Gujarat
Notified · 5 October 2021
What are Gujarat's rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020?
Jurisdiction: Gujarat state rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
Gujarat notified the Industrial Relations (Gujarat) Rules, 2021, dated 5 October 2021, under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The rules set the state's bi-partite forums, standing orders, voluntary arbitration, Industrial Tribunal machinery, strike and lock-out notices, lay-off, retrenchment and closure procedure, the worker re-skilling fund, compounding and trade union registration. This page synthesizes those obligations from the gazette; the verbatim text is on the linked /states page and the source PDF is below.
Enabling: Industrial Relations Code, 2020
·Synthesized from a 34-page gazette notificationKey facts
- Parent code
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Jurisdiction
- Gujarat (state rules)
- Notified
- 5 October 2021
- Gazette reference
- Industrial Relations (Gujarat) Rules, 2021, dated 5 October 2021, Government of Gujarat, Labour and Employment Department; the parsed source reproduces the draft-stage notification No. KHR-2021-30-IDA-122020-539471-M(2) dated 31 March 2021 but not the final rules' own file number, which should be verified against the source PDF
- Source gazette length
- 34 pages
Gujarat Industrial Relations Rules
Key obligations
Scope, commencement and coverage
Source: Rules 1 to 3 and the notification's rule-making clause
Chapter I titles the rules, applies them to establishments for which Gujarat is the appropriate Government, and supersedes three prior instruments.
- These rules may be called the Industrial Relations (Gujarat) Rules, 2021, and extend to the whole of Gujarat in respect of industrial establishments and matters for which the Gujarat Government is the appropriate Government (rule 1(1) to (2)).
- They come into force from the commencement of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (rule 1(3)), not from the gazette publication date.
- They are made in supersession of the Gujarat Trade Union Regulations, 1963, the Bombay Industrial Employment (Standing Order) Rules, 1959, and the Industrial Disputes (Gujarat) Rules, 1966 (rule-making clause).
- A written settlement reached before the Conciliation Officer is recorded in Form I, signed by both parties, with a copy sent to the concerned Conciliation Officer (rule 3); the parsed source is the SCC Online reproduction and gives the draft notification number rather than the final rules' own file number, which the text does not reproduce.
Works Committee and Grievance Redressal Committee
Source: Rules 4 to 7 (Chapter II)
Chapter II sets how the two bi-partite forums are constituted and how a worker raises and escalates a grievance.
- A Works Committee constituted on an order under section 3 has its total membership capped at 20, with the worker representatives not fewer than the employer representatives, office-bearers including a Chairman nominated by the employer and a Vice-Chairman elected by the worker members, a two-year term, and meetings at least once every three months (rule 4).
- A Grievance Redressal Committee has an equal number of employer and worker members capped at ten in total, with representation of women workers not less than their proportion in the establishment, and members' tenure co-terminus with the registered trade union or two years where there is none (rule 5).
- An aggrieved worker may file an application stating the dispute before the Grievance Redressal Committee within one year from the date the cause of action arose (rule 6).
- A worker aggrieved by the Committee's decision, or whose grievance is not resolved within 30 days, may apply to the conciliation officer within 60 days, through the Commissioner or Director of Labour portal or by post (rule 7).
Standing orders and notice of change
Source: Rules 8 to 17 (Chapters III and IV)
Chapters III and IV cover adoption and certification of standing orders, appeals, and the notice an employer gives before changing service conditions.
- When an employer adopts the Central Government model standing orders, it intimates the certifying officer, who has 30 days to require relevant provisions to be included; if the officer makes no observation within 30 days, the standing order is deemed adopted (rule 8).
- The certified or deemed-certified standing order is maintained by the employer in English and in Gujarati (rule 14), and the certifying officer maintains an electronic register of standing orders and furnishes copies at two rupees per page (rule 15).
- An appeal against the certifying officer's order is filed electronically to the appellate authority within 60 days as a tabular memorandum of appeal (rule 13), and a modification application is submitted electronically in tabular form (rule 16).
- An employer intending to change service conditions in a matter specified in the Third Schedule to the Code gives notice in Form II to the affected worker and displays it conspicuously at the main entrance and the Manager's office, with a copy served on any registered trade union (rule 17).
Voluntary arbitration and the Industrial Tribunal
Source: Rules 18 to 23 (Chapters V and VI)
Chapters V and VI set out voluntary arbitration, the appointment and service terms of the Industrial Tribunal's members, and the conduct of conciliation and tribunal proceedings.
- A voluntary reference to arbitration is made through an arbitration agreement in Form III, signed by the parties and accompanied by the arbitrator's written or electronic consent (rule 18); where the reference represents the majority of each party, the State Government publishes a notification in the Official Gazette (rule 19).
