THE BANGLADESH LABOUR ACT, 2006, CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XIV

SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTE, LABOUR COURT, LABOUR
APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, ETC.

206. Raising of industrial dispute.—No industrial dispute shall be deemed to exist, unless it is raised by an employer or by a collective bargaining agent in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
207. Settlement of industrial dispute.—(1) If at any time an employer or a collective bargaining agent finds that an industrial dispute is likely to arise between the employer and the workers, the employer or the collective bargaining agent shall communicate his or its views in writing to the other party.

• Within 15 (fifteen) days of the receipt of a communication under sub­section (1), the party receiving it shall, in consultation with the other party, arrange a meeting with it for collective bargaining through discussion on the issue raised in the communication with a view to reaching an agreement, and such meeting may be held between the representatives of the parties authorized in this behalf.
• If the parties, after holding discussion, reach a settlement on the issues discussed, a memorandum of settlement shall be recorded in writing and signed by both the parties, and a copy thereof shall be forwarded by the employer to the Government, the Director of Labour and the Conciliator.
• If—
• the party receiving a communication under sub-section (1) fails to arrange a meeting with the other party within the time specified in sub-section (2), such other party, or
• no settlement is reached through dialogue within a period of 1 (one) month from the date of the first meeting for negotiation, or, such further period as may be agreed upon in writing by the parties, any of the parties,

may, within 15 (fifteen) days from the expiry of the period mentioned in sub-section (2) or, clause (b) of this sub-section, as the case may be, report the matter to a competent Conciliator mentioned insub-section (5) and may request him in writing to settle the dispute through conciliation.

• For the purposes of this Chapter, the Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint such number of persons as it considers necessary, as Conciliator for such specific area or establishment or industry as may be specified in the notification, and the Conciliator appointed for the area or establishment or industry concerned shall take up any request for conciliation under sub-section (4).
• The Conciliator shall, within 10 (ten) days of receipt of the request as aforesaid, start conciliation, and shall call a meeting between both the parties to bring about a settlement.
• The parties to the dispute shall appear before the Conciliator in person or through the representatives nominated and authorized by them to enter into an agreement binding on both the parties on such date and at such time as the Conciliator may specify.
• If any settlement of the dispute is arrived through conciliation, the Conciliator shall submit a report thereon to the Government together with a memorandum of settlement signed by both the parties.
• If no settlement is arrived at within 30 (thirty) days of receipt of any request for settlement of any dispute by the Conciliator, the conciliation shall fail, or the conciliation may be continued for further period agreed upon in writing by both the parties.
• If the conciliation fails, the Conciliator shall try to persuade the parties to agree to refer the dispute to an Arbitrator.
• If the parties do not agree to refer the dispute to an Arbitrator, the Conciliator shall, within 3 (three) days of failure of the conciliation issue a certificate to the parties to the dispute to the effect that it has failed.
• If the parties agree to refer the dispute to an Arbitrator, they shall make a joint request in writing for settlement of the dispute to an Arbitrator agreed upon by them.
• An Arbitrator referred in sub-section (12) may be a person from the panel of Arbitrators prepared by the Government in this behalf, or any other person agreed upon by the parties.
• The Arbitrator shall give his award within 30 (thirty) days from the date of receipt of the request for arbitration or within such further period as may be agreed upon in writing by the parties.
• When an award is given by the Arbitrator, he shall forward one copy thereof to the parties and another copy to the Government.
• The award of the Arbitrator shall be final and no appeal shall lie against it.
• An award shall be valid for such period not exceeding two years as may be fixed by the Arbitrator.
• The Director of Labour may, if he deems fit in the interest of settlement of a dispute, at any time, take over any conciliation proceedings from any Conciliator and proceed to conciliate the dispute himself, or transfer such proceedings to any other Conciliator, and in such a case the other provisions of this section shall apply.
• Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the collective bargaining agent of the establishments, in respect of which a trade union of employers or a federation of trade unions of employers has been registered shall communicate with such trade union of employers or federation regarding any industrial dispute and any agreement regarding settlement of industrial dispute made with such trade union of employers or federation shall be binding upon all the employers and workers of the establishments.

