Section 104: Repeal and savings

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Full statutory text — Section 104

104. Repeal and savings.—1[(1) The following enactments shall stand repealed on and from the
date appointed in the notification issued under sub-section (3) of section 1, namely:—

         (a) the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (16 of 1926);

         (b) the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (20 of 1946); and

         (c) the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947).

    (1A) Notwithstanding such repeal under sub-section (1), the functioning of the Tribunals and
statutory authorities functioning under the Acts so repealed shall continue to function till such Tribunals
and other statutory authorities becomes functional under this Code.]

1. Subs. by Act 1 of 2026, s. 2, for sub-section (1) (w.e.f. 21-11-2025).

    (2) Notwithstanding such repeal under sub-section (1), anything done or any action taken under the
provisions of the enactments so repealed including any rule, regulation, notification, nomination,
appointment, order or direction made thereunder shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the
corresponding provisions of this Code and shall be in force to the extent they are not contrary to the
provisions of this Code.
   (3) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (2), the provisions of section 6 of the General
Clauses Act, 1897 shall apply to the repeal of such enactments.

                                      THE FIRST SCHEDULE
                             [See sections 2 (zj), 30 (1), (6) and 101 (1)]
MATTERS TO BE PROVIDED IN STANDING ORDERS UNDER THIS CODE
1. Classification of workers, whether permanent, temporary, apprentices, probationers, badlis or fixed
   term employment.
2. Manner of intimating to workers periods and hours of work, holidays, pay-days and wage rates.
3. Shift working.
4. Attendance and late coming.
5. Conditions of, procedure in applying for, and the authority which may grant leave and holidays.
6. Requirement to enter premises by certain gates, and liability to search.
7. Closing and reporting of sections of the industrial establishment, temporary stoppages of work and
   the rights and liabilities of the employer and workers arising therefrom.
8. Termination of employment, and the notice thereof to be given by employer and workers.
9. Suspension or dismissal for misconduct, and acts or omissions which constitute misconduct.
10. Means of redress for workers against unfair treatment or wrongful exactions by the employer or his
   agents or servants.
11. Any other matter which may be specified by the appropriate Government by notification.

                                      THE SECOND SCHEDULE
                               [See sections 2 (zo), 84, 86 (5) and 101(1)]
                                     UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES
   I. ON THE PART OF EMPLOYERS AND TRADE UNIONS OF EMPLOYERS
(1) To interfere with, restrain from, or coerce, workers in the exercise of their right to organise, form,
   join or assist a Trade Union or to engage in concerted activities for the purposes of collective
   bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, that is to say,—
   (a) threatening workers with discharge or dismissal, if they join a Trade Union;
   (b) threatening a lock-out or closure, if a Trade Union is organised;
   (c) granting wage increase to workers at crucial periods of Trade Union organisation, with a view to
       undermining the efforts of the Trade Union organisation.
(2) To dominate, interfere with or contribute support, financial or otherwise, to any Trade Union, that
is to say,—
    (a) an employer taking an active interest in organising a Trade Union of his workers; and
     (b) an employer showing partiality or granting favour to one of several Trade Unions attempting
        to organise his workers or to its members, where such a Trade Union is not a recognised Trade
        Union.
(3) To establish employer sponsored Trade Unions of workers.
(4) To encourage or discourage membership in any Trade Union by discriminating against any worker,
    that is to say,—
     (a) discharging or punishing a worker, because he urged other workers to join or organise a Trade
         Union;
     (b) discharging or dismissing a worker for taking part in any strike (not being a strike which is
        deemed to be an illegal strike under this Code);
     (c) changing seniority rating of workers because of Trade Union activities;
     (d) refusing to promote workers to higher posts on account of their Trade Union activities;
     (e) giving unmerited promotions to certain workers with a view to creating discord amongst other
         workers, or to undermine the strength of their Trade Union;
     (f) discharging office-bearers or active members of the Trade Union on account of their Trade
         Union activities.
(5) To discharge or dismiss workers,—
   (a) by way of victimisation;
   (b) not in good faith, but in the colourable exercise of the employer's rights;
   (c) by falsely implicating a worker in a criminal case on false evidence or on concocted evidence;
   (d) for patently false reasons;
   (e) on untrue or trumped up allegations of absence without leave;

