What are Mizoram's rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020?
Jurisdiction: Mizoram state rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
Mizoram notified the Industrial Relations (Mizoram) Rules, 2023 under section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, published in the Mizoram Gazette Extraordinary (Issue No. 304) on 7 June 2023. 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.
Key facts
- Parent code
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Jurisdiction
- Mizoram (state rules)
- Notified
- 7 June 2023
- Gazette reference
- Notification No. B. 14015/8/2022-LESDE, dated 1 June 2023, Government of Mizoram, Labour, Employment, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department, made under section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 in supersession of the Mizoram Industrial Dispute Rules, 2015, the Mizoram Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 2013 and the Mizoram Trade Union Regulations, 1992, published in the Mizoram Gazette Extraordinary, Vol-LII, Issue No. 304, dated 7 June 2023
Key obligations
Scope, settlements and bipartite forums
Source: Rules 1 to 7 (Chapters I and II)
The opening chapters give the short title and commencement, the form of a settlement and the constitution of the Works Committee and the Grievance Redressal Committee.
- The rules are called the Industrial Relations (Mizoram) Rules, 2023, extend to the whole State, and come into force on such date as the State Government may by notification appoint (rule 1); a settlement before the Conciliation Officer is recorded in Form I (rule 3).
- A Works Committee is capped at twenty members, with worker representatives not fewer than employer representatives; the Chairman is nominated by the employer, the Vice-Chairman is elected by the worker members, the Secretary and Joint Secretary are elected yearly and may not be held by one side for two consecutive years, the term of office is two years, and the Committee meets at least once in three months (rule 4).
- A Grievance Redressal Committee 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 its tenure is co-terminous with the union's or, in the absence of a union, two years (rule 5).
- An aggrieved worker files a grievance 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 within sixty days through the trade union (rule 7).
Trade unions: subscriptions, registration, negotiation and recognition
Source: Rules 8 to 24 (Chapter III)
Chapter III sets trade-union subscriptions, audit, registration, the negotiating union, union funds, amalgamation, dissolution, annual returns and State-level recognition.
- The minimum subscription is not less than one hundred rupees a year for rural and unorganized-sector workers and three hundred rupees in any other case, and the annual audit is by an auditor qualified under section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013, or by any two members where membership did not exceed 250 during the year (rules 8 to 9).
- Registration is applied for in Form V with a declaration by affidavit in Form III and the assets-and-liabilities statement in Form IV, the certificate is issued in Form VI, the register is kept in Form VII, and verification of the union may use Aadhaar identification (rules 10 to 13).
- An appeal against refusal or cancellation of registration is made to the Tribunal within thirty days, and notice of any change of name, variation of rules or dissolution is signed by the Secretary and seven members, with dissolution notified within fourteen days in Form VI(A) (rules 14 to 15).
- Where an establishment has only one registered trade union, the employer recognizes it as sole negotiating union only if, at the initiation of negotiation, more than twenty-five per cent of the total workers are its members (rule 17), and verification of muster-roll membership is made in the presence of the notified authority with reasonable space provided for negotiation (rule 18).
- General union funds may be spent only on the listed objects (rule 19), adjudication before the Tribunal is applied for in Form VIII (rule 20), the annual return is filed in Form IX by 31 July (rule 23), and the State Government may recognize a State trade union with a combined verified membership of fifty thousand or more present in at least four types of industries, verified through Aadhaar (rule 24).
Standing orders
Source: Rules 25 to 33 (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 25).
- Where there is no union the certifying officer calls a meeting of 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 26 to 27).
- A group of employers in similar establishments may submit a joint draft standing order to the Labour Commissioner, LESDE for certification (rule 29), and an appeal against the certifying officer's order is filed as a tabular memorandum within sixty days (rule 30).
- The certified text is maintained by the employer in Mizo or English, the certifying officer keeps a register and supplies copies at two rupees per page, and modification applications are made in tabular form (rules 31 to 33).
Notice of change and voluntary arbitration
Source: Rules 34 to 37 (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 X to the affected worker, displays it at the main entrance and the manager's office, and serves a copy on the union secretary (rule 34).
- A voluntary arbitration agreement is in Form XI signed by the parties and accompanied by the arbitrator's consent (rule 35), the State Government issues a notification where the reference represents the majority of each party (rule 36), and where there is no union the workers choose their representative by resolution (rule 37).
Tribunal, conciliation, strikes, retrenchment and closure
Source: Rules 38 to 54 (Chapters VII to XI)
These chapters cover filling Tribunal vacancies and Tribunal procedure, conciliation, strike and lock-out notices, retrenchment and closure, the special permission regime and the re-skilling fund.
- Chapter VII provides for filling Tribunal vacancies and the Tribunal's procedure, and the conciliation officer submits a report within seven days of concluding proceedings, after which either party may apply to the Tribunal in Form XIV within ninety days, with the statement of claim filed within thirty days and the award uploaded within one month of pronouncement (rules 38 to 40).
- A strike notice is given to the employer in Form XV by the Secretary and five elected representatives, copied to the district conciliation officer and the Labour Commissioner, LESDE; a lock-out notice is in Form XVI; and the employer intimates a received strike or given lock-out within five days (rules 41 to 42).
- Retrenchment of a worker with at least one year of continuous service requires notice in Form XVII to the State Government (rule 43); retrenched workers get a re-employment opportunity at least ten days in advance for one year (rule 44); and intended closure requires notice in Form XVII to the State Government (rule 45).
- For establishments to which the special provisions apply, prior permission for lay-off, retrenchment and closure is applied for in Form XVIII, with closure sought at least ninety days in advance, and the State Government may review its order within thirty days (rules 46 to 52).
- The re-skilling fund takes contributions from the State Government, corporate bodies as CSR and individuals (rule 53), and on retrenching a worker the employer transfers, within ten days, fifteen days of the worker's last drawn wages to the State Government account, which credits the worker within forty-five days (rule 54).
Compounding, protected workers, enquiry and miscellaneous
Source: Rules 55 to 61 (Chapters XII and XIII)
The closing chapters set compounding, protected workers, aggrieved-worker complaints, the enquiry into offences and the sharing of forms with the Labour Bureau.
- A compounding officer notified under section 89 issues a three-part notice in Form XIX 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 55).
- 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 referred to the Registrar or a notified authority (rule 56).
- An aggrieved worker complains in Form XIV (rule 57), a non-member worker or non-member employer may be authorized to be represented in Form XII (rules 58 to 59), and an enquiry into the specified offences is held by an officer of rank equivalent to Under-Secretary to the Government of India or above, who may proceed ex-parte and may refuse a time-barred complaint (rule 60).
- Copies of the notice-of-strike, lock-out, retrenchment or closure, permission and compounding forms are shared electronically with the Director General, Labour Bureau in auto-mode (rule 61).
Frequently asked questions
Official gazette PDF
Notification No. B. 14015/8/2022-LESDE, dated 1 June 2023, Government of Mizoram, Labour, Employment, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department, made under section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 in supersession of the Mizoram Industrial Dispute Rules, 2015, the Mizoram Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 2013 and the Mizoram Trade Union Regulations, 1992, published in the Mizoram Gazette Extraordinary, Vol-LII, Issue No. 304, dated 7 June 2023