Prohibition of strikes and lock-outs
Section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 deals with prohibition of strikes and lock-outs. No person employed in an industrial establishment shall go on strike, in breach of contract--- (a) without giving to the employer notice of strike, as hereinafter provided, within sixty days before striking; The Act was enacted on 28 Sep 2020.
(1) No person employed in an industrial establishment shall go on strike, in breach of contract---
(a) without giving to the employer notice of strike, as hereinafter provided, within sixty days before striking; or
(b) within fourteen days of giving such notice; or
(c) before the expiry of the date of strike specified in any such notice; or
(d) during the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings; or
(e) during the pendency of proceedings before a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal and sixty days, after the conclusion of such proceedings; or
(f) during the pendency of arbitration proceedings before an arbitrator and sixty days after the conclusion of such proceedings, where a notification has been issued under sub-section (5) of section 42; or
(g) during any period in which a settlement or award is in operation, in respect of any of the matters covered by the settlement or award.
(2) No employer of an industrial establishment shall lock-out any of his workers---
(a) without giving them notice of lock-out as hereinafter provided, within sixty days before locking-out; or
(b) within fourteen days of giving such notice; or
(c) before the expiry of the date of lock-out specified in any such notice as aforesaid; or
(d) during the pendency of any conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings; or
(e) during the pendency of proceedings before a Tribunal or a National Industrial Tribunal and sixty days, after the conclusion of such proceedings; or
(f) during the pendency of arbitration proceedings before an arbitrator and sixty days after the conclusion of such proceedings, where a notification has been issued under sub-section (5) of section 42; or
(g) during any period in which a settlement or award is in operation, in respect of any of the matters covered by the settlement or award.
(3) The notice of strike or lock-out under this section shall not be necessary where there is already in existence a strike or, as the case may be, lock-out, but the employer shall send intimation of such lock-out or strike on the day on which it is declared, to such authority as may be specified by the appropriate Government either generally or for a particular area or for a particular class of services.
(4) The notice of strike referred to in sub-section (1) shall be given by such number of persons to such person or persons and in such manner, as may be prescribed.
(5) The notice of lock-out referred to in sub-section (2) shall be given in such manner as may be prescribed.
(6) If on any day an employer receives from any person employed by him any such notices as are referred to in sub-section (1) or gives to any person employed by him any such notices as are referred to in sub-section (2), he shall within five days thereof report to the appropriate Government or to such authority as that Government may prescribe and to the conciliation officer, the number of such notices received or given on that day.
Section 62, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Act 35 of 2020).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Mgmt. , Essorpe Mills LTD vs Presiding Oficer, Labour Court
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 22, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The advance strike notice required of workmen in a public utility service is a mandatory statutory requirement to be given in the prescribed form to the conciliation officer; on a valid notice conciliation proceedings are deemed to have commenced, with the consequence that the employer could not dismiss the workmen during that period without approval, and a strike in breach of the notice conditions is illegal.
On this section: Construes the strike-notice conditions and the deemed commencement of conciliation that section 62 now carries forward and extends to every industrial establishment.
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U. P. State Bridge Corpn. Ltd. vs U. P. Rajya Setu Nigam S. K. Sangh
Decided under industrial-disputes-act-1947 22, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The High Court wrongly applied section 22 of the Industrial Disputes Act, which requires notice of strike only in a public utility service, to an ordinary industrial establishment governed by the U.P. Act, where notice was required; and an illegal strike cannot be 'authorised absence' - as the definition of continuous service shows by excluding periods of illegal strike - so a workman on an illegal strike is unauthorisedly absent and the certified standing order presumption against him can be drawn, the factual question whether there was a strike at all being for the industrial forum, not a writ court.
On this section: Sets out what turns on the strike-notice requirement that section 62 imposes: whether notice was due, and what follows for a worker whose strike is illegal for want of it.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 62
What have the courts held on Section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code?
Mgmt. , Essorpe Mills LTD vs Presiding Oficer, Labour Court is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under INDUSTRIAL-DISPUTES-ACT-1947 22, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Construes the strike-notice conditions and the deemed commencement of conciliation that section 62 now carries forward and extends to every industrial establishment. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Industrial Relations Code 62, section 62 Industrial Relations Code, section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code. People searching for it also type industrial relations code 2020 section 62. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Mgmt. , Essorpe Mills LTD vs Presiding Oficer, Labour Court.
What should I read with Section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 42 (Voluntary reference of disputes to arbitration), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When was Section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code enacted?
Section 62 of the Industrial Relations Code, cited as Industrial Relations Code 62, was enacted on 28 Sep 2020 as Act 35 of 2020. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions3327 words
- 99. Power of appropriate Government to make rules1827 words
- 86. Penalties1320 words
- 30. Preparation of draft standing orders by employer and procedure for certification942 words
- 78. Prohibition of lay-off858 words
- 79. Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workers to which Chapter X applies706 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.