Which of the following amounts to retrenchment under section 2(zh) of the Industrial Relations Code,…

Section 2(zh) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (formerly s.2(oo) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947) defines retrenchment as the termination by the employer of the service of a worker for any reason whatsoever, otherwise than as a punishment inflicted by way of disciplinary action. Discharge of surplus workers is the classic instance of retrenchment, and a worker with not less than one year of continuous service can be retrenched only after notice and compensation under section 70. The definition expressly excludes voluntary retirement, retirement on reaching the age of superannuation, termination on non-renewal of the contract of employment or under a stipulation in it, termination on completion of the tenure of fixed term employment and termination on the ground of continued ill-health, while dismissal by way of disciplinary punishment falls outside the definition itself. Hence "Discharge by the employer of workers rendered surplus, otherwise than as a punishment".