The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
CHAPTER IIB: REFERENCE OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL DISPUTES TO GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT AUTHORITIES
Section 9C: Setting Up Of Grievance Settlement Authorities And Reference Of Certain Individual Disputes To Such Authorities
Bare Act
9C Setting up of Grievance Redressal Machinery
- Every industrial establishment employing twenty or more workmen shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committee for the resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances.
- The Grievance Redressal Committee shall consist of an equal number of members from the employer and the workmen.
- The chairperson of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall be selected from the employer and from among the workmen alternatively on a rotation basis every year.
- The total number of members of the Grievance Redressal Committee shall not exceed more than six: Provided that there shall be, as far as practicable, one woman member if the Grievance Redressal Committee has two members and in case the number of members are more than two, the number of women members may be increased proportionately.
- Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the setting up of Grievance Redressal Committee shall not affect the right of the workman to raise industrial dispute on the same matter under the provisions of this Act.
- The Grievance Redressal Committee may complete its proceedings within thirty days on receipt of a written application by or on behalf of the aggrieved party.
- The workman who is aggrieved by the decision of the Grievance Redressal Committee may prefer an appeal to the employer against the decision of Grievance Redressal Committee and the employer shall, within one month from the date of receipt of such appeal, dispose of the same and send a copy of his decision to the workman concerned.
- Nothing contained in this section shall apply to the workmen for whom there is an established Grievance Redressal Mechanism in the establishment.
Rajasthan
Amendment of section 9D, Central Act 14 of 1947 - In the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (Central Act 14 of 1947), as amended by the Industrial Disputes (Rajasthan Amendment) Act, 1958 (Rajasthan Act 34 of 1958), in its application to the State of Rajasthan, hereinafter referred to as the principal Act, in section 9D, for the words "three months next preceding the date of its so applying", the words "at least three months during the period of six months immediately preceding the calendar month in which it so applies" shall be substituted. Vide Rajasthan Act 14 of 1970, s. 2
Amendment of section 9E, Central Act 14 of 1947 - In section 9E of the principal Act, the existing section shall be numbered as subsection (1) and after sub-section (1) so re-numbered, the following new sub-section shall be inserted, namely:
"(2) Once a union has been registered as a representative union under this Act, the registration of the union shall be held valid for a period of two years from the date of its registration and shall continue to hold valid unless the registration is cancelled under section 9F of this Act or another union is registered in its place according to section 9G of this Act."
Vide Rajasthan Act 14 of 1970, s. 3
Amendment of section 9F, Central Act 14 of 1947 - In sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of section 9F of the principal Act, after the words "continuous period of three months", the words "at any time after two years from the date of its registration" shall be inserted. Vide Rajasthan Act 14 of 1970, s. 4
Amendment of Chapter II B, Central Act No14 of 1947 - Chapter II-B of the principal Act, as inserted by the Rajasthan Act No. 34 of 1958, shall be renumbered as "CHAPTER IIC" Vide Rajasthan Act 21 of 2014, s. 4
Amendment of section 9G, Central Act 14 of 1947 - In section 9G of the principal Act:
- In sub-section (1) -
- the words "at any time", occurring after the word "If" shall be deleted; and
- after the words "for a unit of an industry", the words "at any time after a lapse of two years from the date of registration of the representative union" shall be inserted; and
- In sub-section (3), for the words "three months immediately preceding the date of the application", the words "at least three months during the period of six months immediately preceding the calendar month in which it so applied" shall be substituted.
Vide Rajasthan Act 14 of 1970, s. 5
Amendment of section 9C, Central Act No 14 of 1947 - Section 9C of the principal Act, as inserted by the Rajasthan Act No. 34 of 1958, shall be renumbered as "9CC". Vide Rajasthan Act 21 of 2014, s. 5
Amendment of section 9D, Central Act No 14 of 1947 - In section 9D of the principal Act, as inserted by the Rajasthan Act No. 34 of 1958, the existing expression "fifteen per cent" shall be substituted by the expression "thirty per cent". Vide Rajasthan Act 21 of 2014, s. 6
Simplified Act
Simplified Explanation of Section 9C: Setting Up of Grievance Redressal Machinery
- If a workplace has 20 or more employees, it must have a committee (or committees) to solve problems that individual employees might have.
- This committee will have the same number of members from the employer's side as from the employees' side.
- Every year, the leader of the committee will switch between being someone from the employer's side and someone from the employees' side.
- The committee can't have more than six members. If there are only two members, one must be a woman. If there are more than two members, there should be more women in proportion.
- Even though this committee exists, employees can still take their problems to a higher level under this law if they need to.
- The committee should try to solve any problems within 30 days of getting a written complaint.
- If an employee doesn't agree with the committee's decision, they can appeal to the employer within a month, and the employer must give a final decision within another month.
- If a workplace already has a system to handle employee problems, then this section does not apply to them.
Changes Specific to Rajasthan:
There are several changes made to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, specifically for the state of Rajasthan. These changes include updates to the time frames and conditions under which certain sections apply, as well as renumbering of sections and chapters to accommodate these amendments.
Explanation using examples
Let's consider a hypothetical scenario to understand the application of Section 9C of The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947:
Imagine a textile factory in India that employs 50 workers. One of the workers, named Arjun, has a grievance regarding his overtime payment which he feels has not been calculated correctly for the past two months. As per Section 9C of The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, since the factory employs more than 20 workers, it is required to have a Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC).
Arjun decides to submit his grievance in writing to the GRC. The committee, comprising an equal number of members from both the employer and the workers, reviews his case. The chairperson of the committee, who is a representative from the employer’s side this year, ensures that the proceedings are completed within 30 days as stipulated by the law.
The GRC investigates the issue and finds that there was indeed a miscalculation in Arjun's overtime pay. They recommend that the factory management rectify the mistake and compensate Arjun accordingly. If Arjun were not satisfied with the decision of the GRC, he would have the right to appeal to the employer, and if still unresolved, he could take the matter up as an industrial dispute under the provisions of the Act.
It's important to note that the presence of the GRC does not impede Arjun's right to raise an industrial dispute on the same matter if he chooses to do so, as per the provisions of the Act.
