Industrial Dispute Act 1947 mentions clearly what are unfair labour practices on the part of employers and on the part of employees. The fifth schedule of this act consists of a list of unfair labour practices on the part of employers and trade unions of employers and unfair labour practices on the part of workmen and trade unions of workmen.
Prohibition of unfair labour practice 25(T):
- No employer or workman or a trade union, whether registered under the Trader Unions Act, 1926 (16 of 1926 ), or not, shall commit any unfair labour practices.
Penalty for committing unfair labour practices 25 (U):
- Any person who commits any unfair labour practices shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both
Unfair Labour Practices on Part of the Employer:
- To interfere with, restrain from, or coerce, workmen in the exercise of their right to organize, form, join or assist a trade union or to engage in concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, that is to say.-
| | a) | threatening workmen with discharge or dismissal, if they join a trade union; |
| | b) | threatening a lock-out or closure, if a trade union is organized; |
| | c) | granting a wage increase to workmen at crucial periods of trade union organization, with a view to undermining the efforts of the trade union at the organization. |
- To dominate, interfere with or contribute support, financial or otherwise, to any trade union, that is to say,
| | a) | an employer taking an active interest in organizing a trade union of his workmen; and |
| | b) | an employer showing partiality or granting favor to one of several trade unions attempting to organize his workmen or to its members, where such a trade union is not a recognized trade union. |
- To establish employer-sponsored trade unions of workmen.
- To encourage or discourage membership in any trade union by discriminating against any workman, that is to say,
| | a) | discharging or punishing a workman, because he urged other workmen to join or organize a trade union; |
| | b) | discharging or dismissing a workman for taking part in any strike (not being a strike which is deemed to be an illegal strike under this Act); |
| | c) | changing seniority rating or workmen because of trade union activities; |
| | d) | refusing to promote workmen of higher posts on account of their trade union activities; |
| | e) | giving unmerited promotions to certain workmen with a view to creating discord amongst other workmen, or to undermine the strength of their trade union; |
| | f) | discharging office-bearers or active members of the trade union on account of their trade union activities. |
- To discharge or dismiss workmen-
| | a) | by way of victimization; |
| | b) | not in good faith, but in the colorable exercise of the employer’s rights; |
| | c) | by falsely implicating a workman in a criminal case on false evidence or on concocted evidence; |
| | d) | for patently false reasons;; |
| | e) | on untrue or trumped up allegations of absence without leave; |
| | f) | in utter disregard of the principles of natural justice in the conduct of a domestic enquiry or with undue haste; |
| | g) | for misconduct of a minor technical character, without having any regard to the nature of the particular misconduct or the past record or service of the workman, thereby leading to disproportionate punishment. |
- To abolish the work of a regular nature being done by workmen, and to give such work to contractors as a measure of breaking a strike.
- To transfer a workman mala fide from one place to another, under the guise of following management policy.
- To insist upon individual workmen, who are on a legal strike to sign a good conduct bond, as a precondition to allowing them to resume work.
- To show favoritism or partiality to one set of workers regardless of merit.
- To employ workmen as “badlis”, casuals or temporaries and to continue them as such for years, with the object of depriving them of the status and privileges of permanent workmen.
- To discharge or discriminate against any workman for filing charges or testifying against an employer in any enquiry or proceeding relating to any industrial dispute.
- To recruit workman during a strike which is not an illegal strike.
- Failure to implement award, settlement or agreement.
- To indulge in acts of force or violence.
- To refuse to bargain collectively, in good faith with the recognized trade unions.
- Proposing or continuing a lock-out deemed to be illegal under this Act.
Unfair Labour Practices on Part of the Trade Union:
| | a) | for a trade union or its members to picketing in such a manner that non-striking workmen are physically debarred from entering the workplaces; |
| | b) | to indulge in acts of force or violence or to hold out threats of intimidation in connection with a strike against non-striking workmen or against managerial staff |
- For a recognized union to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with the employer.
- To indulge in coercive activities against certification of a bargaining representative.
- To stage, encourage or instigate such forms of coercive actions as willful “go slow”, squatting on the work premises after working hours or “gherao” of any of the members of the managerial or other staff.
- To stage demonstrations at the residences of the employers or the managerial staff members.
- To incite or indulge in wilful damage to employer’s property connected with the industry.
- To indulge in acts of force or violence or to hold out threats of intimidation against any workman with a view to prevent him from attending work.
Filing a Complaint Against an Unfair Labour Practice(As per the MRTU & PULP Act, 1971):
- Where any person has engaged in or is engaging in any unfair labour practice, then any union or any employee or any employer or any Investigating Officer may, within ninety days of the occurrence of such unfair labour practice, file a complaint before the Court competent to deal with such complaint either under section 5, or as the as the case may be, under section 7, of this Act: Provided that, the Court may entertain a complaint after the period of ninety days from the date of the alleged occurrence, if good and sufficient reasons are shown by the complainant for the late filing of the complaint.
- The Court shall take a decision on every such complaint as far as possible within a period of six months from the date of receipt of the complaint.
- On receipt of a complaint under sub-section (1), the Court may, if it so considers necessary, first cause an investigation into the said complaint to be made by the Investigating Officer, and direct that a report in the matter may be submitted by him to the Court, within the period specified in the direction.
- While investigating into any such complaint, the Investigating Officer may visit the undertaking, where the practice alleged is said to have occurred, and make such enquiries as he considers necessary. He may also make efforts to promote settlement of the complaint.
- The Investigating Officer shall, after investigating into the complaint under sub-section (4) submit his report to the Court, within the time specified by it, setting out the full facts and circumstances of the case, and the efforts made by him in settling the complaint. The Court shall, on demand and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed by rules, supply a copy of the report to the complainant and the person complained against.
- If on receipt of the report of the Investigating Officer, the Court finds that the complaint has not been settled satisfactorily and that facts and circumstances of the case require, that the matter should be further considered by it, the Court shall proceed to consider it, and give its decision.
- The decision of the Court, which shall be in writing, shall be in the form of an order. The order of the Court shall be final and shall not be called in question in any civil or criminal court.
- The Court shall cause its order to be published in such manner as may be prescribed. The order of the Court shall become enforceable from the date specified in the order.
- The Court shall forward a copy of its order to the State Government and such officers of the State Government as may be prescribed.
