Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws · The Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal Committee

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 sets up two bi-partite forums. A Works Committee (section 3) promotes amity in establishments with 100 or more workers. A Grievance Redressal Committee (section 4) resolves individual worker complaints in establishments with 20 or more workers. Solve questions by stating the threshold, composition, time limits and the next remedy.

Understand Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal

A bi-partite forum has two sides: the employer and the workers. The Code uses such forums to settle problems inside the workplace before they become industrial disputes.

The Works Committee is a body for general good relations. Under section 3, it applies to an industrial establishment where 100 or more workers are employed, or were employed on any day in the preceding twelve months. The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require the employer to constitute it. So it is not automatic. It needs a Government order.

The Grievance Redressal Committee is for individual complaints, such as a worker's personal dispute with the employer. Under section 4, every industrial establishment with twenty or more workers must have one or more such committees. This duty is direct. No Government order is needed.

The key difference is purpose. The Works Committee looks at matters of common interest and tries to compose differences of opinion. The Grievance Redressal Committee decides a specific worker's application within a fixed timeline, and the worker has a route to conciliation and the Tribunal if unsatisfied.

Key rules to remember

Works Committee: applicability: 100 or more workers employed (or employed on any day in the preceding 12 months) + order of appropriate Government; Section 3(1). The employer constitutes it only when required by a general or special order.
Works Committee: composition: Workers' representatives ≥ employer's representatives; Proviso to section 3(1). Workers' representatives are chosen from among the workers engaged in the establishment, in consultation with their registered Trade Union, if any (section 3(2)).
Works Committee: duty: Promote amity and good relations; comment on matters of common interest; endeavour to compose material differences of opinion; Section 3(3).
Grievance Redressal Committee: applicability: 20 or more workers; Section 4(1). One or more committees for disputes arising out of individual grievances.
Grievance Redressal Committee: composition: Equal employer and worker members; total ≤ 10; women's share ≥ women's proportion of total workers; Section 4(2) and 4(4). Chairperson is selected alternately from employer and worker representatives on rotation every year (section 4(3)).
Grievance Redressal Committee: time limits: Application: within 1 year of cause of action. Proceedings: 30 days of receipt. Appeal to conciliation: 60 days.; Section 4(5), (6) and (8). The 60 days run from the decision, or from expiry of the 30 days.
Grievance Redressal Committee: decision rule: Majority view, provided more than half of the workers' representatives agree; otherwise deemed no decision; Section 4(7).
Direct access to Tribunal: After 45 days from conciliation application; Tribunal application within 2 years of termination; Section 4(10) and (11). Applies to discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of an individual worker (section 4(9)).

How to solve Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal questions

Use the same sequence for any question on these forums. It keeps the provision, facts and conclusion in the ICSI answer style.

1Identify which forum the question is about: general amity (Works Committee) or an individual complaint (Grievance Redressal Committee).
2Check the headcount against the threshold: 100 or more for the Works Committee, 20 or more for the Grievance Redressal Committee.
3For a Works Committee, check whether the appropriate Government has issued an order requiring it. Without an order, there is no duty to constitute it.
4Test the composition: workers' representatives not fewer than employer's for the Works Committee; equal members, maximum ten, and fair women representation for the Grievance Redressal Committee.
5Apply the time limits in order: one year to apply, 30 days to complete proceedings, 60 days to approach the conciliation officer, then 45 days before going to the Tribunal.
6Check the decision rule: majority view plus more than half of the workers' members agreeing.
7State the conclusion clearly, citing section 3 or section 4, and name the next remedy available to the worker.

Quickest way: Threshold, Composition, Clock

When to use it: Use this for short-note questions and for fact-based problems where you have only a few minutes.

Threshold: 100 for Works Committee (with Government order), 20 for Grievance Redressal Committee (automatic).
Composition: Works Committee, workers' side not less than employer's side. Grievance Redressal Committee, equal sides, maximum 10, women in proportion.
Clock: 1 year, 30 days, 60 days, 45 days, 2 years.
Close with the section number and a one-line conclusion.

