Works Committees

Section 3 of the Industrial Dispute Act,1947 provides for the constitution of Works Committees.  The expression ‘Works Committee’ denotes “A committee comprising of representatives from both the parties to the Dispute. The appropriate government is empowered to prescribe that the works committee should be constituted in every industrial establishment employing 100 or more workers.

Purpose of Creating Works Committee

The main purpose of creating the Works committee is to develop a sense of partnership between the employee and his workmen

Constitution of Works Committee

(1) In the case of any industrial establishment in which one hundred or more workmen are employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding twelve months, the appropriate Government may by general or special order require the employer to constitute in the prescribed manner a Works Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workmen engaged in the establishment so however that the number of representatives of workmen on the Committee shall not be less than the number of representatives of the employer.

Duties and Functions of the Works Committee

• It shall be the duty of the Works Committee to promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between the employer and workmen and, to that end, to comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and endeavor to compose any material difference of opinion in respect of such matters.
• Dealing with the scope of functioning of the Works committees, it was held in Kemp and Co. Ltd Vs. Their workmen ( 1955) L.L.J. 48 (L.A.T) that the Institution of works committee has been provided in the rules passed under the Industrial Dispute Act in order to look after the interest of the workmen. But the functions and the responsibility of the Works Committee as their very nomenclature indicates cannot go beyond the recommendations and as such, they are no more or fewer bodies who in the first instance endeavor to compose the differences and the final decisions rests with the union as the whole.
• Dissolution of the Works Committee The Central Government or any official authority to whom the power under Section 39 has been delegated, may, after making a necessary inquiry, dissolve any works committee at any time, by an order in writing provided it or he is satisfied the committee has not been constituted in the accordance with the rules or that not less than 2/3rd of the number of representatives of workmen have without any reasonable justification, failed to attend three consecutive meetings of the committee or that the committee has ceased to function for any other reason, thus defeating the very purpose for which this institution exists in the Industrial law.

Go back to Tutorial                                                                                Go to Home Page