Section 38 Industrial Disputes Act 1947 - Power to Make Rules
Section 38 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 empowered the appropriate Government, subject to previous publication, to make rules for carrying out the Act. The corresponding current provision is Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
Section 38 Industrial Disputes Act 1947
Section 38(1) - General rule-making power
The appropriate Government could, subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for giving effect to the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Section 38(2) - Matters for which rules could be made
Without limiting the general power, the Act authorised rules dealing with matters including:
- powers and procedure of conciliation officers, Boards, Courts, Labour Courts, Tribunals and National Tribunals, including witnesses, production of documents, quorum, reports and awards;
- the form and signing of arbitration agreements, notifications relating to arbitration, powers of arbitrators and arbitration procedure;
- appointment of assessors;
- constitution, functions, vacancies and procedure of Works Committees;
- salaries, allowances and service conditions of presiding officers and allowances of members, assessors and witnesses;
- ministerial establishments attached to adjudicatory and other statutory bodies;
- the manner of giving and communicating notices of strikes and lock-outs;
- conditions concerning representation by legal practitioners; and
- other matters required or permitted to be prescribed.
Section 38(3) - Penalty under legacy rules
The legacy section permitted rules to provide that contravention of a rule would be punishable with a fine not exceeding fifty rupees.
Section 38(4) and 38(5) - Laying of rules
Rules were required to be laid before the State Legislature or, for rules made by the Central Government, before Parliament. Central rules were subject to the parliamentary laying procedure stated in sub-section (5), including the possibility of modification or annulment by both Houses without affecting the validity of things previously done under the rule.
State Amendments Preserved from the Legacy Page
Gujarat
Gujarat Act No. 21 of 1972 added rule-making subjects connected with Councils under the State-amended framework, including their constitution, vacancies, membership, election of worker representatives, functions, information to be furnished by employers and procedure.
West Bengal
West Bengal Act No. 33 of 1989 added a rule-making subject concerning the form and manner of applications and certificates and procedure relating to the State-amended Section 10 framework.
Section 99 Industrial Relations Code 2020 - Power to Make Rules
Section 99(1) authorises the appropriate Government, subject to previous publication, to make rules for giving effect to the Industrial Relations Code. The expression appropriate Government is defined in Section 2 of the Code and determines whether the Central Government or a State Government has rule-making authority for the establishment or matter concerned.
Section 99(2) contains a detailed list of subjects that may be prescribed. These include matters relating to settlements, Works Committees, Grievance Redressal Committees, Trade Unions, negotiating unions and negotiating councils, standing orders, industrial disputes, conciliation, arbitration, Tribunals and National Industrial Tribunals, strikes and lock-outs, lay-off, retrenchment, closure, worker re-skilling fund, representation of parties and other procedural or prescribed matters under the Code.
Industrial Relations (Central) Rules 2026
The Central Government notified the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 on 8 May 2026 in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The Rules came into force on the date of publication in the Official Gazette.
The 2026 Central Rules supersede the Industrial Disputes (Central) Rules, 1957 insofar as specified in the notification, and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946 insofar as they relate to the new Rules, while preserving things done or omitted before such supersession as stated in the notification.
Previous Publication
Section 99 retains the requirement of previous publication. For the Central Rules, the draft Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2025 were published on 30 December 2025 inviting objections and suggestions. The final notification records that stakeholder objections and suggestions received were considered before the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 were made.
Section 38 and Section 99 - Main Position
| Industrial Disputes Act 1947 | Industrial Relations Code 2020 |
|---|---|
| Section 38 empowered the appropriate Government to make rules. | Section 99 is the current general rule-making provision. |
| Previous publication was required. | Previous publication continues to be required. |
| Rule-making subjects reflected the institutions and procedures of the Industrial Disputes Act. | Section 99 covers the wider consolidated framework of the Industrial Relations Code. |
| Central and State rule-making operated according to the appropriate Government. | The Code continues to use the appropriate-Government framework. |
Industrial Relations Code Amendment Act 2026
The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 received Presidential assent on 16 February 2026 and is deemed to have come into force from 21 November 2025. When applying the Code and rules, the current amended text and relevant notifications should therefore be checked.
Related Provisions
| Provision | Subject |
|---|---|
| Section 2 | Definitions, including the framework for identifying the appropriate Government. |
| Section 99 | Power of the appropriate Government to make rules. |
| Section 100 | Power of the Central Government to make rules for specified matters. |
| Section 101 | Power to make regulations in matters assigned by the Code. |
| Section 104 | Repeal and saving provisions. |
Repeal and Saving
Section 104 deals with repeal and savings relating to the enactments consolidated into the Industrial Relations Code. For a matter arising under the earlier Industrial Disputes Act or rules, the applicable date, saving provision, superseding rule and relevant Central or State notification should be examined.
This article provides general statutory information. Rules and notifications may differ according to whether the Central Government or a State Government is the appropriate Government.