Compliance & labour law · Updated October 2026
A bipartite settlement is a written agreement the employer signs directly with its workers or their union, with no officer involved. A tripartite settlement is one reached during conciliation proceedings before a government conciliation officer, who is the third party. Both count as a “settlement” under section 2(zi) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, but they bind very different groups of people.
| Bipartite | Tripartite | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is reached | Direct negotiation, outside conciliation | In conciliation proceedings under section 53 |
| Binds | Only the parties to the agreement (section 57(1)) | All parties to the dispute and, on the workers’ side, everyone employed in the establishment or part on the date of the dispute and everyone who joins later (section 57(3)) |
| Paperwork | Signed in the prescribed manner; parties jointly send a copy to the authorised officer and the conciliation officer | Memorandum signed by the parties; the officer sends it to the government with his report |
Section 18 of the old Industrial Disputes Act drew the same line, and it shapes a real tactical choice. Suppose you sign a three-year wage deal with a union that represents 40 per cent of your 600 workers. Done bipartite, it binds that union and the workers it signed for, and a rival union can still raise a fresh dispute over the same wages. Done in conciliation, it binds the whole workforce, including new joiners. That is why many employers with more than one union take a near-final wage agreement to the conciliation officer just to have it signed there.
Rule 4 of the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 prescribes Form I and lists who signs for workers: named office-bearers of the registered union, or five worker representatives authorised at a meeting. A bipartite copy goes jointly, electronically or by speed post, to the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) and the conciliation officer.
Under section 58 a settlement runs for the agreed period, or six months if none is agreed, and then stays binding until 60 days after one side gives written notice to end it. That notice only counts if given by a party representing the majority of those bound. While it is in operation, no strike or lock-out is allowed on the matters it covers (section 62). Money due under it can be recovered through the government as arrears of land revenue, on an application made within one year (section 59).
No. The Central Rules say the officer’s signature is not needed on an agreement reached outside conciliation, but the copy must still be sent so it sits in the officer’s register.
Yes, in an individual dispute such as a contested dismissal the employer and the worker sign. Do not confuse this with a full and final settlement, which is just the exit dues statement.
Treat any clause that pays less than a statutory minimum, such as minimum wages or gratuity, as open to challenge whatever both sides signed. Settlements work above the statutory floor, not below it.
When a settlement is signed, upload the revised pay structure to payroll on the operative date, and see which tribunal hears disputes if it later breaks down.