AMBICA MILLS CO LIMITED Vs. S B BHATT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The principle question which this appeal by special leave raises for our decision relates to the nature and extent of the jurisdiction conferred on the authority by S. 15 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (Act 4 of 1936) (hereafter called the Act). This question arises in this way. The appellant Shri Ambica Mills Co. Ltd., is a textile mill working at Ahmedabad. Three of its employees named Punamchand, Shamaldas and Vishnuprasad made an application to the authority under S. 16 of the Act and prayed for an order against the appellant to pay them their delayed wages. In order to appreciate the contentions raised by the appellant disputing the validity of the respondents' claim it is necessary to set out the background of the dispute in some detail. It appears that an award called the Standardisation Award which covered the mill industry in Ahmedabad was pronounced by the Industrial Tribunal on April 21, 1948, in Industrial Reference No. 18 of 1947. This award fixed the wages for different categories of workers working in the textile mills at Ahmedabad, but left over the question of clerks for future decision. Amongst the operatives whose wages were determined by the award the case of hand-folders was specifically argued before the Industrial Tribunal. The Labour Association urged that the rate of Rs. 38-9-0 awarded to them was too low and it was pointed out on their behalf that they did the same as cut-lookers did in Bombay where a head cut-looker was given Rs. 52-and a cut-looker Rs. 42-4-0. On the other hand the mill owners contended that the rate should have been fixed at Rs. 34-2-0 instead of Rs. 36-9-0. The Tribunal found it difficult to decide the point because enough evidence had not been produced before it to show the kind of work that hand -folders were doing at Ahmedabad; that is why the Tribunal was unable to raise the wage of hand-folders to that of cut-lookers in Bombay. However, it made a significant direction in that behalf in these words:"At the same time", it was observed, "we desire to make it clear that if there are persons who are doing cut-looking as well as folding, they should be paid the rate earned by the cut-lookers in Bombay". This question has been considered by the Tribunal in paragraph 16 of its award.

(2.) The question of clerks, the decision of which had been adjourned by the Tribunal was later considered by it and an award pronounced in that behalf. However the said award was later terminated by the clerks in 1949, and that led to an agreement between the Ahmedabad Mill Owners' Association and the Textile Labour Association in the matter of wages payable to clerks. This agreement was reached on June 22, 1949. Clauses 2 and 5 of this agreement are material for the purpose of this appeal. Let us therefore read the two clauses:

(3.) After this agreement was thus reached persons doing the work of cut-lookers began to feel that they were entitled to the benefit of cl. 5 and some claims were put forth on that basis against the employers. Vishnuprasad and Punamchand applied before the authority (Applications Nos. 39 and 40 of 1954) and claimed delayed wages against the appellant on the ground that they were entitled to higher wages under paragraph 16 of the award in Reference No. 18 of 1947. This claim was resisted by the appellant. The appellant urged that the applications were not maintainable under the Act, that they were barred in view of an arbitration award which was then in operation and that on the merits the applicants were not doing the work of cut-looking. All these contentions were rejected by the authority. It examined the duties performed by the applicants, and it came to the conclusion that both the applicants were folders doing cut-looking, and consequently they were entitled each to Rs. 42-4-0 per month; in other words, the authority came to the conclusion that the applicants properly fell under the category specified in paragraph 16 of the award referred to above and as such they were entitled to recover the difference between Rs. 36-9-0 per month which was paid to each one of them and Rs. 42-4-0 which was due to each one of them. This decision was announced on September 2, 1954.