All India Bank Employees Association v. National Industrial Tribunal

Facts

• Bank employees challenged restrictions on their right to form unions and bargain collectively
• Argued that Art.19(1)(c) (right to form associations) implicitly guarantees the right to effective collective bargaining and strike as essential incidents of trade union activity
• Contended that without bargaining rights, the right to form a union is meaningless

Issue

1. Whether Art.19(1)(c) (right to form associations/unions) includes the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.

Held

• Art.19(1)(c) guarantees the right to form associations or unions
• This right does NOT include the guarantee that the union will achieve its particular purpose
• Right to collective bargaining and right to strike are NOT fundamental rights under Art.19(1)(c)
• They are STATUTORY rights: created by legislation, regulable by legislation
• Legislature can regulate, restrict, or even deny collective bargaining rights without violating Art.19(1)(c)

Ratio Decidendi

The fundamental right under Art.19(1)(c) is the right to form an association: to come together collectively. It does not guarantee the efficacy of that association's objectives. The right to bargain collectively or to strike are statutory incidents of industrial law, subject to legislative wisdom and regulation. They are not constitutional entitlements flowing from the bare right to associate.