Trade Unions Act, 1926: What Replaced It and What Changed

Trade Unions Act 1926 to Industrial Relations Code 2020: section map

This table maps the subject matter of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 to where it now sits in the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, with a verdict on each row. Use it to update your citations and to see what the Code newly adds.

New-code entries are grounded in the supplied statutory text of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 [IR Section 14 and its sub-sections]. Old-Act entries are described from the repealed Trade Unions Act, 1926 by subject, not by section number. Rows that cite no new-code section were not in the supplied text and are described by subject only.

What changed

The biggest change is not a rewrite of the old rules at all, it is a new layer added on top. The 1926 Act let unions register and gave registered unions legal protection, but it said nothing about which union an employer had to sit across the table from. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 fills that gap.

Under [IR Section 14(1)], an industrial establishment that has a registered trade union must have either a negotiating union or a negotiating council to negotiate with the employer on such matters as may be prescribed. Where a single registered union operates, the employer recognises it as the sole negotiating union, subject to the prescribed criteria [IR Section 14(2)]. Where several registered unions operate, the one supported by 51 per cent or more of the workers on the muster roll becomes the sole negotiating union [IR Section 14(3)].

If no union clears that bar, the employer must constitute a negotiating council of the unions that each have at least 20 per cent support, with one representative for each 20 per cent [IR Section 14(4)], and an agreement is treated as reached when a majority of the council representatives agree [IR Section 14(5)]. The registration machinery you knew still exists, but the statute it lives in, and the number you cite, has changed.

What stayed the same

The core purpose of union law is intact. Trade unions still register, they still enjoy the protections and immunities that let members organise and act collectively without ordinary civil or criminal exposure, and the rules on how union funds may be used continue. What moved is the address, not the substance: the same subject is now written into the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 rather than a standalone 1926 statute.

For most HR teams, the day-to-day handling of an already registered union does not change on the ground; the paperwork and the citations do. The specific Code sections that carry registration, immunities and funds are not reproduced in the source text used for this page, so they are described here by subject, not by section number, and should be confirmed against the Code.

What was dropped or newly added

Nothing of substance from the 1926 Act was thrown away. What was dropped is the Act itself as a separate law: it was repealed and folded into the Code.

On the newly added side, the negotiating union and negotiating council machinery in [IR Section 14] is the genuinely new element. The 1926 Act had no statutory answer to the question of who is the bargaining agent, which in practice left recognition to voluntary arrangements, state rules or case law. The Code now sets numeric thresholds, 51 per cent for a sole negotiating union and 20 per cent for a seat on a negotiating council, verified in the prescribed manner. That is the single most important addition for anyone who negotiates with unions.

Transition traps for employers

• Stop citing the Trade Unions Act, 1926 in charge sheets, settlements and HR policy; the correct source is now the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, and a stale citation can be challenged.
• The 51 per cent and 20 per cent tests run on the muster roll, verified in the prescribed manner [IR Section 14(3), IR Section 14(4)], so muster-roll accuracy and the verification method now decide which union you must negotiate with; a sloppy roll is a legal risk.
• Negotiation covers such matters as may be prescribed [IR Section 14(1)], so the exact scope is fixed by the rules, not by the Code text alone; check the Central or state rules that apply to your establishment before assuming a matter is or is not negotiable.
• With multiple unions, constitute the negotiating council correctly, one seat per 20 per cent support [IR Section 14(4)]; getting the seat arithmetic wrong can undermine the resulting agreement.

How to confirm

Do not rely on this page as your legal source. Read the actual text of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and check the repeal-and-savings schedule that lists the Trade Unions Act, 1926 among the repealed statutes on the official India Code portal at indiacode.nic.in. Then read the Central or state rules notified under the Code for the prescribed matters, criteria and verification method referenced in [IR Section 14]. Where this page describes a provision by subject rather than by section number, that provision was not in the source text supplied and must be verified against the Code itself.

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