The Scheme for Joint Consultative Machinery and Compulsory Arbitration for Central Government employees provides for reference of cases to arbitration if so desired by the Official Side or the Staff Side in subjects for which compulsory arbitration is provided.

        2.     Before a case is referred to a Board of Arbitration, the following conditions will have to be satisfied:

1. the subject should be one for which compulsory arbitration is provided according to the provisions of clause 16 of the Scheme;

2. the dispute should have been considered either by the National Council or the appropriate Departmental Council. If there is a dispute relating to an arbitrable matter in a lower Council it will have to be placed before the Departmental Council concerned;
   

3. a final disagreement between the Official Side and the Staff Side should be recorded; and

4. there must be a specific request for reference to arbitration by either the Official Side or the Staff Side.

        3.      The following procedure may be adopted in processing requests for arbitration:

From the National Council, the request for arbitration will be made directly to the Secretary, Ministry of Labour by the Home Ministry on behalf of the National Council. This will be in the form indicated in the Annexure.

From the Departmental Councils, the communication to the Ministry of Labour, as in the Annexure, may be routed through the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Home Affairs will forward the reference to the Ministry of Labour within a period of 15 days. This time-limit will be strictly observed.

4.      It is requested that the procedure indicated above for reference of cases to the Board of Arbitration may be adopted in the Departmental Councils of all Ministries/Departments.

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