In an industrial establishment, more than one registered trade union of workers is functioning, but no union has the support of 51% or more of the workers on the muster roll. For the purposes of negotiating with the employer, the Code requires-

Section 14(4) meets precisely this situation: where several registered trade unions function and none commands 51% support on the muster roll, the employer must constitute a negotiating council comprising representatives of the registered trade unions having the support of not less than 20% of the total workers on the muster roll, with one representative for each 20% and for the remainder after calculating the membership on each 20%. Agreements are reached by the majority of the council's representatives, and the recognition or the council holds good for three years, extendable not beyond five (section 14(6)). Sole recognition at 51% is the other branch of the same scheme; the Code provides no secret ballot, no automatic 'largest union' recognition and no employer discretion.