211. Strike and lock-out.—(1) The party which raises any industrial dispute may, within 15 (fifteen) days of receipt of the certificate of failure under section 210 (11), give a notice to the other party, of strike or lockout, as the case may be, in which the date of commencement of such strike or lockout shall be mentioned, which shall not be earlier than seven days and later than 14 (fourteen) days of the date of giving such notice, or the party raising such dispute may make an application to the Labour Court for adjudication of the dispute:

Provided that no collective bargaining agent shall serve any notice of strike, unless ^two-thirds] of its members give their consent to it through a secret ballot, specially held for that purpose, under the supervision of the Conciliator, in such manner as may be prescribed by rules.

• If a strike or lock-out begins, either of the parties to the dispute may make an application to the Labour Court for adjudication of the dispute.
• If any strike or lock-out lasts for more than 30 (thirty) days, the Government may, by order in writing, prohibit it:

Provided that the Government may, by order in writing, prohibit a strike or look-out at any time before the expiry of 30 (thirty) days if it is satisfied that the continuance of such strike or lock-out is causing serious hardship to the public life or is prejudicial to the national interest.

• In case of any public utility service, the Government may, by order in writing, prohibit a strike or lock-out at any time before or after the commencement of the strike or lock-out.
• If the Government prohibits a strike or lock-out under sub-section (3) or
• , it shall forthwith refer the dispute to the Labour Court for settlement.
• The Labour Court shall, after giving both the parties to the dispute an opportunity of being heard, make such award as it deems fit as expeditiously as possible but not later than 60 (sixty) days from the date on which the dispute was referred to it :

Provided that the Labour Court may, if it deems necessary, make an interim award on any matter of the dispute :

Provided further that an award shall not be invalid due to delay in making such award.

• An award of the Labour Court shall remain in force for such period as may be specified in the award, which shall not be more than 2 (two) years.
• The strike or lock-out shall be prohibited in an establishment for a period of 3 (three) years from the date of commencement of production therein, if such establishment is a new one or is owned by foreigners or is established in collaboration with foreigners, but other provisions of this Chapter relating to resolution of any industrial dispute shall apply to such establishments.

212. Cessation of industrial dispute.—(1) If the party raising an industrial dispute under section 210 fails to—

• make a request to the Conciliator to conciliate in the dispute under section 210(4) within the time specified therein, or
• commence strike or lock-out on the date specified in the notice served under section 211(1), or
• refer the dispute to the Labour Court for settlement or serve notice of strike or lock-out, within the time specified in section 211 (1);

the dispute shall cease to exist on the expiry of such specified time or date.

• When an industrial dispute ceases to exist under sub-section (1), no fresh dispute on the same subject shall be raised within a period of one year from the date of cessation of such dispute.

213. Application to the Labour Court.—Any collective bargaining agent or any employer or worker may apply to the Labour Court for the enforcement of any right guaranteed or given by or under this Act or any award or settlement or agreement ¹[or recognized by any existing custom or notice or order or notification or in any other way.]
214. Labour Courts.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, establish as many Labour Courts as it considers necessary.

• Where more than 1 (one) Labour Court is established under sub-section (1), the Government shall specify in the notification the territorial limits within which each of them shall exercise jurisdiction under this Act.
• A Labour Court shall consist of a Chairman and 2 (two) members to advise him, but in case of trial of any offence or disposal of any matter under Chapter X and XII, it shall consist of the Chairman only.

²[(3a) The members of a Labour Court may give their opinion, in writing, to the Chairman of the Labour Court, and if the members give any opinion, it must be mentioned in the judgment.]

• The Chairman of a Labour Court shall be appointed by the Government from amongst the District Judges or Additional District Judges who are in service.
• The terms and conditions of appointment of the Chairman and of members of a Labour Court shall be determined by the Government.
• One of the two members of the Labour Court shall be the representative of the employers and the other shall be the representative of the workers and they shall be appointed in the manner provided in sub-section (9).
• The Government shall, in the manner prescribed by rules, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute two panels, one of which shall consist of six representatives of the employers and the other of six representatives of the workers.
• The panel of members constituted under sub-section (7) shall be reconstituted after every 2 (two) years, but notwithstanding the expiry of the said period of 2 (two) years, the members shall continue on the panels till the new panel is notified in the official Gazette.
• The Chairman of a Labour Court shall, for hearing or disposal of a case relating to a specific industrial dispute, select one representative from each of the 2 (two) panels mentioned in sub-section (7), and the representatives so selected together with the Chairman, shall be deemed to have constituted the Labour Court in respect of the said industrial dispute:

Provided that the Chairman may select any representative from either of the panels as a member of the Labour Court for hearing more than one cases relating to industrial dispute.