   (f) in utter disregard of the principles of natural justice in the conduct of domestic enquiry or with
       undue haste;
   (g) for misconduct of a minor or technical character, without having any regard to the nature of the
      particular misconduct or the past record or service of the worker, thereby leading to a
      disproportionate punishment.
(6) To abolish the work of a regular nature being done by workers, and to give such work to contractors
     as a measure of breaking a strike.
(7) To transfer a worker mala fide from one place to another, under the guise of following management
   policy.
(8) To insist upon individual workers, who are on a legal strike to sign a good conduct bond, as a
     precondition to allowing them to resume work.
(9) To show favouritism or partiality to one set of workers regardless of merit.
(10) To employ workers as badli workers, casuals or temporaries and to continue them as such for years,
     with the object of depriving them of the status and privileges of permanent workers.
(11) To discharge or discriminate against any worker for filing charges or testifying against an employer
     in any enquiry or proceeding relating to any industrial dispute.
(12) To recruit worker during a strike which is not an illegal strike.
(13) Failure to implement award, settlement or agreement.
(14) To indulge in acts of force or violence.
(15) To refuse to bargain collectively, in good faith with the recognised Trade Unions.
(16) Proposing or continuing a lock-out deemed to be illegal under this Code.
     II. ON THE PART OF WORKERS AND TRADE UNIONS OF WORKERS
(1) To advise or actively support or instigate any strike deemed to be illegal under this Code.
(2) To coerce workers in the exercise of their right to self-organisation or to join a Trade Union or
     refrain from, joining any Trade Union, that is to say—
     (a) for a Trade Union or its members to picketing in such a manner that non-striking workers are
         physically debarred from entering the work places;
     (b) to indulge in acts of force or violence or to hold out threats of intimidation in connection with
        a strike against non-striking workers or against managerial staff.
(3) For a recognised union to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with the employer.
(4) To indulge in coercive activities against certification of a bargaining representative.
(5) To stage, encourage or instigate such forms of coercive actions as wilful, "go-slow", squatting on
     the work premises after working hours or "gherao" of any of the members of the managerial or
     other staff.
    Explanation 1.—For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that “go-slow” shall mean an occasion
when more than one worker in an establishment conjointly work more slowly and with less effort than
usual to try to persuade the employer of the establishment to agree to higher pay or better service
condition or such other demand.
     Explanation 2.—For the purposes of Explanation 1, the expression “usual” shall mean,—

       (i) where the standard has been specified for a worker for his work either daily, weekly or
           monthly basis, such work; and
       (ii) where no such standard has been specified such rate of work which is the average of work in
            the previous three months calculated on daily or weekly or monthly basis, as the case may
            be.
(6) To stage demonstrations at the residence of the employers or the managerial staff members.
(7) To incite or indulge in wilful damage to employer's property connected with the industry.
(8) To indulge in acts of force or violence or to hold out threats of intimidation against any worker with
   a view to prevent him from attending work.

                                        THE THIRD SCHEDULE
                                       [See sections 40 and 101 (1)]
       CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOR CHANGE OF WHICH NOTICE IS TO BE GIVEN
1. Wages, including the period and mode of payment.
2. Contribution paid, or payable, by the employer to any provident fund or pension fund or for the
   benefit of the workers under any law for the time being in force.
3. Compensatory and other allowances.
4. Hours of work and rest intervals.
5. Leave with wages and holidays.
6. Starting, alteration or discontinuance of shift working otherwise than in accordance with standing
   orders.
7. Classification by grades.
8. Withdrawal of any customary concession or privilege or change in usage.
9. Introduction of new rules of discipline, or alteration of existing rules, except in so far as they are
    provided in standing orders.
10. Rationalisation, standardisation or improvement of plant or technique which is likely to lead to
   retrenchment of workers.
11. Any increase or reduction (other than casual) in the number of persons employed or to be employed
   in any occupation or process or department or shift, not occasioned by circumstances over which the
   employer has no control.
                                                ————

                             STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
   The Second National Commission on Labour, which submitted its report in June 2002, had
recommended that the existing set of labour laws should be broadly amalgamated into the following
groups, namely:––
      (a) industrial relations;
      (b) wages;
      (c) social security;
      (d) safety; and
      (e) welfare and working conditions.
    2. In pursuance of the recommendations of the said Commission relating to industrial relations and
the deliberations made in the tripartite meeting comprising of the Government, employers’ and industry
representatives, it has been decided to bring the proposed legislation for amalgamating, simplifying and
rationalising the relevant provisions of ––
      (a) the Trade Unions Act, 1926;
      (b) the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; and
      (c) the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
   3. Accordingly, the Industrial Relations Code, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on the 28th
November, 2019, which was referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Labour for its examination and report. The said Committee submitted its Eighth Report on the 23rd
April, 2020 recommending various modifications in the said Bill to give impetus to the economic
activity in the country without compromising on the basic aspects of the benefit to workers. Considering
the valuable recommendations of the said Parliamentary Standing Committee, the Government
proposes to withdraw the Industrial Relations Code, 2019 pending in Parliament and introduce a new
Bill, namely, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 with certain modifications.
   4. The proposed legislation provides for a broader framework to protect the rights of workers to form
unions, to minimise the friction between the employers and workers and to provide provisions for
investigation and settlement of industrial disputes. The object of the proposed legislation is to achieve
industrial peace and harmony as the ultimate pursuit in resolving industrial disputes and to advance the
progress of industry by bringing about the existence of harmony and cordial relationship between the
employers and workers.
   5. The salient features of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, inter alia, are as follows:—
      (i) to define “workers” which includes the persons in supervisory capacity getting wages up to
   eighteen thousand rupees per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government
   from time to time;
       (ii) to provide for fixed term employment with the objective that the employee gets all the benefits
   like that of a permanent worker (including gratuity), except for notice period after conclusion of a
   fixed period, and retrenchment compensation. The employer has been provided with the flexibility
   to employ workers on fixed term basis on the basis of requirement and without restriction on any
   sector;
      (iii) to revise the definition of “industry” that any systematic activity carried on by co-operation
   between the employer and workers for the production, supply or distribution of goods or services

