TRADE UNION LAW IN TRANSITION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE 2020 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CODE

Abstract

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 represents a fundamental change in India's trade union legislation, merging the Trade Unions Act, 1926, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 into a cohesive structure aimed at promoting industrial peace, labour adaptability, and economic development. This analytical assessment examines the Code's transitional effects, emphasizing changes such as obligatory acknowledgement of sole negotiating unions or councils in organizations with more than 300 employees, online union registration, and increased limits for layoffs, retrenchment, and closures without prior government consent (from 100 to 300 workers), which facilitate compliance for MSMEs while encouraging fixed-term employment with proportional benefits. Essential clauses recharacterize "worker" (wages up to ₹18,000), require 14-day notices for strikes, expand grievance committees to include 10 members, and enumerate further unfair labour practices, including employer meddling in unions. Nonetheless, detractors criticize an employer partiality, such as weakened strike rights, absent "trade dispute" definitions complicating multi-union situations, and exclusions for new entities, which may undermine collective bargaining amidst increasing informalization and a decline in union density (from 33% in 1983 to 20% by 2020). The Code updates dispute resolution through tribunals but poses the risk of power imbalances without strong social dialogue, calling for changes to ensure inclusive thresholds, funds for migrant workers, and unemployment insurance. It precariously balances protection and flexibility, requiring careful execution to ensure worker rights are upheld in India’s changing labour environment.