Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Notified · 16 February 2026

What are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020?

Jurisdiction: Andaman & Nicobar Islands state rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.

The Andaman and Nicobar Administration notified its rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 in the Andaman and Nicobar Extraordinary Gazette dated 16 February 2026. The rules govern works committees, grievance redressal, trade unions, standing orders, notice of change, arbitration, conciliation and tribunals, strikes, retrenchment, closure, the worker re-skilling fund and compounding. This page synthesizes those provisions; the verbatim text is on the linked /states page and the source PDF is below.

Enabling: Industrial Relations Code, 2020
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Key facts

Parent code
Industrial Relations Code, 2020
Jurisdiction
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (state rules)
Notified
16 February 2026
Gazette reference
Rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 for the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, published in the Andaman and Nicobar Extraordinary Gazette dated 16 February 2026 (Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Labour Department); the parsed gazette begins at rule 3, so the exact short title and notification number appear in the source PDF
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Industrial Relations Rules

Key obligations

Settlements, works committees and grievance redressal

Source: Rules 3 to 7 (Chapters I and II)

The opening chapters set the form of a settlement and the constitution and working of the Works Committee and the Grievance Redressal Committee.

  • A settlement between the employer and worker is recorded in Form I (during conciliation) or Form I-A (otherwise) and signed by the parties (rule 3).
  • A Works Committee is capped at twenty members, with worker representatives not fewer than employer representatives and adequate representation of women workers; the Chairman is nominated by the employer, the Vice-Chairman is elected by the worker members, the term of office is three years, the Committee meets at least once in three months, and a member absent from three consecutive meetings without leave forfeits membership (rule 4).
  • A Grievance Redressal Committee in an establishment employing twenty or more workers has an equal number of employer and worker representatives not exceeding ten, with women workers represented in proportion to their share of the workforce and a three-year term (rule 5).
  • An aggrieved worker files a grievance in Form II within one year of the cause of action (rule 6), and a worker aggrieved by the Committee's decision, or whose grievance is unresolved within thirty days, may apply to the Conciliation Officer in Form II-A within sixty days through a trade union (rule 7).

Trade unions: subscriptions, registration, negotiation and recognition

Source: Rules 8 to 23 (Chapter III)

Chapter III sets trade-union subscriptions, audit, registration, the negotiating union or council, union funds, amalgamation, dissolution, annual returns and State-level recognition.

  • The minimum subscription is not less than twenty rupees a year for rural workers, thirty rupees for other unorganized-sector workers and fifty rupees in any other case, and the annual audit is by a qualified auditor, with lighter options where membership did not exceed the stated thresholds and a two-member audit where it did not exceed 250 (rules 8 to 9).
  • Registration is applied for in Form IV with a fee of two hundred rupees, the certificate is issued in Form VII within forty-five days (or is deemed issued), and changes in particulars are intimated to the Registrar within thirty days with a fee of one hundred rupees for an alteration (rules 10 and 12).
  • A single registered union with thirty per cent or more of the establishment's workers is the sole negotiating union; verification is by secret ballot, and recognition as negotiating union or council is valid for three years, extendable up to five years in total (rules 14 to 15).
  • An establishment provides a negotiating union or council listed facilities including a notice board, subscription deduction on written consent and, where it has three hundred or more workers, office accommodation (rule 16).
  • General union funds may be spent only on the listed objects, a separate fund for civic and political purposes takes voluntary contributions capped at five hundred rupees a year that no member is compelled to pay, dissolution notice signed by seven members and the Secretary is sent within fourteen days, the annual return is filed in Form XVII by 31 March, and the Administration may recognize a State trade union with a combined verified membership of ten thousand or more present in at least four types of industries (rules 17 to 23).

Standing orders

Source: Rules 24 to 32 (Chapter IV)

Chapter IV covers adoption of model standing orders, certification, appeals, the register and modification.

  • An employer adopting the Central Government model standing order intimates the Certifying Officer of the date of adoption, and the standing order is deemed adopted if the officer makes no observation within thirty days (rule 24).
  • Where there is no union the Certifying Officer directs the workers to choose three representatives and forwards the draft for objections within fifteen days, and certified standing orders are authenticated and sent within a week (rules 25 to 26).
  • A group of employers in similar establishments may submit a joint draft standing order, and an appeal against the Certifying Officer's order is filed as a tabular memorandum within sixty days, disposed of within sixty days after hearing the parties (rules 28 to 29).
  • The certified text is maintained by the employer in Hindi or English and displayed at the establishment and its website, the Certifying Officer keeps a register and supplies copies at two rupees per page, and modification is applied for in Form XVII (rules 30 to 32).

