Which of the following statements about the role of the appropriate Government in industrial relations…

The statement about an establishment employing one hundred and fifty workers is not true. Under section 77(1) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Chapter X, which requires the prior permission of the appropriate Government for lay-off (section 78), retrenchment (section 79) and closure (section 80), applies only to industrial establishments, other than seasonal or intermittent ones, in which not less than three hundred workers, or such higher number as the appropriate Government may notify, were employed on an average per working day in the preceding twelve months (formerly one hundred workmen under Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947). For that Chapter, an “industrial establishment” means a factory, mine or plantation (section 77(3)).

An establishment with one hundred and fifty workers therefore needs no prior permission to retrench, but other rules still apply. Section 70 sets the conditions precedent to retrenching a worker who has been in continuous service for not less than one year: one month’s notice in writing indicating the reasons, or wages in lieu of notice; retrenchment compensation of fifteen days’ average pay (or such days as may be notified) for every completed year of continuous service or part of it in excess of six months; and notice to the appropriate Government or the notified authority. Section 71 requires the employer ordinarily to retrench the worker who was the last person to be employed in the category, unless reasons are recorded for retrenching another. Under section 83(2)(a) the employer must also contribute fifteen days’ wages last drawn (or such other number of days as the Central Government may notify) for every retrenched worker to the worker re-skilling fund.

The other statements are true: the appropriate Government appoints conciliation officers under section 43(1), and constitutes Industrial Tribunals under section 44(1).