Petitioners must represent a majority for conciliation settlements to bind all parties under the Industrial Disputes Act.

1This writ petition is by a trade union by name the Estate Staffs' union of South India represented by its General Secretary and Secretary of its Kerala Branch who figure as petitioners 1 and 2 in this O. P. The first respondent is an Association of Planters in South India by name the United Planters' Association of South India (UPASI) represented by its Secretary. The second respondent is the Kerala Branch of the UPASI. Respondents 3 and 4 are also trade unions of Plantation Staff in South India and the 5th respondent is the Labour Commissioner and the Conciliation Officer for settlement of disputes between the Management and the Trade Unions referred to above.

2There were long term settlements between the plantation staff and the Association of Planters. The last of the series expired in March 1986. Ext. P1 dated 01/03/1984 is the proceedings of the 5th respondent the Labour Commissioner by which he bad countersigned the bipartite settlement between the petitioner union and the employers' association as a conciliation settlement under S.12(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act. Ext. P1 shows that respondents 3 and 4 the rival trade unions opposed the prayer for converting the bipartite settlement into a conciliation settlement on the ground that the petitioner union does not represent the majority of workers of the Plantation Industry in South India and the bipartite settlement cannot be made binding on the workers who are members of the rival trade unions. The Labour Commissioner by Ext. P1 proceedings found that the petitioner trade union represents the majority of staff in the Plantation Industry in South India, the settlement was fair and reasonable and should therefore be accepted as a conciliation settlement binding on all workers represented by the different trade unions who are all parties to the conciliation proceedings.

3After the expiry of the term of the conciliation settlement effected in 1984 the different trade unions representing the staff of the Plantation Industry in South India submitted a charter of demands in August 1986. and during the course of conciliation proceedings, the petitioner union entered into a bipartite settlement with the management on 15/12/1986. The petitioner union by Ext. P2 letter addressed to the 5th respondent the State Conciliation Officer required the bipartite settlement to be counter signed by him and made a conciliation settlement binding on the entire staff of the Plantation Industry in South India represented by the different trade unions. It is the petitioner's cage that the petitioner union represents the majority of the staff in the Plantation Industry in South India excluding the staff in the Government owned Plantation Corporation and the bipartite settlement arrived at during the course of conciliation proceedings should be accepted as a conciliation settlement. It was brought to the notice of the 5th respondent that the bipartite settlement had been accepted as a conciliation settlement in regard to the staff in the Plantation Industry in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka by the respective conciliation officers on the basis that the petitioner union represents the majority of the staff. The earlier bipartite settlement accepted as a conciliation settlement evidenced by Ext. P1 was also between the petitioner union and the Association of Planters in South India excluding the public sector plantations. The 5tb respondent the Conciliation Officer has rejected the petitioners' prayer to counter sign the bipartite settlement as conciliation settlement under S.12(3) of the Act as per his proceedings Ext. P4 dated 22-4-1987. The petitioners seek to quash Ext. P4 and to direct the 5th respondent the State Conciliation Officer to countersign the bipartite agreement dated 15/12/1986 produced along with Ext. P2 as a conciliation settlement under S.12(3) of the Act.

4The 5th respondent has found that the Association of Planters of Kerala is an amorphous group and a bipartite settlement with such