- The Judicial Member and the Administrative Member of the Industrial Tribunal are appointed by the State Government on the recommendation of a Search-cum-Selection Committee chaired by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court or a nominated Judge, hold office for four years or until the age of 65, and are each paid a fixed salary of 2,25,000 rupees per month with Class I allowances (rules 21 to 22).
- In conciliation, where no settlement is reached the conciliation officer submits a report on the Commissioner or Director of Labour portal within seven days of the proceedings concluding (rule 23(2)); a dispute not settled in conciliation may be taken to the Industrial Tribunal in Form V within 90 days (rule 23(5)).
- The Industrial Tribunal ordinarily fixes the first hearing within one month, communicates its award electronically to the parties and the State Government within one month of pronouncement, and holds proceedings in open court subject to permitted video-conferencing or in-camera examination (rule 23).
Strikes, lock-outs, lay-off, retrenchment and closure
Source: Rules 24 to 34 (Chapters VII to IX)
Chapters VII to IX govern strike and lock-out notices, retrenchment and closure notices, and the special permission regime for larger establishments.
- A strike notice is given to the employer in Form VI, signed by the Secretary and five elected representatives of the registered trade union, with a copy endorsed to the conciliation officer and the Commissioner or Director of Labour (rule 24); a lock-out notice is given by the employer in Form VII and displayed at the main entrance (rule 25), and each party intimates the conciliation officer and the Commissioner within five days of receiving or giving such a notice (rule 25(2) to (3)).
- Retrenchment of a worker in continuous service for not less than one year requires notice in Form VIII to the State Government and the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Labour (rule 26), and where a vacancy arises within one year a retrenched worker is offered re-employment preference at least 10 days in advance (rule 27).
- An employer intending to close an industrial establishment gives notice of closure in Form VIII to the State Government and the Deputy Commissioner of Labour (rule 28).
- In establishments to which the special provisions apply, prior permission for lay-off, retrenchment or closure is sought from the State Government in Form IX, with a closure application made electronically at least 90 days before the intended closure, and the State Government may review its order within 30 days (rules 29 to 34).
Worker re-skilling fund, offences and protected workers
Source: Rules 35 to 40 (Chapters X to XII)
Chapters X to XII cover the worker re-skilling fund, compounding of offences, protected workers and authorisation of representatives.
- On retrenching a worker, the employer electronically transfers an amount equivalent to 15 days of the worker's last-drawn wages within ten days to the State-maintained account, and the State Government transfers it to the worker's account within 45 days for re-skilling (rule 35).
- The compounding officer notified under section 89 sends a three-part notice in Form X, and the accused may compound the offence by filing Part III and depositing the compounding amount within 15 days of receiving the notice (rule 36).
- Every registered trade union communicates to the employer, before 30 April each year, the officers it proposes as protected workers, and the employer recognises them within 15 days for a 12-month period, subject to the maximum under section 90 (rule 37).
- A complaint of unfair labour practice under section 91 is made in Form XI (rule 38), and a worker who is not a member of any trade union, or an employer who is not a member of any employers' association, may authorise a representative in Form IV (rules 39 to 40).
Trade unions: registration, fees and negotiating status
Source: Rules 41 to 66 (Chapter XIII)
Chapter XIII fixes trade union registration, fees and subscription, annual returns, audit, and the recognition of a sole negotiating union or negotiating council.
- An application for registration is made in Form XII with an affidavit, the certificate of registration is issued in Form XIII, and the register of unions is kept in Form XIV (rules 41 to 43).
- The registration fee is 1,000 rupees for a union with a membership of 1,000 or above and 500 rupees below that, and the minimum member subscription is 120 rupees per annum for the unorganized sector and 240 rupees per annum for the organized sector (rule 44).
- A registered trade union furnishes its annual return to the Registrar by 30 April each year in Form XXI (rule 53), and the annual audit is conducted by an auditor authorised under sections 139 and 141 of the Companies Act, 2013, with lighter options and audit by two members available at lower membership thresholds (rule 54).
- A trade union claiming recognition as sole negotiating union or for a negotiating council applies to the establishment with a member list, must have completed six months after registration where more than one union exists, and its membership is counted only of members who paid subscriptions for at least three of the preceding six months (rules 60 to 61); a dispute on recognition is decided by the authority notified under section 5 (rule 63).
- The general funds of a registered trade union may be spent only on the objects listed in rule 65, and a separate political fund may be constituted from separately levied contributions (rule 66).
Frequently asked questions
Official gazette PDF
Industrial Relations (Gujarat) Rules, 2021, dated 5 October 2021, Government of Gujarat, Labour and Employment Department; the parsed source reproduces the draft-stage notification No. KHR-2021-30-IDA-122020-539471-M(2) dated 31 March 2021 but not the final rules' own file number, which should be verified against the source PDF