THE COCHIN REFINERIES EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION (REG. NO.120/67) AMBALAMUGAL, KOCHI Vs. THE BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD, REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, BHARAT BHAVAN, 4 & 6, CURRIMBHOY ROAD, BALLARD ESTATE, MUMBAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In Perspective: A majority trade union in an industry asserts its primacy as the sole negotiating-agent in the matters of, say, long-term settlements. The management issued revised norms stipulating which trade union can have that privilege. The majority trade union has a grievance that the management has been violating the eligibility criteria fixed by itself and involving even minority trade unions in the industrial parleys. The question is, can the management involve the minority unions, too, in the negotiations? Or, can the majority union be the sole negotiating agent? We are called upon to answer these questions. But before that, a jurisdictional question demands an answer: Is the issue raised by the majority union an industrial dispute, for resolving which there is an efficacious redressal mechanism provided under the Industrial Disputes Act? We answer in the affirmative. Brief Facts:

(2.) Kochi Refineries Limited ('KRL'), established in 1966, got merged in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. ('BPCL'), a public sector undertaking, in 2006. KRL had a handful of registered trade unions collectively bargaining for their member-employees. The percentage of their membership varied: Appellant Trade Union had - and is still said to have - the largest membership base, followed by the respondent 4, 5, and 6 unions, though not strictly in that order. Even after KRL's amalgamation with BPCL, these trade unions continued their activities, with their membership fluctuating, however.

(3.) In KRL, as per its norms, registered trade unions with 15% membership enjoyed the status of registered Trade Unions, apart from being the acknowledged negotiating agents. In fact, the appellant, the 4th respondent, and the Cochin Refineries Workers Association met the criteria fixed by KRL. Before KRL's amalgamation, Kochi Refinery Workers Union ('KRWU') was the last trade union registered (in 2005). But it had neither of the statuses.