Notice of change and voluntary arbitration

Source: Rules 33 to 36 (Chapters V and VI)

These chapters set the notice of change on Third Schedule matters and the voluntary reference of disputes to arbitration.

  • An employer intending to change conditions of service on a Third Schedule matter gives notice in Form XIX to the affected workers, displays it at the main entrance gate and the manager's office and on the establishment's intranet or website, and serves a copy on the union secretary (rule 33).
  • A voluntary arbitration agreement is in Form XX signed by the parties and accompanied by the arbitrator's consent (rule 34), the Secretary (Labour) publishes a notification where the reference represents the majority of each party so non-parties may present their case (rule 35), and where there is no union the workers choose their representative by resolution in Form XXI (rule 36).

Conciliation, tribunals, strikes, retrenchment and closure

Source: Rules 37 to 52 (Chapters VII to XI)

These chapters cover conciliation and recovery of dues, strike and lock-out notices, retrenchment and closure, the special permission regime and the worker re-skilling fund.

  • The Conciliation Officer holds proceedings on a strike or lock-out notice, an existing dispute or an apprehended dispute, and sends a full report within forty-five days of commencement; recovery of dues is applied for in Forms XXII to XXV, with the Tribunal deciding a computation application within three months (rules 37 to 38).
  • A strike notice is given to the employer in Form XXVI by the Secretary and five elected representatives, copied to the Conciliation Officer, Labour Commissioner and Secretary (Labour); a lock-out notice is in Form XXVII; and the employer intimates a received strike or given lock-out within five days (rules 39 to 40).
  • Retrenchment of a worker with at least one year of continuous service requires notice in Form XXVIII, generally within three days; retrenched workers get re-employment preference for one year with vacancies displayed at least fifteen days in advance; and closure requires notice in Form XXIX to the Administration and the unions (rules 41 to 43).
  • For establishments to which the special provisions apply, prior permission for lay-off (Form XXX), retrenchment (Form XXXI) and closure (Form XXXII, sought at least ninety days in advance) is applied for, with copies served on workers and displayed at the main entrance, and the Administration may review its order on an application made within thirty days, disposing of it within two months (rules 44 to 50).
  • The re-skilling fund takes contributions from the Central Government, the Administration and CSR sources, and on retrenching a worker the employer transfers, within ten days, fifteen days of the worker's last drawn wages to the Labour Commissioner's account, which credits the worker within forty-five days (rules 51 to 52).

Compounding, protected workers, enquiry and miscellaneous

Source: Rules 53 to 66 (Chapters XII and XIII)

The closing chapters set compounding, protected workers, aggrieved-worker complaints, the enquiry into offences, witness expenses, records and the repeal.

  • A compounding officer notified under section 89 issues a three-part notice in Form XXXIII specifying the compounding amount; the accused may pay within fifteen days, and where prosecution has begun the court, after allowing composition, discharges the accused and closes the prosecution (rule 53).
  • Every registered union communicates by 30 April the officers to be recognized as protected workers, the employer recognizes them within fifteen days for twelve months up to the admissible maximum, and disputes are decided by the Assistant Labour Commissioner (rule 54).
  • An aggrieved employee complains in Form XXXIV (rule 55), a non-member worker or non-member employer may be authorized to be represented in Form XXI (rules 56 to 57), and an enquiry into the specified offences is held by an officer not below the rank of Assistant Labour Commissioner who may proceed ex-parte and may refuse a complaint filed beyond six months from the offence (rule 58).
  • Witnesses are paid civil-court allowances, copies of the notice and permission forms are shared with the Director General, Labour Bureau, records and registers are maintained electronically, a Commissioner may be appointed to value a benefit, and the A & N Islands Trade Union Regulations, 1957 is repealed without affecting anything already done under it (rules 59 to 66).

Frequently asked questions

Official gazette PDF

Rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 for the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, published in the Andaman and Nicobar Extraordinary Gazette dated 16 February 2026 (Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Labour Department); the parsed gazette begins at rule 3, so the exact short title and notification number appear in the source PDF

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