• A Labour Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in the following matters, namely:—
• to adjudicate and determine any industrial dispute or any other dispute or any question referred to or brought or made before it under this Act;
• to enquire into, adjudicate and determine any matter relating to the implementation or violation of a settlement referred to by the Government;
• to try offences under this Act; and
• to exercise and perform such other powers and functions as are or may be conferred upon or assigned to by or under this Act or any other law.
• If any member of a Labour Court is absent or unable to attend for any reason on the date of hearing of the Court, whether such absence or inability occurs at the beginning of or during the continuance of the hearing thereof, the proceedings of the Court may begin or continue, as the case may be, in his absence and the decision or award of the Court may be given in his absence; and no act, proceedings, decision or award of a Labour Court shall be invalid or be called in question merely on the ground of such absence or on the ground of any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Labour Court:

Provided that if any member of the Court informs the Chairman beforehand of his absence, the Chairman shall nominate another member from the panel of the concerned parties:

Provided further that the opinion of the members of both the sides shall be mentioned in the judgment of the case.

• The provisions of Chapter XXXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply to a Labour Court, and for the purposes of that Chapter, the Labour Court shall be deemed to be a Criminal Court.
• All Labour Courts shall be subordinate to the Tribunal.

215. Powers and Procedure of Labour Courts in trial of offences.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a Labour Court shall, while trying an offence, follow, as far as possible, the summary procedure as prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure.

• A Labour Court shall, for the purpose of trying an offence under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in the Court of a ^Judicial Magistrate of the First Class or Metropolitan Magistrate] under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), for the purpose of imposing a penalty, a Labour Court shall have the same power as is vested in a Court of Sessions under that Code.
• A Labour Court shall, while trying an offence, hear the case without its members.

216. Powers and procedure of Labour Court in any matter other than trial of offences.—(1) A Labour Court shall, for the purposes of adjudicating and determining any matter, question or dispute, other than offences, under this Act, be deemed to be a civil Court and shall have the same powers as are vested in such Court under the Code of Civil Procedure including the following powers, namely:—

• to enforce the attendance of any person, examine him on oath and take evidence;
• to compel the production of any document or material;
• to send commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;
• to deliver ex-parte decision in the event of failure of any party to appear before the Court;
• to set aside ex-parte decision;
• to set aside order of dismissal of a case made for non-appearance of any party; and
• in order to prevent the frustration of the purposes of the case, to pass interim order upon any party.

(2) Subject to this Act, no court-fee shall be payable for filing, exhibiting or recording any application or document in the Labour Court or obtaining any document from it.

^xThe words “Judicial Magistrate of the First Class or Metropolitan Magistrate” were substituted for the words “Magistrate of the First Class” by section 62 of the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Act No. XXX of 2013).

• The Labour Court shall, by notice to be served through process server or special messenger or by registered post or by both methods, direct the opposite party to a case to file written statement or objection, within a period not exceeding 10 (ten) days from the date of filing of the case.
• The Labour Court may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the said period by a further period of not exceeding 7 (seven) days in all.
• If the opposite party fails to file any written statement or objection within the time specified in the notice or the extended time, the case shall be heard and disposed of ex-parte.
• The Labour Court shall not grant adjournment of the hearing of a case on the prayer of any party for more than 7 (seven) days in all:

Provided that if both the parties pray for adjournment, the hearing of a case may be adjourned for not exceeding 10 (ten) days in all.

• If the party filing the case is absent on the date of hearing, the case shall be dismissed for default:

Provided that the Court shall have power to set aside the order of dismissal, if any application is made by the petitioner of the case within 3 (three) months from the date of such order of dismissal.

