Compliance & labour law · Updated October 2026
A conciliation officer is a government officer, appointed under section 43 of the Industrial Relations Code, whose job is to mediate an industrial dispute and push the two sides toward a settlement before it reaches a tribunal. Under the old Industrial Disputes Act the role was the same; only the section numbers changed.
An individual grievance first goes to the establishment’s own grievance redressal committee, mandatory at 20 or more workers, which has 30 days to decide. A worker who loses, or hears nothing, can approach the conciliation officer within 60 days, through the trade union of which he is a member. Collective disputes, and any notice of strike or lock-out, reach the officer directly. Under the Central Rules, an employer who receives a strike notice is reported to have five days to inform the officer and the government.
Once conciliation begins, the officer investigates and tries to broker a settlement. If one is reached, a signed memorandum goes to the government. If not, the officer sends a failure report. The report is due within 45 days of the proceedings starting, or 14 days where a strike notice triggered them, and parties can agree an extension in writing. No conciliation can start more than two years after the dispute arose. During conciliation, and for seven days after it ends, a strike or lock-out is barred, which is why the officer’s office is the pressure point in most union negotiations.
The old route was a government “reference” to a labour court. The Code replaced it: the aggrieved party applies straight to the Industrial Tribunal within 90 days of receiving the failure report. For a dismissed or retrenched worker there is a shortcut: if 45 days pass after applying for conciliation, he can go to the tribunal directly, within two years of the termination. So a mishandled domestic enquiry reaches a tribunal faster than it used to. While any proceeding is pending, the employer cannot alter service conditions connected with the dispute or punish a worker for related misconduct without the authority’s written permission.
No. The officer cannot decide the dispute or bind anyone; the officer investigates and persuades. Binding decisions come from the tribunal, or from a settlement the parties sign.
The Central Rules, as summarised by law firms, allow proceedings and filings in electronic mode as well as in person. Send someone with authority to settle, since an officer cannot do much with a delegate who must call head office for every point.
The appropriate government, for a specified area or industry. In the central sphere these posts sit within the Chief Labour Commissioner’s organisation; see labour commissioner.
Retrenchment disputes often turn on the arithmetic, so keep your retrenchment compensation workings on file.