Collective settlement binding effect: voluntary union agreement judged as a whole and treated as just and fair.

A voluntary collective settlement signed by a union is binding on its members under Section 18(1) when the union is a party to it, and signed declarations of membership will be treated as presumptive proof absent contrary evidence. The settlement here was found free from duress, coercion, or false promises, so the workmen who signed and other union members were bound. A negotiated settlement reached by a large majority of workmen must be assessed as a whole for fairness, not compared item by item with a tribunal's adjudicatory award. On that basis, the settlement was treated as just and fair and as controlling the dispute.

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Issues: (i) Whether the settlement dated 7 February 1970 was binding on the workmen who signed the declaration and on the members of the union that entered into the settlement; (ii) whether the settlement was just and fair so as to justify rejection of the industrial reference award.

Issue (i): Whether the settlement dated 7 February 1970 was binding on the workmen who signed the declaration and on the members of the union that entered into the settlement.

Analysis: The signed declaration by 564 workmen stating that they were members of the settling union was accepted as presumptive proof of membership in the absence of any evidence to the contrary. The settlement was found to be free from duress, coercion, or false promises. Once the union was a party to the settlement, Section 18(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 made it binding on all its members on the date of settlement.

Conclusion: The settlement was binding on all members of the settling union, including the signatories to the declaration.

Issue (ii): Whether the settlement was just and fair so as to justify rejection of the industrial reference award.

Analysis: A voluntary settlement reached by a large majority of workmen in the course of collective bargaining is to be judged as a whole, not by comparing it item by item with what a tribunal might award in adjudication. The Tribunal erred in applying adjudicatory standards to a negotiated settlement and in splitting it into parts. Since the settlement was accepted with knowledge of its terms and reflected give and take between the parties, it had to be presumed just and fair.

Conclusion: The settlement was just and fair and could not be ignored in adjudication.

Final Conclusion: The award of the Tribunal was set aside and replaced by an award conforming to the settlement, resulting in acceptance of the settlement as controlling the dispute.

Ratio Decidendi: A collective settlement voluntarily reached by a union and accepted by a large majority of workmen is binding under Section 18(1) and must be assessed as a whole for fairness, not by applying the yardstick of an adjudicatory award.

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