Common mistakes in Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal

Saying every establishment with 100 workers must have a Works Committee.
Students remember the number but forget the condition.
Fix: Write that the appropriate Government may by order require it under section 3(1). The duty arises from the order.
Swapping the thresholds of 100 and 20.
Both forums sound similar and both mention headcount.
Fix: Link 100 with the Works Committee (section 3) and 20 with the Grievance Redressal Committee (section 4).
Writing that the Works Committee has equal representation.
Students mix it with the Grievance Redressal Committee.
Fix: The Works Committee proviso says workers' representatives shall not be less than employer's. Equality is a Grievance Redressal Committee rule.
Treating the Grievance Redressal Committee decision as valid on a simple majority alone.
Students skip the proviso in section 4(7).
Fix: Add that more than half of the workers' representatives must agree. Otherwise it is deemed that no decision was arrived at.
Mixing up the 60-day and 45-day periods.
Both are post-committee time limits.
Fix: 60 days is to file for conciliation after the committee decision or lapse of 30 days. 45 days is the wait after the conciliation application before applying directly to the Tribunal.
Forgetting that the Grievance Redressal Committee conciliation route goes through a Trade Union.
Students assume a worker can apply alone.
Fix: Section 4(8) says the application to the conciliation officer is filed through the Trade Union of which the worker is a member.

Worked examples

Example 1

An industrial establishment in Pune employed 130 workers on one day last year. The employer has not formed a Works Committee and no Government order has been issued. Is the employer in breach? Also state the composition rule for the Works Committee.

Show the solution

Provision: Under section 3(1), an establishment where 100 or more workers are employed, or have been employed on any day in the preceding twelve months, can be required to have a Works Committee.
Facts: The establishment had 130 workers on one day in the last twelve months, so it meets the headcount test.
Analysis: The duty arises only when the appropriate Government, by general or special order, requires the employer to constitute the committee. No order has been issued.
Composition: The committee consists of representatives of the employer and the workers. Workers' representatives must not be fewer than the employer's representatives. They are chosen from the workers engaged in the establishment, in consultation with their registered Trade Union, if any.
Conclusion: No breach arises yet, because no order exists.

Answer: The employer is not in breach. The headcount condition is met, but a Works Committee must be constituted only when the appropriate Government orders it under section 3(1). Once formed, workers' representatives must be at least equal in number to the employer's.

Example 2

Ravi, a worker in a Chennai factory with 60 workers, has a personal grievance about his duties. He applies to the Grievance Redressal Committee 20 days after the cause of action. The Committee does not decide within 30 days of his application. Advise Ravi on his remedy and the time limit.

Show the solution

Provision: Under section 4(1), an establishment with twenty or more workers must have a Grievance Redressal Committee. The factory has 60 workers, so it must have one.
Application: Under section 4(5), the application must be filed within one year of the cause of action. Ravi applied after 20 days, so it is in time.
Committee period: Under section 4(6), the Committee may complete proceedings within thirty days of receiving the application. That period has passed without a decision.
Remedy: Under section 4(8), Ravi may file an application for conciliation to the conciliation officer within sixty days from the date the thirty-day period expired. He must do so through the Trade Union of which he is a member.
Conclusion: He should approach the conciliation officer through his Trade Union within 60 days.

Answer: Ravi's application was in time. As his grievance was not resolved within 30 days, he may apply for conciliation through his Trade Union within 60 days from the expiry of that 30-day period, under section 4(8).

Exam tips

Write section numbers: section 3 for the Works Committee and section 4 for the Grievance Redressal Committee. Examiners reward the correct citation.
In a compare-and-contrast question, use the headings threshold, who forms it, composition, purpose and outcome.
In case-based problems, count the days carefully and state which sub-section each time limit comes from.
Always mention that a Works Committee needs a Government order. This single point is often tested.
Finish each answer with a clear one-line conclusion, as ICSI answers require.

Practice questions from The Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

CS ProfessionalBi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal

Bi-partite Forums: Works Committee and Grievance Redressal: frequently asked questions

Is a Works Committee compulsory for every establishment with 100 workers?

No. Section 3(1) allows the appropriate Government to require it by a general or special order. Only when such an order is made must the employer constitute the committee.

What is the difference between a Works Committee and a Grievance Redressal Committee?

The Works Committee promotes amity and comments on matters of common interest. It applies at 100 or more workers with a Government order. The Grievance Redressal Committee resolves individual grievances and applies to establishments with 20 or more workers.

How many members can a Grievance Redressal Committee have?

It has an equal number of employer and worker representatives. The total cannot exceed ten. Women workers must be represented at least in proportion to their share of the total workers.

What can a worker do if the Grievance Redressal Committee does not resolve the grievance?

The worker can apply for conciliation to the conciliation officer within sixty days, through the Trade Union of which he is a member. This is under section 4(8).

Can a dismissed worker go straight to the Tribunal?

Not immediately. Under section 4(10) the worker may apply directly to the Tribunal after 45 days from the conciliation application. Under section 4(11), this must be done within two years of the termination.