- In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "appellate authority " means an authority appointed by the appropriate Government to exercise such functions in such area as may be specified by that Government by notification in the Official Gazette;

(b) "appropriate Government " means,-

(ii) in relation to any other industrial establishment, including State public sector undertakings, subsidiary companies set up by the principal undertaking and autonomous bodies owned or controlled by the State Government, the State Government:

(c) "arbitrator " includes an umpire;

(d) "average pay " means the average of the wages payable to a worker,-

(e) "award " means an interim or a final determination of any industrial dispute or of any question relating thereto by any Industrial Tribunal referred to in section 44 or National Industrial Tribunal referred to in section 46 and includes an arbitration award made under section 42;

(f) "banking company " means a banking company as defined in section 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) and includes the Export-Import Bank of India, the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India, the Small Industries Development Bank of India established under section 3 of the Small Industries Development Bank of India Act, 1989 (39 of 1989), the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank of India, a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970), a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 (40 of 1980);

(g) "certifying officer " means any officer appointed by the appropriate Government, by notification, to perform the functions of a certifying officer under the provisions of Chapter IV;

(h) "closure " means the permanent closing down of a place of employment or part thereof;

(i) "conciliation officer " means a conciliation officer appointed under section 43;

(j) "conciliation proceeding " means any proceeding held by a conciliation officer under this Code;

(k) "controlled industry " means any industry the control of which by the Union has been declared by any Central Act to be expedient in the public interest;

(l) "employee " means any person (other than an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961) (52 of 1961) employed by an industrial establishment to do any skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, operational, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and also includes a person declared to be an employee by the appropriate Government, but does not include any member of the Armed Forces of the Union;

(m) "employer " means a person who employs, whether directly or through any person, or on his behalf or on behalf of any person, one or more employee or worker in his establishment and where the establishment is carried on by any department of the Central Government or the State Government, the authority specified by the head of the department in this behalf or where no authority is so specified, the head of the department, and in relation to an establishment carried on by a local authority, the chief executive of that authority, and includes,-

(n) "executive ", in relation to a Trade Union, means the body by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of a Trade Union is entrusted;

(o) "fixed term employment " means the engagement of a worker on the basis of a written contract of employment for a fixed period:

(a) his hours of work, wages, allowances and other benefits shall not be less than that of a permanent worker doing the same work or work of similar nature;

(b) he shall be eligible for all statutory benefits available to a permanent worker proportionately according to the period of service rendered by him even if his period of employment does not extend to the qualifying period of employment required in the statute; and

(c) he shall be eligible for gratuity if he renders service under the contract for a period of one year;

(p) "industry " means any systematic activity carried on by co-operation between an employer and worker (whether such worker is employed by such employer directly or by or through any agency, including a contractor) 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), whether or not,-

(q) "industrial dispute " means any dispute or difference between employers and employers or between employers and workers or between workers and workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person and includes any dispute or difference between an individual worker and an employer connected with, or arising out of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of such worker;

(r) "industrial establishment or undertaking " means an establishment or undertaking in which any industry is carried on:

(i) if any unit of such establishment or undertaking carrying on any activity, being an industry, is severable from the other unit or units of such establishment or undertaking which is not carrying on or aiding the carrying on of any such activity, such unit shall be deemed to be a separate industrial establishment or undertaking;

(ii) if the predominant activity or each of the predominant activities carried on in such establishment or undertaking or any unit thereof is an industry and the other activity or each of the other activities carried on in such establishment or undertaking or unit thereof is not severable from and is, for the purpose of carrying on, or aiding the carrying on of, such predominant activity or activities, the entire establishment or undertaking or, as the case may be, unit thereof shall be deemed to be an industrial establishment or undertaking;

(s) "insurance company " means a company as defined in section 2 of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938);

(t) "lay-off " (with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions) means the failure, refusal or inability of an employer on account of shortage of coal, power or raw materials or the accumulation of stocks or the break-down of machinery or natural calamity or for any other connected reason, to give employment to a worker whose name is borne on the muster rolls of his industrial establishment and who has not been retrenched.

