BURMAH SHELL OIL STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY OF INDIA LIMITED Vs. BURMA SHELL MANAGEMENT STAFF ASSOCIATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - These two connected appeals by special leave are directed against an interim award of the Industrial Tribunal, Maharashtra, Bombay, in a dispute referred by the Government, relating to the revision of scales and grades of pay, dearness allowance, overtime payment, duty allowance, other allowances, and bonus for the year 1965-66, between the employers. Messrs. Burmah Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company of India Ltd., Bombay (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") and a set of employees who were designated as junior management staff and were members of the Burmah Shell Management Staff Association registered as a trade union. The reference was confined to the members of the junior management staff working in Maharashtra region. The main business of the Company is marketing of petroleum products and oils and the Marketing Area is the whole of India which is divided into four areas, viz, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi. This reference related to the Bombay area. The organisation and management of each area is divided into four functions, Marketing, Distribution, Personnel and Finance. Each one of the four Areas is itself divided into several Marketing Divisions and each Division is further sub-divided into five or seven sales districts as the case may be. For the sale of commodities, in which the Company deals, there are various outlets, such as petrol pumps, storage depots, etc. The Company also undertakes the work of fuelling of aircraft at the Airfields which work is done by the Airfield Service Stations. For purposes of storage and distribution of products handled by the Company, the Company maintains port installations as well as upcountry depots. The staff concerned in this reference is employed at the installations or the depots in the Maharashtra region.

(2.) Though the members of the Association are described as junior management staff, they claimed that they were workmen as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act No. 14 of 1947 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") and, on that basis, raised an industrial dispute relating to salary, etc., as mentioned above. The Association served a charter of demands on the Company on 29th November, 1966. The Government referred the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal on 28th October, 1967. On 2nd December, 1967, the Association put forward its statement of claim before the Tribunal On behalf of the Company, a preliminary written statement was filed on 15th January, l968, contending that none of the members of the Association was a workman, so that the reference was incompetent. In this written statement, it was stated that the Company would request the Tribunal to decide this question as a preliminary issue and that a written statement on merits would only be filed subsequently, if it is held that all or any of members of the Association are workmen within the Act. A rejoinder statement was filed on behalf of the Association on 27th March, 1968. The Tribunal gave its finding on the preliminary issue as an interim award on 9th January, 1970. The members of the Association were classified into various categories of whom we need mention only 10 which are involved in these two appeals. Out of these 10, members of 6 categories were held to be workmen and these are:

(3.) Some general features with regard to the members of the Association involved in these appeals may be stated. At the time of the reference, the lowest basic salary drawn by a member of the Association was Rs. 535 per mensem, while the highest was Rs. 1500/- per mensem. In addition, the members of the Association are paid dearness allowance equal to 30 per cent of basic salary, House-rent allowance, leave fare assistance, and bonus. Medical benefits are also provided for them and their families. The company contributes to the Provident Fund of the members at 10 Per cent of basic salary and these members on retirement are also entitled to pension which varies between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of basic salary. The number of persons involved in the reference in the Maharashtra region is 140. The effect of the decision of the Tribunal is that 98 employees belonging to 4 categories have been held not to be workmen, while 42 employees belonging to 6 categories have been held to be workmen. The decision in these appeals can, however, have wider repercussions because, in the whole of India, the total number of persons belonging to these categories would be 648. If the Tribunal's decision is uphled, 154 of them would workmen and 494 would be non-workmen. It may also be noticed that the majority of the persons concerned in this reference originally started at a salary of Rs. 100/- to Rs. 200/- per mensem and it is only as a result of promotions, revision of salaries and length of service that they are now drawing basic pay at the rates mentioned above. All persons appointed to the posts now held by them were originally described as Supervisors or field staff; but, in the Year 1962, they came to be designated as 'junior management staff. The Association got itself registered under the name "Burmah Shell Management Staff Association"