Tripura
Draft · 20 January 2026
Not in force yet
What are Tripura's rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020?
Jurisdiction: Tripura state rules under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
Tripura published the draft Tripura Industrial Relations Rules, 2026 in the Tripura Gazette Extraordinary Issue on 20 January 2026 under Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, inviting objections within 45 days. The draft governs works committees, grievance redressal, trade unions, standing orders, notice of change, arbitration, tribunals, strikes, retrenchment, closure and the worker re-skilling fund. This page synthesizes those provisions; the verbatim rule-by-rule text is on the linked /states page and the source PDF is available below.
Enabling: Industrial Relations Code, 2020
·Synthesized from a 41-page gazette notificationDraft rules: not yet in force
These rules were published for public consultation and have not been finally notified in the Official Gazette. Provisions may change before final notification; verify against the source PDF before relying on them.
Key facts
- Parent code
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020
- Jurisdiction
- Tripura (state rules)
- Published
- 20 January 2026
- Gazette reference
- Notification No.F.69(80)-LAB/ENF/IRC/2025, dated 17 January 2026, Government of Tripura, Labour Department, published in draft under Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and notified as required by Sub-section (1) of Section 104 for a 45-day objection period, in supersession of the Tripura Trade Union Regulations, 1952, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946 and the Tripura Industrial Disputes Rules, 1981, in the Tripura Gazette Extraordinary Issue dated 20 January 2026
- Source gazette length
- 41 pages
Tripura Industrial Relations Rules
Key obligations
Scope, commencement and draft status
Source: Rules 1 to 3 and the notification header (Chapter I)
The rules are titled the Tripura Industrial Relations Rules, 2026 and were published in draft for public objection before they take effect.
- These rules may be called the Tripura Industrial Relations Rules, 2026 and come into force on the date of their final publication in the Tripura Gazette (rule 1).
- As published they are draft rules: the notification states that the State Government proposes to make them, that they are notified as required by Sub-section (1) of Section 104, and that the draft will be taken into consideration after a period of forty-five days for objections addressed to the Secretary, Labour (notification header); they are made in supersession of the Tripura Trade Union Regulations, 1952, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946 and the Tripura Industrial Disputes Rules, 1981.
- A settlement agreement before the Conciliation Officer under clause (zi) of Section 2 is to be in Form-I, signed by the parties, with a copy to the Conciliation Officer (rule 3).
Works committees and grievance redressal
Source: Rules 4 to 7 (Chapter II)
The draft sets the composition and working of the Works Committee and the Grievance Redressal Committee.
- A Works Committee is constituted so its total membership does not exceed twenty and the number of worker representatives is not less than that of the employer, with worker representatives drawn from registered trade unions in proportion to membership or, where none exists, chosen by the workers; office-bearers include a Chairman nominated by the employer and a Vice-Chairman elected by worker members, the term of office is two years, and a member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings without leave forfeits membership (rule 4).
- A Grievance Redressal Committee has an equal number of employer and worker representatives not exceeding ten in total, with women workers represented in proportion to their share of the workforce, and its tenure is coterminous with the registered trade union or, where none exists, three years (rule 5).
- An aggrieved worker may file a grievance with the Committee within one year of the cause of action arising (rule 6), and a worker aggrieved by the Committee's decision, or whose grievance is not resolved within thirty days, may apply to the conciliation officer through the Labour Commissioner within sixty days (rule 7).
Trade unions: registration, funds and negotiation
Source: Rules 8 to 26 (Chapter III)
The draft governs trade-union subscriptions, funds and audit, registration, recognition of the negotiating union, amalgamation and State-level recognition.
- The trade-union admission subscription is rupees 100, and the annual subscription is not less than rupees 100 per member for rural and unorganized workers and rupees 300 per annum in other cases; funds are kept in a Nationalized Bank and audited annually with the auditor's declaration in Form-II (rules 8 to 9); rule 21 restates that subscriptions are governed by an earlier provision but the parsed text cross-refers to sub-rule (3) of rule 7, which does not carry these figures, an apparent slip.
- An application for registration is made in Form-III with an affidavit in Form-III(A), the Register of Trade Unions is kept in Form-IV and the certificate issued in Form-V, the fee for registration is rupees 3,000, and the fee for complete or partial alteration of rules is rupees 1,500 (rules 10 to 14).
- Where a single registered union functions in an industrial establishment the employer recognizes it as sole negotiating union provided it continuously has not less than twenty-five per cent of the total workers as members, with verification made on the muster roll in the presence of a State-notified authority (rule 18).
- The general funds of a registered union may be spent only on the listed objects, and a separate fund for civic and political purposes may be constituted from separate contributions that no member is compelled to make (rules 19 to 20).
- Amalgamation of unions requires at least one-half of the members of each union to vote and sixty per cent of votes recorded to favour it (rule 23), a dissolved union's funds are divided in proportion to members' subscriptions (rule 24), the annual return is filed with the Registrar in Form-II by 31 March each year (rule 25), and the State Government may recognize a State trade union with a combined verified membership of twenty-five thousand or more present in at least four types of industries, verified through Aadhaar (rule 26).
Standing orders
Source: Rules 27 to 35 (Chapter IV)
The draft covers adoption of model standing orders, certification, appeals and the register.
