regard to registration, shall register the Trade Union by entering in a register, to be maintained in such form as may be prescribed the particulars relating to the Trade Union contained in the statement accompanying the application for registration.

  

(i) The Registrar is not a quasi-judicial authority and cannot, therefore, decide any disputed question of fact or law; O.N.G.C. Workmen's Association v. State of West Bengal, (1988) 57 FLR 522 (Cal).

(ii) Provisions of this section relate to only registration of a trade union, It is only a Civil Court which has jurisdiction to decide that dispute since under the Trade Unions Act.) here is no provision permitting or empowering the Registrar to refer internal disputes relating to office-bearer for adjudication to any other forum: R.N. Singh v. State of Bihar, 1998 LLR 645.

Under Section 9 Certificate of registration is granted.-

The Registrar, on registering a Trade Union under section 8, shall issue a cel1ificate of registration in the prescribed form which shall be conclusive evidence that the Trade Union has been duly registered under this Act.

(i) The certificate of registration continues to hold good until it is cancelled; IFFCO, Phulpur Karamchari Sangh v. Registrar of Trade Unions, (1992) II, LLJ 239 (All).

Application and Extent of Trade Union Act, 1926

The Trade Unions Act, 1926 extends to the whole of India. But the act shall not apply to the following cases :-

Under Proviso To Section 2,

(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.

Under Section 14, Certain Acts not to apply to registered Trade Unions.-

(a) The Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860)

(b) The Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 (2 of 1912)

(C) The Companies Act. 1956 (1 of 1956)

shall not apply to any registered Trade Union, and the registration of any such Trade Union under any such Act shall be void.

What is a Trade Union under Trade Union Act, 1926

"Trade Union" means any combination

1. whether temporary or permanent, 
2. formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations 
1. between workmen and employers or 
2. between workmen and workmen, or 
3. between employers and employers, or 
3. for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more Trade Unions.

"Registered Trade Union" means a Trade Union registered under this Act.

Only the persons engaged in trade or business can form trade unions; Rangaswami v. Registrar of Trade Unions, AIR 1962 Mad 231. Primary purpose of a trade union is collective bargaining; Bank of India Employees' : Association V. Reserve Bank of India, (1983) 2 LLN 872 (Bom).