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).