Background
Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is one of the four labour codes enacted by Parliament to consolidate and simplify India’s labour laws. It subsumes the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and was brought into force by the Central Government with effect from 21 November 2025. Among other things, the Code introduces, for the first time at the national level, a statutory framework for recognising a negotiating union or negotiating council in every industrial establishment having a registered Trade Union, and carries forward the registration, funds, amalgamation, dissolution and annual-return provisions governing registered Trade Unions.
In exercise of its powers under Section 99 of the Code, the Labour Department of the Government of Uttarakhand has notified the Uttarakhand Industrial Relations Rules, 2026 (Notification No. 1117/VIII-1/2026-39(Labour)2018 dated 25 August 2026), which operationalise the Code in the State. Rules 19 to 27, covered in this blog, prescribe the procedure for recognition of a sole negotiating union, verification of Trade Union membership through a verification officer and secret ballot, recognition of a negotiating union or council for a tenure of three years (extendable to a maximum of five years), the facilities and office accommodation to be provided by employers, the objects on which Trade Union funds may be spent, and the notices and returns that registered Trade Unions must file with the Registrar on change of name, amalgamation, dissolution, alteration of rules and annual accounts.
Applicability
These provisions apply to every employer of an industrial establishment in Uttarakhand in which one or more registered Trade Unions operate, requiring the employer to recognise a sole negotiating union or a negotiating council, initiate and fund the membership verification process, prepare and publish the voter list, deduct union subscriptions with workers’ written consent, and provide notice boards, meeting venues, access and on-duty treatment for office bearers (with dedicated office accommodation where the establishment has three hundred or more workers); they equally apply to Trade Unions registered under the Code or the Trade Unions Act, 1926, which seek recognition, must confine the use of their general funds to the objects in their verified by-laws, and, through their office-bearers, must notify the Registrar of any change of name, amalgamation, dissolution or alteration of rules and file the annual return in Form-G.
Compliance Requirement Under the Rules in Accordance with the Act
Following section sets out the key compliance obligations under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and the Uttarakhand Industrial Relations Rules, 2026, along with the applicable penalty framework.
Where there is only one registered Trade Union operating in an industrial establishment, having a membership of not less than thirty per cent of the total workers employed in the industrial establishment, the employer of such industrial establishment shall recognise that Trade Union as the sole negotiating union of the workers.
Where a negotiating union or negotiating council has been constituted under the Code, the process for recognition of the next negotiating union or negotiating council shall commence three months before the expiry of the tenure of the existing recognition period. Accordingly, the employer shall initiate action for recognition sufficiently in advance of the expiry of the tenure of the existing negotiating union or negotiating council, and in any case not later than three months before the expiry of such tenure.
The employer of the industrial establishment shall bear all expenses and make all arrangements in connection with the verification of membership of Trade Unions carried out by the verification officer appointed by the State Government.
A Trade Union having a valid registration under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 and continuing as such, or a Trade Union registered under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, may submit an application to the employer to accord it the status of negotiating union or of representative on the negotiating council. The application shall be accompanied by a copy of the registration certificate, a copy of the list of members, details of the membership subscription and a copy of the latest annual return of the Trade Union submitted to the Registrar of Trade Unions.
The employer of the establishment shall forward the documents and records submitted by the Trade Unions to the verification officer for scrutiny of their registration status and related matters.
All workers whose names are borne on the muster roll on the date of reckoning are eligible to cast their vote. The employer shall prepare a voter list from the muster roll containing each worker’s name, father’s name, designation, worker serial number or identity card number, and the name of the workplace. After approval of the Verification Officer, the employer shall publish the final voter list by displaying it on the notice board at the main entrance and on the website of the establishment (if any), and shall send a copy to the participating Trade Unions by hand, registered post or electronic means. The employer may, in consultation with the verification officer, deploy an electronic process for conducting the election.
On the basis of the verification report submitted by the verification officer, the employer shall grant recognition to a Trade Union as the negotiating union, or as a constituent of the negotiating council, in accordance with sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 14 of the Code. Such recognition shall be valid for three years from the date of recognition or constitution, or for such further period, not exceeding five years in total, as may be mutually decided by the employer and the Trade Union.
