2. • Gherao
Gherao means encirclement of the manager to criminally intimidate him to accept the demands of the
workers. It amounts to criminal conspiracy under Section 120-A of the I.P.C and is not saved by Sec.17 of the
Trade Unions Act on the grounds of its being a concerted activity.
3. • Criminal conspiracy (Section 120A IPC)
• The meaning of criminal conspiracy as per Section 120A of
Indian Penal Code is an agreement done by two or more
persons for the commission of an illegal act. The act
committed will be punishable with death, imprisonment for
life or imprisonment of either description of term two years
or more. For instance: Ram had a disagreement with Ajay
on a particular point. Ram thought to take revenge for this
he contacted his friend Shyam and Mohan. They all together
initiated the plan for causing grievous hurt. In this instance
the agreement to cause grievous hurt will be sufficient to
make them liable for criminal conspiracy.
•
4. • Section 17 : criminal conspiracy in trade disputes
• Section 17 of the Act states that no member of a trade union can
be held liable for criminal conspiracy mentioned under sub-
section 2 of Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code regarding any
agreement made between the members of the union in order to
promote the lawful interests of the trade union.
• The office bearers of the registered trade unions are exempt
from penal punishment for criminal conspiracy, per Section 17 of
the Trade Unions Act of 1926. An agreement between two or
more people to carry out an illegal act or a legitimate act
through an illegal method is referred to as a conspiracy in
English law.
• Criminal conspiracy is defined in Section 120-A of the Indian
Penal Code of 1860 as follows:
5. • When two or more people agree to do something or make it happen
1. A prohibited act,
2.An Act that is not committed via unlawful methods; such as a contract is referred to as
a criminal conspiracy;
• The Trade Union Act of 1926 grants registered trade unions immunity. Nevertheless,
this immunity is only applicable with regard to the legal agreements made by trade
union members for the promotion of legitimate trade union purposes. The right to call
for a strike and persuade members is one of the rights granted to registered trade
unions in the stimulation of their industrial conflicts. All acts that give rise to civil
litigation are considered illegal acts. For instance, two men who conspire to get
workers to violate their employment contracts are guilty of a crime. However, Section
17 safeguards a trade unionist from a crime if the arrangement they have entered into
is not an agreement to conduct an offence.
• In the case of West India Steel Company Ltd. v. Azeez (1988), a trade union
representative protested against the delegation of a worker to another sector by
blocking or stopping work inside the factory for five hours. It was decided that a
worker in a factory had to obey the directives issued by his superiors. A trade union
leader is not exempt from following the rules. There is no legal authority for a trade
union official or any other employee to share managerial responsibilities.
6. • 4. Bandh:
• Trade Unions resort to bandh when an industrial dispute reaches its
extreme edge. When the employers fail to find any solution to a
problem or dispute and strike also fails to serve its purpose, then the
weapon of bandh, an aggressive form of strike, is let loose. Under it,
trade unions try to get the work of all industrial establishments
stopped at the district or state level to get their demands fulfilled.
• In this situation, it is the serious effort of the trade unions to ensure
that different industrial institutions, non-industrial institutions,
schools, colleges, commercial establishment of the town or the state
should remain closed, so that employers could be pressurised.
7. • Bandh is an aggressive form of strike. This extreme measure is
used by different trade unions in our country, in order to make
their campaign a success. Many a time, to oppose the
enforcement of any government decision, country-wide bandhs
are organised by political parties or Central Trade Unions.
• Strikes, lockouts and gheraos due to industrial disputes between
the period 2011 and 2012, the number of workers involved in
each and the number of mandays lost, in detail. It is significant
to note that during this period number of strikes, and workers
involved has increased. There is steady fall in number of
lockouts and manday’s lost due to this reason. The number of
lockouts and mandays lost due to this reason has increased.
