The objective of the Industrial Relations Code (IRC) gazetted on 29 September 2020 is to rationalize and amalgamate three labour laws: the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (TUA), the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (IESOA) and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (IDA) and to facilitate ease of doing business (EODB) “without compromising” labour welfare and benefits. IRC is an imbalanced amalgam of flexibility to employers and union rights of workers.
IRC is historic as it cures the historical malady that existed in the TUA, viz. absence of a statutory provision regarding trade union recognition. This deadly deficit plagued the industrial relations in numerous firms over the decades as inter-union and intra-union rivalry often destroyed the fabric of industrial relations and even led to closure of business operations. Now, employers will have to recognize a trade union where there is only one and in the cases of multiple unions, a “negotiating agent” or in case of multiple unions a...
