Trade Union Act, 1941

Obligation to admit to membership of trade union.

35.—(1) Where—

(a) a determination is granted under this Part of this Act that one trade union alone shall have the right to organise masters or workmen of any particular class, and

(b) while such determination remains unrevoked, a person claiming to be a master or workman of that class duly applies to be admitted as a member of such trade union and undertakes to comply with its rules,

such trade union shall either—

(i) if satisfied that it is undesirable to admit such person as a member of such trade union on account of his bad character or on account of his previous expulsion from such trade union for a gross breach or continuous breaches of its rules, by order (in this section referred to as a refusal order) refuse to accept such person as a member, or

(ii) in any other case, accept such person as a member.

(2) Every refusal order shall state the grounds upon which it is based.

(3) The person to whom a refusal order relates may appeal to the Justice of the District Court having jurisdiction in the place where such person ordinarily resides for an annulment of such refusal order and such justice may, as he thinks proper, grant or refuse to grant such annulment.

(4) In an application to the District Court for the annulment of a refusal, order, no ground other than a ground stated in such order shall be advanced in opposition to such application.

(5) Where a refusal order is annulled under this section, the trade union concerned shall accept as a member the person to whom such refusal order related.

(6) Where a trade union—

(a) in a case to which sub-section (1) of this section applies, fails to either make a refusal order or accept the relevant applicant for membership as a member, or

(b) when required by virtue of sub-section (5) of this section to accept as a member any person, fails so to do,

such of the members and officers of such trade union as consent to or facilitate such failure and, in the case of a trade union registered under the Trade Union Acts, 1871 to 1935, the trade union itself shall each be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.