- An employer adopting the Central Government model standing order intimates the certifying officer electronically of the date of adoption, and if the certifying officer makes no observation within thirty days the standing order is deemed adopted (rule 27).
- Where there is no trade union, the certifying officer calls a meeting of workers to choose three representatives and forwards the draft for objections within fifteen days (rule 28); certified standing orders are authenticated and sent electronically within a week (rule 29).
- A group of employers in similar establishments may submit a joint draft standing order to the Labour Commissioner for certification (rule 31), and an appeal against the certifying officer's order is filed within sixty days as a tabular memorandum, with the appellate authority disposing of it after hearing the parties (rule 32).
- The certified text is maintained by the employer in English and the recognized official language of Tripura (rule 33), the certifying officer keeps an electronic register of all certified and deemed-certified standing orders and supplies copies at two rupees per page (rule 34), and modification applications are made electronically in tabular form (rule 35).
Notice of change, arbitration and dispute resolution
Source: Rules 36 to 41 (Chapters V to VII)
The draft sets the notice of change, voluntary reference to arbitration and the tribunal and conciliation machinery.
- An employer intending to change conditions of service on a matter in the Third Schedule gives notice in Form-VI to the affected worker and displays it conspicuously at the main entrance and the manager's office, with a copy to the secretary of any registered trade union (rule 36).
- A voluntary arbitration agreement is in Form-VII signed by the parties and accompanied by the arbitrator's consent (rule 37); where the reference represents the majority of each party the State Government publishes a notification so non-parties may present their case (rule 38), and where there is no trade union workers choose their representative by resolution in Form-VIII (rule 39).
- The Judicial Member of the Tribunal is a person who is or has been a High Court Judge or has been a District or Additional District Judge for at least three years, and the Administrative Member has held a post not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India or equivalent, each taking an oath in Form-IX (rule 40).
- Conciliation proceedings are held on receipt of an application, with the conciliation officer submitting a report within seven days if no settlement is reached, and a party may then apply to the Industrial Tribunal in Form-X within ninety days, followed by the statement-of-claim, written-statement, evidence, argument and award procedure set out in the rule (rule 41).
Strikes, lock-outs, lay-off, retrenchment and closure
Source: Rules 42 to 53 (Chapters VIII to X)
The draft sets the notices and permission applications for strikes, lock-outs, retrenchment, closure and lay-off.
- A strike notice is given to the employer in Form-XI signed by the Secretary and five elected representatives of the registered trade union, and a lock-out notice by the employer in Form-XII to each registered union, each copied to the Labour Commissioner and the conciliation officer; on receiving a strike or giving a lock-out notice the employer intimates those officers within five days (rules 42 to 43).
- Retrenchment of a worker with at least one year of continuous service requires notice in Form-XIII to the Labour Commissioner (rule 44), retrenched workers get an offer of re-employment at least ten days in advance for one year (rule 45), and intended closure requires notice in Form-XIII (rule 46).
- For establishments to which the special provisions apply, prior permission for lay-off, retrenchment or closure is sought from the State Government in Form-XIV, with copies served on workers and displayed at the main entrance, closure applications made at least ninety days in advance, and the State Government empowered to review its permission order within thirty days (rules 47 to 53).
Worker re-skilling fund, offences and miscellaneous
Source: Rules 54 to 61 (Chapters XI to XIV)
The draft sets the re-skilling contribution, the compounding of offences, protected workers and worker complaints and representation.
- The re-skilling fund may receive contributions from the State Government, corporate bodies as Corporate Social Responsibility and individuals (rule 54), and on retrenching a worker the employer transfers, within ten days, an amount equal to fifteen days of the worker's last drawn wages to the notified account, which the State Government credits to the worker within forty-five days of receipt (rule 55).
- A compounding officer notified under Section 89 issues a three-part notice in Form-XV specifying the compounding amount, the accused paying within fifteen days, and where prosecution has begun the offence may be compounded with the court's permission, after which the court discharges the accused (rule 56).
- Every registered trade union communicates to the employer before 30 April each year the names of officers to be recognized as protected workers, and the employer recognizes them within fifteen days for twelve months, subject to the maximum admissible number (rule 57).
- A worker's complaint under Section 91 is made electronically and by post in Form-XVI with copies for each opposite party (rule 58); a worker who is not a union member, or an employer who is not a member of an employers' association, may be represented in Form-VIII (rules 59 to 60), and copies of the prescribed forms are shared with the Director General, Labour Bureau in auto-mode (rule 61; the Form numbers listed in rule 61 do not match the operative strike, lock-out and permission forms in rules 42 to 52, an apparent drafting slip, and rules 57 and 58 print after rules 59 to 61 in the parsed source).
Frequently asked questions
Official gazette PDF
Notification No.F.69(80)-LAB/ENF/IRC/2025, dated 17 January 2026, Government of Tripura, Labour Department, published in draft under Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and notified as required by Sub-section (1) of Section 104 for a 45-day objection period, in supersession of the Tripura Trade Union Regulations, 1952, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946 and the Tripura Industrial Disputes Rules, 1981, in the Tripura Gazette Extraordinary Issue dated 20 January 2026