law: Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
  33. Conditions of service, etc., to remain
  
  unchanged under certain circumstances during pendency of proceedings
  
  
  (1) During the pendency of any conciliation proceeding before a
  
  conciliation officer or a Board or of any proceeding before 149[an
  
  arbitrator or] a Labor Court or Tribunal or
  
  National Tribunal in respect of an industrial dispute, no employer shall-
  (a) in regard to any matter connected with the
  
  dispute, alter, to the prejudice of the workmen concerned in such dispute, the
  
  conditions of service applicable to them immediately before the commencement of
  
  such proceeding; or
  (b) for any misconduct connected with the
  
  dispute, discharge or punish, whether by dismissal or otherwise, any workmen
  
  concerned in such dispute, save with the express permission in writing of the
  
  authority before which the proceeding is pending;
  (2) During the pendency of any such proceeding in respect of an
  
  industrial dispute, the employer may, in accordance with standing orders
  
  applicable to a workman concerned in such dispute 149[or, where
  
  there are no such standing orders, in accordance with the terms of the
  
  contract, whether express or implied, between him and the workman]-
  (a) alter, in regard to any matter not
  
  connected with the dispute, the conditions of service applicable to that
  
  workman immediately before the commencement of such proceeding; or
  (b) for any misconduct not connected with the
  
  dispute, discharge or punish, whether by dismissal or otherwise, that workman:
  PROVIDED  that no such workman shall be discharged or
  
  dismissed, unless he has been paid wages for one month and an application has
  
  been made by the employer to the authority before which the proceeding is
  
  pending for approval of the action taken by the employer.
  (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) no
  
  employer shall, during the pendency of any such proceeding in respect of an
  
  industrial dispute, take any action against any protected workman concerned in
  
  such dispute-
  (a) by altering, to the prejudice of such
  
  protected workman, the conditions of service applicable to him immediately
  
  before the commencement of such proceeding; or
  (b) by discharging or punishing, whether by
  
  dismissal or otherwise, such protected workman, save with the express
  
  permission in writing of the authority before which the proceeding is pending.
  Explanation:  For the purposes of this sub-section a
  
  "protected workman" in relation to an establishment, means a workman
  
  who, being 150[a member of the executive or other office bearer] of a
  
  registered trade union connected with the establishment, is recognized as such
  
  in accordance with rules made in this behalf.
  (4) In every establishment, the number of workmen to be
  
  recognized as protected workmen for the purposes of sub-section (3) shall be
  
  one per cent of the total number of workmen employed therein subject to a
  
  minimum number of five protected workmen and a maximum number of one hundred
  
  protected workmen and for the aforesaid purpose, the appropriate government may
  
  make rules providing for the distribution of such protected workmen among
  
  various trade unions, if any, connected with the establishment and the manner
  
  in which the workmen may be chosen and recognized as protected workmen.
  (5) Where an employer makes an application to conciliation
  
  officer , Board, 107[an arbitrator, a Labor Court, Tribunal or
  
  National Tribunal under the proviso to sub-section (2) for approval of the
  
  action taken by him, the authority concerned shall, without delay, hear such
  
  application and pass, 102[within a period of three months from the
  
  date of receipt of such application], such order in relation thereto as it
  
  deems fit:]
   145  [PROVIDED that where any such authority considers
  
  it necessary or expedient so to do, it may, for reasons to be recorded in
  
  writing, extend such period by such further periods as it may think fit:
  PROVIDED FURTHER  that no proceedings before any such authority
  
  shall lapse merely on the ground that any period specified in this sub-section
  
  had expired without such proceedings being completed.]