Definition of ‘Industry’ and ‘Triple Test’

About Definition of ‘Industry’ and ‘Triple Test’ 

• Recent SC Judgement: The Supreme Court held that the broad interpretation of “Industry” in its landmark 1978 Bangalore Water Supply judgment remains valid under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
  • The definition of an “industry” determines employees under which workplaces are entitled to statutory protections. 
• Earlier, it was defined under previous Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and now under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
  • The wide net cast by the 1978 definition enabled workers to have a legal recourse regarding wages, working hours, strikes and protection against arbitrary dismissal, among other things.
• The Supreme Court clarified that future disputes will be governed by the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. 
• It said the new Code will have to be interpreted on the basis of its own text and context and the Bangalore Water Supply judgement will not govern its interpretation.
• All matters presently pending before courts, governors, labor authorities, or other forums under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 may be adjudicated in accordance with the ‘triple test’ as laid down in Bangalore Water Supply. 
• ‘Triple test’ for identifying an industry: It held that an undertaking would qualify as an industry if:
  • it was organised and systematic;
  • there was cooperation between employers and employees; and
  • it involved the  production and/or distribution of goods or services calculated to satisfy human wants and wishes.
• The court said it did not matter whether the activity is driven by profit, though purely spiritual or religious activities would not be covered.