with a view to satisfy human wants or wishes (not being wants or wishes which are merely spiritual
or religious in nature) with certain exceptions;
   (iv) to bring concerted casual leave within the ambit of the definition of strike;
   (v) to provide the maximum number of members in the Grievance Redressal Committee up to ten
in an industrial establishment employing twenty or more workers. There shall be adequate
representation of the women workers therein in the proportion of the women workers to the total
workers employed in the industrial establishment;
    (vi) to provide for a new feature of recognition of negotiating union and negotiating council in
an industrial establishment by an employer for the purpose of negotiations. The criterion for
recognition of negotiating union has been fixed at fifty-one per cent. or more workers on a muster
roll of that industrial establishment. As regards negotiating council, a Trade Union having support
of every twenty per cent. of workers will get one seat in the negotiating council and the fraction
above twenty per cent. shall be disregarded;
   (vii) to provide for appeal against non-registration or cancellation of registration of Trade Union
before the Industrial Tribunal;
   (viii) to empower the Central Government and the State Governments to recognise a Trade Union
or a federation of Trade Unions as the Central Trade Union or State Trade Unions, respectively;
   (ix) to provide for applicability of threshold of three hundred or more workers for an industrial
establishment to obtain certification of standing orders, if the standing order differ from the model
standing order made by the Central Government;
   (x) to provide that if the employer prepares and adopts model standing order of the Central
Government with respect to the matters relevant to the employer’s industrial establishment, then the
model standing order would be deemed to be certified. Otherwise, the industrial establishment may
seek certification of only those clauses which are different from the model standing orders;
   (xi) to set up Industrial Tribunal consisting of a Judicial Member and an Administrative Member,
in place of only Judicial Member who presently presides the Tribunal. For certain specified cases,
the matters will be decided by the two-member Tribunal and the remaining shall be decided by
single-member Tribunal as may be provided for in the rules;
  (xii) to set up Industrial Tribunals in the place of existing multiple adjudicating bodies like the
Court of Inquiry, Board of Conciliation and Labour Courts;
    (xiii) to remove the reference system for adjudication of Industrial Disputes, except the reference
to the National Industrial Tribunal for adjudication;
    (xiv) to provide that the commencement of conciliation proceedings shall be deemed to have
commenced on the date of the first meeting held by the conciliation officer in an industrial dispute
after the receipt of the notice of strike or lock-out by the conciliation officer;
   (xv) to prohibit strikes and lock-outs in all industrial establishments without giving notice of
fourteen days;
   (xvi) to provide for the obligation on the part of industrial establishments pertaining to mine,
factories and plantation having three hundred or more workers to take prior permission of the
appropriate Government before lay-off, retrenchment and closure with flexibility to the appropriate
Government to increase the threshold to higher numbers, by notification;

      (xvii) to set up a re-skilling fund for training of retrenched workers. The fund shall, inter alia,
  consist of the contribution of the employer of an amount equal to fifteen days wages last drawn by
  the worker immediately before the retrenchment or such other number of days, as may be notified
  by the Central Government, in case of retrenchment only. The fund shall be utilised by crediting
  fifteen days wages last drawn by the worker to his account who is retrenched, within forty-five days
  of the retrenchment as may be provided by rules;
     (xviii) to provide for compounding of offences by a Gazetted Officer, as the appropriate
  Government may, by notification, specify, for a sum of fifty per cent. Of the maximum fine provided
  for such offence punishable with fine only and for a sum of seventy-five per cent. provided for such
  offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which is not more than one year, or with fine;
     (xix) to provide for penalties for different types of violations to rationalise with
  such offences and commensurate with the gravity of the violations;
     (xx) to empower the appropriate Government to exempt any industrial establishment from any of
  the provisions of the Code in the public interest for the specified period.
  6. The notes on clauses explain in detail the various provisions contained in the Bill.
  7. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.

                                                                   SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR.

     NEW DELHI;
The 14th September, 2020.

How to apply this provision

1. Primary statutory test — 1[(1) The following enactments shall stand repealed on and from the date appointed in the notification issued under sub-section (3) of section 1, namely:— (a) the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (16 of 1926);
2. Additional operative limb — (1A) Notwithstanding such repeal under sub-section (1), the functioning of the Tribunals and statutory authorities functioning under the Acts so repealed shall continue to function till such Tribunals and other statutory authorities becomes functional under this Code.] 1.
3. Qualification / exception to test — Explanation 1.—For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that “go-slow” shall mean an occasion when more than one worker in an establishment conjointly work more slowly and with less effort than usual to try to persuade the employer of the establishment to agree to higher pay or better service condition or such other demand. Explanation 2.—For the…
4. Numerical or timing control — Manner of intimating to workers periods and hours of work, holidays, pay-days and wage rates. 3.
5. Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer, Employee / worker, Worker, Appropriate Government, Central Government, State Government.

Rules, forms and cross-references

A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.

Worked example

Q&A — Section 104

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