Chapter IV OBLIGATION AND RIGHTS OF RECOGNISED UNIONS, OTHER UNIONS AND CERTAIN EMPLOYEES

The rules of a union seeking recognition under this Act shall provide for the following matters, and the provisions thereof shall be duly observed by the union, namely :— (i) the membership subscription shall be not less than fifty paise per month; (ii) the Executive Committee shall meet at intervals of not more than three months; (iii) all resolutions passed, whether by the Executive Committee or the general body of the union, shall be recorded in a minute book kept for the purpose; (iv) an auditor appointed by the State Government may audit its account at least once in each financial year.

(1) Such officers, members of the office staff and members of a recognised union as may be authorised by or under rules made in this behalf by the State Government shall, in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, have a right,— (a) to collect sums payable by members to the union on the premises, where wages are paid to them; (b) to put up or cause to be put a notice-board on the premises of the undertaking in which its members are employed and affix or cause to be affixed notices thereon; (c) for the purpose of the prevention or settlement of an industrial dispute,— (i) to hold discussions on the premises of the undertaking with the employees concerned, who are the members of the union but so as not to interfere with the due working of the undertaking; (ii) to meet and discuss, with an employer or any person appointed by him in that behalf, the grievances of employees employed in his undertaking; (iii) to inspect, if necessary, in an undertaking any place where any employee of the undertaking is employed; (d) to appear on behalf of any employee or employees in any domestic or departmental inquiry held by the employer. (2) Where there is a recognised union for any undertaking,— (a) that union alone shall have the right to appoint its nominees to represent workmen on the Works Committee constituted under section 3 of the Central Act; (b) no employee shall be allowed to appear or act or be allowed to be represented in any proceedings under the Central Act (not being a proceeding in which the legality or propriety of an order of dismissal, discharge, removal, retrenchment, termination of service, or suspension of an employee is under consideration), except through the recognised union; and the decision arrived at, or order made, in such proceeding shall be binding on all the employees in such undertaking; and accordingly, the provisions of the Central Act, that is to say, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (XIV of 1947), shall stand amended in the manner and to the extent specified in Schedule I.

(1) No employee in an undertaking to which the provisions of the Central Act for the time being apply, shall be allowed to appear or act or allowed to be represented in any proceedings relating to unfair labour practices specified in items 2 and 6 of Schedule IV of this Act except through the recognised union : Provided that, where there is no recognised union to appear, the employee may himself appear or act in any proceeding relating to any such unfair labour practices. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Bombay Act, no employee in any industry to which the provisions of the Bombay Act for the time being apply, shall be allowed to appear or act or allowed to be represented in any proceeding relating to unfair labour practices specified in items 2 and 6 of Schedule IV of this Act except through the representative of employees entitled to appear under section 30 of the Bombay Act.

Such officers, members of the office staff and members of any union (other than a recognised union) as may be authorised by or under the rules made in this behalf by the State Government shall, in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, have a right— (i) to meet and discuss with an employer or any person appointed by him in that behalf, the grievances of any individual member relating to his discharge, removal, retrenchment, termination of service and suspension ; (ii) to appear on behalf of any of its members employed in the undertaking in any domestic or departmental inquiry held by the employer.

Not more than two members of a recognised union duly authorised by it in writing who appear or act on its behalf in any proceeding under the Central Act or the Bombay Act or under this Act shall be deemed to be on duty on the days on which such proceedings actually take place, and accordingly, such member or members shall, on production of a certificate from the authority or the court before which he or they appeared or acted to the effect that he or they so appeared or acted on the days specified in the certificate, be entitled to be paid by his or their employer his or their salary and allowances which would have been payable for those days as if he or they had attended duty on those days. Explanation.— For the purpose of this section “recognised union” includes a representative union under the Bombay Act.