Notice By A Labour Organisation

Dear All,
We are a small service provising comapny in Mumbai employeeing about 50 employees. A Labor organisation affiliated to a political party has sent us a letter to recognise them as sole bargaining authority. They claim that our employees have registerd with them.
How should we verufy their claim.
Are we bound to recognise them.
Please guide.

Hi,
1) Do not respond to this letter immediately.
2) Unless your employees themselves give clearly a notice in this regard, you need not have to bother about it.
3)Please check with the jurisdictional labour officer/ trade union registrar if your employees have formed a union and if so, have they affiliated the union to this labour organization who has given the letter.
4) However you have all the rights to refuse to negotiate / discuss with any outsider who is not your employee.
5) Also try to find out if this a way out to take out some hafta what usually some political organizations do to extract money from traders and small organizations. If so you put your foot down and refuse any interactions.
kind reaction
Dayanand L Guddin

Dear Dayanand,
Many thanks.
A perfect advise. Relieved of great tension.
I am sure a few disgrutled employees may have appropached the organisation. But they will not come in open and would not have formed any union of their own. The Labour Organisation however claims that they have formed unit of their organisation in my company.
Can we to be on for more sound footing (and for academic purpose) back-up each suggestion by citing the relevant legal provisions.

Hi,
Even if there is a unit of the so called organization it requires a specific affiliation.
There is no legal sanction to get employees from a specific organziation to get enrolled on some organization and claim the right of bargaining. There is no specific legal citation that could be offfered on this. However you may refer to relevant section of Trade union act, specifcally on the formation of the union and some case laws of high courts and supreme courts which are clear about the right of employer to refuse bargaining with a non recognized bodies and external agencies.
Kind regards
Dayanand L Guddin

Hi,
Please read the earlier communication once again. The letter is given by an out side agency not by the employees.
If the employees form a union, then that must be registered first with a clear indication of the oragnization in which they are working. A group or organization of non employees claiming that your employees are our members does not amount to be a union.
Then they can claim affiliation with any out fit they want.
Let me clarify once agin based on my experience of last twent years, there is no binding on a managment to give recognition to any out side body un less the employees show clearly that they are the members of that out fit.
Industrial courts do not give any recognition. They give directions/ decisions.
Getting organized / groupped for various reasons is a tendency of any living being. There is no need to make introspection on this.
kind regards
Dayanand L Guddin

Dear Mr.Dayanand
I am facing the same problem for strength near about 70 nos spread in three shift in kolkata some labour under contractor went to local MLA and party to form uninon for very small problem or igronace or temporary cause
we are providing more then Minimum wages ,ESI,PF,Leave ,bonus and good working condition like Aqua gaurd ,central AC ,change room ,epoxy floor ,PPE etc
All the labour are under LTD company bigger than us provide their salary through bank transfer and each labour has ATM card always on time
2/3 labour don`nt want union not only that they are well aware that Tata left the west bengal because of this issue and we are very small but they were working under minmum wages and stretch of 12 hrs under hot shade with no facility of even drinking water /toilets this develop take place in just three years
But Local MLA wants to create union jus because some labour went there and they used to threat other to join their group
Pl advice
jagranjan