Where there is a negotiating union or negotiating council in the industrial establishment, the employer shall provide it with (i) a notice board for displaying information relating to its activities; (ii) a venue and necessary facilities for holding discussions with the employer as per the list and agenda settled between the employer and the negotiating union or council; (iii) a venue and necessary facilities for holding discussions amongst its members or constituents; and (iv) a facility for the entrance of its office bearers into the establishment for ascertaining matters relating to the working conditions of the workers. Further, under clause (vi), office bearers who are employed in the establishment and hold meetings with the employer as per the agreed schedule shall be treated as on duty.
In an industrial establishment where there is a negotiating union or negotiating council, the employer shall deduct the subscription of the members of the Trade Union from their wages on the basis of the written consent of the worker concerned.
The employer of an industrial establishment having three hundred or more workers shall provide suitable office accommodation, with the necessary facilities, to the negotiating union or the negotiating council, as the case may be.
The general funds of a registered Trade Union shall not be spent on any objects other than such objects as are mentioned in the by-laws of the registered Trade Union, as verified by the Deputy Registrar of Trade Unions of the concerned area.
A registered Trade Union may constitute a separate fund, from contributions separately levied for or made to that fund, from which payments may be made for the promotion of the civic and political interests of its members, in furtherance of such objects as are mentioned in the by-laws of the registered Trade Union verified by the Deputy, Joint or Additional Registrar of the concerned area.
A registered Trade Union may change its name with the consent of not less than two-thirds of its total members. Notice of the change of name shall be given in writing, signed by the Secretary and seven members of the Trade Union, and sent to the Registrar by registered mail or e-mail together with the details of all members who signed the decision. This information shall be sent within one month of the decision being finalised and signed by the members concerned.
Any two or more registered Trade Unions may be amalgamated. Notice of the amalgamation shall be given in writing, signed by the Secretary and seven members of each Trade Union involved, and sent to the Registrar by registered mail or e-mail; where the headquarters of the amalgamated Union is located in another State, the notice shall be sent to the Registrar of that State. The notice, together with the details of all members who signed the decision, shall be sent within one month of the decision being finalised and signed.
When a registered Trade Union is dissolved, notice of the dissolution, signed by seven members and by the Secretary of the Trade Union, shall be sent to the Registrar within fourteen days of the dissolution. The Registrar shall register the notice if satisfied that the dissolution has been effected in accordance with the rules of the Trade Union, and the dissolution shall have effect from the date of such registration.
Every registered Trade Union shall forward to the Registrar, on or before 31st January of the succeeding year, an annual return in Form-G, audited in the prescribed manner, comprising a general statement of all receipts and expenditure during the year ending on 31st December and of the assets and liabilities existing on that date. Along with the general statement, the Trade Union shall forward a statement showing the changes of office-bearers made during the year, together with a copy of the rules of the Trade Union corrected up to the date of dispatch.
A copy of every alteration made in the rules of a registered Trade Union shall be sent to the Registrar for registration within fifteen days of the making of the alteration, along with a fee of Rs. 200 for each set of alterations made simultaneously. The Registrar shall register the alteration in the register maintained for this purpose and notify the fact to the Secretary of the Trade Union.
Penalty & Consequences
Section 86(7) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 – Default by a Registered Trade Union in Giving Notices or Sending Statements
If default is made on the part of any registered Trade Union in giving any notice or sending any statement or other document as required by or under any of the provisions of the Code, every office-bearer or other person bound by the rules of the Trade Union to give or send the same shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than one thousand rupees but which may extend to ten thousand rupees. Any continuing default shall be punishable with an additional penalty of fifty rupees per day for so long as the default continues.
Section 86(20) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 – General Penalty for Contravention of the Code, Rules or Regulations
Any person who contravenes any provision of the Code, or of the rules or regulations framed under the Code, which is not covered under sub-sections (1) to (19) of section 86, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.
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