(u) "lock-out " means the temporary closing of a place of employment, or the suspension of work, or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him;

(v) "major port " means a major port as defined in clause (8) of section 3 of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (15 of 1908);

(w) "metro railway " means the metro railway as defined in sub-clause (i) of clause (1) of section 2 of the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 (60 of 2002);

(x) "mine " means a mine as defined in clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952);

(y) "National Industrial Tribunal " means a National Industrial Tribunal constituted under section 46;

(z) "negotiating union or negotiating council " means the negotiating union or negotiating council referred to in section 14;

(za) "notification " means a notification published in the Official Gazette of India or the Official Gazette of a State, as the case may be, and the expression "notify " with its grammatical variation and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

(zb) "office-bearer ", in relation to a Trade Union, includes any member of the executive thereof, but does not include an auditor;

(zc) "prescribed " means prescribed by rules made under this Code;

(zd) "railway " means the railway as defined in clause (31) of section 2 of the Railways Act, 1989 (24 of 1989);

(ze) "registered office " means that office of a Trade Union which is registered under this Code as the head office thereof;

(zf) "registered Trade Union " means a Trade Union registered under this Code;

(zg) "Registrar " means a Registrar of Trade Unions appointed by the State Government under section 5;

(zh) "retrenchment " means the termination by the employer of the service of a worker for any reason whatsoever, otherwise than as a punishment inflicted by way of disciplinary action, but does not include -

(i) voluntary retirement of the worker; or

(ii) retirement of the worker on reaching the age of superannuation; or

(iii) termination of the service of the worker as a result of the non-renewal of the contract of employment between the employer and the worker concerned on its expiry or of such contract being terminated under a stipulation in that behalf contained therein; or

(iv) termination of service of the worker as a result of completion of tenure of fixed term employment; or

(v) termination of the service of a worker on the ground of continued ill-health;

(zi) "settlement " means a settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceeding and includes a written agreement between the employer and worker arrived at otherwise than in the course of conciliation proceeding where such agreement has been signed by the parties thereto in such manner as may be prescribed and a copy thereof has been sent to an officer authorised in this behalf by the appropriate Government and to the conciliation officer;

(zj) "standing orders " means orders relating to matters set-out in the First Schedule;

(zk) "strike " means a cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal, under a common understanding, of any number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment and includes the concerted casual leave on a given day by fifty per cent. or more workers employed in an industry;

(zl) "Trade Union " means any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workers and employers or between workers and workers, 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:

(i) any agreement between partners as to their own business; or

(ii) any agreement between an employer and those employed by him as to such employment; or

(iii) any agreement in consideration of the sale of the goodwill of a business or of instruction in any profession, trade or handicraft;

(i) basic pay;

(ii) dearness allowance;

(iii) retaining allowance, if any,

(a) any bonus payable under any law for the time being in force, which does not form part of the remuneration payable under the terms of employment;

(b) the value of any house-accommodation, or of the supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded from the computation of wages by a general or special order of the appropriate Government;

(c) any contribution paid by the employer to any pension or provident fund, and the interest which may have accrued thereon;

(d) any conveyance allowance or the value of any travelling concession;

(e) any sum paid to the employed person to defray special expenses entailed on him by the nature of his employment;

(f) house rent allowance;

(g) remuneration payable under any award or settlement between the parties or order of a court or Tribunal;

(h) any overtime allowance;

(i) any commission payable to the employee;

(j) any gratuity payable on the termination of employment; or

(k) any retrenchment compensation or other retirement benefit payable to the employee or any ex gratia payment made to him on the termination of employment:

(zr) "worker " means any person (except an apprentice as defined under clause (aa) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961) (52 of 1961) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and includes working journalists as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 (45 of 1955) and sales promotion employees as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 (11 of 1976), and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Code in relation to an industrial dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched or otherwise terminated in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute, but does not include any such person-

(i) who is subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957); or

(ii) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison; or

(iii) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or

(iv) who is employed in a supervisory capacity drawing wages exceeding eighteen thousand rupees per month or an amount as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time:

(a) means all persons employed in trade or industry; and

(b) includes the worker as defined in clause (m) of section 2 of the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008 (33 of 2008).