Section 21. Rights of minors to membership of trade unions
Any person who has attained the age of fifteen years may be a member of a registered trade union subject to any rules of the trade union to the contrary, and may, subject as aforesaid, enjoy all the rights of a member and execute all instruments and give all acquaintances necessary to be executed or given under the rules:
Section 21A. Disqualifications of office-bearers of trade unions
(1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being member of the executive or any other office bearer of a registered trade union if-
(i) he has not attained the age of eighteen years;
(ii) he has been convicted by court in India of any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to imprisonment, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release.
(2) Any member of the executive or other office-bearer of a registered trade union who, before the commencement of the Indian Trade Union (Amendment) Act, 1964, has been convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to imprisonment, shall on the date of such commencement cease to be such member or office-bearer unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release before that date].
21[(3) In its application to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, reference in sub-section (2) to the commencement of the Indian Trade Union (Amendment) Act, 1964, shall be construed as reference to the commencement of this Act in the said State].
Section 22. Proportion of office-bearers to be connected with the industry
Not less than one-half of the total number of the 8[office-bearers] of every registered trade union shall be persons actually engaged or employed in an industry with which the trade union connected:
PROVIDED that the 24[appropriate government] may, by special or general order, declare that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any trade union or class of trade unions specified in the order.
Comment: The provisions contained in Sections 6 and 22 reproduced above relate to the registration of a Trade Union and constitution of the executive of the said Union. The provisions of Sections 6 and 22 indicate that an ordinary or a temporary member may be an office bearer but they nowhere provide that such a member shall also have a right to negotiate with the management or the management would be under an obligation to negotiate with an office bearer of the Union who is no longer in the employment of the Industry which the Trade Union is connected. State Bank of India Staff Association v. State Bank of India AIR 1996 SUPREME COURT 1685
Section 23. Change of name
Any registered trade union may, with the consent of not less than two-thirds of the total number of members and subject to the provisions of section 25, change its name.
Section 24. Amalgamation of trade unions
Any two or more registered trade unions may become amalgamated together as one trade union with or without dissolution or division of the funds of such trade unions or either or any of them, provided that the votes of at least one-half of the members of each or every such trade union entitled to vote are recorded, and that at least sixty per cent of the votes recorded are in favor of the proposal.
Section 25. Notice of change of name or amalgamation
(1) Notice in writing of every change of name and of every amalgamation signed, in the case of a change of name, by the Secretary and by seven members of the trade union changing its name, and in the case of an amalgamation, by the Secretary and by seven members of each and every trade union which is a party thereto, shall be sent to the Registrar and where the head office of the amalgamated trade union is situated in a different State, to the Registrar of such State.
(2) If the proposed name is identical with that by which any other existing trade union has been registered or, in the opinion of the Registrar, so nearly resembles such name as to be likely to deceive the public or the members of either trade union, the Registrar shall refuse to register the change of name.
(3) Save as provided in sub-section (2), the Registrar shall, if he is satisfied that the provisions of this Act in respect of change of name have been complied with, register the change of name in the register referred to in section 8, and the change of name shall have effect from the date of such registration.
(4) The Registrar of the State in which the head office of the amalgamated trade union is situated shall, if he is satisfied that the provisions of this Act in respect of amalgamation have been complied with and that the trade union formed thereby is entitled to registration under section 6, register the trade union in the manner provided in section 8 and the amalgamation shall have effect from the date of such registration.