• If the opposite party to the case is absent on the date of hearing, the case shall be heard and disposed of ex-parte.
• A case which is dismissed for default, shall not bar the filing of a fresh case on the same cause of action, unless it is barred by any other reason and is filed after a period of 3 (three) months from the date of dismissal.
• If any application is filed to the Labour Court by all the parties to a case for withdrawal of a case, the Court may, after hearing both the parties, allow the withdrawal of the case at any stage of the proceedings, if it is satisfied that the dispute has been amicably settled.
• The judgment, decision or an award of a Labour Court shall be given in writing and delivered in open Court, and a copy thereof shall be given to each party.
• The judgment, decision or an award of a Labour Court shall, in every case, be delivered, within 60 (sixty) days from the date of filing of the case, unless the parties thereto agree in writing to extend the time limit:

Provided that no judgment, decision or award of a Labour Court shall be invalid merely on the ground of delay in its delivery.

217. Appeal against judgments, etc. of Labour Courts.—Subject to this Act, any party aggrieved by the judgment, decision, award or sentence passed or given by a Labour Court may prefer an appeal to the Tribunal within 60 (sixty) days of the delivery thereof, and the decision of the Tribunal in such appeal shall be final.
218. Labour Appellate Tribunal.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a Labour Appellate Tribunal in Bangladesh, which shall consist of a Chairman, or if the Government deems fit, a Chairman and such number of other members as the Government may appoint.

• The Chairman and the members, if any, of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the Government, by notification in the official Gazette, and the terms and conditions of their service shall be determined by the Government.
• The Chairman of the Tribunal shall be a person who is or was a judge or an additional judge of the Supreme Court, and a member of the Tribunal shall be a person who is or was a judge or an additional judge of the Supreme Court, or who is or was a District judge for not less than 3 (three) years.
• If the Chairman is absent or unable to discharge his functions for any reason, the senior member of the Tribunal, if any, shall perform the functions of the Chairman.
• Where any member is appointed in the Tribunal, the Chairman may, for the efficient performance of the functions of the Tribunal, constitute as many benches as necessary, and such bench may consist of one or more than one members or the Chairman and one or more members.
• An appeal or any matter before the Tribunal may be heard and disposed of by the Tribunal sitting in full bench or by any bench thereof.
• Subject to this Act, the Tribunal shall follow, as far as possible, such procedure as is prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure, for hearing of appeal by an appellate Court from original decrees.
• If the members of a bench differ in opinion as to the decision on any point—
• the matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of members, if any; and
• if the members of the bench are equally divided, they shall state their opinion on the point on which they differ and shall refer the matter to the Chairman for hearing on such point, the Chairman if, he is not a member of the bench, himself may hear the matter or send the matter for hearing to any other bench consisted of one or more than one members and the matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the Chairman or member or majority of the members of such newly constituted bench.
• Where a bench consists of the Chairman and any member and there is a difference of opinion among the members and the members are equally divided, the decision of the Chairman shall prevail and the decision of the bench shall be expressed in terms of the opinion of the Chairman.
• The Tribunal may, on appeal, confirm, vary, modify or set aside any judgment, decision, award or sentence of a Lobour Court or return the case to the Labour Court for re-hearing; and shall, save otherwise provided, exercise all the powers conferred by this Act upon a Labour Court.
• The judgment of the Tribunal shall be delivered within not exceeding 60 (sixty) days from the date of preferring an appeal:

Provided that no such judgment shall be invalid merely on the ground of delay in its delivery.

• The Tribunal shall have authority to punish for contempt of it or of any Labour Court, as if it were the High Court Division of the Supreme Court.
• If the Tribunal sentences any person of imprisonment or imposes a fine exceeding two hundred taka under sub-section (12), the convicted person may prefer an appeal to the High Court Division.
• The Tribunal may, on its own or on the application of a party, transfer a case from one Labour Court to another Labour Court.
• The Tribunal shall have superintendence and control over all Labour Courts.

219. Form of application or appeal.—An application to a Labour Court or an appeal to the Tribunal shall be made in such form, as may be prescribed by rules, and shall contain, in addition to such particulars as may be prescribed by rules, the following particulars, namely:—

• the names and addresses of the parties;
• a concise statement of the circumstances of the application or appeal and the relief claimed;
• the provision of the law under which the application or appeal is made and the relief prayed for ;
• in the case of a delay in making the application or appeal, the reason for such delay and the provision of law under which condonation of delay is prayed for;
• in a case of application under Chapter X, a statement showing separately the basic wages, dearness allowance, ad-hoc or interim wages, if any, and other sums payable with wages payable to the applicant per month;
• in the case of an application under Chapter XII for payment of compensation against an employer, the date of service of notice of the accident on the employer; and if such notice has not been served or has not been served in time, the reason thereof;
• in any case other than application by dependents for payment of compensation under Chapter XII, a concise statement of the matters on which agreement has been and of those on which agreement has not been, arrived at;
• the date on which cause of action has arisen ; and
• a statement showing that the Labour Court has jurisdiction to entertain the application.

