Understanding Industrial Dispute Timelines: When Is Conciliation Officially Concluded?

A conciliation officer declared an industrial dispute to have ended in failure on the 15th of October 2017 and submitted the failure report to the appropriate government on the 18th of October. The said report was received by the government on the 29th of October, and the government referred the dispute to the Labor Court on the 5th of November 2017. Based on the information provided, on which date is it deemed that the conciliation has been concluded?

Section 20 of the Industrial Disputes Act states:

(2) A conciliation proceeding shall be deemed to have concluded:

(a) Where a settlement is arrived at, when a memorandum of the settlement is signed by the parties to the dispute;

(b) Where no settlement is arrived at, when the report of the conciliation officer is received by the appropriate Government or when the report of the Board is published under section 17, as the case may be.

In this case, the date in question will be 29th October.