Q. How a Trade Union is formed under the Trade Union Act, 1926.

What procedures are laid

Chapter II of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 deals with the provisions of the registration of trade
unions. According to section 2 (h) of the Act, “Trade Union” means any combination, whether
temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between
workmen and employers or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and
employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and
includes any federation of two or more Trade Unions. Thus, the present article shall deal with the
most important aspect of trade union, and that is the registration of trade unions.

Appointment of Registrars: According to section 3 of the Act, the appropriate government shall
appoint a person to be the Registrar of Trade Unions for each state, and the appropriate
government shall also appoint as many additional registrars as it may deem fit to carry out the
purposes of the Act.

Mode of Registration: According to section 4 of the Act, any seven or more members of a Trade
Union in accordance with the provisions of the Act may make an application apply for registration
of the trade union. There are two conditions subsequent to the same, firstly no trade union of
workmen shall be registered unless at least 10% or 100 of the workmen, whichever is less engaged
in the employment of the establishment are its members on the date of making of its application
and secondly no trade union shall be registered unless on the date of making of application,
minimum seven of its members who are workmen are employed in the establishment or industry.
Also, such application shall not be deemed to be invalid merely on the ground that at any time after
the date of the application, but before the registration of the trade union some of the members
but not exceeding half of the total number of persons who made the application has ceased to be
members.

Application for registration: According to section 5 of the Act, every application for the registration
of the trade union shall be made to the Registrar and shall be accompanied by a copy of the rules
of the Trade Union and a statement of the following particulars namely-
1. The names, occupations and addresses of the members making the application;
2. The name of the trade union and the address of its head office, and
3. The titles, names, ages, addresses and occupations of the office- bearers of the trade union.
Where a trade union has been into existence for more than a year, then a copy of the assets and
liabilities shall also be submitted along with the application for registration.

Provisions to be contained in the rules of a Trade Union: According to section 6 of the Act, a Trade
Union shall not be entitled to registration under the Act unless the executive committee has been
established in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules provide for the following-
1. The name of the trade union;
2. The whole of the objects for which the trade union has been established;
3. The whole of the purposes for which the general funds of the trade union shall be applicable;
4. The maintenance of a list of the members of the trade union;
5. The admission of ordinary members who shall be persons actually engaged or employed in an
industry with which the trade union is connected;
6. The conditions under which any member shall be entitled to any benefit assured by the rules and
under which any fine or forfeiture may be imposed on the members;
7. The manner in which the rules shall be amended, varied or rescinded;
8. The manner in which the members of the executive and the other office bearers of the Trade
Union shall be elected and removed;
9. The safe custody of the funds of the trade union, an annual audit, in such manner, as may be
prescribed, of the accounts thereof, and adequate facilities for the inspection of the account books
by the office bearers and members of the trade union, and;
10. The manner in which the trade union may be dissolved.

Power to call for further particulars and to require alteration of name: According to section 7 of
the Act, the registrar may call for further information for the purpose of satisfying himself that
whether all the particulars are in accordance with section 5 and 6 of the Act.
In case the trade union applying for registration bears a name identical to that of an existing trade
union and the registrar feels that the name so resembles that of the other that there are fairs
chances of the persons being misled then the registrar shall ask the trade union applying to change
the name and shall refuse to register the same until such alteration has been made.

Registration: According to section 8 of the Act, if the registrar thinks that the trade union has
complied with all the provisions of the Act, it shall register the Trade Union by entering in a register
all the particulars in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Certificate of registration: According to section 9 of the Act, the Registrar, on being satisfied that
the Trade Union has complied with all the requirements of the Act in regard to registration, shall
register the Trade Union by entering in a register, to be maintained in such form as may be
prescribed, the particulars relating to the Trade Union contained in the statement accompanying
the application for registration. The Registrar, on registering a Trade Union under section 8, shall
issue a certificate of registration in the prescribed form which shall be conclusive evidence that the
Trade Union has been duly registered under the Act.

Cancellation of registration: The registrar, according to Section 10 of the Act has the power to
withdraw or cancel the registration certificate of any union in any of the following conditions:
• On an application made by the trade union seeking to be verified in such manner as may be
prescribed;
• If the registrar is satisfied with the fact that the trade union has obtained the certificate by means
of fraud or deceit;
• If the trade union has ceased to exist;
• If the trade union has willfully and after submitting a notice to the Registrar, has contravened any
provision of the Act or has been continuing with any rule which is in contravention with the
provisions of the Act;
• If any union has rescinded any rule provided under Section 6 of the Act.

Appeal: According to section 11 of the Act, any person aggrieved by any refusal to register a trade
union or withdrawal of registration, etc. by registrar may file an appeal where the trade union head
office is situated within the limits of a presidency town to the High Court, or where the head office
is situated in an area, falling within the jurisdiction of a Labour Court or an Industrial Tribunal, to
that court or tribunal as the case may be; where the head office is situated in any area, to such
court, not inferior to the court of an additional or assistant judge of a principal Civil Court of
original jurisdiction as the appropriate
government may appoint.
On an application to the appropriate forum, the court may either dismiss the appeal or pass an
order directing the registrar to take appropriate measures.
The court shall have the same powers of a civil court under Civil Procedure Code, 1908 and may
follow the same procedures.
The highest appeal can be made to the High Court.

Registered office: According to section 12 of the Act, all communications shall be made on the
registered office of the trade union. If a trade union changes the address of its registered office, it
must inform the same to the registrar within the period of fourteen days in writing and the
registrar shall record the changed address in the register mentioned under Section 8 of the Act.

Incorporation of registered trade union: According to section 13 of the Act, every registered trade
union shall be a body corporate having a common seal and perpetual succession with power to
acquire and hold movable and immovable property and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

Conclusion: The presence of trade unions establishes a healthy relationship between the employer
and workmen with a sense of responsibility towards each other. Trade unions define and
channelize the rights of the workers with pressure on the employer to not deceit them. The
registration of Trade Union ensures that a trade union duly certified and recognized and thereby
the provisions for same are laid down exhaustively in the Act.