220. Appearance of parties to a case.—In any case other than a case of appearance for giving witness, filing of application, appearance, or any other act required to be made or done by any person before a Labour Court or Tribunal may be made or done by himself or by any representative authorized by him in writing or by a lawyer:

Provided that such representative or lawyer shall not be a representative of the concerned Court.

221 Costs of the case.—All costs incidental to any case or appeal before a Labour Court or Tribunal, shall, subject to this Act or any rules, be awardable at the discretion of such Court or Tribunal.

222. On whom the settlement, etc. shall be binding.—(1) Any settlement arrived at in a conciliation or any award of an Arbitrator or any judgment, decision or award of a Labour Court or any judgment, decision or award of the Tribunal shall be binding on the following persons, namely:—

• all parties to the dispute;
• unless the Court otherwise directs, any other party appeared in any proceedings as a party to the dispute by order of a Labour Court;
• where the employer of the establishment to which the dispute relates is a party, the heirs or successors of the employer; and
• where a collective bargaining agent is a party to the dispute, all workers who were employed in the establishment to which the dispute relates on the date on which the dispute first arose or employed therein after that date.
• A settlement arrived at by an agreement between the employer and a trade union of the workers of his establishment, otherwise than by conciliation, shall be binding on the parties to the agreement.

223. Date of enforcement of settlements, etc.—(1) A settlement shall become effective—

• if a date is agreed upon by the parties to the dispute to which it relates, on such date; and
• if a date is not so agreed upon, on the date on which the memorandum of the settlement is signed by the parties.
• A settlement shall remain effective for such period as is agreed upon by the parties and, if no such period is agreed upon, for a period of 1 (one) year from the date of signing the memorandum of settlement by the parties.
• After expiry of the period mentioned in sub-section (2), such settlement shall continue to be binding on the parties, until 2 (two) months expires from the date on which either party informs the other party in writing of its intention not to be bound any longer by the settlement.
• An award of a Labour Court shall, unless an appeal is preferred against it to the Tribunal, become effective from the date specified by such Court and shall remain effective for such period, not exceeding 2 (two) years, as may be specified by it.
• The Arbitrator, Labour Court or the Tribunal, as the case may be, shall fix the date on which different demands included in the award shall be effective and the dates by which each of the demands shall be enforced.
• If at any time before the expiry of the period mentioned in sub-section (4) or (5), any party bound by an award applies to the Labour Court which made the award for reduction of the said period on the ground that the circumstances in which the award was made have materially changed, the Labour Court may by order, after giving the other party an opportunity of being heard, if it considers expedient, terminate the said period on a date specified in the order.
• A decision of the Tribunal in appeal in respect of an award shall be effective from the date of the award.
• Notwithstanding the expiry of the period of an award under sub-section
• or (5), the award shall continue to be binding on the parties, until the period of 2 (two) months from the date on which either party informs the other party in writing of its intention not to be bound any longer by the award expires.
• Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, no industrial dispute or proceedings in respect thereof shall be raised or commenced again before the expiry of 1 (one) year from the date of signing of the memorandum of settlement by the parties to the dispute or the date of expiry of the period of settlement or award, whichever is later.

224. Commencement and conclusion of proceedings.—(1) A conciliation shall be deemed to have commenced on the date on which a request for conciliation is received by the Conciliator under section 210 (4).

• A conciliation shall be deemed to have concluded, where a settlement is arrived at, on the date on which a memorandum of settlement is signed by the parties to the dispute.
• Where no settlement is arrived at, a conciliation shall be deemed to have concluded—
• if the dispute is referred to an Arbitrator under section 210 (12), on the date on which the Arbitrator gives his award; or
• if the dispute is not referred to an Arbitrator, on the date on which the Conciliator issues the certificate of failure of conciliation.
• The proceedings before a Labour Court shall be deemed to have commenced on the date on which any dispute, question or matter relating thereto is referred to the Labour Court.
• The proceedings before a Labour Court shall be deemed to have concluded on the date on which the judgment, decision or award relating thereto is delivered.

