India: Recognition of Labour Union

Labour is placed in the concurrent list of the Constitution and both the Central Government and State Governments are designated as the ‘appropriate Government’ in respect of areas of their jurisdiction. In the Central Sphere, there are clear guidelines/ directives for verification of membership of Trade Unions for purpose of granting recognition to the majority Union. In the Central Sphere, no recognition is pending, for the want of proper guidelines and directives.

Verification of membership of Trade Unions operating in organizations falling under the jurisdiction of State Government are carried out by the respective State Government. Hence, the details of disputes are not maintained by the Central Government.

Under the Code of Discipline, a Union may claim to be recognized as a representative Union for an industry in a local area if it has a membership of at least 25% of the workers of that industry in that area. If there are several Trade Unions in an industry, the one with the largest membership would be recognized as the majority Union. The procedure for verification of membership of Trade Unions operating in an establishment is laid down in the Code of Discipline. There is no specific procedure laid down in the Code of Discipline for verification of membership of Trade Unions operating in an industry in local area.

This information was given by the Minister of Labour and Employment Shri Mallikarjun Kharge in reply in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha today. ---PIB