Andhra Pradesh Notifies Final Industrial Relations Rules, 2026 — State IR Framework Now Operational

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has notified the Industrial Relations (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 2026, vide G.O.Rt.No.111, Labour, Factories, Boilers & Insurance Medical Services Department (Lab.II), dated 12th June 2026. With this final notification, Andhra Pradesh becomes one of the states to operationalize its rule-making under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Central Act 35 of 2020), which itself came into force on 21 November 2025. Statutory basis and process followed The Rules have been framed in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The draft was first published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette No. 627, made available to the public on 16th March 2026, inviting objections and suggestions within thirty days. The state government has confirmed that stakeholder objections and suggestions were duly considered before finalization. Supersession of legacy rules Significantly, the new rules are notified in supersession of the state's earlier instruments, including the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Disputes Rules, 1958, and the Andhra Pradesh Trade Unions Regulations, 1927 (and a third instrument is continued on the next page—see note below). This mirrors the consolidation logic of the IR Code, which subsumed the Trade Unions Act, 1926; the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, into a single framework. What this means for employers in Andhra Pradesh For establishments where the appropriate government is the State of Andhra Pradesh—which covers most private manufacturing, IT/ITES, trading, and service-sector establishments situated in the state—the procedural compliance framework will now flow from these state rules rather than the central rules. Employers should anticipate revised procedures and forms across the core IR areas: registration of trade unions, certification and modification of standing orders, constitution of the Grievance Redressal Committee, election of workers' representatives to committees, notice of change in service conditions, and the machinery for conciliation, arbitration, and dispute resolution. Action points Employers with operations in Andhra Pradesh should obtain the full notified rules and conduct a gap assessment against current practice, with particular attention to standing order alignment, grievance redressal and works-committee constitution, and the state-specific forms and timelines. Establishments operating across multiple States will need to maintain State-wise differentiation, as procedural requirements under the