225. Prohibition on service of notice of strike or lock-out while proceeding remains pending.—No notice of strike or lock-out shall be served by any party to an industrial dispute to the other party, during the continuance of conciliation in any matter relating to the industrial dispute or a case in this behalf is pending before a Labour Court or an appeal is pending before the Tribunal.
226. Powers of the Labour Court and the Tribunal to prohibit strike or lock-out.—(1) Where a strike or lock-out in pursuance of an industrial dispute has already commenced, and such strike or lock-out continues at the time of submitting an application to the Labour Court in relation to that industrial dispute, or when it is under consideration of the Labour Court, the said Court may, by an order in writing, prohibit the continuance of the said strike or lock-out.

• Where an appeal in respect of any matter arising out of an industrial dispute is preferred to the Tribunal, the Tribunal may, by an order in writing, prohibit the continuance of any strike or lock-out in pursuance of such industrial dispute which was in existence on the date on which the appeal was preferred.

227. Illegal strike and lock-out.—(1) A strike or lock-out shall be illegal, if—

• it is declared, commenced or continued without giving to the other party to the dispute a notice of strike or lock-out in the manner prescribed by rules, or before or after the date specified in such notice or in contravention of section 225;
• it is declared, commenced or continued in consequence of an industrial dispute raised in a manner other than that provided in section 209;
• it is continued in contravention of an order made under section 211 or 226; or
• it is declared, commenced or continued during the period in which a settlement or award is in operation in respect of the matter covered by such settlement or award.

(2) A lock-out declared in consequence of an illegal strike, and a strike declared in consequence of an illegal lock-out shall not be deemed to be illegal.

228. Terms and conditions of service to remain unchanged while proceeding is pending.—(1) An employer shall not, during the continuance of any conciliation proceeding or proceedings before an Arbitrator, Labour Court or Tribunal in any matter relating to an industrial dispute, alter to the disadvantage of any worker who is involved in such dispute the conditions of service applicable to him before the commencement of such proceedings, or shall not discharge, dismiss or otherwise punish any worker or terminate his service, except for misconduct not connected with such dispute, without the permission of the Conciliator, Arbitrator, Labour Court or Tribunal, when, where or before which such proceeding is pending.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), an officer of a trade union shall not, during the pendency of any proceedings referred to in the said sub-section, be discharged, dismissed or otherwise punished for misconduct, except with the previous permission of the Labour Court.

229. Protection of rights, etc. of certain persons.—(1) If any person refuses to take part or to continue in taking part in any illegal strike or illegal lock-out, he shall not, by reason of such refusal, be subject to expulsion from any trade union, or to any fine or penalty, or he or his legal representative shall not be deprived of any right or benefit which he would otherwise have been entitled to, or be liable to be placed in any respect, either directly or indirectly, under any disability or disadvantage as compared with other members of the trade union.

• Any contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) may be a subject matter of an industrial dispute, and nothing in the constitution of a trade union providing the manner in which any dispute between its executive committee and members shall be settled, shall apply to proceedings for enforcing any right or exemption granted under sub-section (1).
• In any such proceedings, the Labour Court may, if it thinks just, in lieu of ordering a person who has been expelled from membership of a trade union to be restored to such membership, order to pay him from the fund of the trade union such sum, as may be fixed by it, by way of compensation.

230. Representation of parties.—(1) A worker who is a party to an industrial dispute shall be entitled to be represented in any proceedings under this Chapter by an officer of a collective bargaining agent of his establishment, and, subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), any employer who is a party to an industrial dispute shall be entitled to be represented in any such proceedings by a person duly authorized by him.

• No party to an industrial dispute shall be entitled to be represented by a legal practitioner in any conciliation proceedings under this Chapter.
• A party to an industrial dispute may be represented by a legal practitioner in any proceeding before an Arbitrator, with his permission.

231. Interpretation of settlements and awards.—(1) If any difficulty or doubt arises as to the interpretation of any provision of any settlement or award, it shall be referred to the Tribunal.

(2) The Tribunal shall, after giving the parties concerned an opportunity of being heard, decide the matter and its decision thereon shall be final and binding on the parties.